PART-1: DO WE KNOW WHO WE ARE?
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I know other ethnic groups (the Italians, the Irish, etc.) in the past have all gone through similar experiences as the first or second generation (with first generation allegiances) Turks in the US, as we try to establish our positioning in the American, and the global society, while trying to balance the traditional Turkish cultural values.
I've been in Southern California for 10 years this summer after having lived in New York City for twice as long. I now address NYers as 'those people over there . . .' instead of referring to Californians as 'you people over here . . .' I hope you were able to decipher my point. My English teacher in a Brooklyn high school once told me that as soon as you start dreaming in English instead of your native tongue, you will have mastered the language you adopted. All of this 'assimilation' comes with time, not simply with experience, education, or other human social and cultural conditions.
Here in the US, there are several groupings of Turks or Americans of Turkish descent that I have been able to identify over the years. And they all perceive the American way, as well as their own self-identity at varying degrees indicative of the respective units they are members of. Generally speaking of course, as always, there are exceptions.
Why all this intro for the post I am about to publish later. Well, for one thing, blog readers have the attention span, justifiably and rightly so, of a few seconds that they spend on gazing multiple blogs throughout the day. Of course, similar to the headlines that grab your attention, or a resume among thousands that come across an executive's desk, I wanted to set the mood for those who are now wondering what is yet to come, and pre-warn all the others by giving them ample chance to move on to other exciting 'blog-ventures' for a few days.
Besides, the web is full of blogs that are designed in a 'sitcom' fashion, you know the stars, you know the theme, and you stop by each day to see what will be tackled next. I simply wanted to try a different approach. One that is modeled after cliffhangers made famous by the long running soap operas that have their followers coming back day after day. Addictive isn't it. Maybe I'll call it the 'blog-dictive' approach. Tune in and find out . . .
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