“Third-culture kids are those who have spent some of their growing up years in a foreign country and experience a sense of not belonging to their passport country when they return to it. In adapting to life in a ‘foreign’ country they have also missed learning ways of their homeland and feel most at home in the ‘third-culture’ which they have created.”
This is often my predicament in trying to explain to others whether I consider myself Australian or American. I have a hard time accepting that I do not belong fully to either, must be some underlying need I have to define myself properly. My parents might feel differently, but I wouldn’t wish it any other way. I’ve always felt slightly torn, but only in the last few years has it caused any anxiety in my life. Soon I will be the only member of my immediate or extended family living in the U.S. It’ll be interesting to see how I deal with it. Most likely it will take a bit of getting used to, but then I imagine I will adjust, though I’m not convinced that I actually want to adjust to living alone, on the other side of the world.
This Third Culture Kids page on the .gov site (official!) also says that these “kids” often relate much better to others that are either in the same situation or have traveled extensively. I definitely agree with that.
via ginobambino (one of my new favorites tumblrs)
It’s good to know I’m not the only one. Sometimes I really wish I was still in Canada.
3 years ago