Hello ! I am Maria Anne Fitzgerald and this is my research blog.  I am presently a research scholar in geography and an emerging feminist geographer by practice. My blog is an accompaniment of my PhD research study. 
 
I started my blog with the idea of wanting to share my story - the story of being born into a cross-cultural family. Its a story I know that will have some connection with yours. Maybe you're wearing similar shoes or you know someone who is, or unconsciously, even mistakenly passed a remark about someone who has got them on. Growing up as a child, there were tendencies to find comfort in the 'exactness' of things. As I grew older, I very eagerly even tried to solve my own life's verbal equation - 'Where exactly are you from ?' and more crassly, 'Who exactly are you ?'. There grew a feeling of uneasiness.  After repeated attempts of trying to solve my answer, I realized -NO, there's nothing wrong with me. It's just been unsettling for them to print my answer. And so I resorted to 'makingspace'.   

'makingspace' is a  collaborative blog that shares unique stories and experiences of being born into and brought up in cross-cultural parentage. It also highlights cultural experiences of moving to and 'fitting' in a new place, city, or region. The purpose of the blog is to connect with people who have similar stories, to be inspired by these stories and to be comforted in the idea that there are many others who occupy a similar cultural location. Apart from including my own stories, the blog also shares stories of people who have experienced some aspect of being and living cross-cultural. You are welcomed to share your experiences on the blog through a write up of about 500 words which can be emailed to themakingspaceblog@gmail.com