For new community members or friends making new discoveries about their identities, it can be overwhelming to navigate all the different terms, phrases, and ideas that emerge from discussing the TCK experience. For others who are more familiar with talking about their experiences, it helps to be re-acquainted with these terms.

Here are a list of the Top 10 Third Culture Kid glossary terms to guide you through some of the basic words and concepts.

1) Third culture kid (TCK) – Dr. David Pollock, a sociologist and co-author of Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, defines a TCK as “a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of a similar background.” This has traditionally included those who have grown up in more than one country.

Other terms for TCK include: global nomad; trans-culture kid; expat brat

Types of TCKs include:

a) Army/Military brats – A TCK with at least one parent working in his/her passport country’s military and who has moved lived in military bases.

b) Missionary Kids – A TCK with at least one parent working as a missionary for a religious institution and who has moved as part of missionary work.

c) Diplobrats – A TCK with at least one parent working in a diplomatic capacity, such as part of a government organization or embassy, and who has moved as part of diplomatic work.

d) Business brats – A TCK with at least one parent working in a multinational organization and who has moved as part of a business assignment.

2) Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) – A TCK who is of adult age. An ATCK experiences adulthood with his/her TCK perspective.

3) Cross Cultural Kid (CCK) – Like TCKs, a CCK is a person who has spent a significant part of his/her developmental years outside of the parents’ cultures. CCKs include persons who have grown up in one country but within multiple cultural settings.

4) Unresolved grief – An emotional state felt as a reaction to loss of ties to a place or places where a TCK once lived. This feeling is exacerbated when the feelings of loss are not acknowledged or when there are no efforts toward reconnection, such as through communication or visits.

5) Itchy feet – The feeling characterized by restlessness and a desire to change locations. Many TCKs have expressed feeling this way after they have settled in one place.

6) Culture shock – An emotional state felt when reacting and adjusting to a new cultural setting. A person who moves to a new city or country may feel this after he or she first arrives.

7) Reverse culture shock – An emotional state felt when adjusting to a previously experienced cultural setting, which is often a person’s “home” culture.

Expatriate (also, Expat) – A person who resides in a place outside his/her usual place of residence or legal residence. A family who is sent on assignment away from its passport country are considered expatriates.

9) Repatriate – A person who returns to his/her usual place of residence or legal residence. A family who returns to its passport country after a foreign assignment are considered repatriates.

10) Global citizen – This is a term used by many TCKs who do not feel any affinity to any particular country or cultural setting, particularly in response to the question, “Where are you from?” Instead of using the citizenship listed in one’s passport, a TCK may just say that they are a global citizen.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

I present to you, Interaction International’s first YouTube production…

Come on over, and give it a watch!!

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Hi everyone!

My name is Alicia and I am 22 years old so i guess that makes me an ATCK. Yay! I am a Graphic Design student in my final year, which means I have to create an amazing final project (eek no pressure!). I started my research with the question ‘what is Home?’ because, as you all are familiar with, when you move so often it is very hard to determine where you are ‘from’ and where your real ‘home’ is. It was through this research that I discovered I am a TCK! This discovery changed my world as I’m sure it did with you guys.

I now want to use my experiences to help others through design. My problem is that there is not enough awareness (yet) about TCKs…why did I not know I was one until now? So for my project I propose to create something that can be handed out to families as soon as they find out they are about to be posted to another country. It will be a sort of explaination, comfort guide and lead them to this website. I really want to create a visual identity for TCKs, something that represents our TCK culture visually that we can hang up in our houses and be reminded that we are who we are, and that we are not alone, we are united as a TCK culture.

I’m aiming this particular project at teenage TCKs, because from my understanding, moving through your teenage years is one of the hardest transitions. Adolescence is challenging enough as it is! I know from my experience, my family was not really given any support, we just had to deal with it ourselves and I felt like I was the only person in the world who didn’t really belong anywhere.

So what I am asking is if any TCK teenagers are interested in helping me figure out what is ‘cool’ to them and what they can identify with would be soooooo helpful! Email or PM me! Also if I post designs on here would you guys give me feedback? It would be much appreciated! Now I just have to figure out how to post pictures on this thing (am a bit useless at forums hehehe)

Peace, love and music to you guys!

