Jerome,
what an unfair question! As a North American, how do you view yourself?........
Are you a long-lost Manxman, an interested observer, or what? As to your Italian friend, probably not many people would know where she came from, if she said she was from Cagliari,or Lampedusa, etc. I am not trying to hassle you, but please realise that it is all a matter of perspective. If I say that I am writing from Kangaroo Island, what should I think if you do not know where that is?
Ty