“As London is such a melting pot of cultures we wanted to explore the idea of living in a family with a mix of cultural backgrounds and thought it would be great to speak to you on the show. There is a book out called The Map of Me – which has about ten or so authors who each tell their story of living in and out of different cultures. We’ll be talking to you about your background – how you started up the TCKID website – what the aim of it is and generally how a third generation kid is different – for good and bad.”

Jumoke Fashola
Wednesday 20th November 2008.
BBC LONDON 94.9
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london

More about TCKs on the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/0244kenya.shtml

From Brice:

I was interviewed by the BBC to talk about third culture kids and TCKID. Someone recorded the interview and emailed it to me recently so it’s not exactly the best audio quality. The discussion was about cultural identity and it was mostly fixated on race, but it was an interesting conversation nonetheless.

It was my first radio interview, so I was a bit nervous and I forgot to give the definition of a third culture kid. Feel free to laugh at my expense. =)

Enjoy!

P.S: I’ve done my part to raise awareness. It’s your turn now. Share this interview with your friends.

BBC Host: We’re discussing identity tonight, how do you define yourself?

(susan’s call)

Host: Joining us also tonight is Brice Royer who is a third culture kid,
he’s part French, Vietnamese and he’s part Ethiopian. He lived in
3 continents, and in 7 countries before the age of 18 so he knows
all about the need to belong. He eats French food for breakfast
and Ethiopian food for lunch! Brice set up the website tckid.com
third culture kids, to help those struggling with their identity
and offer a place of belonging. He joins us on the line now from Canada.

Host: Hello Brice, thanks so much for joining us.

Brice: Hi Jumoke, it’s my pleasure to be here.

Host: Just explain to us, in terms of identity, which we’ve already been
discussing tonight – you’ve got French, Vietnamese and Ethiopian – how
do you define yourself?

Brice: Well, I think the labels that you talked about earlier were really
interesting because that’s a hot topic in the TCK community, and most
third culture kids dislike labels and don’t want to be pigeon-holed by
what they find to be superficial racial characteristics and in their
point of view… why should people choose one part of their
heritage over another? And.. I’ve seen Europeans speak Arabic, and Asians
ask questions in French, and how I define myself is — I love what
Susan said — but really how I identify myself is I’m a multiracial kid and
I belong to a cross cultural group.

Host: You’re a multiracial kid and I belong to a cross cultural group! You should
see the faces of my guests in the studio, they’re just grimacing, is this
a sort of a Canadian thing or do you think that’s the best way to define
yourself?

Brice: Well, I don’t say that to people.

Host: Oh right.

Brice: That’s how I define myself. There’s no way I’m going to say that to people – they’ll just raise their eyebrow and say “what? what is that?”

Host: (chuckle) Yes. But, but, I mean, the wider point, that this is part of
the reason that you set up this website, is to actually discuss these
whole issues, giving people a forum whereby they can discuss notions
of identity.

Brice: Yes, because what’s interesting is that we have a cross cultural
identity that we’re just beginning to explore as a community, and it’s
a large identity that holds all kinds of cross cultural experiences.
Third culture kids are really a growing prototype of a new identity
that can be difficult to define.

Host: Yes, you said that you obviously have your own definition of self – what
do you say to people when they ask you who you are or where you’re from?

Brice: I just say I’m from Ottawa, Canada. (laughter)

Host: (laughter)

Brice: I just make it simple, I don’t want to complicate their lives, I’ll just
say I’m from Ottawa, Canada. But it depends on the situation, really.
And for the box, I just choose “other”.

Host: Oh, you say “other” as well?

Brice: That’s right.

Host: You know, I’m gonna start doing this “other” thing because I fancy
doing other now. But do you lean towards one culture over another, Brice?

Brice: Not really. Not at all. I just feel, um, it’s difficult to choose
one culture over another, because if you choose one culture you’re kind
of denying the other culture and it’s difficult to do that… what TCKs
really hate is picking one side over the other. So… I can’t really
choose.

Host: I’m just curious..

Brice: We have a relationship to those cultures but no ownership of any.

Host: Right. I’m curious to know what they say on the website, is this a
continual struggle for other TCKs or are they actually quite happy to
say well I’m just an other and I’m happy with that.

Brice: They’re only unhappy if they’re among people who don’t actually acknowledge
their experiences and feel different, because one of the challenges that
TCKs have is belonging. I know a multiracial half Philippino half English
third culture kid who grew up in Saudi Arabia and lived in England, and she
was made fun of because she had no idea who the Spice Girls were.

Host: Right.

Brice: And you can miss out on pop culture trends and things like that which can
make it hard to relate to your peers..

Host: Yeah. Sure.

Brice: But when they find a sense of belonging, once they talk to other third
culture kids who grew up with similar experiences, they begin to really
explore their gifts and that’s really incredible, just having the sense
of belonging and talking to other people just like you.

—

Popularity: 7% [?]