The Accidental Immigrant

From the Author Having spent nearly ten years writing my memoirs, originally in Polish, I hope that with this English edition they will reach a wider circle of readers. They span more than eighty years of turbulent world historyand when is such history not turbulent?--and include details which may not be familiar to many readers. Those acquainted with the epoch I am describing may wander, before picking up the book, whether it is yet another retelling of an often described drama, the subject already of myriad historical classics. I would say, yes, but it is a retelling with a twist. This book is, above all, a tale of exceptional good fortune, which, in contrast to the experiences of many others of my generation, has been my oddly lucky lot. I have lived on the edge of a precipice, yet have somehow managed to miss the worst fate. I have been steps away from death, a refugee fleeing deportation, starvation, and death camps. While fighting on two fronts during World War II, I had been shot at innumerable times; while in combat, I have without a doubt caused the death of others. After the wars end, living under a Soviet-imposed communist regime, I was spared torture and prison. And I did not choose emigration, but circumstances forced meand my wife and daughterto accept it. Luckily, we found ourselves in Americaland of promise. Ironically, however, we arrived here during a difficult period of social upheaval and racial unrest. Political conflict, assassinations, bombings, and the tragedy of an interventionist war in Indochina formed the backdrop of our new life in our adopted country. Later, working in the Middle East, I witnessed the early seeds of the conflict that now besieges us all. Looking back, I can hardly believe that through it all my luck held out, and that I was able to write my memoirs in the peace and quiet of my own home. And I trust that you will enjoy reading them--the story of an incorrigible optimist.

The Accidental Immigrant is the story of a middle-aged American woman who travels south of the border to recuperate from multiple traumas, only to discover that her entire net worth is $181.00 dollars. Although she has traveled widely, she has never been to Mexico; although she is multilingual, she knows only two Spanish words. With no home to return to, she decides to stay-relying on her wits, the barter system, divine intervention, and the kindness of strangers. The product of a six-year private girls' school, she learned to bend the rules without incurring punishment; a fearless traveler during the Cold War pre-terrorism days, she aided people in the Eastern Bloc by temporarily changing her identity. Jobs dropped into her lap, either because she was athletic or because she was good with languages, especially her own, This mini-memoir chronicles the author's adventures in Mexico over the last twenty years, with glimpses into a past that define her character and personality. With degrees in news-editorial journalism, international relations, mass communication, and cross-cultural sociology, she is well-equipped to share her insights into Mexican life and culture. And because her second husband wanted to become a Mexican citizen, she helped him study for a test whose questions changed every four months, turning her into a treasure trove of trivia, until his sudden death drove her from San Miguel de Allende to heal in the sun, sand, and sea on the Pacific Coast. Inevitably, people will ask her where she is from, as well as when and why she moved to Mexico. Her stock reply: "It's a really long story. I'm a United States citizen but a Mexican in my heart. I arrived on a tourist visa early in 2002, with no plans to stay. Since I never actually moved here, I call myself 'The Accidental Immigrant.'"

Transatlantic humorist David Bouchier brings wit, wisdom and a touch of philosophy to the everyday dramas of American suburban life. This book brings together more than a hundred essays, originally broadcast on National Public Radio, or published in his Out of Order column in the Sunday New York Times. When work and marriage brought David Bouchier to Long Island in 1986 the endless suburbs seemed mysterious and exotic to him. He was inspired to begin writing essays and newspaper columns about his life there - a personal and public diary of the Resident Alien experience. In 1992 a weekly public radio essay was added to the newspaper columns, and thousands of listeners still enjoy David's weekly radio broadcasts. These are the affectionate and sometimes acerbic observations of an Accidental Immigrant, who still finds life in America endlessly stimulating and wonderfully strange. David Bouchier's thoughts about love, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the suburbs will make you smile, and make you think. Boring suburban rituals like lawn care mall shopping, wedding rehearsals, and barbecues will never seem the same again.

This book is Professor Markides’s capstone work. It addresses his valiant and often turbulent struggles and riveting adventures to adapt to American society within the bounds of contemporary hyper secular academia. The result is an intellectual and spiritual odyssey that can inspire any reader interested in addressing life’s perennial questions.

"The Accidental American" vividly illustrates the challenges and contradictions of U.S. immigration policy, and argues that, just as there is a free flow of capital in the world economy, there should be a free flow of labor.

This book is Professor Markides's capstone work. It addresses his valiant and often turbulent struggles and riveting adventures to adapt to American society within the bounds of contemporary hyper secular academia. The result is an intellectual and spiritual odyssey that can i...

The effect of immigration on individual lives is not short lived. Those who stay in an adopted country permanently go through a continual process of adjustment and learning both about their new country-and about themselves. The four women profiled in Carol Kelley's poignant Accidental Immigrants and the Search for Home challenge immigrant stereotypes as their lives are transformed by moving to new countries for reasons of marriage, education, or career--not economics or politics. The intimate stories of these "accidental" immigrants broaden conventional notions of home. From a Maori woman who moves to Norway to the daughter of an Iranian diplomat now living in France, Kelley weaves together these stories of the personal and emotional effects of immigration with interdisciplinary discussions drawn from anthropology and psychology. Ultimately, she reveals how the lifelong process of immigration affects each woman's sense of identity and belonging and contributes to better understanding today's globalized society.

This book tells the story of modern immigration through the life of Fekkak Mamdouh, an ordinary, if somewhat fortunate, immigrant who found himself at the center of historic events. Situations like his have given rise to a contentious debate across the United States about immigration and the purpose of contemporary policy. Politicians, media pun...