CalicoKat Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Just curious who is a TCK and who is raising TCK's. I'm a TCK. But my kids aren't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 What is a Third Culture Kid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 A third culture kid is someone who was raised in one culture by parents of another culture and end up with their own unique culture - a mixture of the two. I am a TCK. I wonder if my dh could be considered one too - he was an immigrant, raised by immigrants in two different countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I'm raising TCKs. My two oldest were born in the US. We moved to the UK when they were 2yo & 4yo. And my two oldest were born here. But we're all still Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am....my parents were missionaries in West Africa, so I was born in France, came back to the states at about 18 mo old, went back to Africa when I was 10, and lived there till I graduated from High School. I have wonderful memories of those times, but it definitely changes how you view american society, and gives you a more global perspective on life. We were back for a year when I was in 10th grade, and was definitely NOT impressed with typical american teen culture LOL! Course, coming from a 3rd world country, where certain food items were just not available, we got our share of laughs when we would veeeeeery slooooooowwwwly lick and nibble our way through the milky way bar! We definitely appreciated things like electricity, and running water. Grocery stores were a marvel. I genuinely feel blessed to have had that perspective, though. In some ways, I wish my kids could have a little of it, but......well, you can't make everyone's life the same. My oldest dd got a teeny taste last summer when she went down to Mexico to build houses. On the negative side, I think I developed a yearning to stay put at all costs. As an adult, I love living near family, not moving, having things stable. Overall, however, I'm glad I grew up overseas. Kayleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My dh is a TCK and we are raising TCKs (for now). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Husband and I are not a TCKs, but both my parents are (my mother was born and spent her first years in Uganda; my father was evacuated to Canada during the war and spent five dreadful years there) and my children are, although they are back in something resembling their home culture now. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violin69 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 (edited) I'm a CCK raising TCK/CCKs. (A CCK is a cross-cultural kid.) More specifically I am the hidden immigrant (I look like an American but do not always think as one) and product of a bi-cultural marriage. I was raised in the US but my mom was an immigrant to the US from Brazil. Her parents were immigrants to Brazil from Latvia. My dad, an American, was an only child and we had less contact with his family than with my mom's. I visited Brazil as a child, had family from Brazil visiting, and had influence from the Brazilian & Latvian sub-culture in the US. I lived in Brazil as an adult for 2 years and married a Portuguese Brazilian. We are now living in Slovakia. Our dc (dh & I also) jump between 3 worlds while here: the Slovak world, the Brazilian sub-culture, and the English speaking sub-culture. Edited March 13, 2009 by violin69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Just curious who is a TCK and who is raising TCK's. I'm a TCK. But my kids aren't. My kids are definitely TCK. I also find that our experience as global nomad military homeschoolers isolates us from several of the groups we might identify with. There's nothing to stop a conversation on studying the ancients like having your kids describe the differences in Pompei, Herculanum and Ostia. Or having another kid explain that he made a pinewood derby car last year but didn't get to race it because we were in Rome that weekend. (Said 'spaining happening in Ohio) And lots of the internationals we knew didn't really understand the military (ours or their own). And homeschooling definitely puts us as the odd ones out. It is interesting to walk this balancing act all the time. I also found that many of the TCK traits fit me. I switched high schools before senior year (moving from the pacific NW to Texas), went away to college, spent years as a military officer and then years more as a very mobile military spouse. I will find myself craving food from a certain restaurant and realize that it is several states (or countries) away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Husband and I are not a TCKs, but both my parents are (my mother was born and spent her first years in Uganda; my father was evacuated to Canada during the war and spent five dreadful years there) and my children are, although they are back in something resembling their home culture now. Laura Are you updating your blog anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 A third culture kid is someone who was raised in one culture by parents of another culture and end up with their own unique culture - a mixture of the two. I am a TCK. I wonder if my dh could be considered one too - he was an immigrant, raised by immigrants in two different countries. Interesting Fact, not one to debate anything, but did you realize President Obama is a TCK? And alot of his appointments are TCK's too? Just and interesting fact pointed out, nothing more. I hadn't really thought about it before and but it's kinda a duh realization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Just curious who is a TCK and who is raising TCK's. I'm a TCK. But my kids aren't. My folks were missionaries to Congo. I spent 1 year in Switzerland (age 9) and the rest of the time in Congo (10-17). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I'm a TCK/A. My kids will probably carry some traits as I've never really "assimilated". We're working at integrating with a Native American group locally though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Well, we've been here for almost 4 years now, so I think we're in the process of raising 3 TCKs. Would that be right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in Toronto Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My dh is a TCK...born in Syria, raised in Lebanon, university in France, grad school and rest-of-life to date in Canada and US. My father was a TCK..his parents were Jews who emigrated from Russia (now Ukraine). Our boys have lived in Canada and the US, but are very "into" their father's culture in terms of food, music, although they don't speak Arabic. They are proud of their (very) mixed heritage and have a sense of being different from most of their peers. My older son commented that he has the most "global" set of Facebook friends of any of his buddies...cousins and friends all over the world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceandaughter Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I lived in the same town with all of my family for all my life until I was 21. Since then I've lived in 3 different states, in three different climates (4 if you count my home state), and now I live in Wales. My kids are TCK. I think in a lot of ways it can be beneficial. I personally think it is interesting that Obama was a TCK, I'll have to point that out to my kids. They'll think that is cool. (They are tired of me telling them to marry the Obama girls. :D ) I could see where it would give an interesting perspective politically. (I think good interesting, but I can see where others may diasgree.) We are seriously considering staying here permanently. I may start a thread on that later. :) I know it's an invaluable opportunity for my children and I'm so glad we did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Are you updating your blog anymore? See address in my siggy. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I was not a TCK. I was born and bred in Madrid, Spain to Spanish parents (although from two different regions). My husband could be a CCK. He is a minority Tamil from Sri Lanka, who grew up speaking all 3 official languages in his native country. Now I think I can say I am a cross cultural adult though. I moved to the UK when I was 24, married my Sri Lankan husband and 12 years later relocated to the US (East Coast). That was 10 years ago, we are relocating to the West Coast in June. My children are most certainly CCK. They are exposed to my husband's and my native cultures and languages: Spanish, and Sri Lankan (and Indian as part of the Tamil culture). They are living here in the US, so they are living the American culture, and they are also exposed to the British culture where we lived for many years and where my oldest was born. Many of our friends here are expats from many different countries and continents. Our closest friends are a CC family too with several cultures and nationalities (British, Jamaican, Brazilian, French, American) much like our own. Because we are aware of our multiple cultural roots, we have strived to put down roots in one place instead of moving around a lot, we wanted our children to feel that they belong somwhere. We managed that for the ten years we lived in the East coast; now we are moving to the West coast, but we are hoping we can stay there long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am and my kids are too. We are Kurdish from northern Iraq and I have been in the US since I was 1 year old. Its kinda strange cause I'm not really kurdish but I'm not really american. I got married from a guy who grew up in Kurdistan and he moved here so now my kids are kinda going through the same thing. If I had married someone from here I am almost sure my kids would be more american and feel more american. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My adult daughters are TCKs who spent 11 years of their childhoods in Japan. I am not a TCK, but after returning from Japan, it took me about a good 7-8 years before I felt reasonably comfortable in the USA again. Not sure what that makes me, because I am no longer the born & bred American I was for the first 30 years of my life, but neither do I have the same mindset as does a typcial TCK. My son was born in Japan, but we returned to the USA when he was 5.5yo. He is way more American in mindset than his sisters but his palate is still very much Japanese- rice, natto, and miso soup make the perfect lunch for him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I'm a TCK and raising four TCKs, including one we adopted from China a month ago, so he'll have his own type of TCKness. Sophie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) I'm the sort of person who grew up in the same place as their grandparents. However, I am married to a TCK who was raised by TCKs and we are raising our kids as TCKs. It is probably even more complicated than the above but we'll leave it simplified. It makes for many interesting adjustments. It changes our expectations of those around us and it certainly changes people's perceptions of us and can make it difficult to fit with any one group. Thankfully they have friends who are also TCKs and that helps. Homeschooling is certainly an additional culture to add to the mix. PS: Laura--Thanks for the Blog update-I hadn't noticed the switch and had been missing your insights! Edited March 17, 2009 by JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am and my kids are too. We are Kurdish from northern Iraq and I have been in the US since I was 1 year old. Its kinda strange cause I'm not really kurdish but I'm not really american. I got married from a guy who grew up in Kurdistan and he moved here so now my kids are kinda going through the same thing. If I had married someone from here I am almost sure my kids would be more american and feel more american. I'm not so sure about that, Peri! I, an American, married an Indian. We live here next door to you in the south, but because my dc don't really watch TV or listen to pop radio (they prefer classical), they seem to me to be more like TCK than I had imagined. In fact, I would say that many homeschooling kids are TCKs! Honestly, *I* felt like a TCK even though I spent the vast majority of my early life in the USA. I went to a school with a high percentage of internationals and I lived abroad for about 1.5 years as a teen, but that was it. It's all in what you're exposed to and shaped by, I think. :auto: Makin' my own culture in KY! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am a TCK married to a dh who never fit into his original area and now we have 3 TCk children. But like Sebastian, I think that it is different. We are military and we have lived in many unique cultures in the US and also overseas. Many people who live in the US don't realize how many differences there are here based on where you live. But the weather alters living arrangements and the different cultures that live there make a big difference too. The patterns of life are different in New Mexico, northern California, southern California, midwest, island in the Atlantic coast of Florida, and DC suburbs. Yes, they are all different from Europe too but I think that sometimes the change for me has been harder in the the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am....my parents were missionaries in West Africa, so I was born in France, came back to the states at about 18 mo old, went back to Africa when I was 10, and lived there till I graduated from High School. I have wonderful memories of those times, but it definitely changes how you view american society, and gives you a more global perspective on life. We were back for a year when I was in 10th grade, and was definitely NOT impressed with typical american teen culture LOL! Course, coming from a 3rd world country, where certain food items were just not available, we got our share of laughs when we would veeeeeery slooooooowwwwly lick and nibble our way through the milky way bar! We definitely appreciated things like electricity, and running water. Grocery stores were a marvel. I genuinely feel blessed to have had that perspective, though. In some ways, I wish my kids could have a little of it, but......well, you can't make everyone's life the same. My oldest dd got a teeny taste last summer when she went down to Mexico to build houses. On the negative side, I think I developed a yearning to stay put at all costs. As an adult, I love living near family, not moving, having things stable. Overall, however, I'm glad I grew up overseas.Kayleen grocery stores still overwhelm me. Really, all stores do. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am and my kids are too. We are Kurdish from northern Iraq and I have been in the US since I was 1 year old. Its kinda strange cause I'm not really kurdish but I'm not really american. I got married from a guy who grew up in Kurdistan and he moved here so now my kids are kinda going through the same thing. If I had married someone from here I am almost sure my kids would be more american and feel more american. oooo- this have never happened to me on this board! I know you IRL! We met at a Mommy's Meeting at Panera Bread Company! Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am sort of raising a CCK. My husband is Iranian. He came to the states as an adult. I have one ds with dh and two ds from a previous marriage. We get to have Christmas trees and Persian New Year's Tables (sofreh haft sin)! :D The Persian New Year is the first day of spring, so we are in the middle of it now. Tonight is chahar shaanbeh soori, so we get to jump over fire. As a side note, we seem to keep more fresh fruit in the house than most American families and I don't know any other American homeschool families that have hot tea and oranges at 10pm. :tongue_smilie: Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elm in NJ Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Well, our family is. I was born in Freetown, moved to London as a teenager, went to University of Glasgow in Scotland and moved to the US 17 years ago. My dh was born in Freetown, moved to London when he was 3, went back to Freetown at 14, moved to Canada in his 20s and has been in the US for 14 years. My kids were all born here but are quite cross cultural. They do not speak anything other than English but understand Krio.They are comfortable with both Sierra Leonean dishes ( we cook a few of these, but they love plantains )as well as American foods (although my 13 year old, struggles a bit with some Sierra Leonean food, but he struggles with most foods except pasta). I was in Freetown 5 years ago with all 4 kids and we stayed for 9 months. They also regularly visit family in England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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