TCKs say many goodbyes in their growing up years as most of them move back and forth between several places. Even if they stay in one place, the expat community around them is constantly moving and they say goodbye to friends all the time. In these interviews, TCKs reflect on what they miss most about the places they have left and how all the goodbyes have affected them. They were asked:
How do you handle goodbyes?
Where are your best friends and when did you last see them?
Besides people, what do you miss most?
Have goodbyes affected your ability to make commitments?
TCKs –MKs in particular– can have mixed experiences in US American churches, both in visiting when their families are fundraising in churches, and when they try to find a church home when they’re older. In these interviews TCKs are asked:
This interactive book for teens (especially older teens) gives practical advice on things like getting organized for moving, packing, getting established in a new school, and making new friends. Activities for this age group including checklists, places to journal about feelings, space to note different greetings, gestures and phrases for the new country, and pages for regular and e-mail addresses. The first section of the book is for any move, and parts of it will not apply to those moving overseas (though it may be appropriate for those returning to the U.S.), but the second section is very helpful for moving to a new country. The book also has two plastic pouches for holding papers, and a sheet of packing labels.
Written for young and not-as-young people who grew up overseas, this journal is a place to capture and reflect on the stories of an exceptional childhood. Divided into sections including My Places, My Family, My Schools, and My Home Country, the author describes her own memories and invites readers to follow suit. The journal includes targeted questions to get the creative juices flowing and allows ample space for personalized responses.
The author’s note on Amazon describes her vision for her book: “My aim in creating this journal for mobile young and not-so-young people has been to provide people raised as I was, in several countries, with an opportunity to gather together into one place the many aspects of themselves. I want to offer them a chance to assemble the places they have lived, the many odd life experiences they have had, and the personal tastes and perspectives they have developed and to see them united as a whole.
“At best, my hope is that the journal will help a person raised on the wing to put together his or her personal story, to record, in written form, perhaps in fragments, who he or she is. I envision the journal as a learning and self-exploration tool that validates both the particulars of each individual’s experience. It can be difficult, as I know first hand, for the country-hopping child to place or even assemble all the stray elements of an exciting but challenging lifestyle. My goal in preparing this journal has been to aid these people ‘of many lands’ in the long process of putting together the stories of their lives. Even if they never write a sentence in the book, they may, just by reading through the journal, glean a helpful memory or thought. A reader may regard the journal as an invitation: an invitation to set down the story of his or her own unique life.”
This book is sadly out-of-print and very expensive on Amazon right now, but a great find for those who can get their hands on it.
Though usually recommended for adolescents or young adult MKs returning to North America for high school or college, this book is also for parents. It provides practical tips and insights to help children adjust to the initial move overseas, develop a strong identity, and return to the U.S. In addition to practical things such as driving, managing money and finding a job, issues such as alcohol and drug use, sex and AIDs are addressed.
There is lots of advice from MKs to both MKs and parents. The format will appeal to most teens. The book is over 20 years old so some of the practical information is outdated (e.g. telephones). Also certain important topics (e.g. cell phones or internet access) are absent as they were not used when this book was written. Nevertheless, much of the material remains relevant despite changing times.
Third Culture Kids grow up between two worlds (or three, or more) and looking back on their experiences, see the good and the hard of being global nomads. The TCKs being interviewed are middle school, high school and college age, reflecting on their own lives.
What are you grateful for about being a TCK?
What has been the most challenging thing about being a TCK?
Do you ever wish you had grown up with a more normal life?
