tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post4890671300780119343..comments2023-10-20T13:36:38.807+05:30Comments on Scribbly Katia: Third Culture KidsKatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-59218356627457420442008-01-17T14:19:00.000+05:302008-01-17T14:19:00.000+05:30Katia,Being a world citizen is wonderful for all r...Katia,<BR/>Being a world citizen is wonderful for all reasons we know but it does teach you not to get attached to people as one day they go or you go and for children, it is heartbreaking ,and, no matter how much the adult explains, the child suffers,misses his friends ,his school his habits,his house,his marks.......<BR/>It is not so easy to start all over again in a new country for a child although she/he appears more resilient<BR/>The topic is interesting as it does affect people in a different way.<BR/>DominiqueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-81895420997411624952008-01-10T16:28:00.000+05:302008-01-10T16:28:00.000+05:30Lynn, thanks for taking the time to write this to ...Lynn, thanks for taking the time to write this to me. I'm not surprised at all by what you describe. Have you read Third Culture Kids by David Pollock? If you haven't, try to get your hands on it - I could lend it to you, if you'd like. Actually, Jamie would probably be interested to read it as well. According to the studies done so far, teenagers are the ones who suffer the most. On the other hand, they develop this global feeling and awareness, and often go on to have very international careers and lives. It's very interesting. And I totally understand that he would prefer to be with other international kids than with British teenagers who never left UK. What could they possibly talk about? They don't have the same references, etc, etc.Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-50200358189781959062008-01-10T16:24:00.000+05:302008-01-10T16:24:00.000+05:30Hi KatiaMany thanks for sharing this blog with me!...Hi Katia<BR/><BR/>Many thanks for sharing this blog with me!<BR/><BR/>Just thought you might be interested to know the experience of a teenager (now 17). Jamie has lived out of UK since he was 9, and the strangest thing is that he feels he has no roots. He certainly has no desire to return to live in the UK. During the past year we have been considering university courses , and he has certainly taken a global perspective in choice of location - something we parents would have only dreamed of doing! Again, with no desire to return to the UK, it looks as if Australia or the US hold more appeal. Perhaps it is the need to feel he is still part of the international community-he certainly enjoys mixing with kids from different cultures and countries, and feels more at home with them than with British kids his own age. I often hear the comment, when back in UK visiting friends and family, that he doesn't "fit in" there any more. <BR/><BR/>As for the sadness at having to say goodbye to current friends at ISH- I think it will hit him hard next June,when we finally leave Hyderabad once he has completed his IB diploma. He has already said farewell to many friends during his 4 years here,but still keeps in touch with a fair number who visit Hyderabad regularly.However, when we leave in June we are unlikely to return, so email will become more important I suppose, plus the possibility of meeting old friends elsewhere in the world. It will be especially difficult next year when he has to say goodbye to his first girlfriend! I guess we all have to move on and readjust, but it certainly doesn't get easier as children grow up! <BR/><BR/>Look forward to reading more of your blog in 2008! Good luck with the book!<BR/>Best wishes, and merry Christmas!<BR/><BR/>LynnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-19101453751735158272007-12-20T10:59:00.000+05:302007-12-20T10:59:00.000+05:30Hello Rilla ! I'm not sure I agree with you. Defin...Hello Rilla ! I'm not sure I agree with you. Definitions are useful, if only to show how restrictive they can be. Besides, a definition or a concept - like the TCKs - can evolve. Nowadays, the TCks also include first generation immigrants and children of refugees. It's not rigid. Most of the things on that list also apply to me, and I'm not really a TCK. It doesn't matter. I posted the definition for those out there who may not be familiar with the concept of TCK. And then, all the statements were funny. As for praising mobility, there also, sure, it's a wonderful thing, but let's not forget that there is a high price to pay. The whole point of this discussion is to highlight what's good and even great about being a global nomad, but also what's very hard. Because there are shadows, and the best way to deal with shadows is to shine light on them, not to ignore them or declare they don't exist. Well, that's how I feel, anyway ;)Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-10361429562992448852007-12-20T03:29:00.000+05:302007-12-20T03:29:00.000+05:30Hey Katia,TCK's... where do I start? Here it is. A...Hey Katia,<BR/>TCK's... where do I start? Here it is. Another box to define the undefinable. I read through your list and 99% of those things apply to me and yet, the basic definition doesn't. That's what I hate about definitions. The whole idea is to give a home to those who don't fit other restrictive definitions, but you end up with such a restrictive definintion that you don't solve anything. <BR/>So let's stop wasting time creating definitions that do not fit and simply discuss symptoms and how to help. ;0<BR/>And now I'll take a deep breath and say again... there's nothing quite like the vagabond life. It is interesting, educational, mind-broadening and ultimately leads to