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Why I Have An Accent

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Author:
cami

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Hola! Finding this forum was like stumbling onto a doorstep in the middle of a blizzard and being let into a warm home, with a fire blazing, and then being offered hot cocoa in a huge mug! Sniiffff. Can you tell I’m touched, relieved, and over all excited about joining?

I’ve been “out” as a TCKid since my university days, when I joined an International Club and found myself, as well as some life-long friends. Prior to this, my four siblings and I referred to ourselves as “Dip Brats”, and as far as we knew, were the only members of this rather strange, sometimes lonely, and very exclusive group. It was better than the other term I would use, laughingly, to describe myself  (“mongrel”). We comforted ourselves as well as we could. We shuttled as children of a diplomat from the Philippines, to the US (10 years), Australia (1-4 years, depending on which sibling you speak to!); back to the Philippines; then back to the US…and from there, we scattered all over the globe.

So don’t be surprised if my whole clan signs up, as I’ve excitedly sent them the link. Buy one, take all five.

Home for now is Singapore, where my husband and I have spawned two CCKids of our own. My teenagers have never lived in the US, but speak with flawless Midwestern US accents (my legacy lol); and know just a few phrases of their native Tagalog. They are culture chameleons, who can’t wait to enter university abroad when they graduate from their international high school. That pretty much cements their destiny as Global Nomads, and so I feel I’ve come full-circle.

Who am I? I am Filipino by birth, Chicago Catholic schoolgirl by upbringing. I texted my Irish friends “Erin Go Bragh” this weekend, because I’ve known this phrase since I was seven, and commemorate all American holidays. 

I am thoroughly Western in outlook in an Asian environment. And even in a multi-racial, multi-cultural country like Singapore, I am still stumped when asked “Where are you from? I was four when I first stepped onto an airplane, and today find it impossible to sit still for more than a month. I travel compulsively, and speak in the only accent that I feel is universal: my writing, and my photographs. 

I’m so glad I’ve found this place. 


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March 17, 2008 | Filed Under Introduction 

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29 Responses to “Why I Have An Accent”

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  1. 21
    Uncle Dan
    Uncle Dan Says:
    March 20th, 2008 at 2:23 am

    Hmm. I think they’re mostly, you know, still in school. There probably is a large expatriate community, but considering the huge tourist economy in Singapore, it’s probably hard to tell them apart. So the most visible TCKs are probably the foreigners in school uniforms who wander the malls after class.

    (Is this spam?)

  2. 22
    Baboucarr
    Baboucarr Says:
    March 20th, 2008 at 5:36 am

    wow! you are indeed quite the traveller! when you going to London? i plan on going there this summer if im lucky! i am have had many a opportunities to see Morocco but never went through with it!

    Yea i know of the “embassy kids” phrase and the mix between the two “embassy brat” which my uncle you to call us!

    Yea i hear S’pore got a good number of international schools so there’ll a high number of tcksand possibly including the teachers.

    (Is this spam?)

  3. 23
    Unregistered
    trudy Says:
    March 20th, 2008 at 7:35 am

    hey cami!
    i used to live in Singapore for a number of years! and i might be back this summer =) i miss the food there soooo much!
    i went to local schools there as well international schools.
    i dont know if you get this a lot. but i am asian(chinese) and i speak with what singaporeans call an ‘ang mo’[to roughly translate, it refers to a white person] accent. so people often give me weird looks…>.< and yes i know loads of TCKs in singapore. most of my friends were TCKs actually….lol

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  4. 24
    Unregistered
    cami Says:
    March 21st, 2008 at 12:15 am

    That’s true, the kids at my daughters’ school are all TCKs, and many of the parents ATCKs. It’s a good community, kind of like a home away from home, in a way. Although there are a number for whom Singapore is their first posting. I always tell them, Singapore really isn’t Asia - it’s more Asia 101, a soft landing if you’ve never been in this part of the world. It’s easy to integrate, and it’s relatively normal to be nomadic. We all know that’s not the case with most other places :-)

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  5. 25
    Unregistered
    cami Says:
    March 21st, 2008 at 12:16 am

    Trudy! You’re like me! Asian with an ang moh accent! ;-)

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  6. 26
    Uncle Dan
    Uncle Dan Says:
    March 21st, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Haha, I prefer this description! Americans like the term “Banana”, essentially meaning “yellow on the outside and white on the inside”… But while we’re not really Asian, we’re not exactly “white” either…

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  7. 27
    Unregistered
    alainedances Says:
    March 24th, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    Welcome Cami! I grew up in Singapore and went to SAS. I’ll be teaching at SAS this summer for a couple of weeks.

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  8. 28
    Unregistered
    cami Says:
    April 6th, 2008 at 2:56 am

    hey alainedances! what will you be teaching this summer? would love to meet up for a coffee if you’re up for it!

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  9. 29
    Unregistered
    alainedances Says:
    April 6th, 2008 at 8:49 am

    I’m teaching dance this summer. Sure, lets meet up for kopi..hehehe.

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