Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Otarakan is Born

The Perpetual Foreigner

Welcome to my blog. You will soon see that I enjoy writing about my personal struggle with my Armenian identity and my American upbringing and environment. I was born into a Diaspora which was created by the Armenian Genocide, yet was not raised as an Armenian. Growing up I always felt that something was missing. Reconciling my identity as an Armenian has been a major help in filling that void. Going from an American mutt (I also have German, Irish, Norwegian and Native American ancestry) from the cornfields of Michigan to marrying a girl from Yerevan, having two kids whose first language is Armenian and spending every spare vacation day in the Republic of Armenia has been a wild ride for me and I love it. Life is an adventure, you meet people along the way, some good, some bad, some who help you and some you can help, but learning along the way never ends.

What does the future hold for me? I don't know but I feel a strong magnetic pull towards Armenia. I know there is some very good work being done there, and I want to help continue that work, so it's a matter of time but I will get there as long as the desire continues to burn. Regardless of all this, I will remain in a perpetual struggle as a foreigner (Otar) no matter where I am. The reason being that in the Diaspora don't identify and feel myself to be a foreigner and in the Motherland I do identify but natives view me as a foreigner, even I myself feel the same with regards to mentality. This is a struggle that will evolve over time, but will probably never cease to exist, so my experiences will be chronicled here and I hope my readers enjoy.
Now - to the posting...