Monday 29 August 2011

Rina Mushonga een voorbeeld van een cross cultural kid (CCK)

Heb je de naam Rina Mushonga al gehoord? Zij is een Nederlandse/Zimbabwaanse zangeres die in India geboren is. Lees hier meer over Rina Mushonga: het beste van twee continenten. Rina is een third culture kid (TCK) maar ook een cross cultural kid (CCK). Een cross cultural kid heeft ouders afkomstig van verschillende landen of culturen.

Rina zegt "ik kom niet van één plek en mijn muziek ook niet".
"Ik verwerk zowel mijn Europese als mijn Zimbabwaanse achtergrond in mijn muziek"

Luister naar Rina:


Wil je meer muziek van Rina horen? Dan kan dat op http://www.youtube.com/rinamushonga.

Er zijn veel meer mensen die een deel van hun jeugd in het buitenland hebben doorgebracht. Hier zijn meer voorbeelden van Nederlandse adult third culture kids (ATCK). Ik heb ook eerder geschreven over Ank Oosting en Jutta König. Haikaa is ook een artiest net als Rina Mushonga. Haikaa is geboren in Brazilië en heeft in Amerika en Japan gestudeerd. Vaak zie je dat mensen die een deel van hun jeugd in een andere cultuur doorbrengen ruim denkend zijn, creatief, inventief, and they "think outside of the box"! Er zijn meer voordelen wat betreft het opgroeien in het buitenland, maar er zitten natuurlijk ook nadelen aan.

Het lijkt er op dat het Rina goed gelukt is om de verschillende culturele componenten van haar jeugd te mengen in haar muziek. Is het jou gelukt in je leven? Zou je er misschien iets over willen delen? Voeg dan een opmerking toe. Ik wardeer het. Wil je meer over mijn verhaal lezen?

Friday 26 August 2011

Twitter update week 34: news of children growing up in other cultures

Image thanks to Emk Morgue File
This is what I twittered about this week. I hope the links lead you to information you are looking for.

STUDY: Learning A Second Language Boosts Toddlers' Brain Function


How do you keep your cultural heritage alive?

Are you saying goodbye to family & friends? Expat life is fully of goodbyes


Interesting perspective on the TCK/ATCK/TCA labels. 


New Post Julia Simens - Why TCK's find it hard to go home . . ..  
 

Bullying: when it happens, why it happens, what parents need to know.


You want to read the universal declaration of human rights in over 300 ? You can even hear some

Following on with the homesickness theme today – an interesting article -


"Excuse me sir, you are not who you say you are"


Check out the new blog post - That new school term...


TCK and career Story of how Emily quit job became a great sales person, relates quickly&makes friends

is looking for stories about the best and worst of living abroad. For more information:


Check out our for series of articles 
http://bit.ly/nE5S4x

Whitni Thomas wrote this poem in '91 describes torn loyalties of Third Culture Kids
http://ow.ly/67A3i

How to give your child a multicultural education


Go to a UK university? I'd rather -
http://tgr.ph/nL4AWh

TCK Nicole Boyce shares her experiences living in the UK, Hong Kong and New Zealand


A TCK wrote a post: understanding me: list of characteristics&you know you're a TCK when..

Read what high schooler Charlotte Day has to say about her displaced life:


New Blog: : Comparing conflicting constitutional rights of parents


Reverse Culture Shock - USA Over Consumerism

Feel welcome to add your news or links in the comment section. I heard that there were some problems when adding comments, I have solved these problems. So hopefully it is easier you to add your comments. Thanks.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Global nomads on the move part 2

Recently I wrote a post Global Nomads on the Move but I just felt that there was more to say about this topic so today I am writing part 2. It's all about moving internationally with children. Sometimes when I talk to parents about the experience of their kids moving around the globe I get this "knot in my stomach" feeling. The parents talk about the numerous moves as if it is as easy as getting up in the morning. Moving has become an "everyday" thing. For children moving is a major thing. Needless to say that an international move has even more impact.

I am developing an allergy to the superficial and colourful advertizing done by relocation companies and other companies sending expats abroad. You know it is true that having kids does not mean you cannot move overseas but it does mean it makes everything a lot more complicated.

