Like @inthegarden, I have a daughter adopted from China. And she has heard the “Where are you from?” a lot. When she was very young, I was often approached by strangers who would ask me where she was from… and I usually would smile and say “Why do you ask?” I didn’t mind explaining to people who were interested in or considering adoption; I used it as an opportunity to share some facts about the process. But when random total strangers answered “Oh, I just wondered” or “I’m just curious”, I would smile, give them a quizzical look and move along. Really, it was quite intrusive – and tiresome – to be approached by ‘curious strangers’ on a regular basis. When she was old enough to speak for herself, she would say “I’m from [our town].” Once, someone repeated the question “No, I meant where are you FROM?” and she said “I’m FROM [OUR TOWN].” At which point the person turned to me and asked, " So, I guess her father must be Asian?" Sheesh.