Most of the people I would associate with outside of school were ethnic Russians, and all my friends at school had foreign parents. Whenever I was outside of my Russian circle, especially at school, I always felt that I was different from my peers. As I got older, American culture started having a heavier influence on me, especially after making friends with parents who lived in the US for generations. My identity crisis occurred when I was thirteen and travelled for the fifth time to Russia. Now in Russia I was ‘the American.” Vendors, relatives, and friends all had trouble understanding me. I now had an English accent when I spoke Russian, and lacked age appropriate Russian vocabulary. The new friends I made that summer all immediately called me the "American kid" based on the way I dressed and spoke. Sitting one night on the steps of a Russian apartment, I thought about how in America I was known as the "Russian kid" and how in Russia I'm now the "American kid". I thought about my whole life and had a moment of realization about my dual identity. And this dual identity changed how I looked and perceived the world for the rest of my
Most of the people I would associate with outside of school were ethnic Russians, and all my friends at school had foreign parents. Whenever I was outside of my Russian circle, especially at school, I always felt that I was different from my peers. As I got older, American culture started having a heavier influence on me, especially after making friends with parents who lived in the US for generations. My identity crisis occurred when I was thirteen and travelled for the fifth time to Russia. Now in Russia I was ‘the American.” Vendors, relatives, and friends all had trouble understanding me. I now had an English accent when I spoke Russian, and lacked age appropriate Russian vocabulary. The new friends I made that summer all immediately called me the "American kid" based on the way I dressed and spoke. Sitting one night on the steps of a Russian apartment, I thought about how in America I was known as the "Russian kid" and how in Russia I'm now the "American kid". I thought about my whole life and had a moment of realization about my dual identity. And this dual identity changed how I looked and perceived the world for the rest of my