Sun, 22 November 2009
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How far will cultural and ideological differences affect our life in a globalised society? A third culture kid himself, Chris Lenton looks at where the global nomad is coming from, or going.Paul Crowe, 27, lives in Hawaii, where he captains a boat and teaches scuba diving. He has thick blonde hair and a sturdy build; wears faded jeans, a red rugby shirt, and sports a deep copper tan.
He is articulate, has a degree in marine biology, and is at ease discussing virtually any topic. He likes the Lakers, and tends to vote Democrat. His accent is sharp and smooth, his choice of words, careful. In many ways he fits the bill of a well-educated twenty-something American. Except Paul doesn’t know where he is from.
The child of American diplomats, he has lived, at various stages and for varying lengths of time, in Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Egypt, Switzerland, Thailand, Florida, New York, Hawaii, Indonesia, Oman, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands and Maryland. His nationality is merely a term that exists on a piece of paper known as a passport, a document littered with stamps, visas and tacked-on pages that he carries discreetly in his jeans' pocket. “When I tell people where I’ve lived, where I’ve been, where I’m from, most of them think I’m either bragging or lying. So I keep it quiet,” he says.
Nomads through birth
Paul is not alone. He is part of an expanding group of young Americans who grew up in a smattering of countries, none of them necessarily the one indicated on the cover of their passports. These nomadic people have been given a name: Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Professor Ruth Hill Useem of Michigan State University coined the term in a series of lectures and papers. Loosely, the term applies to people who as children were lugged around to foreign countries by parents pursuing work in rapidly growing international fields.
According to the Wikipedia entry on TCKs, “third” refers to the culture created when a person integrates their parents’ culture with the culture (or cultures) in which they were raised.
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.
Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.
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