In an earlier post Third Culture Kids Learning to be Themselves I had written about this poem but I had not posted the complete poem. I can really identify with the words so I did want to post the whole poem. My parents are from the blue country: the Netherlands and I grew up in the Yellow country. Well the yellow country for me would be the African culture or continent. The countries I lived in were: Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. If you enjoy this poem and want to read more, read the poem "Who am I?" by my guest Marina Sofia, who was a third culture kid too.
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| By a 4 year old @DrieCulturen |
Colors
by Whitni Thomas, MK
I grew up in a Yellow country
But my parents are Blue.
I'm Blue.
Or at least, that is what they told me.
But I play with the Yellows.
I went to school with the Yellows.
I spoke the Yellow language.
I even dressed and appeared to be Yellow.
Then I moved to the Blue land.
Now I go to school with the Blues.
I speak the Blue language.
I even dress and look Blue.
But deep down, inside me, something's Yellow.
I love the Blue country.
But my ways are tinted with Yellow.
When I am in the Blue land,
I want to be Yellow.
When I am in the Yellow land,
I want to be Blue.
Why can't I be both?
A place where I can be me.
A place where I can be green.
I just want to be green.
What about you. Do you dare to be Green? Do you enjoy being Green? Have you accepted that you are Green?
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That's beautiful. It expresses what so many TCKs must feel in such a simple yet profound manner. I think most of us are green without necessarily choosing to be, and although it's so rewarding to be green, it's not always easy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed it!
So true what you say. We are green without choosing to be green. The question is have we accepted that? Or do we feel we have to be blue or yellow? I feel more of a whole person when I accept myself as being "green", often the odd one out, different from most people around me (except when I meet other TCKs, immigrants or expats).
ReplyDeleteI like your post! You are so right: the first time I realised that I was "green" I was a bit frightened and sad, because I felt not belonging to a group (I was 9 or 10, very early), but later I appreciated to be green, even purple (adding some other colors) especially when I was with other TCK's (or TCA then, later) and still do. Only when I'm surrounded by FCA (first culture adults) I tend to feel the difference and I try to be more yellow or blue or red. But most of the time I feel like being green-purple-brown.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Ute that you can remember the age that you discovered that you different than the rest of the group. I cannot remember when I discovered that but I remember during my teenage years in Zimbabwe that I was referred to as the "foreigner". I went to an international primary school in Malawi so we were all foreign, that was the norm. While in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe I went to a local school. I agree with you that lots of colours are part of our TCK identity. I considered adding a photo of something green to the post, but I purposely added a painting with more colour!
ReplyDeleteI remember it so clearly, because my same aged cousin in Germany made me notice that I was quite different from all the friends he had. It was a during a normal conversation and he pointed out that I didn't know most of the allusions they made. I felt foreign in Germany and foreign in Italy when I was among First Culture Children, but not when I was with my TCK friends or people that was more open-minded. - By the way: I like the picture you posted. I once posted a chamaeleon on a similar post (on expatsincebirth.com).
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