When people call me American, I correct them and say Californian

Admit it. When you're traveling overseas, and people ask you where you're from, you never refer to the U S of A, rather, you proudly note that you are from California.

When people say American, they are usually thinking of someone from the Midwest--an area of the country I like to call "Mrrrica" named for the country the people think they are living in. California is a lot different. It is not Mrrrica. And Californians who have traveled around the country understand this.