I was born to a Russian mum and a Russian father. Simple, no? It gets much more fun. I was born to Russian parents… in Almaty, Kazakhstan (in Central Asia). There were many cultures in Almaty – Greeks, Germans, Russian, Chinese. Due to the 2nd World War, many people fled their homeland for safety, which they found in Kazakhstan or many of the former Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, et cetera). There were lots of us Third Culture Kids in Kazakhstan. Due to our border with China, we got some lovely products, too. Hahaha.

Later on, when I was around 5, I moved to America – I lived for a year and one half, alternating between Washington, DC and my little Pennsylvanian town within close proximity of the Amish community. I went back to Almaty after that, for one year, considering I was forgetting my Russian. I’d grown up knowing both Russian and English, but in an all-English all the time environment was not helping my Russian the slightest. After Almaty, I went back to DC, though I moved around to different areas of the city and the suburbs from time to time. I have to move around now – I’ve already been to eight schools world-wide. I must be honest: I don’t see it as a problem to move house all the time, for I quite enjoy it. How people can stay in one place more than 2 years is beyond me.

The funniest part is, I cannot really claim a heritage: while I am 100% Russian, I cannot go back to Russia and fully claim everything there, since I was not born there. In Kazakhstan, where Kazakh language and culture now overrides the Russian influence, I cannot claim that culture either. In America: I was not born there, nor were my parents or grandparents. So that’s out, too. I recently spent some time in Germany and very much enjoyed that. I’m self teaching myself the language and hope to move there in the future. Though I cannot say I claim Germany either, I love it. And, of course, while it may seem odd for a Russian to be fascinated by the Germans – hey, I’m a TCK. I grew up with everyone. Love for all!

Hope you enjoyed that,

Regards,

Masha

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