Bringing Up Brits: Expat Parents Raising Cross-Cultural Kids in Britain

Bringing Up Brits is the passion-project of Meghan Fenn, an Asian-American mother raising her children in her husband’s home country of England. Writing to fellow expat parents, she reflects on her own experiences and those of others like her who experienced loneliness, confusion, and step-by-step cultural learning specific to Great Britain.

This resource would best benefit one interested in how life in England can be perceived by foreigner parents, and the ways in which they may struggle to adapt to British culture. Unfortunately, this book feels out of date when discussing issues such as isolation from previous communities and difficulty finding people to connect with locally, given the explosion of social media and smart devices since the time of publishing.

Included is a directory of various online resources from the early 2010’s for the expat parent in Britain.

 

The chapters include

  1. Finding Identity
  2. Isolation
  3. Nurturing Tradition
  4. Living amongst the British
  5. Cross Cultural Kids, Third Culture Parents
  6. Language Barriers
  7. Celebrating Britain
  8. The Future (Retirement and higher education for children)

Arrivals, Departures and the Adventures In-Between

This is a fun book that summarizes what being a TCK is all about using hilarious anecdotes from the author’s adventures and crazy life. I laughed out loud a lot reading this book and that isn’t normal for me!”Arrivals and Departures” would be a great introductory book for teens and young adults learning about what it means to be an TCK. It’s easy to read because of all the stories and hits important issues for TCKs like dealing with grief, navigating new friendships, the difficulties of reentry and finding your identity.

O’Shaughnessy grew up as a military brat between England and the USA and most of his stories are drawn from travel in Europe, so this book would be best for European MKs. It seems like he assumes most MKs live in tight-knit communities with lots of friends and travel adventures, but I know plenty of MKs who feel lonely and disconnected, especially those in more remote parts of the world or those who do home-schooling or online school. This book may set up unrealistic expectations of community living and life-long TCK bonds that not all TCKs get to experience, but otherwise it’s a great read.

The Road Home (Professional Version)

* See below for a description of the film *

WHY CHOOSE THE PROFESSIONAL DVD?

SHOW THE FILM TO A GROUP:  With the Unlimited Public Screening License you can show the film as many timesas you’d like in classrooms, seminars, conferences, and public settings of any size.

LEAD A GROUP DISCUSSION:  Get people talking using the Discussion Question Insert designed to help your audience discover how the film’s message relates to their lives.  With sets of questions tailored to younger and older students, parents and professionals, you’ll find the right ones for any group.

DEEPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING:  Gain new insight from two Professional Commentaries in which TCK experts Ruth Van Reken and Heidi Tunberg describe and explain the Third Culture Kid experience and highlight TCK themes in the film.

SPEAK YOUR AUDIENCE’S LANGUAGE:  Choose one of fourteen subtitle languages to best fit your audience (languages listed below) [Also on the Collector DVD]

GO BEHIND THE SCENES:  Hear Director Rahul Gandotra talk about the life experiences that inspired the film in two Director’s Commentaries Get more of the story with the alternate beginning and other deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and more.  [Also on the Collector DVD]

Purchase the Professional DVD from Amazon here.

Parents, caregivers and educators of TCKs can order Professional DVDs at a discount by emailing Heidi Tunberg.

Film Description:

“Growing up in England, ten-year old Pico never wanted to go to boarding school in the Himalayas, and despite the beauty there, he struggles to fit in. When he’s bullied for insisting he’s British in spite of his Indian heritage, he runs away, determined to return to his home in London. As he journeys through a country foreign to him, Pico encounters others who mistake him for an Indian boy, forcing him to face the painful truth that the world does not see him the way he sees himself.”

This semi-autobiographical film, shot in the Himalayas around Woodstock International School, is a masterpiece.  Breathtakingly beautiful, it was shortlisted for the Oscars and nominated for the BAFTAs (Britain’s Oscar equivalent) as well as winning scores of awards at film festivals around the world.  But for those who understand the experience of being a Hidden Immigrant – where how you look outside doesn’t fully match how you feel inside – it is more than a lovely movie.  It is also heart-stirring.  It illustrates that experience with poignancy and humor, evoking laughter and often a few tears.  I have literally watched it over 100 times, and it never gets old.  

