Help: Another Third Culture Kid is Going to University/College!

This afternoon at 4 pm Dutch time there will be a TCKchat on twitter and the theme is advice for third culture kids going to university information can be found here. So while thinking on this topic I remembered a recent article I have read. It's on the experiences of third culture kids transitioning to university life in Australia. The article was published in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations and is written bij Lauren Purnell and Elizabeth Hoban. The lead researcher Purnell is an adult TCK who spent 14 years of her upbringing living in Botswanna, Vietnam and Nepal before moving to Australia after graduating from high school overseas.

When studying in Holland: you need a bike! Photo DrieCulturen

culture kids on going to university or college. These TCKchats (#TCKchat) are held every first and third Wednesday of the month.

During the research 12 in-depth interviews were held with Australian TCKs aged 18-27 years who had spent 3-18 years living abroad and had lived in Australia for 7 months to 9 years.

4 Themes emerged from the data and a TCK Transition into University Model was developed. This model included 4 Stages:

1. Preparedness prior to transition
2. Initial experience during transition (initial 6 months in passport country)
3. Adjustment during transition (6 months to 2 yrs)
4. Stabilization (2 yrs and beyond)

The key findings included participants who received preparation from their school and family prior to moving, had practical support in Australia and engaged in Australian social networks and university life experienced improved emotional health and made way for a positive transition.

My short conclusion is:

1. Families and schools should prepare TCKs for the transition
2. Parents should make sure there are friends or family available for practical help 
3. TCKs should try and get involved in university life or other social activities.

More research needs to be done. What is your advice? What are your thoughts? Please share them!

Related posts:

• Transitioning Globally to University (a guestblog I did at Djibouti Jones)
• The TCKchat on transitioning to college/university (storify)
• Previous post: Third Culture Kids Going to University
• The most difficult transition for Third Culture Kids
• Just for fun: The Positive Aspects of Being a TCK (Tayo Rockson) 

The Most Difficult Transition For Third Culture Kids

Today I was reading a post on a new blog called La Vie Overseas. It's a nice blog about expat life as a foreign service wife. The post that attracted my attention is called Raising Third Culture Children: the other side. The post is an interview with an adult who grew up in a foreign service family. What struck me most was the answer to the question "I what place did you experience the biggest culture shock?" Now the Adult third culture kid had lived in several different countries: Jerusalem, Ankara, Falls Church (VA), Islamabad, Cairo, and Tel Aviv. The answer was that going to college in Virginia was by far the most difficult. It was actually pretty easy to adjust to all the other countries.

Home: where the tulips grow? By DrieCulturen

Wow! It sounds just like my story. When I was a child and later as a teenager our family moved several times, within cities, within countries and within the African continent. I cannot remember being really sad about leaving every time. It was a way of life, many families around us led the same kind of life. The big shock came when I went to university in the Netherlands. The rest of our family stayed in Africa so it was out on my own this time. I have written about it in an earlier post: Cultural identity confusion and the third culture kids. All my life in Africa I had felt Dutch and now being in the Netherlands all of a sudden I was not like the other Dutch university students. We did not think alike, we did not feel alike, I had completely different associations with certain things. The worst part was that no one had prepared me for this "culture shock". We can all have a "pity me" party now but that will not help. I just hope that there are people out there: parents, teachers, therapists, friends and family who are preparing teenagers for their return to their "home" country or for the transition to college or university. Let's raise the awareness about the challenges these youngsters face. From the comments on this blog I can see that there are many more like me who would have liked a little more help, a little more preparation, a little more support. It's such a lonely road to walk.

Luckily there is some information available on this subject:

1. A Third Culture Kid's Guide to college: it's at DenizenMag an online magazine
2. The book "The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition" by Tina Quick. It's a useful book and I wish it had been written when I went to university.
3. My earlier post "Third Culture Kids going to university"
4. "The 10 Things every global nomad needs to know before leaving for university" found on the website International Family Transitions.

Please share your thoughts on this subject. Do you know of any useful resources for preparing teenagers to return to their "home"country?

