Stories — TCK TOWN

My Greatest Teacher

I was five when I fell in love. That instantaneous, all consuming, hard-to-breathe kind of love…

Cities, Advantages, North America, Moving, TravelBy Kirsty Lennox (From Glasgow, New York, Edinburgh, Auckland & London. Living in Wellington)18 November 2020TCK TOWN, TCK, Tck, love, New York, explore, passport, labels, freedomComment

Letting Go of Family (Dis)honour

How lonely my life could’ve been had I stuck to my culture which tells me to value the thick ties of family above all else...

We're Inspired, Advantages, Family, FriendshipsBy Farah Beaini (Living in the land of the Kulin nation)14 November 2020tck, third culture kid, TCK, TCK TOWN, family, cultures, culture, cultural, Lebanon, Lebanese, mother, parents, views, violent, relatives, sister, sisters, aunt, Australia, Australian, British, Canberra, Scottish, brother, Greek Comment

Not Of Blood

We have come together not because of blood, but because we share bonds of a common outlook on life…

The Upfield Line

When the vaccine comes and lockdowns end, the world will be different. At least, that’s what everyone says…

COVID-19By Seth Robinson (From the USA & Australia. Living in Melbourne)4 November 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture adult, culture, story, identityComment

Recipe: Petrifying Pumpkin Curry

Roast raw rice and grated coconut in a dry pan till golden brown, taking care not to burn. Let it cool and grind down into a coarse powder…

In Good Taste, FoodBy Mano Senaratne (From Sri Lanka & Australia. Living in Dubai.)31 October 2020tck, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, ingredients, cook, recipe, Sri LankaComment

The Yellow Uniform Shirt

My form teacher peered over his spectacles at me like I was an exotic bird and gestured for me to take a seat…

SchoolBy Simone de Monerri (From London, Munich, Vienna & Berlin. Living in Essex)24 October 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture adult, culture, story, identityComment

I Am Australian

I loved that 'the girls part' of the song meant we got to climb over the lyrics and sing a higher harmony while the boys peeled the words apart down low…

Thank You, Music, SchoolBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)17 October 2020proud, TCK, teasing, school, Australia, sing, music, Tasmania, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, dreamtime, Australian, lyrics Comment

I Wish Everyone Were A Migrant For A Week

I corrected her pronunciation. She tried again. I corrected her again. She said she would stick to her own pronunciation of my name…

Fear, SchoolBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)17 October 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, Third Culture Adult, Migrant, Australia, Friendship, Culture, Travel, SchoolComment

Interested in Travelling While Teaching Online?

I have traveled to over 118 countries over the last four years because I could work online and earned a steady income even if I was spending one week in Lebanon and another week in Oman…

School, GuidesBy Kiran Bhat (From Jonesboro [Georgia] & Mysore. Living in Melbourne)14 October 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture adult, culture, story, identityComment

Of Bread And Salt

Vegetables and fruits defy all 150m2 of the backyard and nudge across the neighbourly fence. Life can not be contained…

Social Hide & Seek

Our version of a corsage was a motia flower and though street vendors would sell these readily, they were not durable enough to hang around the hands of people as they danced…

Letting Go of Everything but My Memories

0 years from now, I will have forgotten the way the mountains looked from my window in Costa Rica and how people grilled outside on weekends at the pulperia across the street…

MovingBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)30 September 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture adult, third culture kid, Peru, Lima, moving, friends, moving countries, Costa Rica, Minnesota, USA, life, past, remember, memories Comment

Halting Proximity

Conversations are briefer. There is no physical contact. Our sense of community is bruised like a peach rolling from a table and making contact with a marble floor...

COVID-19By Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)23 September 2020COVID-19, office, lockdown, third culture adult, third culture kid, TCK, employees, handshake, hug, injured, connection, lossComment

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

Australia Day & Pakistan’s Independence

Australia Day is a contentious holiday, with a growing movement to rename it ‘Invasion day’…

EqualityBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)2 September 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, Pakistan, Australia, independence, moving, travel, moving countries, IndiaComment

Rainy Day Laundry Blues

A living room window with vapor rising, Frames a moose huddling over the steam for warmth.

WaterBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)29 August 2020rain, TCK, third culture adult, third culture kid, guam, france, tokyo, hong kong, alaska, korea, yorkshire, laundryComment

Making Americans Great Again

Are white, American men going to keep steamrolling over our cultures with their incorrect ideas about who we are and how our differences could harm them?

In America, a Grief Observed

As third culture kids, moving around frequently has accustomed us to loss…

North America, COVID-19By Dora Bralo (From Croatia & the United States. Living in New York)22 August 2020TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture adult, culture, story, identity Comment

Loving & Hating Nashville

I took everything I could from Nashville and in return, Nashville took everything out of me. I haven’t figured out how to make this city my home and I don’t know how to stay…

We Don't Fit In

I recognize Lilly’s distress because when I was nineteen I returned from where I had been living in Venezuela with my diplomat parents to my home nation of the UK to start university…

Bridging Worlds, North AmericaBy Clara Wiggins (From Cuba, the UK & Europe. Living in the Cheltenham)15 August 2020Tck, TCK TOWN, TCK, tck, third culture kid, travel, USA, Indiana, college, nationality, American, Saudi Arabia, diversityComment