Karşilama! Accueil! Willkommen! Ласкаво просимо! Bine ai venit! and Benvenuto!

Karşilama! Accueil! Willkommen! Ласкаво просимо! Bine ai venit! and Benvenuto!

I wanted to look up all of these ways of saying 'welcome' in Turkish, French, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, and Italian. Why? Because after checking the statistics for Suzenyms for some time, these are the countries (other than the US and Canada) that visit the blog most often. So welcome, and thank you!

To tell you the truth, I'm a little surprised by all the attention the blog seems to be getting from you people in Turkey. At first, I wondered if it had something to do with my trip last April to Istanbul. (I love, love, love your city!) My thoughts spiraled off into all sorts of strange directions, including wondering if I were being followed by the Turkish authorities, but no, I think maybe you just like what I am doing here, so ‘karşilama’ and ‘teşekkür ederim’ to you! This week, Turkish followers outweighed even those from the US and my own home country of Canada, by a whopping 50%. It is surprising, but I feel a connection. Thank you, Turkey.

Looking across the Black Sea, attention from Ukraine has also been unexpected. Is it because I may be related to Ivan Franko (on my mother's side), the Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, or do all of you just like my ABC's? I must tell you, I have been very concerned about what is going on your country. I sympathize more than you know. I think of you often, and I wish you peace.

I also appreciate the number of views I've been getting from France, Germany, Romania, Great Britain, Italy, and elsewhere in Europe, as well as from China, Japan, and Australia. Over the past month, the posts receiving the most attention have been about On Spec's lack of continued funding from the Canada Council, the magazine's call for submissions (we are currently open now to October 31st for both the Punk theme and regular issues. Please note: we have a new website - this link will take you there), several of my essays on writing, my book reviews for both The Tattooed Witch and The Tattooed Seer, and of course, the ABC's. 

I will continue to provide what I hope you will find interesting. No matter where you live across the globe, thanks for your support. If you have purchased a copy of The Tattooed Witch or The Tattooed Seer, thank you doubly for that. My success is because of you, your endorsements of this blog, and my books. Thank you.

- Susan.