Related posts:

• Third culture kids learning to be themselves
• Neither here nor there: where do I belong?
• The downside of growing up as a third culture kid
• I am all the places in which I've left my heart

Twitter update week 16: children growing up in other cultures

Thank you all for visiting my blog. I am really excited that many people find the way to this blog and I hope you find what you are looking for. It's time for a twitter update. I will share recent interesting twitter links with you. I also want to let you know that I wrote a guest blog this week at The Migrating Yankee. The post is called "Clogs with a story to tell", do hop over and have a read. I met Tiffany from The Migrating Yankee at a writing workshop and she was the first person who asked me to write a guest blog. Thank you Tiffany, it's always good to celebrate your "firsts".

A guest post about not fitting in & Third Culture Kids: http://bit.ly/JetxNZ

Dutch tulips: Spring in the air @DrieCulturen

Great post on Third Culture Kids from @marilyngard: "Chameleon, Imposter, or Third Culture Kid?" http://wp.me/p1gwBI-Bb

Found this today. For TCKs change is imminent! How you deal with it makes the difference http://bit.ly/HYNSoS

Third Culture Kids - Emotions about Moving Back Home for University http://bit.ly/INbFLP

Here's the story of someone who is proud to be a third culture kid! @DougGulleson                    http://bit.ly/IQSsDM 

Gr8 story of a third culture kid becoming an expat "My home is airport terminals, new sites & city streets" by @TweetingAuthor http://bit.ly/HUlk3g 

Having a Baby Abroad – Global Differences Series: USA http://is.gd/Js7OZa #Global_Differences

RT@JoParfitt Writers Abroad Radio show 37: Nina Sichel, co-editor of fab, research-packed TCK stuff: Writing Out of Limbo http://bit.ly/HPMqsp

Rejoice with your family: Top three things to do with your Global Nomad http://goo.gl/7UVrf
Global parenting has its drawbacks but the joy.. RT@ExpatApple Global Parenting – My Telegraph http://soc.li/4G7FTUK

The Significance of Food and the Expat Child http://vsb.li/JhkH88 via @Jsimens

Check this RT@Jsimens uploaded a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/4yY3qYzHwOA?a How to Build Emotional Resilience in Your Child

"Ik snak om meer te zien van deze wereld!" Jessica 13jr, geboren in #Australië, gewoond in Dubai en nu NL http://bit.ly/HMOD8G

If you have interesting links please share them with us. Thanks

Twitter update week 43: All about kids growing up in other cultures

9 Great tips @MultiLingLiving Baby steps to biliteracy http://bit.ly/sFb7aw
start when the baby's in the womb

Thanks for the mention by @ExpatInfodesk "10 more tweeters all expats should follow"
http://bit.ly/sgWbYU

Dutch third culture kid celebrating halloween in Beirut http://bit.ly/shcLmi all about growing up globally!

I was on the great wall, sorry to have missed out on the toboggan! Sounds like fun read @InteractivExpat http://bit.ly/vxsVJ3

Orchids, I love tropical flowers.

“Learning a 2nd language: I know my children will be thankful later on” http://bit.ly/uuaWbM  

Freshaliciously- Sunshine Soup by Jo Parfitt is the perfect book to read if you are an expat. Loved it!
http://wp.me/p1g9kZ-dc

Read this @MoveOneInc Children of expats may gain valuable advantage in global workforce arena
http://bit.ly/tc7iET 

"Preparing Your Global Nomad for Transition to University" by @tinaquick http://bit.ly/tFypQu

RT @Libby_Stephens TCKs would you describe yourselves as rootless? Look forward to your thoughts on http://tinyurl.com/44tys2b

Informative post: A Guide to relating with third culture kids, written by a TCK: http://bit.ly/sxiQR4

An unexpected culture shock on returning home (China) from overseas. Third culture kid Elizabeth tells her story http://bit.ly/nUoHxj

Wish I could attend @Xpatathens 3 nov'11 20 pm free lecture on Third Culture People A New Cultural Reality http://bit.ly/pMGJZg in Athens

Interested in how a guidance counselor at an international school in China explains what third culture kids are? http://bit.ly/qDl6te 

Have you heard of the new book for third culture kids? Slurping Soup & other Confusions http://bit.ly/qZTRVO

Interesting article @denizenmag The right to vote in the place you live...complicated!
http://bit.ly/mTTTjL 

Wisten jullie dat Mauro ook een third culture kid is? Net als ik, lees meer over TCKs
http://bit.ly/sKowBo Wat zijn dat?

