How I became a Third Culture Kid

My life changed forever when I was five.

Memories of that time are patchy. Being told we were going to live in Africa for a while. Being scared of planes – everyone said they would be noisy. Being worried that I wouldn’t know enough English to get by.

That was the beginning of my transformation into a TCK. Yet another three-letter acronym?

Wikipedia says, ‘Third Culture Kids (abbreviated TCKs or 3CKs) (aka. Global Nomad) “refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture”… Sponsors are generally broken down into five categories: Missionary (17%), Business (16%), Government (23%), Military (30%), and “Other” (14%).’

When these children return to their passport (or birth) culture they often experience reverse culture shock, because their frames of reference are different from that of their non-TCK peers.

TCKs are adaptable. One eats with one’s hands in Pakistan, with chop-sticks in China. And it’s still food. One doesn’t have to decorate and fit-out a baby’s room when expecting one’s first child. While they do in Australia, they don’t in the Sudan.

TCKs often have soft hearts for the nations. They have the potential to understand international affairs better than non-TCKs, simply because they have lived in other countries.

They will often love and relate to people regardless of skin-colour. They know that people have the same needs and feelings all around the world.

TCKs dig deep. They often cannot be defined by what they own or who they hang out with. These things are constantly stripped from them as they move from one culture to another. They have to dig deep to find out who they really are.

My mother speaks fondly of the place of her childhood. To her it is beautiful: full of laughter, friends, and family. Ultimately home is about the people we identify it with. But its very stones can reflect those personalities, leaving us longing for that one special place, wherever we go.

I do not have such a place.

TCKs learn quickly that home is not a physical place. It is, literally, where the heart is.

Being a TCK has been the most significant formative experience of my life. I will post here about my experiences as a third culture kid, and also review some relevant sites and resources.

My opinions and experiences are not universal to third culture kids. I would love to hear of other TCK experiences. So, if you are one, or know of someone who is, please comment on the articles here.

Thank you!

(Read more about the TCK phenomenon and Dr Ruth Hill Useem who first coined the term at Wikipedia)

Tags: Africa, Dr Ruth Hill Useem, reverse culture shock