I am an...

Today in Arabic class I learned a lesson that went beyond the Nisba adjective, and the masculine and feminine endings. I learned the difference between being from somewhere and being a belonging of that somewhere. Let me explain. In class, we learned how to say things like, "I am from Egypt. I am an Egyptian." (أنا من مصر. أنا مصري) Thankfully our teacher did not have us go around the room and say where we were from and what we were. She may have assumed all of our answers would be the same anyways. But I felt that it would be lying if I said that I was a Serb or a Slovak, or anything else for that matter. I don't look Eastern European. I look American, or Northern European. Therefore the closest thing to the truth would be to call myself an American, since both of my parents are, and my passports says that I am an American, and the American government has given me the privilege of voting, so I suppose that makes me an American. But I am not from America. I was raised in Eastern Europe. That is where part of my home stands. I know enough of the language to get by. I can buy food at the markets. I can take the trolleys and trams anywhere I fancy. I know many of the cultural rules and can easily abide by them. I love the food, the cultures, and the people. But in America, I hardly know which of the superstores to go to when I need to buy something. And when I finally get to the store that I am looking for, there are multiples brands of everything! And in a city where driving is perfectly safe, how is one's faith in God supposed to grow at all? I speak English, but what are all these other words and phrases doing here? And how much physical interaction is appropriate? I've got the no kissing part down, but what else? How close are you allowed to stand next to someone before they feel uncomfortable?
I have decided upon this paradox for myself in Arabic: أنا من صربيا و سلوفاكي. أنا أمريكي (I am from Serbia and Slovakia. I am an American.)