The TCK is a definition I put in was to allow people to know on a broad term who my target is. However, I failed to mention, those I am targeting with my project is way beyond what the TCK represents.
My target are anyone who may be in the international community. Native people attending foreign schools such as the many operating American Schools across the globe.
Examples: The American School Japan/Hong Kong/Singapore/London/Kuwait and many other international schools. There are many individuals who are not TCK, but I know either way, we all have gone or are going through similar situations.
--Sorry of the confusion or if you felt you didn't apply. Bottom line, this blog is for anyone who is interested. Parents involved internationally who have kids who may have struggling, or students who live abroad, or those who spent time attending an international school in your native land or foreign land. Although I don't know much about those who are involved in the military and often move around base to base, it would be great to hear your stories and experiences living on base in a foreign land.
My personal experience:
I know from my experiences that often I couldn't be able to communicate efficiently to my peers because of my lack of experience with the authentic American culture. While living in the States after experiencing an international school in Japan, I was invited to go out for a "cruse". In my mind, I immediately thought cruse as in boat sailing--but of course it wasn't. After being explained what they meant, I was soon disappointed to learn what they meant by cruse was simply going out in the car....cruising down main street--how boring...lol
We are privileged to have been able to see the world. Yes, at times it was and is difficult. Cultures are different, what is acceptable and what is not differ significantly--even in the same region. Yet most of us have been able to over come the adversity of dramatic change. Know that this unique life you were given is an advantage to you. It makes you standout from the rest of your competitors for a job. Yet more than that, I hope that you take the experiences you've had worldwide to do good in the world. Let your connections in the international community be used for good; to educate, to improve individuals lives, and to being to pass a sense of peace. That is my goal and what I hope to do through my education and experiences.
What do you want to do with your experiences and the education you have been gaining throughout your life?
"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”--Saint Augustine
Embrace Change--Embrace your uniqueness <3
Hey Tiffany, great blog you have here :) I find it interesting that you feel the and think the way you do.
ReplyDeleteThere were times when I found myself unable to relate to literally anyone, even to kids who were considered TCKs because they could relate to at most 3 or 4 cultures in their lives, whereas for me, I moved around almost every 2, 3 years of my life. I understand very well how it feels to feel like I don't belong somewhere. I may go to a foreign country I call home, but I'm still foreigner there, at the same time if I go to my own country I'm still foreign. I can go on with a list of instances where cultural differences clashed. I can't even start to name them because there's just too much. Your example of "going cruising" can be one little example.
I remember when I was in 2nd grade I went to an American School in India, and I found myself thinking about my identity, and eventually crying over how empty I had felt lacking the sense of belonging lol. I guess this sounds emo but what I questioned back then was why did God create me? If he hadn't then I wouldn't have to go through this.. experience of suffering.. But if there is one thing I've truely come to learn through experience, is that experiences whether suffering or happiness, is all extremely significant to a persons development, and essential in becoming a more rounded, sensible, and wiser person.
But that's not till I'd went through such experiences! For me, whether it be surviving gunfights, going through (what others think is) exotic markets, foods, meeting the strangest people, doing things you'd never do when in a different country, learning different behaviors, eventually helped me see life in a different perspective. Maybe it sounds a bit extreme to you, but I'm pretty sure you have sense of what I'm saying. I have many friends just like you, who's Dad's are American and Mom's are Korean, (though yours may be Japanese). They are all my best friends, and one of them told me that he was scared to go back to the states, because he lived in Korea for almost all his life, and cultural shock is imminent when with another American, though he himself was American.
But such experiences for me have been a great help in terms of cultural perspectives, where I could differentiate how to behave in front of different people. Your perspective in life becomes broader and you can be able to slowly find that the world is really a smaller place than you thought, and that right or wrong comes from perspective, conflict comes from differences, and that people arent much different throughout the world from you and me, just how we are raised in our environments. This is why I'm also studying cultural studies, because its quite fascinating to learn what I've been experiencing throughout my life.
As with your final question, one of my dreams was to pursue music as a career, because not only was it what I loved the most, but I felt like it was the best and only way for me to share my life in the form of music to others. But eventually I gave that up (sigh). Throughout my high school life I'd been able to work and help in different NGO's, and different organizations. Doing so made me want to keep doing it, helping developing countries and working to help make a change in this world. That's why I'm doing communications, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do exactly, one thing is sure in my mind that I want to make a change or a difference in this world. I know it's quite a bold statement, and honestly I don't know how, but I thought communications would be a start lol.