The writer and director spent the first 9 years of his life in the UK and Saudi Arabia before returning to his parents’ homeland in India.  The film is loosely based on his early days at Woodstock International School.

Read more about the film or watch it online for free at the director’s website

Dialogue:  English & Hindi (with English subtitles for the Hindi)

Subtitles (DVD version):  English (full dialogue), French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Greek, and Arabic

The Road Home

“Growing up in England, ten-year old Pico never wanted to go to boarding school in the Himalayas, and despite the beauty there, he struggles to fit in. When he’s bullied for insisting he’s British in spite of his Indian heritage, he runs away, determined to return to his home in London. As he journeys through a country foreign to him, Pico encounters others who mistake him for an Indian boy, forcing him to face the painful truth that the world does not see him the way he sees himself.”

This semi-autobiographical film, shot in the Himalayas around Woodstock International School, is a masterpiece. Breathtakingly beautiful, it was shortlisted for the Oscars and nominated for the BAFTAs (Britain’s Oscar equivalent) as well as winning scores of awards at film festivals around the world. But for those who understand the experience of being a Hidden Immigrant – where how you look outside doesn’t fully match how you feel inside – it is more than a lovely movie. It is also heart-stirring. It illustrates that experience with poignancy and humor, evoking laughter and often a few tears.  I have literally watched it over 100 times, and it never gets old.  

The writer and director spent the first 9 years of his life in the UK and Saudi Arabia before returning to his parents’ homeland in India. The film is loosely based on his early days at Woodstock International School.

Read more about the film or watch it online for free at the director’s website

Want your own copy, or want to watch it in another language?  The Collector’s DVD comes with extra features like commentaries, including one that tells the director’s own TCK story and how he came to make this film, *PLUS* subtitles in 14 languages (all translated by fellow TCKs).

Want to use the film in a TCK group, conference or classroom?  The Professional DVD comes with a screening license for groups of any size *PLUS* two professional commentaries, discussion questions, and more.  Purchase it from Amazon here. Parents, caregivers and educators of TCKs can order Professional DVDs at a discount by emailing Heidi Tunberg.

Dialogue:  English & Hindi (with English subtitles for the Hindi)

Subtitles (DVD version):  English (full dialogue), French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Greek, and Arabic

Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories

Rudyard Kipling is a controversial figure in today’s TCK world – a TCK from colonial times who wrote things that reflected the British mindset of the time, as well as things that were, for that era, remarkably counter-cultural and Progressive.  For their historical value, we include from one short story collection, these three stories in which the protagonists are young British children raised in India.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep – Two young children (ages 5 and 3 years), are brought back from India to England to stay for 5 years until their beloved parents can return to them.  The heart-wrenching description of the bereft children’s misery when they realize their parents are gone hints that this story is probably based on Kipling’s own experience being left with a strict caretaker in England who had no understanding of his former life in India.

Wee Willie Winkie – Willie, the precocious, little son of a Colonel in British India stands up to some ruffians intent on harming the young fiancée of an officer who Willie idolizes, after she strays into their territory.  The Shirley Temple movie of this name was adapted from this story.

His Majesty the King – A little English boy in India has the affection of his nanny and his playmate’s kind mother, but longs for his own, preoccupied parents to pay attention to him.

The Sun in the Morning: My Early Years in India

This is the autobiography of the best-selling British author M.M. Kaye, describing her childhood experiences in India in the early 1900s. The book is full of vivid descriptions of places and experiences that will appeal to many TCKs. Writing at age 82, she idealizes her early years in India and sees her return to England as a kind of purgatory, which some TCKs may relate to. M.M. Kaye’s autobiography continues with The Golden Afternoon, which tells of her return to India, and her sojourns in various countries as an adult.