It’s a Small World When You Are Japanese in Montana
It’s a Small World When You Are Japanese in Montana

When I was first hired to teach, there was something that used to rub me the wrong way; students would interrupt my lessons to ask me questions about my hometown or cultural practices...

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Bridging WorldsBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)TCK, Tck, TCK TOWN, US, Canada, Japan, Japanese, English, tickets, flight, Montana, Austin, Seattle, flight attendantComment
How to Separate the Men From the Boys
How to Separate the Men From the Boys

If you thought this could only happen in Pakistan, you are wrong. It happened in Singapore, and it even happened in Australia (even though there, I had to earn my spot in earnest)...

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AdulthoodBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)tck, Tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, third culture kid, culture, adulthood, adult, passport, travel, memories, legal, young, rite of passage, maturity, responsibility, accountability, independence, Pakistan, Australia, parents, financial, internship Comment
What The Birthday Gods Delivered
What The Birthday Gods Delivered

Then there was the McDonald’s birthday trend. Uncle Sam had muscled his way into the Karachi youth’s minds, and a Happy Meal and rides on colorful slides were the dream in the late 90s. I didn’t have one, but I was invited to one. It was an utter disappointment...

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Adulthood, BirthdaysBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)TCK TOWN, Tck, TCK, third culture kid, adulthood, adult, birthday, Karachi, family, city, house, friends, school, kids, children, local, best friends, cake, parents, Australia, Bollywood, Mumbai, movie, mother, college, memories, life Comment
The Man-Child Within
The Man-Child Within

In my native Spain, children at age six could drink 1/4 strength wine. At 16, you went to full strength. In Hawai’i when I was flying, it was “Hey, bruddha, can you drink with us?” Likewise, on Guam, the test would be handing someone a 5 dollar bill and asking them to go buy a 6-pack of beer...

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AdulthoodBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)TCK TOWN, Tck, third culture kid, adulthood, adult, children, American, independent, responsibility, rights, society, Spain, Hawai'i, Guam, San Francisco, Japan, JapaneseComment
My Yurt And I
My Yurt And I

My ex-wife called me one day and told me that there had been a massive fire at the storage facility. Everything was gone. Not only my parents’ stuff, but all my military items, a sizable weapons collection, and a lifetime of memorabilia...

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MovingBy Anthony Arcis (From America, London, Istanbul, Bangkok & Toronto (mainly). Living in The Philippines)TCK TOWN, tck, third culture kid, culture, moving, home country, pack, parents, countries, country, boxes, furniture, United States, storage, Argentine, child, family, overseas Comment
How To Move Like A Kennedy
How To Move Like A Kennedy

The second or third day after the earthquake, I sat in my apartment and realized the training my family and I did in Germany was no different from the onboard aircraft evacuation training I went through over the years. "Take nothing that will slow you down. Run, run far and don't look back..."

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MovingBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)tck, Tck, third culture kid, language, move back, moving, home country, homes, hometown, live, friendship, family, Spain, stay, Guam, house, Thailand, Germany, kitchen, earthquake, Hong Kong, Korea, UK, Alaska, Tokyo, Japan, suitcaseComment
The Faces and Places of Past Perú
The Faces and Places of Past Perú

We left the taxis that were everywhere, and we left the skyscrapers that gave the most incredible views of the vast city. We left the live music in the park where you could dance with other couples, smiling and laughing, not caring that you were stepping on your partner's feet...

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MovingBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)Tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, tck, third culture kid, Peru, family, foreign, languages, language, moving, meals, European, hikers, Peruvian, skyscrapers, music, dancing, singing, travel, travelled, adult, Family Comment
The Mooncake Meeting
The Mooncake Meeting

I revelled in the power of my many homes. I sit in my room for hours and listen to that Thai singer.
and muse about the camels from my Arab home...

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Where Are You From?, Friendships, BirthdaysBy Dhavinya Saba (From Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, India and Brunei. Living in Malaysia)where are you from, TCK, tck, third culture kid, TCK TOWN, Malaysian, Malaysia, food, India, malay, Chinese-Malaysian, Chinese, Thai, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, mooncake, Arab, home, friends, friendship, school Comments
We’re Living On Borrowed Time
We’re Living On Borrowed Time

Seeing the birthday boy or girl so happy, feeling so fulfilled, you couldn’t help but know it was temporary. Perhaps the year after, that very same birthday boy or girl would be in a new country, with new friends, doing it all over again...

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BirthdaysBy Mathilde Caraccio (From France​ & Italy. Living in Singapore)tck, TCK TOWN, Tck, TCK, third culture kid, culture, cultural, birthdays, party, Singapore, French, childhood, rituals, gift, parents, children, classmates, school, celebrations, happy, sad Comment
The Metro By Berlin
The Metro By Berlin

I listen to The Metro and I think of how guilty I felt buying Hitler era stamps in a small shop in Vienna’s Mitt Banhoff subway station arcade and how I had to use those auto stamp machines to get to the train... 

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MusicBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)Tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, third culture kid, Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin, German, Germany, Hungary, Soviet, subway, Munich, Vienna, Tokyo, Roppongi, disco, music, song, songs Comments
The Grass is Green Wherever I Am
The Grass is Green Wherever I Am

I was surrounded by music and swing-dancing and prayer and a community of 400 people that attended the wedding. In my Dusty Rose dress in line with the other girls I felt like I was playing dress-up, assuming my part in an American wedding movie...

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FriendshipsBy Alexa Shearer (From the US, France, Germany, Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria & Italy. Living in Florida)tck, TCK TOWN, third language, third culture kid, Alabama, Siberia, wedding, dancing, community, church, Russia, US, USA, Moscow, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Trans-Siberian RailwayComment
My First Two Favourite Tokyo Boys
My First Two Favourite Tokyo Boys

I liked his big, round glasses and how he drew Mount Fuji for me on a spare piece of paper because I was disappointed that it was again obscured from our view ("now you can say you've seen it"). I became quickly smitten...

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In Good Taste, FriendshipsBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)Toyota, Japan, kaishain, TCK, Mount Fuji, road trip, okonomiyaki, tck, friends, Nagoya, Tokyo, umeshu, family, friendship, TCK TOWN, shouchu, Japanese Comments