We all have a need to belong and be unique at the same time, as contradictory as that might seem. But when we grow up between different countries, languages and cultures, it can be hard to feel a strong sense of belonging to any one place or culture. Is belonging something that just is and can’t be changed: we either belong or we don’t? Or can we learn how to belong? In this episode, five adult Asian Third Culture Kids reflect on their experiences of trying to fit in and find community. They also share what they learned over the years as they searched for a sense of belonging. It can be abou ..read more

‘My parents wanted me to learn English and fit in. But they expect me to be fully Asian too. They don’t understand that I sometimes feel I’m not Western enough and I’m not Asian enough.’ In this open forum, we heard from a few Third Culture Kids about how becoming fluent in English or losing their home language complicated their relationship with their parents, their home culture and their sense of identity. We then opened the floor to discussion to our audience. It's a jam-packed episode full of stories and insights about the Asian twist to the TCK experience. You'll hear about: - Intimacy ..read more

Have you ever felt uncomfortable that people around you perceived you as superior for speaking a certain language or inferior for speaking it with the ‘wrong’ accent? Or have you ever wondered why all the characters in the novels your English teachers made you read had blond, brown or red hair but not black? Or perhaps you changed your name to, say, 'Jay' or 'Erika' to make it easier for your teachers and classmates to remember? As children, we start life without any understanding of why things are the way they are or why things like language, culture and race matter. But it doesn’t take long ..read more

"Why can't my parents understand that I'm culturally different from them?" "I want to talk to my parents about this but I don't know how." "Why did moving affect me so much but not my siblings?" Most Third Culture Kids are aware of the privilege that comes with an international upbringing, whether through moving geographically or the schools they attend. But sometimes it’s difficult when it affects relationships within the family. In this public online forum, we heard from adult Third Culture Kids with Asian experiences on how they grappled with some of these questions and then opened the fl ..read more

When the World Cup or Olympics are on, who do you cheer for? When the countries you care about don’t get along, what do you do? When it’s just about soccer or badminton teams, you might brush it off as ‘all in good fun’. But what happens when people who you think you belong with look down upon another cultural group that you belong to? In this forum, several Asian TCKs will share their stories of being caught between cultural identities that are sometimes at odds with one another. Join us to explore the hidden, complicated feelings that this may trigger and why. (Panel talk: 30 min. Open forum ..read more

We all have a need to belong and be unique at the same time, as contradictory as that might seem. But when we grow up between different countries, languages and cultures, it can be hard to feel a strong sense of belonging to any one place or culture. Is belonging something that just is and can’t be changed: we either belong or we don’t? Or can we learn how to belong? In this episode, five adult Asian Third Culture Kids reflect on their experiences of trying to fit in and find community. They also share what they learned over the years as they searched for a sense of belonging. It can be abou ..read more

‘My parents wanted me to learn English and fit in. But they expect me to be fully Asian too. They don’t understand that I sometimes feel I’m not Western enough and I’m not Asian enough.’ In this open forum, we heard from a few Third Culture Kids about how becoming fluent in English or losing their home language complicated their relationship with their parents, their home culture and their sense of identity. We then opened the floor to discussion to our audience. It's a jam-packed episode full of stories and insights about the Asian twist to the TCK experience. You'll hear about: - Intimacy ..read more

Have you ever felt uncomfortable that people around you perceived you as superior for speaking a certain language or inferior for speaking it with the ‘wrong’ accent? Or have you ever wondered why all the characters in the novels your English teachers made you read had blond, brown or red hair but not black? Or perhaps you changed your name to, say, 'Jay' or 'Erika' to make it easier for your teachers and classmates to remember? As children, we start life without any understanding of why things are the way they are or why things like language, culture and race matter. But it doesn’t take long ..read more

"Why can't my parents understand that I'm culturally different from them?" "I want to talk to my parents about this but I don't know how." "Why did moving affect me so much but not my siblings?" Most Third Culture Kids are aware of the privilege that comes with an international upbringing, whether through moving geographically or the schools they attend. But sometimes it’s difficult when it affects relationships within the family. In this public online forum, we heard from adult Third Culture Kids with Asian experiences on how they grappled with some of these questions and then opened the fl ..read more