For the past few years, I've had this running joke with friends and family. Basically, the whole joke is that I, a white male, was born in Chad and immigrated to the US at a young age. [i]Usually[/i] if I mention this, people laugh it off because they realize that there's no way I was born in an African country. However, in the beginning of my freshman year, I got a different reaction. So it's my freshman year of highschool. Day 1, first hour. World History. My teacher (we'll call her Mrs. G) wanted to open the class up with an ice breaker, since it was the first day and all and we were all pretty much strangers to eachother. So Mrs. G asks everyone to share their name, and one interesting fact about themselves. I immediately realize this is a perfect opportunity to bring up Chad. [spoiler]bear in mind that Mrs. G is a very sweet, kind, and gullible woman, which I did not know at the time[/spoiler] She goes down each row of desks. Each kid stands up, says their little bit, and then sits down so the next person can go. Eventually we arrive at my desk. I stand up, say my name, and say as seriously as I can "I was born in Chad, that one country in Africa." Everyone chuckles a little bit, which I'm totally satisfied with, and I sit down. But Mrs. G doesn't chuckle, or laugh, or even smile. Her mouth is wide open. Then she starts firing off all of these questions. "How old were you when you left Chad?" "How are you white?" "What was it like?" By this point in time, I'd had the whole Chad-birth-joke going for some time, and I had fabricated a bit of a backstory. So I explain to her that I left when I was 7, that I was born to white, South African missionaries who were on a mission trip in Chad when I was unexpectedly born (oops), forcing them to stay in the country to raise me, and that the reason I came to the US was because Chad was a dangerous country and my parents felt that the only way for me to grow up safely was to send me away to the country of freedom and liberty. (Think Superman: parents send child away from dying planet to save him) Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds. So did all of my classmates. But Mrs. G, no, Mrs. G loved that story. And so she went on to say that she thought it was "very nice that I was born in such a foreign country," and then she moved on to the next student. Over the next month or so, class went on as normal. Mrs. G would sometimes refer to me as "the Little Chadian," but other than that, Chad was never talked about. I always assumed she was just playing along because she liked the effort I put into my origin story. But then, sometime in November, parent-teacher conferences roll around. And my mom, who always goes to conferences, talks to Mrs. G. Mrs. G is, for some reason, super excited to talk to my mom. She introduces herself and goes "Now it's my understanding that you're Mike's mom? I think it is SO cool that he was born in Chad!" My mother then has to explain to this poor woman that I am, in fact, not at all African, or Chadian, or anything like that, and that for the past two months she had fallen victim to a (relatively) elaborate joke. Needless to say, Mrs. G was really disappointed to learn that I wasn't from Chad. But she still really liked me as a student, so I guess it sorta worked out? Now at the beginning of every year, she tells all of her new classes "Now do any of you know that Michael boy? If he tells you he's from Chad, DO NOT believe him! He's a liar!" So she kinda blows my cover to all of the incoming freshmen, but it's still fun to joke around with it. And some people even call me Chad. So yeah. The end lol