Moving abroad alone means:
  • packing x 1
  • homesickness x 1
  • culture shock x 1
  • adjusting x 1
  • trouble x 1
Moving abroad with a family of 5 (2 parents and 3 kids) means:
  • packing x 5
  • homesickness x 5
  • culture shock x 5
  • adjusting x 5
  • trouble x 5
Of course it is an adventure too but the problem is the children do not get to choose whether they want to move. They are at the hard end of the deal. There is a Dutch book called "Ik heb het niet Bedacht" by Marjanne Simons. Translating the title would be something like "It was not my idea". I like that title.

Thanks to Lisa Solonynko Morgue File
Children might be angry about the move. They might rant and rave. They might be sad about it. Moving has a great impact on the life of a child. I have a few suggestions for parents.

Please:
  1. Try to take a look at the move from the kid's perspective.
  2. Take your child seriously.
  3. Listen to what they are saying about the move.
  4. Don't ignore their questions. Try to answer them honestly.
  5. Don't ignore their emotions. Acknowledge their feelings.
  6. Make a memorial box (maybe a shoebox). Together with your child put in small treasures, special objects, photos, things that bring back memories of the old home, of friends and family. Take the box with you.
  7. Make time for the children during and after the move. Kids need a little extra attention if possible.
Thanks to Cohdra Morgue file
You can read more tips for moving overseas with kids here. Helen Maffini has written a children's book: Sammy's Next Move, it is all about Sammy the Snail moving to a new country. Reading this book with your child is a good way to prepare them for the move ahead.Would you like to read a book review of this book by Wordgeyser? Jo Parfitt recently interviewed Helen Maffini on the Writer's Abroad Radio show on how Helen produced this book totally online, just in case you are interested.


Moving internationally with children has become easier, do think of the kids before, during and after the move. What are your ideas on moving internationally with children?

Friday 19 August 2011

Twitter update week 33: news on kids growing up in other cultures

These were my twitters in week 33: they are all about children growing up on this globe. Children probably growing up multilingual and often in other cultures. Children who are referred to as third culture kids.

New blog post by Libby Stephens about last week's latest transition seminar with 36 : About the characteristics of third culture kids.

College bound kids: practical stuff for heading overseas
by

10 things every global nomads needs to know before leaving for university


Trying to raise bilingual kids? How to stay on track when English is easiest |
http://bit.ly/rl6uoR

Writers Abroad radio show 13 by Jo Parfitt – Kath Smith of Parents on the Move and Beyond Broken Families http://bit.ly/qxh7qk

New post by JSimens: Parenting: As they get older does it get easier?


Books: A love story (and memories) New post from Musings of a third culture kid


Schiphol: a cleaning car with windmills!
10 Tips for How to Talk to Children About Difficult Issues:

Anyone moving to Kenya? Expat guide to schools there @telegraphExpat 

Kijk naar "blogger in beeld" in het WereldExpat magazine van
 

A new personal post on the phases he went thro' discovering he was a third culture kid


"Flying Solo" is an article about sending your kid 2 college from overseas by Rebecca Grappo. Tis the season again. http://bit.ly/nCpIkO

20 things to teach your child


5 Things you need to know before taking your special needs kid overseas
 

Is your child ready for school? 6 ways to help a child: about early learning. Free download!


Pregnancy around the world: a slide show 16 different countries. New Life!


Multilingual Living Newsletter:


Mobility magazine online: Families moving to Asia? Think of schooling first. especially in Hong Kong   

TCK tries to stay connected with his non-TCK cousins


27 Years of Nomadic Living by


‘British have the most miserable upbringing in the developed world.’
 http://bit.ly/qm2rFl

Looking for more news?
Twitter update week 32
Interesting worldwide third culture kid news

Telling the kids about the international move: make the announcement special. Plan a family meeting. advice from book Raising Global Nomads.
 
An international move is a life-changing event for the entire family, it should be treated with respect its magnitude deserves: Robin Pascoe.

Please add your news or interesting links as a comment. Thanks!

