So Many Global Stories Waiting To Be Told

I love stories and I love reading books. I usually have a couple of books on my bedside table. There is something exciting about stories. I truly believe that third culture kids, children who grow up between cultures have many hidden stories in their heart. Last week I challenged you: Dare to be a creative third culture kid. Well the challenge is still on. Join in.

My clogs by  DrieCulturen

Recently I found a nice story on Marilyn R. Gardner's blog: Communicating across boundaries. The title of the post was So Many Stories: The trunk that traveled the world. I like the story because it is told by a fellow Dutch third culture kid Annelies Kanis, who grew up in Pakistan.She lived in New York city and Zambia too. Her trunk tells part of her story. Do you have an article that tells a piece of your story? My old blue Dutch clogs tell part of my story.

There are more third culture kid stories that I read online this week:

• The introverted third culture kid by James R. Mitchener. I quote him: "Thanks to a lifetime of being dragged around the world, this TCK is in constant internal struggle with himself." 

•  Multiculturalism in California was a lie: how my being a hidden immigrant in America killed my self-worth by Hey it's Johnny C. "This is why I hate being in America often: I’m a hidden immigrant for having the blue passport and accent, and because of that, I don’t get the extra level of patience that people offer to foreigners."

• Third culture kid and pregnant: facing the tension by Esther on Libby Stephens' blog. "How on earth I could raise a global-minded child in the middle of America?"

• Transitions: Developing a better understanding of third culture kids by Megzy. " I still find it amazing how much I relate to the majority of everything I read about TCKs." 

•  Inventing the Perfect Country by Melissa Boey. Where's your favourite place to live? "If anything, I have been wonderfully spoiled by all the places I have lived."

This week a new book I had ordered arrived. I have not been able to read it completely but once again it all about the personal stories. It is the book Moving Experience: complexities of acculturation by Jutta König. It's all about her research, her thesis, that explores the inner dialogues and interactions of people with different cultural backgrounds. Jutta König grew up in America, France, Australia, Africa and the Netherlands. I am so glad there are (adult) third culture kids writing books and doing research on the topic. I hope to share more insights from the book with you in the near future.

I want to keep you well-informed, so I want to let you know that there will be a talk on third culture kids in Amsterdam on the 10th July. The talk will be given by Lesley Lewis who has worked with third culture kids for more than 30 years.

Are you ready to share your story? 

I want to end with a quote by Plato “Those who tell stories rule society.”

10 Travel Tips from an Adult Third Culture Kid

This post is all about traveling well in an airplane. As a kid I traveled many times. It is impossible to count the number of times I have flown in an airplane. Tomorrow I will be returning home and traveling for more than 24 hours. I will start the journey by car but most of the time will be spent in an airplane or waiting at an airport. I have a stop over with about 6 hours at an airport. It could be that third culture kids (TCKs) are experts in traveling. What do you think? So here are my 10 travel tips when traveling by air:

 

1. Drink lots of water.
2. Stretch regularly.
3. Make sure you have your book, i phone, mp3 player or whatever you want to do nearby especially on a long flight.
4. Have the medication you need to take with your meal at hand (and not above in the stowaway like I did on the journey to Asia). I needed to take my malarone (anti malaria medication) with my breakfast. Do read my earlier post about My Respect for Malaria.
5. Keep your camera at hand just in case you want to take shots out of the window, just like this photo above.
6. Take "patience"with you. It is handy when you wait in long queues.
7. Take a pair of socks with you, if you are lucky you will get a pair for free. 
8. I always have some toiletries in my hand luggage.
9. Make sure you switch off your cell phone, and that you know the code to switch it on with.
10. Take along your passport!

For more tips on air travel with young children: checkout Helen Maffini her website.
I just discovered that Heidi Sand-Hart started a new blog called Globebug and it is dedicated to her love of travel. Heidi is an adult third culture kid too and is the author of the book "Home Keeps Moving".

For those traveling: have a good journey. Try to make the most of it.It's really amazing that we can fly and see so many different parts of the world. I'm sure there are more tips, do you know some more? Please share them. What do you always take in your hand luggage?