tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post2208558668196865436..comments2024-02-24T21:40:35.321+00:00Comments on somewhere between facebook and flickr sits fiona: The Expat Experience for Third Culture Kidsfionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-28585228909329123652012-03-29T20:37:15.503+01:002012-03-29T20:37:15.503+01:00I think that's amazing. Doesn't it make yo...I think that's amazing. Doesn't it make you feel proud that they are growing up in this way? She's got the right attitude to learning new languages and to approaching different cultures and people from different cultures. I really hope my two can hold on to these things as they grow up.fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-50243167603271480962012-03-29T19:45:23.828+01:002012-03-29T19:45:23.828+01:00Hmm, lots of interesting questions.
I asked Sofie...Hmm, lots of interesting questions.<br /><br />I asked Sofie (6 but almost 7) if she is Swiss and she laughed.<br />'Of course not Mummy. Switzerland is just the country I was born in.'<br /><br />So I asked what she was - her nationality - her 'special' country.<br /><br />She said she is lucky, becasue she already has 3 special countries - Switzerland (where she has lived her entire life), England (where her Dad is from and we visit regularly) and Australia (where I am from, but we don't visit so often).<br /><br />I think my kids are more Swiss than anything right now, and German is rapidly becoming their dominant language, despite only speaking English at home. Not sure how I feel about that! But it does mean that they don't see language as a barrier, and cultural differences are just the norm. When we were in Portugal last year and I had to use a phrase book, Sofie simply said we should 'just learn Portuguese before our next trip'. Infact she was a bit cross it wasn't an option at her school!<br /><br />But for now I think they feel comfortable in both England and Switzerland. I guess we will see what happens over time.Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18424922059801631976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-64009780252696665182012-03-27T07:25:05.169+01:002012-03-27T07:25:05.169+01:00I imagine that for kids who go to the local school...I imagine that for kids who go to the local school it is a bit more as 'Mother Theresa' above describes "my kids... are very Spanish, ... except for the fact that their English is better.". I think my two have more of a identity of being well, probably British, rather than English (which is where they were born/brought up for the first 2 years) or Scottish (where me & S are from and where we tend to go back to for visits) though they do sometimes say they were born in Berlin. Do your kids feel Swiss do you think? Or a combination of that and something else?<br /><br />Orla has a desire to see more of the world having heard her classmates stories of where they go back to on their holidays. Her greatest wish at the moment is to go to China and walk the Great Wall, and get a medal at the end of it. <br /><br />AND, regarding your post office hesitation, I always say: "Originally, I'm from ....", and then you can give the explanation of where all the other accent twangs come from!fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-74562322611731136422012-03-26T19:45:14.305+01:002012-03-26T19:45:14.305+01:00Really interesting discussion, and I wonder how th...Really interesting discussion, and I wonder how the differences manifest themselves in kids who go the local school route, as opposed to those that live more of their life in the 'ex-pat bubble'?<br /><br />And I have lived in lots of countries, but I did spend all of my childhood in one place. Today I was in the post office chatting away (in English) to Emily, and a woman came over and commented on my lovely English and asked where I was from.<br />I hesitated.<br />I hesitated long enough to look dumb actually.<br />These days I am not sure how to answer that question.Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18424922059801631976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-18762318589556616942012-03-26T08:39:05.617+01:002012-03-26T08:39:05.617+01:00It's one of those things you're not warned...It's one of those things you're not warned about before you go on your adventure. We spoke to quite a few people who had lived abroad, and unfortunately none of them said, "Well, you know this will change you and there's a good chance that you might not want to come back!". I think all we heard was "Oh you'll have a great time!" - ha, ha! And I suppose we have!fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-7516842576962054832012-03-24T22:57:43.339+00:002012-03-24T22:57:43.339+00:00This is utterly fascinating to me. And Fiona, I a...This is utterly fascinating to me. And Fiona, I agree with you- I haven't been abroad long enough to feel like I don't belong, but I do feel like I have less in common with my home country now. There isn't a shred of doubt in my mind that this experience has changed me.<br /><br />And that's after *four months* in Germany. I can't even imagine what I'll feel like after two or three years.stevenglassmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06637043773506647979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-10808365466627835732012-03-23T08:59:07.357+00:002012-03-23T08:59:07.357+00:00I know, I was wondering a bit about the whole Thir...I know, I was wondering a bit about the whole Third Culture thing when it talks about kids "growing up in a different culture/country to their parents". My kids were born in England, and though the differences between England and Scotland are relatively small, compared with a move from Scotland to say Germany, there are still cultural differences. My kids seem to have lost any English accent that they had and now, living in Germany, have stronger Scottish accents! <br /><br />So do you feel like 'an American' living abroad, or just a mix of cultures? I don't think I have been abroad long enough to feel like I don't belong in the UK, but I do feel like I have a lot less in common with Brits now.fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-44568556561913954542012-03-23T08:48:53.343+00:002012-03-23T08:48:53.343+00:00Yes, I wish I had replaced our printer cartridge, ...Yes, I wish I had replaced our printer cartridge, cause it's a long read! It's fairly old, but I found it quite insightful and even though it deals with the issues of teenagers primarily, there were certainly aspects that I could relate to, and I could see related to my children. I would be interested in finding out how the rise of social media affects things. It's so much easier to keep up to date with friends and what's happening at 'home' through things like Facebook.fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-28416478179108882312012-03-23T08:44:04.324+00:002012-03-23T08:44:04.324+00:00I completely agree. It took me a long time to real...I completely agree. It took me a long time to realise that I really quite enjoyed the 'specialness' of even being a Scot living in England. Glad you liked the post :-)fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284847952437148628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-68479116773479782902012-03-23T07:09:32.284+00:002012-03-23T07:09:32.284+00:00Very interesting. I'll check out the bibliogr...Very interesting. I'll check out the bibliography. I've spent nearly half of my life as an expat in Spain, and I haven't been back to the U.S. in something like 18 years, so I don't know how I would feel. But then again, I never felt entirely at home there anyway, since my parents were both Dutch. My kids, on the other hand, are <i>very</i> Spanish, and they don't really seem to feel different from their friends, except for the fact that their English is better.Mother Theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09648404612737553605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-20646262800937181182012-03-23T07:06:14.319+00:002012-03-23T07:06:14.319+00:00Great find! I've just taken a glance at 'A...Great find! I've just taken a glance at 'According To My Passport, I'm Coming Home', and found it interesting enough that I printed it out to read at my leisure.tqe | Adamhttp://www.elmada.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477029443287536038.post-68087986304242081892012-03-22T21:52:01.880+00:002012-03-22T21:52:01.880+00:00This is great. I've now spent a third of my li...This is great. I've now spent a third of my life as an expat, and I most definitely understand the sensation of not feeling "at home" anywhere. There are both pros and cons of visiting the homeland. One the one hand, it's nice to not me such a conspicuous outsider, but it also means that you're not inherently "special" like you are as an expat.<br /><br />I look forward to perusing your bibliography.Erik R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04841482545330366044noreply@blogger.com