Hello Im Ben
Ok so ive been putting of posting my intro for the last couple of days but i guess now ill just get it done.
My name is Ben Donaldson and ive ived overseas since i was 11. I was born in Canada but as many of you can probably appreciate it doesnt feel like home anymore. I moved to china when i was 11 because my dad was supposed to start a branch of his distance education school over there. After one year though it fell through and we went home to canada. We were there for the summer and my mom decided she wanted to spend more time overseas so we moved back to china to the same city we were in and my parents got jobs at an internationaly school called Qingdao International School. I went to this school for about two years until the SARS crisis in China and we were forced to move back home. I guess at that point i was happy to move back “home” but within a year i was tired of it. I came from a small town that no one ever left and when i got back things that i had never clued into before became glaringly obvious. Things like races ism and ignorance of other cultures. I started getting in trouble with my friends parents because i would correct there over generalizations about places like the middle east telling them over dinner that there was in fact places in the middle east that were safe to travel in. After about two years of this my mother and i were both getting tired of Canada so she went to an international job fair and found a job in Almaty Kazkhstan. We moved there for two years until i graduated and now im back in canada saving for university, but im having trouble saving because all i want to do is go hop on a plane and get out of here again. Im going into hotel management so hopefully that nets me a job overseas which is where i want to be.
So thats my life in a nutshell
November 20th, 2007 at 7:10 am
Hi Ben, welcome to tckid.
It’s sad that you got in trouble for correcting over generalizations and racial remarks….
I guess you must not feel like you belong in Canada? I do know Montreal is more culturally open than the rest of the country. Where exactly did you stay?
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November 20th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Welcome, Ben.
While you were in Almaty - did you know Johanna Koning? She worked/works at the international school there (which is where I assume you attended).
Margie
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November 20th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
The name doesnt ring a bell but then there are a few international schools there. I went to MIRAS but there was also a british school and an american school. ya i dont really feel like i belong here. I mean i have friends thats not the problem its just that i dont really relate to any of my friends very well. I lived in a small town in central B.C. so my experience with things like race ism may have been a little exagerated compared to what you would see in montreal.
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November 20th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
its all part of the tck experience. you go “home” and feel the most foreign you have ever felt anywhere.
ya, its tough. but this too shall pass
any tcks in your area? canadian or otherwise?
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November 20th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
not that i know of. I was feeling very much at odds with where i was living and then i remebered reading about TCKs in a book a while back so i decided to check and see if there were any groups on the internet. Thats how i found this one and im glad i did.
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November 20th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Qingdao I heard is a lovely place
I went Dalian last month and I LOVE the seafood there 
And by the way, welcome to the forum!
Like you, I never knew what racism really was until I went to college in the US. It’s very disheartening when you grew up thinking everyone loves everyone…
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November 20th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Ya Qingdao was a great city but like everywhere you never really appreciate it until you leave. I like dalian as well though ive only been there once.
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November 21st, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Hi Ben, I currently live in Linyi, a small city about 3 hours south of Qingdao. Qingdao is really changing a lot, getting ready for the 2008 Olympics, as the sailing events will all be held there. It is looking great!
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November 21st, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Ya thats what my friend have been telling me. I really hope to get back there sometime soon though i ll probably have to wait a while and finish school before that is actually ad option
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November 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 pm
[…] from Finland, Germany, and going to China soon. Ben Donaldson. Canada, China, Kazkhstan. Come and say hi to Ben! Cynthia. Taiwan, Indonesia, Bangkok, Shanghai […]
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