I'm a man without a country and that weighs heavy on my mind. It sucks to not be able to feel proud of where I come from anymore
Where you came from is your past. Where you came from is your family. You can still be proud of that.
A country (or a nation, if you like) means nothing. It is just a political line on a map.
You can not be proud of things where you have no influence. You can be satisfied or even happy that they are there, but you can not be proud of them.
You're quite right about that and thank you for reminding me.
The answer that they give is always that it does not matter, so why ask the question in the first place?
My answer would be that it does matter but, I wish it didn't.
In my experience I have only been able to form close friendships with other expat Americans that share a similar belief system and set of values as me. That has not been for lack of trying either. I have acquaintances and colleagues from all over the world and, despite being quite well traveled when I arrived, being around them has taught me more than I ever imagined about how little I know of the world and other cultures. Despite this learning, debate and exchange of ideals, which definitely is a bonding experience, if I was in trouble and needed real help the call would go out to a fellow countryman. It's something that the vast majority of expats I know also experience and agree with me on.
With all the weirdoes and sickos that come here for all the wrong reasons, like Mr. AC troll above, you become very careful and selective about who you make friends with. That may be more of an issue for Thailand than other countries but I'm in touch with a lot of expats in other countries too and it definitely is a factor everywhere. Also, people come and go a lot so one must prioritize who they put the time in with to form close friendships.
It may be possible for where you come from to not matter when you're on holiday or for casual friendships and acquaintances but when it comes to making real, long-term, friendships it does come into play.
One thing that is much better here than in the US is that never is the first question from someone you just meet, "So, what do you do?" and I'll take "Where do you come from?" over that one any day.
Thanks for your reply, I have a feeling that you're the kind of person I could be good friends with. :)