• It was the year 2015. I was about to start a new chapter in my life by attending a college in a city and in a country I have never been to before. One week before this big transition, I paid my goodbyes to family and friends. I received many kisses, warm hugs, and some souvenirs to take with me to New York. One of them was this beautiful coffee cup set that I have received from my grandma. It was a handmade ceramic set with a brushstroke pattern and it was thin as paper. I first didn't trust myself to take it with me. It looked so fragile and I was afraid something might happen to it on the road. Then, as I was holding the cup for the first time, my grandmother told me to consider this piece as a lucky charm. She wished me to have joyful cups of coffee with these pieces. She informed me by having a set instead of a single one would keep me company. She told me that it would be easier for me to imagine at times when we couldn't be together, she would be drinking from the other cup as I was having mine and I would have company. Now, I knew to take this piece with me no matter what. I remember gently wrapping back the set to put it in my luggage ready to take with me on this long journey. To this day, every Tuesday at 11 am EST I make a phone call to my grandma. The clock will be showing at 5 pm in Istanbul. She will pick up the phone and while we are on the phone we will prepare our coffee together. We will chat about our daily routines and share any news. I would be pouring my coffee into the cup she gave me and she would be having her's miles away.         

– Naz Ertugrul

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant