Where in the world would you feel the most “belonging”, and where would you be happiest?

Try this quiz http://www.globallyhip.com/personality.php

It attempts to measure your cultural profile and match you up to countries that might suit you, based on elements of your personality. So I took it and it suggested I’d “be happiest” or find some degree of belonging in the US (no surprises there), the UK, Portugal, Thailand, Israel, and Italy. I think I’d be happy anywhere, given the chance, but it’s nice to narrow the list down a bit

Popularity: 3% [?]

I am not an American voter, but half of my family is white or are Asians who consider America their adopted country. My children intend to study in the US. Hence the US elections and who would be running the country for the next four years were much talked-about topics at our dinner table. I personally saw Obama’s TCK-ness before I even considered what race he might be; but interestingly my own siblings used their own yardsticks to choose which candidate deserved their vote. In the thread about Obama and whether he is black or “half-white”, Ruth wrote: “I think one of the gifts many of us received in life was growing up among a multiplicity of race and cultures so that we saw the persons first…that doesn’t mean we are without our own prejudices…” I love this statement. I like to think I see the person first, and wonder if it’s because of my TCK-ness that I form opinions based on things other than race or perceived ethnicity. The first thing I notice about a person is the accent and use of language – so much can be inferred from how one speaks! Is this a TCK thing? I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this way. After much more mindgum-chewing (I observe a lot, and think too much – another TCK trait?), I’ve concluded that there are (for me, anyway) other things far more telling of one’s character than race: the shoes on their feet, and the contents of their iPod. I have a friend who tells me she can’t date a man unless he reads the same books she reads. Care to share your own “prejudices”? What are the first three things you notice about a person?

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Hola! Finding this forum was like stumbling onto a doorstep in the middle of a blizzard and being let into a warm home, with a fire blazing, and then being offered hot cocoa in a huge mug! Sniiffff. Can you tell I’m touched, relieved, and over all excited about joining?

I’ve been “out” as a TCKid since my university days, when I joined an International Club and found myself, as well as some life-long friends. Prior to this, my four siblings and I referred to ourselves as “Dip Brats”, and as far as we knew, were the only members of this rather strange, sometimes lonely, and very exclusive group. It was better than the other term I would use, laughingly, to describe myself (“mongrel”). We comforted ourselves as well as we could. We shuttled as children of a diplomat from the Philippines, to the US (10 years), Australia (1-4 years, depending on which sibling you speak to!); back to the Philippines; then back to the US…and from there, we scattered all over the globe.

So don’t be surprised if my whole clan signs up, as I’ve excitedly sent them the link. Buy one, take all five.

Home for now is Singapore, where my husband and I have spawned two CCKids of our own. My teenagers have never lived in the US, but speak with flawless Midwestern US accents (my legacy lol); and know just a few phrases of their native Tagalog. They are culture chameleons, who can’t wait to enter university abroad when they graduate from their international high school. That pretty much cements their destiny as Global Nomads, and so I feel I’ve come full-circle.

Who am I? I am Filipino by birth, Chicago Catholic schoolgirl by upbringing. I texted my Irish friends “Erin Go Bragh” this weekend, because I’ve known this phrase since I was seven, and commemorate all American holidays.

I am thoroughly Western in outlook in an Asian environment. And even in a multi-racial, multi-cultural country like Singapore, I am still stumped when asked “Where are you from? I was four when I first stepped onto an airplane, and today find it impossible to sit still for more than a month. I travel compulsively, and speak in the only accent that I feel is universal: my writing, and my photographs.

I’m so glad I’ve found this place.

Popularity: 5% [?]