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Jennifer, a member of our community asked this question:

“Hello everyone…I’m a parent of a Cross Cultural Kid. I have one 3 year old son who is half American and half Filipino. We are currently living in the Philippines but may soon relocate to another Asian country. My husband and I are in the process of deciding when and if we should expand our family with more children. Due to the current economic situation and extreme expenses of living and traveling abroad, we are contemplating not having any more children. A main concern of mine, however, is that my son will feel even more “alone” if he doesn’t have another TCK sibling to share his unique and many times frustrating experiences with. Is anyone out there an only TCk child? I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you may have on this. I really want to try to be senstive to my son’s (and any future children’s) needs when it comes to being a TCK. Any and all opinions are welcome. ”

What’s your opinion? Vote Now
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“Anderson, a self-described “third culture kid,” was born and raised (until the age of 12) in Thailand. She relocated to the United States in her teens. In both cases, she understood what it meant to feel excluded, either because you did not look like or sound like the majority, or because you lacked a shared history or world perspective. Anderson knew that her life’s work would be dedicated to creating welcoming, healing and culturally responsive environments and to helping people who were on the outside looking in.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29174896/

NBC

HealthEast Care System Names Elizabeth Walker Anderson System Director, Cross Cultural Services

Fri., Feb. 13, 2009

ST. PAUL, MN – HealthEast Care System announced today that Elizabeth Walker Anderson will become its system director for cross cultural services. The change becomes effective February 23.

Anderson will primarily focus on helping HealthEast be an advocate for change in an area with constantly emerging challenges. She will oversee a wide range of responsibilities related to organizational diversity and culturally responsive care, including managing the Cross Cultural Care department. These areas, which are directly tied to the organization’s quality journey, include improving patient access to care, expanding language services, developing community partnerships, and piloting innovative programs that bolster clinical outcomes. She will also collaborate with the organization’s Human Resources department to strengthen its abilities to deliver compassionate care in a way that mirrors its community’s needs.

Anderson has spent the past 25 years helping individuals from a variety of backgrounds begin life anew. Her first cross cultural assignment was directing refugee camp operations for Indochinese refugees in Thailand applying for resettlement in the United States; she helped approximately 4,000 individuals each month make this life-changing transition. She then served as a political asylum officer for the Justice Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service, interviewing applicants from 25 countries who were seeking refuge in America.

At Regions Hospital, Anderson directed the international services department. She secured numerous grants from local foundations for cross cultural health care education and programming and built strong community partnerships with patients and providers. While at the Minnesota State Department of Human Services, she concentrated her planning and strategic talents on ensuring the best possible use of scarce resources for refugee and immigrant services.

Anderson also brings compliance and regulatory knowledge, as well as community relations expertise, to her new role. She managed codes of conduct and best practices at U.S. Bancorp and launched programs at Thrivent Financial that addressed the connection between financial wellness and personal wellness in diverse communities.

Craig Svendsen, MD, Chief Medical Quality Officer for HealthEast, says that “Anderson’s personal and professional experiences are a testament to two key principles: 1) the ability to truly understand and respond meaningfully to diversity opportunities extends beyond color, language, religion and other markers people typically use to define diverse populations and 2) all of our backgrounds reflect some type of diversity. We’re excited to have this kind of ‘out of the box thinker’ who can get things done join HealthEast.”

Anderson, a self-described “third culture kid,” was born and raised (until the age of 12) in Thailand. She relocated to the United States in her teens. In both cases, she understood what it meant to feel excluded, either because you did not look like or sound like the majority, or because you lacked a shared history or world perspective. Anderson knew that her life’s work would be dedicated to creating welcoming, healing and culturally responsive environments and to helping people who were on the outside looking in.

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and criminal justice from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota; a certificate in multiculturalism and diversity from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a mini MBA in Health Care Administration from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. In 2004, she earned her juris doctor (JD) from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Anderson is a contributing author to two books that explore multiculturalism and diversity entitled, “Healing Heart” and “My Heart it is Delicious.”

HealthEast Care System is a community-focused, non-profit health care organization that provides innovative technology, compassionate care and a full spectrum of family health services. HealthEast includes Bethesda Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Woodwinds Health Campus as well as outpatient services, clinics, home care, pharmacies and medical transportation services.

Practicing financial responsibility, HealthEast is the largest locally-owned health care organization in the Twin Cities’ East Metro with 7,300 employees, 1,200 volunteers and 1,400 physicians on staff.

