language — Stories

I Am From

I am from the south and I am from the north, my “R” is rolling on the tip of my tongue and stuck in the back of my throat, my taste buds feast on Fårikål as well as Llajwa…

Where Are You From?By Eli G. Goa (From Bolivia & Norway. Living in China)12 September 2020bolivia, norway, food, valley, mountain, market, coast, wind, nature, sea, third culture adult, third culture kid, storm, language, roots, rhythm Comments

The Spirit of Radio

“Lágrimas e Chuva” by Kid Abelha takes me back to a warm and smokey Brazilian night in the backseat of a 2004 Citroen…

MusicBy Cayetano Garcia Cachay (From Germany, Brazil & the United States of America. Living in Germany)12 August 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, music, adulthood, memories, third culture kid, CCK, Brazil, Michigan, Germany, Spain, friends, experiences, history, language Comments

Dreams of Livvy's Paris

I hugged her goodbye and left for the train station. It’s been a year since and that was the last hug I would get from her…

Goodbye, RelationshipsBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)2 May 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture kid, languages, language, Paris, goodbye, family, cousins, cousin, memory, death, grief Comments

Driss and Philippe—a Friendship Beyond Their Borders

Latin American films (‘Amores Perros’ starring Gabriel Garcia Bernal), Israeli films (‘Waltz with Bashir’ by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman), and Asian films (‘Yi Yi’ a film set in Taiwan following the lives of the Jian family from their alternating perspectives) — I revelled in them…

A Community of Outsiders and Misfits

Some swore allegiance to Pakistan, others to Australia and others were in an existential crisis. There was a strange sense of community, which was dynamic and syncretic

I Just Want a Matchstick

We were in Costa Rica, two months in, on a year-long adventure of travel, volunteering, and growth…

Dear Chook-Chook (A Letter To My Daughter)

You once said to your father: “Papa, you are brown.” He gently took you to mirror, “Yes Chook-Chook, so are you”…

Japanese American on the Flip Side

My blue eyes and straight nose a legacy of Northern Europe and gifts from my ancestors…

FamilyBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)7 December 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, identity, family, parents, sterotypes, Japanese, American, America, language, Tokyo, poemComment

I Am Not a Tourist Here

I knew that people could look at us and know we were not from there, yet I tried desperately to fit in in this place that I called home...

Self Worth, SchoolBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)28 October 2019hometown, language, third language, self-worth, local, home, third culture kid, perspectives, school, tourists, TCK TOWN, Tck, TCK, PeruComment

Bridging My Two Worlds

I adapted to the new environment, but life never became easier. As I walked down the street, students from my school would yell, calling me Chinese…

The Great Tohoku Earthquake

March 11, 2011. Just an ordinary day. Then earth fell away beneath us…

My Pidgin is Better Than Yours

Of course, I envy your ability to switch from Japanese to English and back again, like a ping pong ball ricochets and zings out of a corner.

AngerBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)8 May 2019tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, third culture kid, cultures, culture, prejudice, students, Pidgin, language, Japan, Islander, JapaneseComment

The Guts of Being Cross-Cultural

With the whole of my heart (and my guts), I believe that your accent is fine just the way it is. There isn't really a right way to say 'tomato'. While you can't expect others to agree with your cultural identity, you can expect people to respect it...

Where Haven’t I Been Yet?

My passport tells an improbable tale of birth, country of origin and address of emergency contact….

Where Are You From?By Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)19 September 2018tck, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, where are you from, Nebraska, Americans, America, USA, Japan, Japanese, parents, family, languageComment

Where I'm From Is A State Of Mind

Almost everyone only thought about Turkey as depicted in the movie ‘Midnight Express’, although I have never seen it…

Where Are You From?By Anthony Arcis (From America, London, Istanbul, Bangkok & Toronto (mainly). Living in The Philippines)12 September 2018TCK TOWN, tck, third culture kid, where are you from, USA, US, America, Americans, friendship, family, father, born, Turkey, language, plane, languagesComment

My (P)lucky Mum (An Inspiring & True Tale)

In the past 6 years I have watched my mum utterly transform - a shift that started the first day she stepped into her chosen university. She went from calling us about the location of her saved files to independently researching university databases and overloading her bookmarks tab...

Dancing Feels Like Home

Dancing is everywhere in Peru; it’s a way to share history and tell stories. The country is rich in traditional dances, and I grew to love this part of Peruvian culture. It didn't matter that I was never very good at it...

CDs to MP3s; Turkish Pop to Tinnitus

I find the Turkish language so beautiful, and when it is sung it becomes even more so. It didn’t hurt that I had crushes on most of the popular female Turkish pop singers back in the 1980s either...

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..."

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...