diplomacy and discussion versus argument and war. Is it any surprise that the current president of this nationalistic, warmongering regime has never lived outside of the country.rilla jaggiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259015787424108654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-44255008299000737932007-12-18T21:49:00.000+05:302007-12-18T21:49:00.000+05:30Hi Global Gang Chica, are YOU who I think that you...Hi Global Gang Chica, are YOU who I think that you are :)) I never got the feeling that you had to have moved around a lot to be a TCK. Missionary kids were among the first children to be considered as TCKs, and often they spent their entire childhood in only one other country than their passport country. Also, TCKs now include children of first generation immigrants and refugee kids. These children don't move around necessarily. That said, the global gang concept is fun :)Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-71342129786346064592007-12-18T21:37:00.000+05:302007-12-18T21:37:00.000+05:30I have been using a term for some time now that re...I have been using a term for some time now that refers in part to what they coin TCK. However, the Third Culture Kid definition closes out people who although they have lived a significant part of their lives outside of their parent's culture haven't not had high mobility in their lives. <BR/><BR/>I like to call people who are multicultural because they have lived in different places and integrated various cultures to form their own "the global gang" people. These people slip in and out of countries and cultures and seem to blend in everywhere. Their passports identify them with one nation and sometimes their birth certificates with another. Usually their own culture is a hodge podge of different cultural elements. Also, the languages they speak express their varied world representations. As my 8 year old son said recently quite amused at himself: "Donne moi, un poco of soda, tanpri" (French/Spanish/English/Creole).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-52072354792969122742007-12-18T20:36:00.000+05:302007-12-18T20:36:00.000+05:30You made me want to write about that on my blog ! ...You made me want to write about that on my blog ! :-) One of those days ;-)<BR/>It will make me think about the fact I don't want my kids to live the life I had although my father wasn't really an expat...<BR/>Très philosophique, tout ça ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-25041252453956538522007-12-18T17:15:00.000+05:302007-12-18T17:15:00.000+05:30Hello Suzanne,My daughter is a bit like your son. ...Hello Suzanne,<BR/>My daughter is a bit like your son. She's never lived in France, and we didn't even have a house there before last summer, and even though she's half Haitian, she invariably says she's French. Maybe because I spend more time with her than her dad, and I brainwash her more :) I also think that kids with multiple backgrounds tend to choose one standard answer for people who ask the question without really listening to the answer. If the person seems interested, or asks more questions, then, they'll disclose the whole information. It's easier that way. That said, there is also the exotic factor. As a child living in France, whenever I was asked where I came from, I said I was Spanish. But when in Spain, I said I was French. I always felt different, wherever I went, and in the end, maybe I even liked it. Confusing? Probably. Interesting? Definitely.Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-78537203297044327202007-12-18T16:57:00.000+05:302007-12-18T16:57:00.000+05:30Hi Jo Ann, I like the comment :"I am not sure I wa...Hi Jo Ann, I like the comment :"I am not sure I want for my kids what I had although I love my life just the way it is." I understand what you mean, even though it does sound kind of twisted, right ? :) You know what you went through, you know what you can deal with, and so, you're ok, because you've probably cut your losses and made the best of it and can now enjoy all the perks of being such an international person, if feeling a bit uprooted. Does that mean you'd wish your kids to go through the same process? Not sure, right ?Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423190518569699882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-84360576428433138392007-12-18T16:49:00.000+05:302007-12-18T16:49:00.000+05:30I laughed at the second point about speaking two l...I laughed at the second point about speaking two languages but not being able to spell in them. My son's kind of like that. Although he's lived in the same area in Japan all his life (8 years) he didn't really start speaking Japanese till he was three.<BR/><BR/>Kids here ask him where he is from, and he once wrote that he was from America, which isn't really true. Although he has an American mom and an American passport, he doesn't feel completely comfortable in the U.S. But he gets along really well with international kids in Japan. I try to give him lots of opportunities not to feel so different.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33369112.post-44335417282714969652007-12-18T10:28:00.000+05:302007-12-18T10:28:00.000+05:30I agree !Most of my friends are bicultural (parent...I agree !<BR/>Most of my friends are bicultural (parents from different nationalities) or have lived in different countries like myself. When we are like 10, we have 8 different nationalities. But we do get along better than those with whom we share a nationality but not the way of life.<BR/>That's the way it is ;-)<BR/>But I am not sure I want for my kids what I had although I love my life just the way it is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com