Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Chapter 7: Immigration Tango

I love how Maryam describes her ambivalence about giving up her Iranian citizenship to become an American citizen as the Immigration Tango. While I imagine many people experience the same feelings, do you think it was harder for Maryam to give up her status as a "foreigner"? I get the sense that she enjoys some aspects of being an "outsider". But would people still think of her as a foreigner even though she had an American passport?
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3 comments:

  1. MacarenaApril 13, 2009 at 5:50 PM

    I like how she describes that ambivalence too. It sounds so honest.
    I also feel that she likes some aspects of her status as a “foreigner”. Maybe because it provides her some reason and explanation (and even an excuse) for her feelings of not understanding, fitting, or belonging. Although as Jennifer has commented in the ‘one hundred percent American” post, I believe those feelings are more a human kind issue than a nationality issue.
    I guess a passport does not mean a lot if you behave as a foreigner and if you feel that you are a foreigner. I wonder if instead of feeling from one country or another, you can feel that you belong to both.

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  2. JenniferApril 15, 2009 at 6:10 PM

    I think you've tapped into an important idea. Of course other people may identify or label you as a foreigner. But that doesn't mean you have to think of yourself that way. I also think the Immigration Tango is one more way for Maryam to avoid making a commitment, to a country or to a person.

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  3. MacarenaApril 16, 2009 at 10:34 PM

    Yes, I also feel that she has some feelings about committing herself. I am still trying to figure out if it is fear, distrust, insecurity, superiority complex…

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