Yes, my mother taught me lying is wrong. And the possible bad karma kind of scares me. But I've developed a whole string of lies I tell locals.

The first question they always ask is "Where are you from?" For ages, all around the world, I've lied & told shopkeepers I'm Canadian. That way I don't get ripped off as badly. If I say America, I can literally see the dollar signs in their eyes & here the cash register sound. Prices triple, I'm asked if I'll marry their brother or sponsor their sister to come work in my country. I am not my wallet!! Canadians just don't have the global reputation of having too much money & paying whatever amount quoted in countries where bargaining is the norm. Canada is much smaller & keeps a low profile.. it's movies, TV shows, music & celebrities are not in your face everywhere in the world. There are virtual no stereotypes of Canadians. Yes, I'm probably wimping out. But it makes things much easier for me.

However, lately I've been testing out some new countries. Saying I'm from India seems to be working well... they've heard of it, you can see the wheels turning but only half know enough about the place to know a blonde wouldn't be from their originally. And during moments of particular annoyance, I said I was from Bhutan, Greenland & yesterday I threw out "No Man's Land" - but burst out laughing seconds later.