Cutting Along The Bias
Cutting Along The Bias

Despite the media’s scrutiny of migrants and TCK’s, a number of people are refusing to let their opinion be swayed by the negative rhetoric and instead are choosing to form their own opinions untainted by unconscious bias...

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Speak EasyBy Anam Javed (From Pakistan. Living in Melbourne)TCK TOWN, tck, TCK, third culture kid, bias, Speak easy, embarrassment, biases, interview, conversation, diversity, diverse, culture, multicultural, town, Anglo-Saxon, Australian, migrants, beliefs, understandingComment
ANTHONY
ANTHONY

I am or have been a local of London, Lahore, Dacca, New Delhi, Kuwait City, Dhahran, Manila, Bangkok, Pattaya, Tokyo, Salt Lake City, Evanston (Wyoming), Istanbul, Saigon, Hong Kong, Toronto, Freetown, Addis Ababa, Singapore. It seems like a lot but it's kind of a blur. 

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Speak EasyBy Anthony Arcis (From America, London, Istanbul, Bangkok & Toronto (mainly). Living in The Philippines)TCK TOWN, tck, TCK, third culture kid, local, multilocal, London, Lahore, Dacca, New Delhi, Kuwait City, Dhahran, Manila, Bangkok, Pattaya, Tokyo, Salt Lake City, Evanston, Istanbul, Saigon, Hong Kong, Toronto, Freetown, Addis Ababa, Singapore, family, parents, relatives, rituals, meditation, moving, world, news, relationships, friends, restrictions Comment
My Unicorn and I
My Unicorn and I

I can choose how Japanese I am: I never leave my chopsticks standing up in a bowl of rice because that is a funeral practice here and I avoid the number 4 like the plague in food service... 

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Speak EasyBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)TCK TOWN, tck, TCK, third culture kid, culture, cultural, story, friends, friend, friendship, Canada, India, Bombay, Mumbai, Tokyo, Japan, Japanese, Canadian, unicorn, india, Indian, Malaysia, Malaysian, Chamorro, Guam, church, churches, mosques, American, America, foreign, foreigners, diversity, village, Hebrew, Yiddish, Europe, European, pastComment
ANAM
ANAM

Pakistan has been flagged by the Australian government as a "terrorist country" and yet I consider it home...

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Speak EasyBy Anam Javed (From Pakistan. Living in Melbourne)TCK TOWN, tck, TCK, third culture kid, local, multilocal, Pakistan, Pakistani, Malaysian, Malaysia, music, work, Brunei, Melbourne, Australian, Australia, passport, rituals, relationship, relationships, mother, happy, call, Islam, Identity, home, identity, travelled, travel, world, United Nations, hope, bucket listComment
DANISH
DANISH

I am a reverse brain-drain story. Pakistan exported me for the sake of knowledge creation - however, I came back empty-handed. They still had the generosity to take me back in, but I feel they are having second thoughts...

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Speak EasyBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)TCK TOWN, tck, TCK, third culture kid, local, multilocal, postcode, Pakistan, Pakistani, Australia, Australian, rituals, ritual, reading, religion, read, travel, friends, friendship, family, phone, Speak Easy Comment
PAUL
PAUL

My passports have always been issued from abroad. In the 1980s my passports were changed to blue "Z" instead of the standard blue. I was treated like a second class citizen each time I “returned” to the US and travelling in my 20's through Europe with it in the Cold War was sheer hell on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain...  

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Speak EasyBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, third culture kid, Paul Kennedy, Paul, local, multilocal, born, Atlantic, Spain, Guam, Alaska, Korea, European, South-East Asia, Asian, home, Washington, California, Texas, Germany, Austria, Europe, Americans, eat, spice, culinary, Spanish, English, Mexico, German, US, citizen, passport, Tokyo Comment
The Rise Of The Mighty HSP
The Rise Of The Mighty HSP

My pilgrimage to locate the best HSP joint in Victoria continues. There will be more hits, and some misses, but that is the price my bowels will pay for this greater good that will serve the human race...