Leuk stukje over third culture kids @MyHeritageNL http://bit.ly/t8XViN Ken je Jutta König? Weet je wat TCKs zijn? Wereldburgers?

For more links see my twitter update week 38 all about kids growing up globally. Do you have any interesting links on this topic? Please let me know.

Third Culture Kids Going to University

Graduation

Have you heard of Denizen Magazine? It is an online magazine dedicated to third culture kids also known as TCKs. There are more than 14 people contributing to this magazine. See the list of contributors here. It is a very multicultural group of people that have lived in many countries of the world. I am enthusiastic about one of their latest articles: A Third Culture kids guide to college. The article is full of links and worth reading if you or someone you know is going off to university or college. Please share it with your friends and family.

I remember the question I came to dread when I started university here in the Netherlands. It was the question: "well where are you from?" Now there someone just asked me one of the most difficult questions there is to answer. In my mind I would think shall I give a short answer or shall I give the whole story? The short answer was "I am from Friesland" (that is up in the north of the Netherlands, where my dad comes from). By the way in Friesland many people speak Frisian. I can actually speak some Frisian too. It has happened that when I gave the short answer and said that I came from Friesland, the reply was "so that explains your accent". Little did they know that the accent in my Dutch was actually an English accent. Now for the long answer I sometimes gave: I was born in Zambia, lived in Malawi, my parents now live in Zimbabwe. My parents are Dutch but I have never really lived here. Usually after the long answer our conversation would end. We had no similarities, my background was so totally different to their story. Occasionally there was the odd question: in what kind of house did you live in? What did you eat there?

Denizen Magazine has another article on 8 do's and don'ts for introducing your TCK background. How can you celebrate your experience abroad without boasting? It's worth reading if you are about to start at a new school or college.
The first tip is interesting:

"Don't give everyone you meet your life story"

So maybe I should have answered with the short answer instead of giving people and overload of information within a few minutes of meeting me?

A book worth reading if you have just started university is "The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition" written by Tina Quick. She is an adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) who, having made 18 moves (9 of them before her 10th birthday) understands well the cycle of loss and grief involved in a cross-cultural lifestyle. Tina has raised her own TCKs across four cultures and continents including Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. On the website International Family Transitions Tina gives a list of 10 things every global nomad should know before leaving for university.Check it out.

Recently I wrote 2 blog posts in Dutch. One is about one of my first days at university and the other has 5 tips for students coming from overseas.
Waar kom je vandaan?
5 tips voor jongeren die vanuit het buitenland komen en in hun "thuisland" gaan studeren

Do you have advice for third culture kids going to university or college? Please share it with us. What were your experiences?

Image thanks to hmm360 Morgue file

Twitter update 5 september news about third culture kids

I want to share some good links with you. I twittered about these links the past few days.

Family fun!

10 Lifestyle habits of third culture kids http://bit.ly/nsQKSz written by Brian Royer

You might be a third culture kid: if you speak 2 languages, but can't spell in either...
http://bit.ly/qEx3U7

@Denizenmag interview with TCK who is president of a university in Paris: all about
#TCKs&career bit.ly/roCYFd

Bilingual babies' vocabulary linked to early brain differentiation: http://bit.ly/n36PD8 via @AddThis

@Windmilltales Todays blog post Xpat Blog Hop - Hardest thing to adjust to..http://bit.ly/omWncI
5 tips for future #expats to Holland!

#TCK life has another post. Hope you're liking them, #ThirdCultureKid community. thirdculturekidlife.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/the… Post by James R.Mitchner

@SharonStirling Anyone got a hankering for sweet potato fries with garlic & Thai basil? wp.me/p159rs-mE/ lovely blog by and 4 #TCKs!

'Should our kids go native too?' International vs. local schools, via Expatica. http://bit.ly/qBN36P

@ExpatAngels Expat Divorce. ow.ly/68IAl What about the kids?

