Feeling Like A Space Alien in Turkey

But it didn't last long. A common experience for almost all expats

Bug-eyed fourth-graders looked at me like I was a space alien. “You are not Muslim?” they asked repeatedly. No, I said, I am a Christian. Their eyes grew bigger, their mouths agape. They touched their hands to their faces, saying “Oooooh.” In a country that is more than 95 percent Muslim or secular, I was an anomaly and a curiosity.

A similar reaction of astonishment might occur in the American