Do you mean to say that the three others had ethnic ancestry from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, or nearby parts of Russia?
Forgetting about Native Americans we can say that this country was first mass populated by Caucasoids and then by Negroids. Mass immigration of Mongoloids started relatively recently.
When an average person meets an unknown Caucasoid he/she assumes by default that Caucasoid was born in the US. The same happens with a Negroid. However the default assumption about a Mongoloid is that he/she is an immigrant. I do not know the real stats but there is a good chance that at this time in the US there are more immigrant Mongoloids than those born in the US. You just do not have to take it so personally. Just wait another 25-50 years and this assumption will change.
I am an immigrant Caucasoid and I speak English with an accent. I am getting “Where are you really from?” all the time. It does not bother me one bit.
There is this thing of being an Indian… Most of the time our parents set our goals for us, right from the time that we are babies… Do this, do that… Stop, you might fall off… You don’t like your cousin?? Doesn’t matter, buy her a gift… Must choose the science stream… Blah, blah…
True, not all of us experience this, but many of us do; it’s a fact.
The other day I was talking to dad when this came up, and naturally I was frustrated at being ‘suggested’ what to do at the age of 17! So when I sort of yelled at him for being such a pimp, this is what he said- I want you to learn from others’ mistakes rather than making some of your own
We, as teens, never see our parents’ perspectives, and even though they might not be right always, they always have this fear in them(mostly Indians) and so some of the time they try to give us sheltered lives. Is that why we(asians) succeed?
No.
We succeed (and I am not saying that ONLY we succeed or that ALL of us succeed) because we have lived part of our lives bonded in our culture, learning from our parents’ mistakes rather than making them ourselves, and also because we (after some time) argue with them(just like I did) and free ourselves from that bond - spreadING wings, but yet ready to cling to their advice anytime in future.
P.S. This may not apply to all
I’m not asian personally however I’m going to present my thoughts on this subject. Other than the obvious cultural factor and Parental abuse that contribute to academic success, Asians are mostly third, second and first generation immigrants. The trend amongst immigrants of all races is that they have a much higher rate of educational attainment then the general population. This is even true amongst African immigrants to the united states who on average get high test scores and apply to university at a much higher rate than African Americans.
In terms of test score asians don’t seem to have much of an advantage over white applicants in general. In the reading and writing sections of the sat asians and white test takers literally have the same scores. On reading whites score 527 while asians score 521. On the writing section of the sat asians outscore whites 527 to 515(a 4 point decrease from 519 in 2006). If you add up the mean values for both sections asians outscores whites 1048 to 1042 a trivial difference of 6 points. The main difference is as a result of the math section where asians outscore whites 597 to 534 a difference 63 points, so a little truth to the stereotype I guess. Would this difference give asians a major advantage? or even a minor advantage? I don’t think so. Asians apply disproportionately to the to 1% of schools in the us which would attract the top 1% of students of every race so this difference shrinks dramatically to the point where it is very trivial.
The real reason asians have an advantage is purely due to demographics. Asians apply disproportionately to the top 20 schools in the country therefore end up making a large percentage of the applicants. As a result of the low application rates of blacks and hispanics, asians end up with an even larger share of applications. This results in overrepresentation at universities freshman classes. Think about it, if asians make up x% of applicants they are going to at least make x% of admits and matriculants. A good example is UC berkeley has no affirmative action where asians make up 38%of applicants and 40-44% of admit and 40% of matriculants. The 2-6% difference between asian applicants and admits is likely due to the asian score advantage mostly over URMs. Whites see a similar trend making up 27% of applicants and 29%-30% of admits. The california state demographics is 15% asian, 42% white, 37.6% Hispanic and 7.2% African american. the large demographic of asians at 15% of the population shows how it would be feasible for asians to make over 35% of applicants to UCs by applying at a higher rate than others.
Demographics is giving asians the massive over representation at top schools which gives them an advantage over applicants of all other races. When for every white applicant you have two asian applicants it’s obviously going to be favorable to asians. This is the most rational explanation to asian overrepresentation at top universities and success than the stereotypical answer of asians work harder or are more focused and smarter. Obviously, the demographics of the applicant pool is going to be different for every university so the % of asians varies at each university.
I came to the US as a child with my parents. I am middle-aged, and speak English with no accent. I get the “Where are you from?”, and , of course “How come you have no accent…” question/comment all the time - more so now than when I was younger, and usually from strangers. My all time favorite was when I went to pick up something from a carryout - “Oh - you don’t look like the person who spoke on the phone…” Totally agree with Post #193. One would think after seeing newscasters of Asian origin on national television, this is not some strange phenomenon. And I live in a part of the country that is fairly diverse. Interestingly, I get asked this the least when I visit the midwest.
I (Asian-American) was in the military and once went to an event wearing my dress uniform. Older gentleman asked ‘which country are you from?’ I was wearing a US military uniform and spoke with a New York accent. Go Figure.
