Here’s one for the kids – nothing to do with being a TCK, but just ‘cos it’s fun and I feel like posting it!
Monster-Man
Last night, when I went to bed,
I really did try
to tell my Dad the awful truth –
I hoped he wouldn’t cry.
‘Dad,’ I said, ‘A monster lives
underneath my bed!’
‘Oh!’ he said, and flicked [...]
An eye-opening visit to Taal Volcano and Lake Taal taught this Third Culture Kid that culture shock can hit anywhere – anytime.
Memories, you say? Well, I have plenty. But they are mixed up and out of focus.
Besides, they aren’t all for public viewing. Like the one of the verandah bordered by leafy trees where the teachers used to gossip. This was the scene of a childhood misdemeanor, and one of the few times my father punished [...]
Warning: I am mounting my little soap-box. If you have strong views on Christmas, you may find this post objectionable!
My childhood Christmases below the Sahara were low-key. Four people singing carols around a tiny Casio keyboard. A small prayer-time. Eating my mother’s ‘paal-choru’ (milk rice). Exchanging visits with expatriate neighbours, mostly non-Christian. Hardly any Christmas [...]
I have been re-reading the TCK book. Tonight, this bit of the TCK definition from Interaction International’s ‘The TCK Profile’ struck me afresh:
‘The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.’
‘Nuff said.
For those who didn’t know, the TCK book is ‘Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up [...]
Edit 2010-jul-03: I have just stumbled upon the fact that there really is a documented Sleeping Beauty Syndrome (also called Kleine-Levin Syndrome). My article, of course, has nothing to do with this known medical phenomenon, and everything to do with the fairy-tale – of sorts.
Did you ever wonder how that young lady with the damaged [...]
I just had an experience where I probably annoyed someone. You see, I behaved in a possibly culturally inappropriate way. What I did, in a Sri Lankan setting, would have been friendly. In Australia however, it could have been interpreted as being pushy.
If what I did was culturally inappropriate, the victim of my faux pas [...]
Last Monday I was special
fine hair
fair skin
I wished they wouldn’t touch, stare
my mother made beautiful clothes
with patterns from overseas.
That wasn’t home.
Today I am not special
plain hair
mottled skin
now I wish they’d look in my eyes
my mother makes outmoded clothes
with patterns ten years old.
Where is home?
© 2008 S D Haydon
This poem is about cultural transition, re-entry, [...]
Continue reading about Special (a poem about cultural transition)
While we are on the subject of plane travel, I asked my friend Julia, who is an experienced globe-trotter and calls herself a ’sort of third culture kid’, whether she had any interesting plane stories. She responded:
My favourite story is flying home from Quetta to Islamabad in a Fokker Friendship (Quetta is the Wild West [...]
How reliable are memories?
Africa
empty sky
dun earth
plain dwellings
few chairs
broken cars
hot sun
dusty cities
picked pockets
Africa
timeless space
rolling plains
shining faces
cheerful voices
jewel clothes
open arms
fragrant stew
fading memories
© 2008 S D Haydon
Acknowledgment is made of the assistance received as an Adelaide Centre for the Arts TAFE SA student in developing this poem.
