Hodgepodge 8/26- Third Culture Kid Memories

Here are the questions to this week’s Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (August 26th) to share answers with all your friends and neighbors. See you there! 

1. How do you feel about the transition from lazy summer days to a busier fall routine? 

I’m feeling a huge spectrum of emotions about it! In some ways, our calendar is much more full than the summer, but since I’m not working (at a school) for the first time, I actually have a lot more free time and a flexible schedule!

I am sad about the weather changing, though. I even spotted a fall leaf on a hike last week. No, thank you. Summer weather forever!

2. Your favorite cookie? 

I LOVE a good sugar cookie with the right kind of icing. I also love a good ‘ol chocolate chip cookie. My husbands favorite cookie is a no-bake, which are the easiest cookies to make!

3. What’s something you’ve learned from a culture different than your own? 

I feel like I’ve talked about this a lot lately, but I have a really unique perspective on this. Since I grew up in a different culture as a missionary kid, my entire life has been shaped by a different culture and the time I spent living in it. Missionary kids, military kids who lived overseas, or diplomat kids are often called “third culture kids”. Here is what Chat had to share about TCKs:

A third culture kid (TCK) is a person who spends a large part of their childhood living in a culture that is different from their parents’ home country.

American sociologist Ruth Hill Useem coined the term in the 1950s. These children mix their parents’ home culture with the new host culture to form a unique “third” culture. 

Common Benefits

• Adaptability: TCKs learn to adjust quickly to new places and different groups of people.
• Broad worldview: They understand multiple perspectives and feel comfortable around the world.
• Cross-cultural skills: They often speak multiple languages and communicate well across different backgrounds. 

Common Challenges

• Identity confusion: TCKs often feel like they belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
• Grief and loss: Frequent moves mean leaving friends and familiar places behind over and over.
• Reverse culture shock: Returning to their “passport country” can feel confusing because they do not fully fit in. 

Yep, that about sums it up! Even though I’ve lived in the US since 2009, I still often feel a completely different perspective on the American culture because I grew up in a completely different culture. I think I value simplicity a lot more than most Americans after I’ve spent time living in a country that has some of the poorest people in the world. I miss the “it takes a village” mentality that was so prevalent where I grew up- Americans are so much more individualistic.

Here is a funny example: when I had my first baby at the fresh age of 22, I was so upset that absolutely no one visited me in the hospital. I felt so unloved and couldn’t believe that friends and church members didn’t want to celebrate this precious new life with us. It took me years to realize that people were just being polite- in America, people commonly want space after having a baby, or visits are by invitation only. That is not how it was in Niger! If someone has a baby, it is customary to pop by and give greetings and congratulate the new parents. On the 7th day, there is a party and a baby naming ceremony. And then the new Mom has to stay in her bedroom for 40 days while the community (a mother, sister, aunt, or niece) cares for her.

It’s no wonder I was completely shocked by my first postpartum when I learned pretty quickly that I was on my own!

4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic…which hat would you most like to wear? Tell us why. 

Of all of those topics, I am mostly an expert on books, so I think that would be the one that would come most naturally to me. However, I don’t think I would make a very good book critic because I don’t like reading books in advance and I’m afraid being a critic would ruin reading for me!

My latest read and it was SO GOOD:

5. What’s a small, random thing from your childhood that you still remember clearly?

 I remember making the long drive from the village where we lived to the capital city where we would go grocery shopping, meet up with other missionaries, get cash from the bank, etc. I think we did this trip about once a month. It was a 7 hour drive on unpaved roads, and then when I was about 10 they paved the road and it was a 3 hour drive! There was a river crossing with a car ferry that would take you across the river, but if you missed the ferry or if it was broken down, you had to take the backroad, which was unpaved and a little bit longer. I remember it being so bumpy and rattly! One time it was so bumpy the keys fell right out of the ignition- but the car didn’t stop! I know now that we have keyless ignition, but that was NOT a thing back then!

Picture 1- A dirt road

Picture 2- our truck driving over a bridge?

Picture 3- our blue truck on the ferry

Picture 4- my Grandma standing on the dock as the ferry approaches

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I got to sub this week- back in my old classroom, too! It was a joy and I’m always happy to be back in the classroom.

*Linking up with Joyce today for her Hodgepodge questions, and so saddened to hear of her sweet Mom’s passing. If you hop over to her link, make sure to leave an encouraging comment for her!