
You are probably wondering what a “third culture kid” actually is.
Here’s a short definition I googled: “Third culture kid (TCK) is a term used to refer to children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents’ culture for a significant part of their development years.”
AKA – In the real world –
Normal person: “Where are you from?”
Me: *clears throat and prepares to let out the speech she so thoroughly learned by heart* “I’m Lebanese Armenian but I grew up in Muscat and I don’t speak Arabic because I went to a French school and leaned English through TV and had friends from all over the world. I’ve never lived in Armenia and I don’t feel like I belong in Lebanon but we do share a lot of similar traditions in our culture. Don’t talk to me about the guy you know who is from Armenia because I have nothing in common with him and our language dialects are actually completely different. Muscat is my home although not legally and I somehow ended up in Dubai now. What about you?”
Normal person: *blank with just a hint of confused look on his face*
Now that you know exactly where I, and many others are coming from (perhaps including yourself), here are 15 reasons to date a third culture kid! huraaaaaah! Nothing negative about us here!
1- You will make friends from all over the world who by the way, will also be TCks
2- You will taste food from all over the world – and she will know exactly what to order, every time.
3- You will know random shit you never thought you’d actually be interested in – yeah, you might as well listen to her random facts about the daily life of sea turtles.
4- You will adopt an -interesting- sense of style. And if you don’t, you will have to accept the fact that she may or may not walk around covered in henna with oversized sunglasses and a turban wrapped around her head.
5- You will learn to swear in 3 different languages, at least. Because one just isn’t enough.
6- You will understand others and be more compassionate towards cultures. In other words, stop being a racist asshole.
7- She will always inspire you – especially if you’re a designer/artist/writer
8- She will be you personal dictionary in the grocery store. – “Babe, what the fuck is this Thai green stuff?” – if that’s you, go back to point number 6.
9- You will never get bored talking to her. She might end up talking about the lesbian dog of her hippie best friend back in her second home town
10- She’s independent and a free thinker (and will sense a bullshit person from miles away, by the way)
11- She knows exactly how to pack a suitcase in less than ten minutes and can also organize, pack and tape moving boxes perfectly
12- Her family is fun and open minded. Each of her family members has even more awesome stories to tell
13- She’s not a follower; she has an opinion about EVERYTHING. Remember, she’s seen a lot with her own eyes.
14- Life never, ever gets boring or annoying with her. Unless if you piss her off. You might end up being sworn at in 5 different languages.
15- Interesting food combinations – She will convince you that using palak paneer as a sauce for spaghetti is actually a good idea.
Got any to add? feel free to share!