Well, hello there. I'm really not the blogger kind of person, but the prospect of having to send out mass e-mails for two years made me cringe. So, I'm going to indulge you with some good old fashioned voyeuristic narcissism. This will be here if you ever want to see what I'm doing.
For those of you who don't know me that well, I grew up abroad. The first fourteen years of my life were spent moving south along the Pacific Rim (from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Singapore), by accident of my dad's profession. This is what makes me a third culture kid.
I suppose I should explain what it means to be a third culture kid (TCK). The official definition is
"a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents' culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the third culture kid's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background, other TCKs." (Pollock & Van Reken)
That's me. While my passport says I'm American, I don't identify with the nationality at all. I don't identify with any nationality. The closest thing I have to one is my identity as a TCK. This is why it irks me so much when someone my age says they've lived abroad, but in actuality they only spent a summer or studied abroad in country X for six months. To me, that's like claiming you're Argentinian when you're really Taiwanese. It may seem ridiculous to you, but it's a belief commonly held by other TCK's.
I'm finally leaving the U.S., onto country number five. Eight years ago, I would have given at least three fingers (from my left hand, of course) to leave the U.S. Well, I'm finally off again! I'm joining the Peace Corps, leaving for Guinea, West Africa (not to be confused with Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea) on December 1st. This should be my most interesting move, partially because I'm guaranteed no electricity or running water, but those aren't my main concerns. This is the first time I'll be moving without my family. It's going to be hard, but I need to start living on my own anyway. Might as well be in Guinea.
For those of you who don't know me that well, I grew up abroad. The first fourteen years of my life were spent moving south along the Pacific Rim (from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Singapore), by accident of my dad's profession. This is what makes me a third culture kid.
I suppose I should explain what it means to be a third culture kid (TCK). The official definition is
"a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents' culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the third culture kid's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background, other TCKs." (Pollock & Van Reken)
That's me. While my passport says I'm American, I don't identify with the nationality at all. I don't identify with any nationality. The closest thing I have to one is my identity as a TCK. This is why it irks me so much when someone my age says they've lived abroad, but in actuality they only spent a summer or studied abroad in country X for six months. To me, that's like claiming you're Argentinian when you're really Taiwanese. It may seem ridiculous to you, but it's a belief commonly held by other TCK's.
I'm finally leaving the U.S., onto country number five. Eight years ago, I would have given at least three fingers (from my left hand, of course) to leave the U.S. Well, I'm finally off again! I'm joining the Peace Corps, leaving for Guinea, West Africa (not to be confused with Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea) on December 1st. This should be my most interesting move, partially because I'm guaranteed no electricity or running water, but those aren't my main concerns. This is the first time I'll be moving without my family. It's going to be hard, but I need to start living on my own anyway. Might as well be in Guinea.
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