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Defining the “Third Culture”

Greeneaglz

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Greeneaglz

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I grew up as a TCK and now I am an ATCK (adult third culture kid). The third culture has been said to be not necessarily a culture but more a sense of sharing the same experiences and being able to relate. In this way, TCK’s relate whatever the culture/s they have lived in because they share similar experiences.

Ok, I am also the father of a deaf child. In this respect I share similar experiences and deal with issues that the average person does not have to tackle. So in this respect a third “experience” culture is born once again where I relate well to people who have children with a disability and are aware of the issues involved. I relate even more to those with deaf children.

So in this respect, the “third culture” is this. The culture of relationships. The closer in experiences we are to someone, the more we relate in our culture of relationship. If we grow up as Norwegian, we relate in the culture of relationship, very closely to our fellow Norwegian. More so if they live locally to us. In this respect, all humans share the culture of relationship in that the closer their life experiences are to another person, the more they are able to “culturally” relate.

Where TCK’s differ from the average person is that their experiences are often so varied and different. The things they culturally relate to are aspects that they share in their life, the travelling, the moving from school to school, the loosing and making of friends etc.

So this third culture if we call it that, is our ability to relate to our fellow human and feel comfortable and accepted with them. Its not some mystical third tribe, its an indication of our humaness, the need for relationship, the need to relate and to feel at ease, the need to share our life with others.


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July 12, 2008 | Filed Under General Forum 

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2 Responses to “Defining the “Third Culture””

  1. 1
    Brice
    Brice Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 1:02 am

    That’s a very good point, Paul. The third culture is a lot about relationships.

    What do you think about the relationship you have with an environment, like the work culture?

    (Is this spam?)

  2. 2
    Greeneaglz
    Greeneaglz Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 1:39 am

    Thanks Brice. Ok my thoughts on this are as follows. If we look at this in terms of relationships and life experiences. Where someone’s life experiences differ greatly from those around them thats where in a sense they could be said to have a different “culture”, they see the world differently, they act differently they may even talk differently. It is more difficult for them to relate to those around them and to get the sense of emotional connection that we all need as humans.

    In many ways we all have different life experiences and so making friends and connecting with others is something that takes time, the more we relate the easier it is to connect and many of the emotional barriers that we use to protect our sense of self are removed. So with TCK’s relating to each other, there is very little sense of a “third culture”, it is only when they try and relate to others who do not share the same life experiences that the “third culture” becomes more evident.
    Say we put someone who had never been a TCK experiences in a group of TCK’s. They them appear to have a “third culture” as they struggle to relate to some extent to the people around them.

    So in answer to your question Brice, relationships within a work environment will depend on the experiences people have had in their life, the time they have spent working together and the better they know each other. Any new person coming in will to some extent have a “third culture” experience until they have found ways to relate to those around them.

    (Is this spam?)

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