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In Good TasteBy Anam Javed (From Pakistan. Living in Melbourne)tck, TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, hsp, halal, halal snack pack, holy trinity, holy trinity of sauces, uludag, Melbourne, Australia, Australian, the halal snack pack appreciation society, review, meat, cheese, chips, kebab, Victoria Comments
The Holy Grail
The Holy Grail

I had been taught in school that heaven contained streams of milk and honey, however, that afternoon as I blasphemed, I knew God would forgive this enlightened experience when his golden trumpets sounded on my day of reckoning...

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In Good TasteBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)potatoes, roti, aloo, live, eat, Nana, Pakistani, lunchtime, nani, memories, food, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, Karachi, tck, TOP TEN Comment
The Thermostats Of Strangers
The Thermostats Of Strangers

Perhaps my sorry state tugged on this woman's strings of motherhood and allowed her to look upon me as just another uncomfortable human. There was a call to nurture and I allowed her to play mum for just the briefest of instances - so fast, if you weren't looking, you'd miss it.

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Thank YouBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)English, TCK, kindness, customers, commute, station, help, courtesy, stranger, Vegas, Texas, tck, New Orleans, subway, tube, motherhood, Hong Kong, summer, tourists, Tokyo, train, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, Japanese Comment
Speed Date A Muslim
Speed Date A Muslim

Growing up in Pakistan and Malaysia, navigating the fine line between culture and religion caused me a fair amount of grief and I found it difficult to watch respected members of society engage in archaic and detrimental cultural practices in the name of Islam.

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Thank YouBy Anam Javed (From Pakistan. Living in Melbourne)tck, TCK, TCK TOWN, date, muslim, Islam, Quran, Prophet Mohammed, culture, women, Pakistan, Malaysia, society, divorce, ideals, Australia, Australian, youth, Melbourne, Moroccan Deli-cacy, Speed Date A MuslimComment
Love On The Wires
Love On The Wires

You and I were practically joined at the hip. For every joke I heard, you laughed at the same point I did. Our humor was like honey poured into a biscuit, where each half reopened to show a mirror shape. You and I fit, we stuck together, we clicked...

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Friendships, GoodbyeBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)friendship, island, language, communicated, tribe, culture, third culture kid, tck, social circles, drifted, friends, jokes, connected Comment
The Dynamics of Coupling in Tokyo
The Dynamics of Coupling in Tokyo

Japanese women maybe have had about 50 years to figure out what an ugly foreigner looks like, so when you see a gorgeous, local woman with an almost repugnant non-Japanese man, you have to stifle the urge to alter your line of vision down to his goods.

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In LoveBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)couples, Japan, wife, culture, gay, dildos, neighbors, Canada, unit, married, gaijin, US, partners, Roppongi, open relationship, Tokyo, relationships, race, North America, honeymoon, Japanese Comments
Global Love
Global Love

I distinctly remember feeling inspired by the idea of the young, reckless love depicted in the movie, which was swiftly followed by utter mortification at the scenes showing physical intimacy. I was a product of a Pakistani, Muslim household, and any form of physical contact with the opposite sex was severely frowned upon.

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In Love, Adulthood, RelationshipsBy Anam Javed (From Pakistan. Living in Melbourne)Malaysia, intimacy, Pakistani, Muslim, love, affection, Australia, marriage, single, sex, sabr, Arabic, respect, relationship Comments
Love, Porn and knowing the difference
Love, Porn and knowing the difference

Before I was to be slowly torn down by my relationship with August, I had newly discovered my TCK identity and was sure he was the missing piece of who I was. I was living in an amazing share house with maybe 8 or 9 different nationalities rotating through it at any one time – and amongst these students, professionals and travellers alike – I was happy that I had finally found my people…

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Adulthood, In Love, Mental Health, Relationships, Sex, Self WorthBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)TCK TOWN, tck, Tck, TCK, relationship, relationships, partner, abuse, Japan, Japanese, Australia, Australian, Sri Lankan, Korea, Tokyo Comments