You know you’re a Third Culture Kid when…

You often feel misunderstood.

You don’t know where ‘home’ is.

You consider ‘white peoples’ music boring.

Your friends don’t understand why you want to hang out with ethic groups.

It took you a while to understand why someone would chose to be vegetarian.

You get confused when you go out ‘dancing’ and no one is dancing.

People raise their eyebrows at your music tastes.

You prefer to dine in restaurants and shop in places you can barter.

A quick trip means a minimum of one month away.

A holiday means you have to fly.

You have enough frequent flyer miles to get around the world and back.

Skype is your best friend.

You’re aware of the time zones on four continents.

You failed national geography, but aced international relations.

You look confused when asked the question ‘so what was it like growing up in…’?

You feel intimidated around other TCK’s because they already know so much of who you are without you
having to say anything.

You’d prefer to watch movies with subtitles.

You can say ‘hello’ in at least 10 languages.

You make any foreigner feel like they are your best-friend.

You’ve had the same airhost/hostess at least twice.

You complain if airline service is less than par.

What you’re wearing right now is a combination of what has been purchased in 5 different countries.

You sleep talk in different languages.

You often are stuck for words and can’t express yourself properly in English, even though it’s one
of your first languages.

You find it easy saying goodbye.

You feel a need to finish everything on your plate.

You are attracted to anyone that doesn’t look like you.

You’ve been to more than 5 schools.

You couldn’t decide what international/culture/language class to do in college.

You wish you could tell people what was really going on inside.

You cry sometimes for no reason.

Foreign documentaries seem like a reality tv show.

You can’t help but volunteer – in everything.

You get annoyed that fruit costs so much in supermarkets.

You feel supermarkets are a luxury for rich people anyway.

Most of your childhood was spent climbing trees.

You had a household maid.

You didn’t wear clothes until you were 8.

You had several pets growing up, all unheard of animals that are now probably extinct.

You think butter doesn’t have enough salt in it.

Most people wouldn’t believe the ‘experience’ section of your resume.

Education is only teaching you the theory of what you’ve already put into practice.

You parents have been offered livestock for your hand in marriage- more than once.

‘Foreigners’ are white people.

People have no idea the depth of what they mean when they call you ‘cultured’.

You get all the cool international jobs.

You always bump into someone you know, in any airport around the world.

You find it hard listening to someone who has never travelled.

Food is bland if it doesn’t have multiple spices in it.

You think your friend is settling for second best when they date a local white guy/girl.

You shop at China Town.

You think buying a house and settling is an absurd idea.

You get surprised when people think you are ‘normal’.

You don’t know what ‘normal’ actually means.

You have hesitations about the ‘white picket fence’ life.

You get defensive when people comment on other cultures.

You are an expert at ‘fitting in’ without ever feeling like you actually fit in.

You know you are lucky, but will always question what that actually means.

  1. Anonymous says:

    LOL thats all too familiar. but even more irritating is when someone picks one country you’ve been in and from there on considwer you to be from there… eg. i lived in ethiopia and am brown, therefore i must be ethiopia. no matter how one tries to explain, for some ppl its just easier to apply a national label, even if its wrong. [sorry for bad spelling, had to do this left handed :/ ]

  2. Anonymous says:

    So true! Especially “You find it hard listening to someone who has never travelled …”