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Glad to call my international community home
May 29, 2013, Wednesday
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I often envy people who claim they have a home, who claim they have a mother country, simply because I cannot make the same straightforward claim. Where is my home? Where do I belong?
Some people say a home is where you live. The places I live are not my home; they are houses, not homes. As a third culture kid - a "TCK" - I do not have a sense of belonging in any one place. Not in California. Not in Taiwan. Not in Shanghai. These are the places that could be called "home".
A proud advantage, I have to admit, is that I have a broad perspective, or international experience, as some people call it. This could be quite useful on a college application, as it makes you stand out a bit. All of that is great. However, when people ask me where I am from, I always stammer and hesitate to respond. "Irvine, California鈥 Taiwan鈥 and Shanghai." My response is long and awkward.
Whenever I finally make a stop at one of my "homes" I feel unsettled, and find myself looking forward to the next trip to my other "home." How can I view a place as home when I feel like a foreigner once there? How can I call a place "home" when I do not even know much about the local way of life? That is my challenge. However, I have come to realize that since I live in the international community, perhaps this is my home. Yes, the international community where I live is my home!
I have simply neglected the fact that my international community is a place I should be glad to call "home." I should wear with pride that my home is in places around the world. Hence, many other third culture kids like me have the best of the best to experience. If we TCK become confident in our identity as people with an international perspective, we can adapt to any culture. During my time of travel or stay, I do not need to look for a place to belong because my home is right under my feet.
Some people say a home is where you live. The places I live are not my home; they are houses, not homes. As a third culture kid - a "TCK" - I do not have a sense of belonging in any one place. Not in California. Not in Taiwan. Not in Shanghai. These are the places that could be called "home".
A proud advantage, I have to admit, is that I have a broad perspective, or international experience, as some people call it. This could be quite useful on a college application, as it makes you stand out a bit. All of that is great. However, when people ask me where I am from, I always stammer and hesitate to respond. "Irvine, California鈥 Taiwan鈥 and Shanghai." My response is long and awkward.
Whenever I finally make a stop at one of my "homes" I feel unsettled, and find myself looking forward to the next trip to my other "home." How can I view a place as home when I feel like a foreigner once there? How can I call a place "home" when I do not even know much about the local way of life? That is my challenge. However, I have come to realize that since I live in the international community, perhaps this is my home. Yes, the international community where I live is my home!
I have simply neglected the fact that my international community is a place I should be glad to call "home." I should wear with pride that my home is in places around the world. Hence, many other third culture kids like me have the best of the best to experience. If we TCK become confident in our identity as people with an international perspective, we can adapt to any culture. During my time of travel or stay, I do not need to look for a place to belong because my home is right under my feet.
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