I wrote the pseudo-poem in blue below during a particularly dark mood. I think the darkness brought to surface questions that go on deep inside me about who I am. In that moment, I decided that I wouldn’t make my children TCKs (how long that decision will last, time only will tell )
This constant [...]
Which kind of TCK were you? Were you one that sunk yourself into every culture that you lived in. Or, like me, did you see the sojourn in your host culture as a mere interruption in real life?
This post is about regrets that come when I realised my Nigerian sojourn was, and is, an intrinsic part of my life.
To write or not to write honestly when times are tough?
Just linking to Widsith’s article on abuse and TCKs. You can find it at http://widsith.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/all-gods-children-writing-and-watching/.
It should be stressed that this is not what happened to all children at all boarding schools. Perhaps not even to the majority. My understanding is that it is difficult to collect statistics on this. But it did happen to many.
Bottom [...]
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 [...]
I thought I had all the puzzle pieces, and then I went ‘home‘.
That place is one of many I call, to some extent, by that name.
When I went to that home, I discovered that perhaps not all of who I am, what I think, and how I feel, are because I am a TCK.
I am [...]
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 [...]
A discussion of the term ‘Cross-Cultural Kids’
Continue reading about What if I am not a TCK, but feel like one?