J Simens.com New Post - World-wide childhood games teach valuable skills.
Read it now at http://bit.ly/oDfKW9

5 tips for surviving the worst roommate ever @RebeccaGrappo written by a #university graduate TCK http://bit.ly/nIAT6K #TCKs #transition

Wereldschool: Boekentip voor expats om kinderen voor te bereiden op vertrek: Anderland boeken. Biedt gespreksstof en handvatten. http://bit.ly/mef2R8

Multicultureel opvoeden, ouders willen wel maar weten niet hoe..http://bit.ly/ppflzO #opvoeden #diversiteit

Image thanks to Kakisky Morgue File

5 Tips voor jongeren die vanuit het buitenland naar hun “thuisland” gaan om te studeren.

Dit zijn 5 tips van Tina Quick voor jongeren die vanuit het buitenland terug naar hun “thuisland” gaan om te studeren. Tina Quick heeft het boek The Global Nomad´s Guide to university Transition geschreven. Hartelijk dank Tina dat ik deze tips in het Nederlands mocht vertalen en op deze blog mocht zetten. Wil je deze adviezen in het Engels lezen, zie dan het interview met Tina Quick van Expat Women.

1. Ga je “thuisland” in als of het een onbekend land voor je is. Dan kom je voor minder verrassing te staan. Koop de boeken die buitenlanders over je “thuisland” kopen, ga naar bijeenkomsten met andere internationale studenten en verwacht het onverwachte.
2. Het gevoel nergens bij te horen of niet te passen is één van de grootste zorgen van TCKs. Begrijp dat het niet iets te maken heeft met jou als persoon maar dat het te maken heeft met jou levenservaringen en die maken jou anders dan de meeste mensen om jou heen op de universiteit of hoge school.
3. Mensen die altijd in één cultuur hebben gewoond hebben een andere manier van relaties aangaan dan global nomads. Soms is het moeilijk om ze te leren kennen. Geef ze wat tijd en heb wat genade. Luister naar hun verhalen zodat zij jou verhalen ook willen aanhoren.
4. Global nomads vinden hun gevoel ergens “thuis” te horen in de relaties met andere die dezelfde ervaringen hebben gehad – andere jongeren die ook een expat levensstijl hebben gehad. Zoek TCK gemeenschappen op je universiteit of hogeschool of begin er zelf één.
5. Leer praktische vaardigheden die je nodig hebt op de universiteit zoals internet bankieren, auto rijden (in Nederland moet je kunnen fietsen) de was doen, boodschappen doen, koken voordat je het huis uitgaat. De eerste tijd moet je al zo veel nieuwe dingen leren dus als je dit al kunt zal het minder stressvol zijn.

Helaas bestond dit boek niet toen ik ging studeren en deze adviezen heb ik destijds ook niet gekregen. Ik hoop dat jongeren en ouders ze ter harte nemen want zo´n overgang is pittig genoeg.
Meer informatie is ook te vinden in mijn blog bericht: Third culture kids going to university.

Heb jij nog meer tips? Ik hoor ze graag!

Nieuw boek "The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition"

Het boek van Tina Quick "The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition" is geschreven voor jongeren die de overgang maken naar de universiteit. Het is vooral voor de jongeren geschreven maar er is ook een hoofdstuk voor de ouders. Ik moet eerlijk bekennen dat ik het boek nog niet gelezen heb. Het staat wel op mijn verlanglijstje! 

Recent heb ik een interessant interview van Tina Quick, de schrijfster van het boek gehoord door Jo Parfitt. Het interview is in het Engels hier te horen.Tina Quick is ervaringsdeskundige. Zij is een adult third culture kid (ATCK) en zij heeft met haar gezin in verschillende landen gewoond. Op haar website International Family Transitions legt ze oa. uit wat een cultuurschok is, wat Third Cultuur Kids(TCK) zijn en hoe het is om als gezin te verhuizen.

boek via Amazon kopen
boek via Book Depository kopen

Op de website van Expat Women is een Engelstalig interview met Tina Quick te lezen waar in ze 5 tips geeft aan jongeren die een overgang vanuit het buitenland maken naar de universiteit. Lees hier een blog bericht van mij met de 5 tips voor jongeren die terug naar hun thuisland gaan om te studeren. Er zijn ook 6 tips voor de ouders van deze jongeren.

Ik ben erg benieuwd of er in Nederland extra aandacht is voor jongeren die uit het buitenland komen en die naar de universiteit gaan of naar het HBO. Mocht iemand hier meer over weten, dan hoor ik het graag!

Lees ook mijn blog bericht: Third culture kids going to university.