January 6, 2002

I'm writing this from Seattle, WA in the USA. Roshan and I moved to the USA in the end of August 2001. Yes, I've been busy since then and haven't had time to finish this project. It has been a very strange few months. Within 2 weeks of our return, the disaster of September 11 occurred. Soon the US became full of fear, shock, depression and then the troops were sent off to fight a war against that hazy enemy, terrorism. These are strange times in the US. Not only has the average American, in a sense, lost his/her inocence (the belief that s/he is loved by the world and will always be safe and cared for), but this prosperous country has slipped into an economic downturn the likes of which hasn't been encountered for quite a while.

It has been a bit of a struggle getting started here but we have been lucky in some ways. First of all, we were fortunate to have arrived before Sept. 11. Secondly, a wonderful couple, Charlie and Muriel, whom neither of us had ever met, welcomed us into their home and helped us out until I found a job and we could get our own apartment. This was especially good of them considering the fear that had begun to seize so many Americans at that time (anthrax and terrorism).

We have also been lucky because none of the anti-Middle Eastern sentiment that we feared, ever materialized. Mostly people have just been curious about Roshan's culture, Iran and Islam. Most people who have asked him about the last subject have probably been disappointed by his lack of info. The main problem R has had here has probably been lack of history in the US. Employers, banks and apartment managers want credit histories, 10 year work histories, references, etc. etc. What are you supposed to do when no one in the country has known you for "several years"!?

Finding employment has been hard but both of us are now working although Roshan's job is far from his field and I'm working in a job that is customer service in the printing industry and not design. We are not getting rich, like everyone abroad is expecting us to. In fact, Seattle is a lot more expensive than it used to be and a lot of people are making less than they used to or are unemployed. I've also realized that my $ bank account in Turkey made better interest than my company sponsored retirement plan and the other banking options here! R and I moved here to "plan for the future". But now I'm not sure that the traditional way of planning for the future will work anymore. We are putting money into Social Security, but will Social Security exist when we are old and need it? We thought that R would find a good high tech job here but almost every high tech person we've met is unemployed! We thought that I would be able to further my career as a designer but I was doing more design in Turkey than I am now. We thought we would make better money here than in Turkey but I was making more as an English teacher there than I am now. Plus we are paying twice the rent. Had we succumbed to the foreigner's American Dream or have things really changed so much?

We both miss Istanbul terribly. It had its problems but life was so raw and beautiful there. We hope that maybe some big company in Kazakhstan will hire Roshan for his language and computer skills. Then I could get a job as an English teacher (maybe doing graphic design on the side). Until then, we'll be here in Seattle, enjoying the nature and the mountains, fighting the mold that grows on the windows from the dampness and raging about the things that Americans rage about: phone companies, taxes, credit cards, insurance rates and traffic. Don't worry, I won't bore you to tears with an online diary about it.

Post-Script II January 31, 2004

I was just reading through the materials here and I wanted to add an update since the previous bit sounded so sad. In 2002, R and I moved to San Diego, CA where he found a job at a software company and found a job doing graphics and production for a publishing company. So, we managed to find work in our fields after all. San Diego is even more expensive than Seattle and so we've given up hope of ever buying a house here. We still miss Istanbul and all our friends and acquaintances there and hope to return. Life goes on and though we may complain about one thing or another, things are going well and we have a lot to be thankful for.