Expat. Immigrant. Assimilant.

American culture
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This American resident of Istanbul with Turkish citizenship may be fluent in Turkish but she can’t describe herself in any language.

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Hitch-hiking inheritances: the trust culture between strangers

American culture

What did hitch-hiking mean to your family and how did it affect your practices when you reached adulthood?

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No 40 years of friendship: the mass market distorts traditional hospitality

American culture
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Tourists in Istanbul’s shopping Mecca have been so traumatized they can no longer distinguish an invitation from an inquisition.

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The customer is sometimes wrong: the trouble with globalized markets

American culture
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Buy locally, think globally is a concept still tough to grasp. I’d rather wait to sell mine to someone who cares about supporting the local makers.

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Reconciling me: a cultural chameleon merges old and new

American culture
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Never mind assimilation. When I moved to the Netherlands, I was all about chameleon-ism. I couldn’t look or act or sound American, or lead anyone to believe that I might be the slightest bit American.

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Out of the box: the lure of the wider world

American culture
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For nineteen years Elizabeth Briel was locked in a metaphorical box — first by others, and later by herself – unable to see an alternative to what surrounded her.

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Rolling stone: how are you shaped by the places you’ve been?

American culture
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If nowhere in the world is home, all the world is home. Happy syllogism or rootless predicament?

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Awkward greetings: the intercultural social dance

American culture
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Trying to assimilate to the greeting norms of another culture leaves us bumping heads and stepping on toes.

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