It’s a question that we all get and we probably all make in the quest for basic insight into someone’s background. But what if you’re one of those people who have programmed themselves to give a short-cut answer any time they’re faced with one of the most basic conversation starters? If you’ve ever felt that you’re giving a scaled-down version of yourself and that your: “I’m from Holland” reply is leaving out the fact that you were born in Birmania, went to school in another 4 countries, write in English/French perfectly yet struggle with Dutch grammar, then this is the space for you.
Yes, being a TCK can feel nuts. First and foremost though let’s establish what a TCK is. Simply put it’s anyone who doesn’t identify with being from one single country. Either because their parents are from different countries/cultures to each other eachother and/or because they grew up in more than one place.
No, you don’t need to have been enrolled at the International School of Rome or the Lycée Francaise of Jakarta to officially count as a TCK. You don’t need to qualify as a military brat, or be the offspring of diplomats, hoteliers or multinational company executives to resonate with TCKness. Lots of us simply moved around because our parents were either faced with the economic/political hardships that pushes so many to leave their homes behind or were in search of a better future.
As more and more individuals decide to leave their land and start up somewhere new, forming multi-cultural families that can sometimes feel uprooted, our aim here is to provide support and share stories of cultural heritage and mix-ups, tears and triumphs.
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.