Wednesday 17 August 2011

The palettes of the global nomad, all about food

Fried flying ants: photo thanks to L.Lagore
As I wrote in the post Global nomads on the move recently 3 films have be made called: Move, Eat, and Learn. Today my topic will be on eating. Global nomads have taste buds that are used to the tastes of the world. There are so many different dishes, so many different tastes, and so many different foods. Just to discover them all is an adventure. The short film at the end captures this adventure well. Tastes and smells bring back memories of my childhood in Africa.

Words I associate with the word "EAT":
  • Enjoy
  • Appetite
  • Tasty
One of my favourite desserts is pavlova, a meringue based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. I first ate this dessert in Zimbabwe probably at a potluck meal. A potluck meal is meal where everyone just brings something along to share with all. It is so much fun, a great surprise what will be on the menu, and a good way of tasting different dishes. Originally the pavlova is from New Zealand or Australia. I found a recipe for you. You can decorate it with the fruit of choice. By the way potluck meals are great in international communities because everyone can share their home country food.

The blog Persimmons and Chesnuts is written by an adult third culture kid who lived Japan as a child. The writer has developed a passionate love affair with food and especially Asian food. The blog has a post called The palettes of TCKs: chicken wings, it is worth reading. There are more recipes on the blog.

Once I was in Indonesia and I had the privilege of tasting klappertaart, an Indonesian-Dutch dessert, delicious! I wrote a post on eten in het buitenland (a Dutch post on food overseas) before. One of the strangest things I ever ate were fried flying ants, they are really crunchy! Here's the recipe. I found  somebody else who ate them too and wrote a post on eating flying ants. I must admit that I recently refused to eat fried scorpions (China), the thought of eating a scorpion was just too terrible. There was no way it was going to find it's way down my gut!

My roots are Dutch and seeing as I live in the Netherlands I suppose I must make mention of Dutch food. Well on the blog Clogs and Tulips you can find more information on stroopwafels, boerenkool, patat and other foods. What are your eating adventures? Have you eaten strange foods? Do you have "food" memories? Please share them with us.

 Click here for the film EAT. Enjoy!

Monday 15 August 2011

Global nomads on the move

Recently 3 guys traveled to 11 countries in 44 days on 18 flights covering over 38 thousand miles (about 62 000 kilometers) to create 3 short films, ‘Move’, ‘Eat’, ‘Learn’. Thanks Rick Mereki, Tim White, and Andrew Lees for the great short films you made. I will write a post on each word because the words describe the lives of third culture kids (TCKs) or global nomads very well. So today it's all about moving.

I looked up the definition of the word "move" in the free online dictionary. Here follow a few of the definitions: "To go from one residence or location to another; relocate. To cause to go from one place to another. To start off; depart."

Idioms:
move in on
1. To make intrusive advances toward; intrude on.
2. To attempt to seize control of: moving in on their territory.
on the move
1. Busily moving about; active: 
2. Going from one place to another: 
3. Making progress; advancing: 

study in Denmark found that children who had moved house more than three times were more likely to have been suicidal. "Children may feel ignored and have no one to communicate with. A suicide attempt may, to some extent, express the need for more attention from their parents." So parents please keep talking with your kids before, during and after moving. Many third culture kids (TCKs) or global nomads have moved more than three times. Actually I just discovered that I fall into this at risk category.  Before my 20th birthday I had lived in four different countries: Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands. Two different continents. In Malawi we lived in Blantyre and Lilongwe. In Zimbabwe I lived in Bulawayo, Mutare and then we moved back to Bulawayo again. Normally I don't add the times we moved within a town, that did not really count for me, but it does count! I am kind of losing count now but I think I moved at least 11 times before my 20th birthday. Heidi Sand-Hart, an adult third culture kid (ATCK) wrote a book Home Keeps Moving. Guess what? It's all about moving.

The American Academy of Child and adolescent Psychiatry writes that children who move frequently are more likely to have problems at school. In the article there are also 7 tips for parents to make the move easier for kids. One that is very important for kids moving around the globe (TCKs) is:

Help children keep in touch with friends from the previous neighborhood/country through telephone, skype, letters, e-mail, and personal visits. 