NoVADad99, your story reminds me of something that happened to my daughter, who is Chinese American. On a plane flight, an older white couple near her was asking her what her college major was, and she said “Chinese.” This puzzled the wife, who said “Chinese? But aren’t you already Chinese?” (My daughter came to the US at the age of six months, and needless to say, has no accent.) My daughter explained that she is American and grew up speaking English, but was now determined to learn Chinese and become fluent. She my (daughter) then said she was doing a special program that offers government funded scholarships for people to learn Chinese, study abroad and become fluent. The woman said “Whose government? Yours or ours?”
We are white and our daughter, born in China, came into our American family at the age of six months. I had her in an infant seat in a cart at the grocery store shortly after her adoption, and the cashier was interested. “How are you going to understand her when she starts to talk?” she asked me.
Hi, I am an Asian parent actually I was born in Thailand. Traditionally and socially Asian value college and higher education. It is not uncommon if parents can afford, we will send kids, starting young, to tutoring schools(Kumon etc.) to improve chances and build solid foundation in order to get into very good schools and future careers.
Also good education will move people out of poverty. There is no doubt that this approach is very competitive and giving pride to parents depending on how well their kids go to very good schools and what majors.
Also many parents come from very old and rigorous schooling and expect their kids to work hard and do better.
However in USA, we also value entrepreneurship, innovations, environment, ethics (some of us 
), and start businesses besides being book smart and higher education. As long as economy outlook is not so bright, there will be even more pressure on college education.
To me, at least I want my kids to do well, learn & apply well, expose in different areas & disciplines, and be sustainable, sociable, intelligent and happy.
Heh. An older cousin had similar experiences while visiting military bases or on shore leave near many parts of the US/overseas US bases sometime in the early '90s. This despite being in various naval officer uniforms with NFO wings and having an accent much closer to what one typically hears from a native-born New Englander.
He and other older cousins who married White spouses also noticed that among their bi-racial children, it was the more foreign-looking kids who were frequently peppered with such questions whereas the kids who looked White weren’t asked.
The public schools, in an attempt to be inclusive, are constantly engaging the children in cultural projects and activities. Many times this involves having the students talk or somehow “share” via cultural objects about their ethnic heritage, traditional foods, religion, and other customs. My kids never give a thought to the background of any of their classmates until these activities start up around the holidays. My high schooler even has two cultural projects due this month. Maybe we need to stop these assignments, since they serve to highlight differences.
In other words, the school is constantly asking kids “Where are you from?” As a result, kids think it’s a relevant question.
I wonder if the people who have a hard time with the concept of Americans who are not white or black get puzzled even more by visitors or immigrants from other countries who are members of those countries’ minorities?
For example, if they encounter a person who appears to be of Asian ancestry, would they be puzzled if “where are you from?” results in answers like:
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
France
Brazil
Jamaica
Hat tip to Tessanne Chin who won The Voice a couple of years back, for educating millions about the existence of Chinese-Jamaicans. The judges and viewers couldn’t get over that her accent was Jamaican and she could speak patois 
I had several college dormmates and colleagues whose families were of Asian origin who were native-born citizens of the following countries:
Chile
Peru
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Mexico
Ghana
Uganda
Tanzania
South Africa
Germany
France
Italy
Belgium
On Chinese Jamaicans. Look up Leslie Kong, who was the legendary Jamaican record producer who was instrumental in recording and producing the early reggae artists, and put Bob Marley on the map.
@ucbalumnus Yes, even more puzzled. Guyanese acquaintances of mine , of Indian descent, say they are then asked “No, I mean before that”. It isn’t the question itself or even the ignorance that I find irritating. It is the implication that the Asian American is not as “American” as others.
@NoVADad99 Jamaica is a real melting pot, the majority are of African descent certainly but there are a lot of (white) Western Europe-descended, Chinese, Lebanese and Indian folks there too, and have been for generations. A lot of multi-racial Jamaicans around, both there and in the diaspora.
There, as in the US, one might say the only “true” Jamaicans are descendants of the Taino/Arawaks or Caribs who were there before Columbus parked his boat there.
But we digress
Reminder of the kind of stories like those described by some WW2 veterans as they returned to civilian life (though the reaction was less friendly then):
https://books.google.com/books?id=o3aP6oiNilAC&pg=PA343&lpg=PA343
I came to the US in '75 and have settled here since the late 80s. When I visit my mother (still living in the same house I grew up in), and go to a local store or take a ricksha, and chat in the local language, it’s a couple of minutes before I’m asked, “Where are you from?” And when I say, “Hey, I’m speaking the local language (most states there have their own local language), I was born here, went to school here, etc”, the response is invariably, yes, but where do you live now - the gulf, Europe, or “the states” as the US is commonly referred to, quickly followed by “doctor or IT?”, followed by advice on where “people such as me” should go, and what we should buy. And this is even without betraying the 40 years of Americanizing of my English. I probably have this happen more there when I visit than here.