Between Two Cultures

I walk along the edge of reason

Betray my homeland, feels like treason

I try to find my place and fail;

Seek my true self beneath this veil.


I wander through this foreign land, 
Feeling small as a grain of sand,
Filled with doubt and hope and fear, 
And cling to what I hold so dear.


My homeland comes along with me,
Warning, begging, makes its plea,
'Be careful not to stray to far,
lest you forget who you truly are.'


But never farther from home am I,
than when I keep that place on a pedestal high,
It shifts and changes in my mind,
polished, perfect and refined.


And then I carve a home away, 
A place from which I cannot stray.
To which home then must I be true? 
To both or neither; just passing through. 

I live between two worlds apart

And each of them lives in my heart.

But who I am is not defined

From whence I come, as in designed

Who I am is yet to be

Shaped and molded by what I see.

Where I belong is in this place,

Inside my mind, which forms this space.

When will I find serenity?

When, first I know my identity.

-Krystal Rodrigues

22 September 2010

100921 . Expansion of initial idea

What are the implications of immigration and identity? Through immigration, displacement occurs, followed by uncertainty, a sense of not belonging, and an instinctive move to cling to what we have left behind. We essentially carry our culture and background with us and transplant it into our new lives as a means of preserving an old identity that no longer exists. At the same time, we are seeking our new identity in the context of the new place. The goal of the journey is ultimately, reconciliation of old self and new self in the discovery of a new cultural identity.

100917. Thesis Idea

What happens at the 'space between cultures'? Cultural and ethnic groups gather throughout the city and  we experience the shift from one cultural district to another. How do we define this edge and what does it become?