Julia Simens has written about The top 10 ways to cope with any transition. She is the author of the book Emotional Resilience and the expat child. You can read a book review by Wordgeyser here.

Words I associate with moving are:
  • change
  • chaos
  • stress
  • uncertainty
  • adapting again
  • losing friends
Of course there are positive things about moving but today I want to focus a little on the negative side. After writing all this I must admit that I still enjoyed this film. I hope you do too.

     

    Third culture kids (TCKs) or ATCKs what are your experiences with moving? What are your thoughts on this topic? Parents of global nomads do you have advice for other families? What are the lessons you have learned? I want you to know that I appreciate your comments.

    Want to read more? Read my post Global Nomads on the move part 2

    Thursday 11 August 2011

    Twitter update week 32: news on kids growing up in other cultures

    Just in case you missed these twitter links, here they are. Especially for you.

    Nice article about kids and their accents (third culture kids, TCKs)


    Tips for kids to settle into their new home


    Moving with kids to a new country, involve the kids with the move
    http://bit.ly/na6wrt

    A book review of Expat Children´s book `Sammy´s Next Move` by Helen Maffini
    http://bit.ly/r8gOFm

    A blog post by a third culture kid (TCK) writing about being addicted to change
    http://bit.ly/pa9L1w

    Check out this new TCK documentary/film via :
     

    Excellent feature on third culture kids (TCKs) in 's alumni magazine called                  "At home in the world"

    How to prepare your kid for real life, before sending him/her to college
    http://bit.ly/qaNHga

    Giving kids a little help to make new friends at the start of the school year


    I found an interesting post at The Smart Expat. She is mother of two third culture kids (TCKs) and she wrote a post on Where do you come from? Her daughter had lived in five countries and her son had lived in four different countries. This question is the most difficult question or one of the most difficult questions for children who grow up in different cultures. They are known as third culture kids or global nomads. They could be expat kids, but it is not necessary.

    Is `where do you come from?` a difficult question for you? It was during my university days. Do you have any interesting links on kids growing up in other cultures? Please add your links in the comment section. Thanks.

    Monday 8 August 2011

    From the "Walk of the World" to Modern Technology: My 7 links

    A big thank you to Tiffany at Clogs and Tulips who invited me to join in the 7 links Project. It's a real honour especially because I have a young blog. It is not even 2 months old. They say "time ripens all things", I think it ripens blogs too. So I hope my blog ripens into a nice juicy mature blog. I recently met Tiffany at a writing workshop run by Jo Parfitt. The funny thing was that I had already visited Tiffany her blog and even put a link to her blog on one of my posts. It was nice to meet, hope we meet again. Bloggers must be nominated to participate in the 7 links project. This gives me the opportunity to re-post 7 links to some of my best blog posts. Then I get to nominate 5 other bloggers.

    Just as young kids struggle with languages especially when they grow up bilingually, so I have struggled on this blog with my language. I started in Dutch and recently switched to English. In my post Interesting worldwide third culture kid news I wrote about this language struggle. It complicates my links a little because some will link to a Dutch post and some to an English post. Please bear with me and give me some grace. Thanks I appreciate that.

    My most beautiful post is Tropische bloemen en verhaaltjes. I like it because of the lovely photos of flowers like the Flame Lilly. The post is also about stories, my mum always had a story ready about something.

    My most popular post is my post on Modern technology a blessing or a curse for our third culture kids? I do know that modern technology has really changed the lives of children growing up in other cultures. There was a time when my parents lived in Zimbabwe and I lived in the Netherlands and internet and email was not available yet, can you believe it? It seems ages ago! My most popular Dutch post is Voorbeelden van Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCK). The post gives examples of Dutch people who grew up in another culture. Adult third culture kids are creative, think in possibilities, have compassion and get into action.

    My most controversial post well I don't really write controversial posts. Maybe this one will do: 10 nadelen van het opgroeien in het buitenland. The post is about the 10 disadvantages there are of growing up in another culture. There are also advantages of growing up overseas. Not everyone wants parents to read about disadvantages but they do exist.

