Stories — TCK TOWN

My Analogue Life

This ocean is not mine, I was born in another. I moved, learned, lived, cried and loved somewhere else…

AdulthoodBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)5 June 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, Third Culture Adult, young, Islander, island, summer, spring, Ocean, moving, moving countries, belong, belongingComment

Cooking Up The Courage To Move Again

I recognised my discomfort for what it was quickly enough. I love challenging myself by meeting new people and throwing myself into new environments and experiences as often as I can, but that doesn’t mean I find it easy to do…

FearBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)1 June 2019TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, moving, moving countries, disappointment, Australia, Middle East, challenges, judgement, Melbourne, life lessons, cooking, Dubai Comments

How I Learned Nomadic Resilience

I learned at a very young age that flights get canceled, baggage gets lost, water and electrical outages are a part of life, not everything can be purchased in a grocery store, military coups happen, and sometimes one gets evacuated from war zones. My primary hack is to make the journey part of your experience...

ResilienceBy Anthony Arcis (From America, London, Istanbul, Bangkok & Toronto (mainly). Living in The Philippines)29 May 2019TCK, Tck, TCK TOWN, survival, serial expat, Third World, physical resilience, psychological resilience, flight delays, immigration, preparedness, accept, flexibility, adaptability, positive outlook, minimalismComment

The Known Unknown

While waiting for information about her funeral, I found out it was already taking place and I would miss it…

This TCKness

This emptiness, rootlessnes, in-betweenness, nobodiness, neither here, nor there-ness…

Where Are You From?By Arisa Aylin (From Istanbul, New Delhi & Tokyo. Living in Tokyo)22 May 2019TCK TOWN, TCK, tck, identity, emptiness, rootlessness, multicultural, hybrid, self-worth, belongingComment

When Solo Travel Isn’t So Solitary

Jay and I stayed up till almost 3am that night realizing we had much more in common than we thought, shedding tears and spilling our life secrets…

A 5-day Intensive to Remember

Getting to my final year, I had an existential crisis—I hadn’t done an exchange semester yet...

Flyway, My Friend

A collaborative project between 20 artists across nine countries came close to that gossamer spirit that has guided me through my travels. That project was The Flyway Print Exchange, coordinated by the Melbourne-based printmaker and artist Kate Gorringe-Smith…

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 Clouds

Everywhere and nowhere, home is no place...

No Regrets

With a deep breath, I’m ready to fly…

Past the Point of Resilience

I never thought that this change I loved so much would betray me. When my dad started talking, tears ran down my face as I soaked in his words and tried to make sense of what he was saying. We were leaving Peru in three days. No one in Peru knew we were leaving...

ResilienceBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)27 April 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, Tck, Peru, Minnesota, Tennessee, suitcase, change, goodbye, moving, culture shock, home Comments

Love, Love, Love, in My Mind

The flight might have been long and I had worried about the cost of the airfare, but from where I was sitting, none of that mattered anymore and this was the sweetest part of my trip…

Family, RelationshipsBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)24 April 2019TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan, Sinhala, gathering, reunion, school holidays, left behind, bonds, absentComment

The Hale Boys

Your purpose in life isn’t just found in big cities, away from supposed intellectual backwaters. It’s found wherever you feel the most alive and the most genuine and such a place isn't often tacked to a specific postcode.

Rediscovering Myself as a TCK

Am I Korean or American? Am I more Korean or more American? Which side do I belong to? Who am I?—I kept asking until last night, the night of the TCK student organization meeting and the night that changed my perception of my own personal and cultural identity forever…

Where Are You From?By Peter Inho Nahm (From Iowa, Daegu, Indiana & Nebraska. Living in Texas).17 April 2019TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, Korea, USA, Daegu, Indiana, meeting, awakening, Iowa, Texas, belonging, identity, communityComment

The Art Of Goodbye

It feels like I have spent my lifetime perfecting the art of goodbye...

Bridging WorldsBy Dora Bralo (From Croatia & the United States. Living in New York)13 April 2019tck, TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, bridging worlds, goodbye, friends, Friendship, international school, international students, international, global mobility, memories, Hindi, graduate, graduationComment

Leaving Cities & Cities Behind

My mind practices the process of letting go, adapting to change and saying goodbye continuously…

The First Three Goodbyes

The memories of the last goodbye would come flooding back — the guilt that I hadn’t embraced the moment, the feeling of contentment that I had made friends for life, the experiences I had locked into my memory, and most of all, the sadness that this all was all coming to a grinding halt…

GoodbyeBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)3 April 2019goodbyes, TCK, ATCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, cult, family, friendship, friends, moving, Australia, Pakistan, Pakistani, Australian, schoolComment

Hijab and the Doppelgängers

There shouldn’t be an issue of not accepting another culture or religion just because you don’t like it or because you don’t understand it. Is this lack of tolerance something we might eventually be proud of? I shudder at the thought…

AngerBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)30 March 2019anger, TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, friendship, racism, prejudice, Islam, muslim, hijab, Tokyo, winter, Japanese, Japan, KoreaComment

Swallowing the Shame-Anger Pill

Having edited TCK TOWN for two and a half years now, having dated a very, very troubled TCK who was battling with his cultural identity, and through living TCK experiences myself, I could imagine that his past had made him this odd, awkward and uncomfortable rageaholic…

AngerBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)27 March 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, anger, relationships, relatives, mother, father, sister, Melbourne, Australia, race, culture, conflict, familyComment