My name is Jonty Yamisha (Емышэ Жанти). I am a second-generation Diaspora Circassian born in San Jose, California, and currently living in the New York City metro area. My parents come from the Golan Heights of Syria. Like many Circassians living in the diaspora, my ancestors left the Caucuses before the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet. I grew up surrounded by my native language, but never truly able to make it my own, and the lack of English-language instruction materials has always been an obstacle to expanding my command of the language.