    My most helpful post is this one: Aga Magdolens TCK film Les passagers. It has a link to the trailer of this film on third culture kids. It can help children who have grown up in another culture. This short film speaks to my heart, it is so true. It helped me. The trailer starts with these words:
    "I come from here I come from there
    In truth I come from everywhere.
    My tongue does not have a mother
    my language is an open mind.
    Before I learned how to walk I already knew how to fly!"

    A post whose success surprised me is my post on the Nijmeegse wandel vierdaagse: The Walk of the World. The post is about things Dutch children growing up overseas should know about. This year it was the 95th time that the "Walk of the World" was organized. A real international event.

    A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved Adult Third culture kids an under-tapped source of high quality expats? I enjoyed writing this post and I would have liked more comments. I would have liked to have a discussion on this topic, maybe something for in the future.

    The post that I am most proud of is a Dutch post Spiegeltje Rondreis, opa en oma met kleinkinderen in Verwegistan. I just had so much fun writing it. I like Annie M.G.Schmidt her children's books. She is a very well known author of Dutch children's books. She wrote so many lovely stories and the post is based on one of her stories. It's about grandparents with grandchildren overseas.

    I would like to nominate these bloggers to take part in the 7 links project:
    1. ExpatriateLife because I like your post on "third culture kids starting careers".
    2. Julia Simens author of the book "Emotional Resilience and the expat child", she helps families worldwide. She knows about kids, emotions, moving around and other cultures.
    3. Libby Stephens because Libby has such resourceful posts on third culture kids.
    4. Reflexions  She is from Nigeria and lives in Germany with her husband and two children who she calls the UFOs (Unlimited Flying Opportunities). I like your post on third culture kids and I love Africa.
    5. Tales from Windmill fields written by someone living in the Netherlands. She was a third culture kid too, has a British passport and grew up in Spain. Now raising a trilingual daughter.
    Each blog is worth a visit. Please follow up the links and enjoy the visit. The blogs all have something to do with children growing up in other cultures, third culture kids, also called cross culture kids or global nomads.

    What are your favorite posts? I would love to hear from you.

    Friday 5 August 2011

    My heritage of growing up overseas. Part 1: Respect for malaria

    Sometimes things happen in your life that leave a lasting impression on you. When I was a teenager in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe I attended a funeral of a mother of friends of mine. I was probably about 15 years old at the time. The mother of this Swedish family of four children died of malaria in Zimbabwe. It was such a sad occasion. There were tears everywhere. Maybe it remains imprinted in my memory because I come from a family of four kids too. Maybe I thought it could have happened to me too. The children did not only lose their mother, they returned back to Sweden and had to say goodbye to all their friends. They left their home, their school, their playmates and their memories in Africa. So tragic. The worst part of it all is that malaria is and was at that time a curable disease. Since then I have a deep respect for malaria. I did some research on malaria and my respect only increased. Recently Wordgeyser wrote a post preparing for the worst: the death of a spouse overseas. You know these things do happen. This is a real world we live in. So here comes more about my heritage: the deep respect for malaria.

    Malaria is caused by a parasite of the genius plasmodium. It is spread from person to person by the bites of infected mosquitoes.

    Here are 10 facts about malaria:
    1. About 3.3 billion people - half of the world's population - are at risk of malaria.
    2. It leads to approximately 1 million deaths every year.
    3. 1 in every 5 childhood deaths in Africa is due to malaria.
    4. Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria in Africa. So while you were reading this list another child just died in Africa due to malaria.
    5. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are two basic elements of malaria control.
    6. If not treated with effective medicines malaria can often be fatal.
    7. Pregnant women are at high risk not only of dying from the complications of severe malaria, but also spontaneous abortion, premature delivery or stillbirth. 
    8. Malaria is also a cause of severe maternal anaemia and is responsible for about one third of preventable low birth weight babies.  
    9. Long-lasting insecticidal nets can be used to provide protection to risk groups, especially young children and pregnant women in high transmission areas.
    10. Malaria is preventable and curable.
    This is information from the World Health Organisation (WHO). There is a list available famous people who died of malaria. At the expat Info desk I discovered that they recently warned expats that malaria is on the rise. The advice is the same for all travelers - you must take anti-mosquito precautions and medication to keep safe. We in the west have everything so well organized and I think we forget the force of nature, and the suddenness of disease and death. Here are the malaria symptoms and more information about diagnosis. Recently two Dutch tourists died of malaria which they caught in Gambia. They did not take anti-malaria medication. Here is an article by the BBC Malaria: a major global killer.

