cultures — Stories

The Pink Lion from Tanzania

I wanted to claim Tanzania as my home, but how could I? I was not accepted by others as a part of their country…

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

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?

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

It’s Only Sex

I personally don't understand monogamy too well. Most cultures give it lip service but very few honor it…

SexBy Anthony Arcis (From America, London, Istanbul, Bangkok & Toronto (mainly). Living in The Philippines)19 February 2020TCK TOWN, Tck, TCK, third culture kid, sex, sexuality, cultures, cross cultural, culture, intimacy, intimate, couple, gay, gay communityComment

Pachamanca - The Inca Mountain Meal

To call it just a meal trivializes it. It’s an event, a ceremony even…

FoodBy Molly Kaitlin (From Peru, Costa Rica, Minnesota & Florida. Living in Tennessee)14 December 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, Tck, third culture kid, food, eat, meals, meal, Peruvian, Peru, Inca, mountains, lunch, culture, cultures, travelComment

A Tale Of Two Cultures

After realizing his cultural identity as a TCK, Peter faced a new inner conflict as he traveled between America and Korea: Should he stay true to his TCK identity or “take sides” with a single cultural identity?

In My Shinjuku Gardens

Hearts intertwined, cultures blended, held apart and concealed. Muted thoughts are voiced in random tongues.

In LoveBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)14 September 2019TCK, TCK TOWN, Third Culture Adult, third culture kid, japan, love, in love, relationship, relationships, past, age, cultures, attractionComment

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...

Staying True As A Javanese Woman

I was afraid that by identifying as a Javanese woman, I would be mistaken for being submissive, accepting and feminine. I would be misunderstood as being passive, when there is power in subtlety, courtesy, initiative, emotional mastery and consciousness...

Sunny Side Down

I find it hard to reach out to my colleagues. In my Australian culture, grief is largely seen as a private affair, punctuated by long and absent silences. Needing a national ‘Are you OK’ day says a lot about us, and how hard it is to have conversations outside socially acceptable boundaries...

Are You Fucking Crazy?

Mental HealthBy Paul Kennedy (From The Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe & Alaska. Living in Tokyo)4 August 2018third culture kid, friendship, japan, mental health, cultures, TCK, third languageComment

The Women of Flores De Villa

Scattered houses of veneer boards and rusty tin sheets pressed against each other along streets full of dust, are filled with abuse, heartbreak and pain…

WomanBy Piyadasa Hettihewa. (Father and Grandfather of TCKs. From Sri Lanka. Living in Thalawathugoda)26 May 2018TCK, tck, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, cultures, culture, women, woman, woman of colour, women's rights, violence against women, Peru, Peruvian, bravery, poem, poetryComment

Female Tenacity

I have been travelling through Pakistan, which on its own, is a country of many paradoxes. It is regularly featured near the bottom end of the gender equality indexes in many white papers yet many have forgotten it gave rise to the first female prime minister of a Muslim majority country.

WomanBy Danish Khan (From Melbourne, Perth, Karachi & Islamabad. Living in Karachi)21 March 2018TCK, TCK TOWN, Tck, cultures, woman, women, women's rightsComment

Teach A Man To Fish

The three of us viewed the crowded steam venting streets being worked for subway tunnels as an industrial Disneyland. Men swarmed up and down bamboo scaffolding. We snaked our ways along the queues for the old red double decker buses that bumped their way around Kowloon...

Pho the First Time

I sit there. Sweaty. Hungry. Flushed. Embarrassed, but humoured. This was the first time I had ever used chopsticks, been to a Vietnamese restaurant, or laid eyes on tea ornaments (flasks)...

I Like It Breaded, Fried and Crispy

Spare me the cake and candles and let me celebrate how I like it best...

Murder On The Dinner Table

Holy shit. It’s still alive! Okay. Oh my god. Okay. OH MY GOD...

Birthdays, In Good TasteBy Ava Senaratne (From Sri Lanka, Dubai & Melbourne. Living in Sydney)3 June 2017tck, TCK TOWN, third culture kid, cultures, culture, bir, Japan, Tokyo, onsen, dinner, food, Bangkok, Thailand Comments

The Friend In The Mirror

People will say one nation or region is more friendly than another. I honestly can say I think that people are pretty much the same all over the world. So if you are an asshole in Baltimore, moving to another country won’t magically transform you into everyone’s hero...