This photo shows a piece of home: bukhoor, fragrant wood chips burned for its beautiful scent in an incense burner. To someone else, it might look like it’s just for decoration, but for me it holds generations of memory. The practice of burning bukhoor continues from my family in Egypt to me in the United States. The scented wood chips serve as a weekly tradition during Islamic celebrations of Fridays and special occasions including Eid and when we welcome visitors to our home. The United States immigration journey of my parents brought them both benefits and cultural and religious challenges. The video on sociological imagination explains how personal experiences develop through the broader social environment of migration because immigrants must learn new social norms while maintaining their cultural heritage. Having lived part of my childhood in Egypt, the scent of bukhoor transports me back during times when I miss home. The fragrance of bukhoor brings me back to Egypt while creating a sensory connection to my homeland where everything seemed familiar. These objects function beyond their functional role because they transmit personal histories and cultural heritage which live past us. The scent of bukhoor serves as my sacred connection between past and present because it links me to my heritage while establishing my roots in this new land.  

– ZS

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant