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TCKs
TCK is short for Third Culture Kid. TCK's are kids who have grown up in various cultures so can identify with aspects of various cultures, but not a single one by itself. This is different from say Monoculture kids/ adults, who have grown up in a single culture and are thereby representative of that single culture.
TCK's/Adults are special people because they make the bridges between the worlds! They are the best to work with Refugees, human rights, and international relations because they understand so well what one world it really is. The concept of boundaries for a TCK doesn't exist! Very open minded- everyone is real for a TCK- real people with real emotions.
TCK's/A's also know the importance of close relationships, because it has been so difficult to stay in one place long enough. These are the people who can do a long distance telephone relationship with ease.
But they also have negative points, perhaps being different, makes monocultures feel uncomfortable with them, and they with monocultures. They are different emotionally, prefering distances a lot of the time so as to avoid being hurt when, once again, they are forced to move.
Sometimes TCKs are more religious- because religion like the world for TCKs has no boundaries, and is for (us) a source of stability and identity. Anywhere and everywhere.
The hardest question for a TCK is "where are you from?" Where they would probably answer, " Well I have family in Indonesia, well I'm currently studying in the US, or, my country of origin is Bangledesh though I've never lived there." Or maybe they'll just say, "well I'm a TCK!"
(BTW, Bi-cultures/monocultures/confusedab outcultures are also welcome!)
Recent Village Updates
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has added a new journalWho here has read the book "Third Culture Kids"? Any reviews?
I'm just starting to read it and would love to hear others' opinions.
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has added a new journalThis is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece please
read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in
leisure...do not hurry....this is a treasure...
For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom,
this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is
even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you'll love this.
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is
this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said: "Yes,
and the way is hard.
And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But
the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not
believe that anything could be better than these years. So she
played with her children, and gathered flowers for
them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and
the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried,
"Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother
drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the
children said,
"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can
come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and
the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.
But at all times she said to the children," A little patience
and we are there."
So the children climbed, and when they reached the top
they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up
at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my
children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness.
Yesterday I gave them courage.
Today, I I've given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened
the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children
groped
and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to
the light.
" And the children looked and saw above the clouds
an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the
darkness. And that night the Mother said,
"This is the best day of all, for
I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.
But her children were tall and strong, and walked with
courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her,
for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a
hill,
and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates
flung wide. And
mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I
know the end
is better than the beginning, for my children can
walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us,
Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the
gates
closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her
but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a
memory. She
is a living presence......."
Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper
of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of
bleach
in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand
on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives
inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from, your first home; and
she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your
first love
and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can
separate you.
Not time, not space... not even death!
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has added a new journalAs soon as someone talks to you then stops after realizing that you are not of the same culture...
Feel free to add more :)
Hananabanana
Exactly! The same is true with me and Americans & Arabs :(
Ostentious
i see where you're coming from. If we as a whole of society are under the assumption that these days the majority of people walkin the streets are law-biding, open-minded, non-judgemental, peaceful people, then yes, i would be dissapointed if someone got dissapointed bout gettin the wrong impression of me. They judged me without lettin me open my mouth first. And that to me is a step backward from where we want society to go.Hananabanana
To our way of thinking, different cultures IS what makes people beautiful. Allah swt says in the Qur'an that I have made you out of different tribes so that you may know one another.
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has added a new journalJust out of curiousity... Which cultures/ethnicities make up you? Which cultures/ethnicities are you comfortable in? What about your background? I will start this off. I'm Iraqi, American, and Norwegian. Call me a person who is comfortable with many different cultures as long as English, French, Arabic, American Sign Language, or Spanish is being spoken. If not, hopefully some kind soul will translate for me :).
Hananabanana
HA HA!
MysterAsif
hananabanana, your mix sounds great ...i'm un/fortunately just a regualar pakistani from both sides, HOWEVER, born and raised in Qatar ... hence a TCK ...
arab/desi cutlures still ren't that far apart anyway..