Is it that obvious??

There seems to be this reaccuring theme that happens every time I introduce myself as Blanka from Canada. It happened again today. The converstation goes as followes;

Me: Hi my name is Blanka
Stranger: Where are you from?
Me: Canada
Stranger: Blanka? That doesn't sound like a Canadian name, and you don't look very Canadian...

Interject Miriam: What are Canadian people supposed to look like? (This always perplexes them)

Finally I reveal that I have Croatian roots and that I was born in Bosnia. This is followed by a self assuring "Ahhhh, I knew it, I knew there was something else going on there." Mystery solved.

But this has brought me to question what people outside of North America think Canadians look like. Do they have this mold inside their mind or is it just that they associate certain characteristics such as my dark hair and Slavic features (I guess) to some other country, ergo removing me from the Canadian look alike contest. But thats the beauty of Canada, we don't have any one certain defining physical characteristic that classifies us as Canadian. If we really want to get technical then the First Nations people would be the only ones considered to look like a Canadian. I've spoken about this to some of my "white" friends (oh god how impolitically incorrect of me) living abroad who never come across this. Maybe that's the label of a Canadian.

In any case, while I am utterly proud of my Croatian roots, I also consider myself to be Canadian, look alike or not.