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Fashion & Portrait Photographer from Europe. She resides on Oahu, HI with her two sons.

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Thursday, April 21, 2005

Looking Cute!


Here is a photo of me and my Daddy! (I was a lot shorter back then...) We are both wearing his hat for work. I believe this was taken in England. Posted by Hello

Monday, April 11, 2005

How I learned about TCK

I was at a missions forum with my husband and we had spit up so we could go to different sessions. I went to one on growing up on the mission field and it was lead by a former missionary kid (MK). She started talking about her life and about the term TCK and her reactions to moving to the US. When she was finished I was doing all I could to hold back the tears. I went straight up to her and talked to her about her lecture. I told her how, finally it clicked and I felt like I knew who I was. She gave me a lot of comfort and information on TCK. From there I practically ran to find my husband so that I could share with him this revelation of my life to him. I cannot remember if tears finally were shed at this moment or not. But there was definitly a release of emotion felt. I just let it all out and shared to him everything and he could just see how happy I was with this information.

It is kinda hard to explain unless you have gone through the same sort of experience, whether you are a TCK or not. It was like going through life thinking I knew who I was, though I never really belonged to a country or culture fully. I never fully felt excepted by an country or culture. Moving back to the states I felt isolated, alone, and as if I was a 'nobody from nowhere'. Now all of a sudden there is a spotlight on me and I can see clearly. I know who I am and I belong somewhere, even if it is not a 'place' per se but belonging to a small group of people. It was a termendous weight lifted from my shoulders. Even though I still had a lot of emotional baggage and looking at my life to do, I felt I finally had a sense of direction to go from.

This was the beginning of my journey as a TCK.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

How I got TCK status

It all began with my birth. I was born in England to American parents who were on their second overseas assignment with the USAF. My father continued to choose overseas assignments in Europe, and I (along with my sister who came along 5.5 years later) grew up in many different cultures and countries.

Here is a brief overview
(it does not include moves within the same country/assignment):

Born in Oxfordshire, England, UK
Lived in Sumter, SC
Lived in Montgomery, AL
Lived in Lakenheath, England
Lived in Napoli, Italia (3 yrs)
Lived in Stuttgart, Germany (2 yrs)
Lived in Napoli, Italia (2.5 yrs)
Lived in Tucson, AZ (1.5 yrs)
Went to University in Searcy, AR (3.5 yrs)

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

What is a TCK

I got these definitions from the Taylor Uni website. I thought it was also important to share the MK definiton as well:

MK / TCK Definitions

Missionary Kid (MK) = The son or daughter of missionaries. MK is the term that is perhaps most well known simply because there are a lot of MKs, particularly at Taylor.

Third Culture Kid (TCK) = "A person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents' culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having ownership in any. Although the elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background." (David Pollack)

Why third? The third culture is created as a result of the combination of the parents' culture and the culture in which the student lives. Eg. An American student who has spent a significant part of their formative years in Malaysia is called a TCK because the mixture of his/her American culture and the Malaysian culture creates a third culture.

A TCK can be any student whose parents work or have worked in international business, politics, education or military service.