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Fellow TCKs,

I am currently embarking on an exhaustive research project on TCKs, comparing them to monocultured individuals seeking to determine a difference in social and emotional adaptability. This research is significant and I believe will help the TCK community at large, as there is fairly little academic research in this arena.

Having said that, I am in great need of participants. If you would be willing to take 20 minute survey online this would be tremendously helpful to me and the academic information on TCKs.

1. Go to the website: http://www.allynlyttle.com/
2. Select “Survey” and input necessary information
3. Password required is: “personality”
4. Follow the instructions for the different sections

Thank you for your assistance in this. If you know of any other TCKs who may participate, please share the information. Again, this could potentially reflect some significance differences in our “culture.”

Sincerely,
Allyn Lyttle

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Fellow TCKs,
I’m currently completing my masters degree dissertation, which is on TCKs and I need participants, who are TCKs, to take an online survey. If you would be willing to help me out, further the academic knowledge of TCKs, or just have some free time, please contact me so I can send you the information.

Thank you so much,
Allyn

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Well some one just invited me to this facebook group called Ketch My Drift, and I checked it out as it had a good name, Ketch as in a type of boat and a play on words. Love that stuff.

Back to the group. It’s about this tv show some one wants to make about families that sail around the world, and well, that’s what I was doing as a kid so I’m fairly interested in it. The group description says: ” Support group to the real-life adventure TV show about families that are sailing around the world. Ketch My Drift will inspire a different way to view the world we all live in. ”

Sounds to me like a show that would be about a particular type of TCKs in a way. Anyway I’ll put the link in and if you’re interested you can check it out. [=

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=597444844&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=41683164310&ref=mf

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http://www.newsweek.com/id/180207/page/1

Many of Obama’s top advisers, like an increasing number of Americans, have learned and lived abroad.

The fact that Valerie Jarrett spent her early childhood in Iran made it easier to bond with Barack Obama. … It’s a common point among Obama’s top aides, a surprising number of whom grew up in other countries—the insight they developed by seeing America from the outside in. The former expats include retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, the incoming national-security adviser, who lived in France for most of his childhood; Timothy Geithner, the nominee for Treasury secretary, who grew up in Zimbabwe, India and Thailand; retired Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, a child of missionaries in Africa who is a leading contender to become the new NASA administrator; and Jarrett, a close personal friend of the Obamas’ who will serve as a top domestic-policy adviser.

GREAT article!

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Do you remember when you discovered the term “Third Culture Kids?” (What is a Third Culture Kid?) We asked over 3,000 TCKs how this discovery helped them find an identity and increased their sense of belonging.

“Throughout the months, I had been crying pretty much every night from the overwhelming loneliness, disconnection, and inability to connect to reality.” Dana writes, a TCK from tckid.com. (name changed for privacy)

“It was just indescribably overwhelming.”

“Now that a few months have passed since that ‘fateful’ August night, I can really say that that severe loneliness is gone and hasn’t come back. It hasn’t come back.”

For many Third Culture Kids, realizing there’s a community of thousands of people sharing a common experience is a very healing experience and can encourage them to form friendships.

“The healing was for real. And it was permanent.” she says.

“And I feel as though it’s been replaced by a solid courage to pursue heart-to-heart relationships with people.”

“I remembered how powerful the project is. And I wanted to be a part of the effort.”

Not everyone understands the impact of this discovery right away. Mish, a TCK living in Malaysia writes:

“I still cry. Every now and again. I knew I was a TCK when I reached the age of about 12, although at that time I didn’t understand what it meant for me.”

“I remember, a short time after I found out, I moved again and that was when the hurt reached its peak, and I decided that I would distance myself from everyone I came into contact with. For the most part, it did work, and I didn’t make very many friends in the country I moved to. But thankfully, it didn’t work all that way, since I did make friends and the friends I made are still close to me emotionally.

After exploring this site and after reading the stories of other people, it helped to me to feel better about my own situation.

I’ve moved again, for university this time. And I’ve made so many friends here, and met up with so many old friends.”

“I can’t thank you enough for setting up this site and for preparing me both emotionally and mentally to go out and form relationships with others. It’s still hard. But now, at least I don’t try to distance myself from others.”

What is your story? It’s time to uncover and celebrate this discovery today. Please leave a comment below.

Written with kind advice from TCKID volunteer Daniel Suh, Miyon Kim and Paul Trigg

If you discovered you’re a TCK a long time ago and shared your story before, this is your opportunity to inspire someone new. Let everyone know what it meant to you.

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