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TCK - “A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the third culture kid’s life experience ... "
As you likely know, we don't have TV reception. We don't have internet fast enough to watch anything streaming. This means we miss all sporting events and even forget that it is Super Bowl Sunday when it is Super Bowl Sunday. We stopped caring about USA sports sometime around year two. It's too much work to care.
For whatever reason Troy got into the Mavericks and Heat playoff games and "watched" via Twitter updates to know what was going on in the games. It is the first time I can recall him being plugged into American sports in a long time.
Our kids have no interest in professional sports. The boys could maybe tell you two or three team names total out of every sport. If you asked them to name teams they would say: "Baylor Bears,Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Twins". (Edit/Add: Isaac came up with - Spurs, Longhorns, A&M, Bears, Mavericks - so three TX college teams and two NBA were on his radar. He could match cities to all those teams. He didn't know Minnestoa sports anymore. Noah only the named Baylor Bears.)
As we were packing to leave TX and come back to Haiti I shopped clearance racks for summer stuff because it was TX winter. I came across Dallas Mavericks P.J's for $1.99 and brought them to Noah. He instantly disliked them and said they were too small and ugly so they went to Phoebe and Lydia's shared pajama drawer.
Lydie chooses them most nights because they have less coverage than most of her pajamas. We know for sure she is a TCK (Third Culture Kid) just based on definition - but she shows that in so much of what she does. Rice and Beans is her favorite food. She hates and won't touch milk and pizza. What tha?
Tonight when the power popped on she had been playing in front and noticed it first and came in to announce to her Daddy, "The EDH is on Dad. You can charge the DVD player now." No one ever taught her that we don't charge things off of our batteries but instead we wait till EDH is on, but even at three she knows it and has figured it out.
We attempted to teach Lydia a bit about the Mavericks the other night ... We tested her and are trying to make her a well-rounded TCK in the know of the hottest team in basketball, especially when she wears their apparel to bed most nights. Teaching her to say Dirk Nowitzki proved to be enough of a lesson. We never made it much further. :)
As you likely know, we don't have TV reception. We don't have internet fast enough to watch anything streaming. This means we miss all sporting events and even forget that it is Super Bowl Sunday when it is Super Bowl Sunday. We stopped caring about USA sports sometime around year two. It's too much work to care.
For whatever reason Troy got into the Mavericks and Heat playoff games and "watched" via Twitter updates to know what was going on in the games. It is the first time I can recall him being plugged into American sports in a long time.
Our kids have no interest in professional sports. The boys could maybe tell you two or three team names total out of every sport. If you asked them to name teams they would say: "Baylor Bears,
As we were packing to leave TX and come back to Haiti I shopped clearance racks for summer stuff because it was TX winter. I came across Dallas Mavericks P.J's for $1.99 and brought them to Noah. He instantly disliked them and said they were too small and ugly so they went to Phoebe and Lydia's shared pajama drawer.
Lydie chooses them most nights because they have less coverage than most of her pajamas. We know for sure she is a TCK (Third Culture Kid) just based on definition - but she shows that in so much of what she does. Rice and Beans is her favorite food. She hates and won't touch milk and pizza. What tha?
Tonight when the power popped on she had been playing in front and noticed it first and came in to announce to her Daddy, "The EDH is on Dad. You can charge the DVD player now." No one ever taught her that we don't charge things off of our batteries but instead we wait till EDH is on, but even at three she knows it and has figured it out.
We attempted to teach Lydia a bit about the Mavericks the other night ... We tested her and are trying to make her a well-rounded TCK in the know of the hottest team in basketball, especially when she wears their apparel to bed most nights. Teaching her to say Dirk Nowitzki proved to be enough of a lesson. We never made it much further. :)
7 comments:
We have 5 kids and live in China and we love navigating the waters of raising them outside of the States. People all the time ask us how our kids are doing growing up in a foreign culture. They are worried that they are missing out on so many things. I remind them that most of what they are missing is weekend soccer, Hannah Montana and trashy tv ads. I think they will be ok.
What a cute little voice! :) Raising TCK's is challenging but fun, isn't it? I love to hear my kids' odd sentence constructions when they speak "Spanglish" or literally translate Chilean sayings that don't really mean the same in English. Sometimes I worry about their terrible grammar or spelling, but I truly believe what they are gaining by being bilingual and bicultural far outweighs the other - and even more so, what they are observing and absorbing of life and faith by being here.
I've always been really grateful to have grown up as a TCK. Once in college in the US (back in "my parent's culture") I realized that I would always maintain the cultural "mix" of my childhood. As I learned what it meant to be an American, instead of "changing" who I was I only needed to "ADD TO" who I was. The TCK pro's have always far outweighed the con's in my life!! :)
She's so adorable! What a blessing.
Tara,
That is so funny!
Saul wanted to push some buttons at school soo on the last day of school he wore his Vikings t shirt .
I am a TCK and I read your blog because I enjoy reading about your kids and the excitement and challenges of being raised abroad. I really like this post. I agree with Lisa that the pros far outweigh the cons!
Adorable! Lydie would tell me each night she wore those jammies when I was there, "Look Joanna, there is a horsey on my jammies." She is something very special. Love her! Hugs to all from me.
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