    Please join the "have respect for malaria club". What is your experience with malaria? Do you have advice for others on this subject. Please share your experience or your advice with us.

    Wednesday 3 August 2011

    Twitter update week 31: news on third culture kids (TCKs)

    Resource for multicultural parents & kids Bringing Up Children Bilingually: http://bit.ly/qTN53e

    The story of a Third Culture kid (TCK) feeling foreign when she is not a racial minority "a stranger in my own skin" 

    All about Third Culture Kids (TCKs) starting careers  

    Jo Parfitt interviewed Helen Maffini, author of  the children's storybook Sammy’s Next Move (written by an adult TCK for TCKs): http://bit.ly/rb6jxC

    Building resilience in children&teens: Giving your children Roots and Wings!  

    Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself, a Video TED.com 

    Have you found your story? Inspiration from the stage to the page hear all about food: the Food Inspirer!

    Jonathan Griffiths and Marion Knell discuss re-entry as it affects the entire family. http://bit.ly/pNoH6e

    The End of Expatriate Life Leads to Re-Entry Shock

    Andrea Expat July Feature: Emotional Resilience & the expat child

    Calling all Expats/Repats - here's a fun way to define "where's home?" Families in Global Transition are producing a cookbook  

    10 ways to cope with any transition by Julia Simens:  

    Je puber veilig laten opgroeien in het buitenland artikel van RNW

    Monday 1 August 2011

    Adult third culture kids an under-tapped source of high quality expats?

    Recently I came across an interesting article about adult third culture kids (ATCKs). One of the conclusions of the article written by Denise A. Bonebright is that ATCKs could represent an under-tapped source of high quality employees. It states that successful TCK hires would be able to approach international assignments with a well-developed global skill set and a desire to experience an international mobile lifestyle. Yes I could image that to be true. Adults who have moved around the globe as kids often have a desire to travel and even sometimes a desire to live in different countries. This is often what an expat does.

    Wikipedia says: An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence.

    I also came across an interesting blog post Third Culture Kids starting Careers written on a blog called ExpatriateLife. The author explains that it is sometimes difficult for third culture kids to get a job because they have not been able to have a part-time job through highschool. On the other hand she clearly lists the advantages of TCKs such as: the ability to adapt quickly to new situations, willingness to relocate, fluency in more than one language, cross cultural skills, a global network of social contacts just to mention a few. All the characteristics I just mentioned are a real advantage if an ATCK would choose to become an expat.

    Then I discovered something on another site: www.best-career-match.com. On this site there is actually a page on Third Culture Kids: Growing up Overseas and to my surprise they say the same thing. They speak of TCKs and say that they are not truly socialized in any culture but that TCKs are Global Citizens. They go on to say that it is easy for global citizens to become global careerists (expats?) I am an ATCK, so I am a global citizen. It is something I hear from others TCKs is that "this world is there home". That's what I would call a global citizen. Aysha, a TCK says the same thing in an article. She writes that we are all born in the same birthplace and share the same homeland: Earth.

    In a survey done with ATCKs they said they had a strong foundation of international skills and abilities, but they felt they had limited opportunities to exercise them. If they were working as an expat there would probably be more opportunities to use their experience as a global citizen. I am not working as an expat and I actually feel the same as the ATCks. I feel that I have (cross cultural) talents and abilities that are not being used to the full in the job I have now. What a shame.

    In my post From the Walk of the World to Modern Technology: My 7 links I mention this post. At the time (8th August 2011) this post on adult third culture kids becoming the future expats had hardly been read. In my mind the post did not get the attention it deserved. Now at the beginning of October 2011 this post is my second most well read post!

    So what do you think? Are the third culture kids our future expats? Please share your thoughts on this, I would love to hear from you. Thanks.