TCK | My Beijing Survival Diary

Definition of Third Culture Kid according to urbandictionary.com:

Third Culture Kid -??A person who?s personal ?culture? is a fusion of two or more?cultures to which s/he was exposed during childhood. Often abbreviated to?TCK.?Third Culture Kids are often multilingual, very accepting and understanding of other cultures and good at adapting to new environments.?Third Culture Kids are most commonly the children of members of the military, international businessmen or diplomats, though the term can also be applied to the children of immigrants.

My friends are constantly asking me, ?When are you coming home?? Although I understand it?s because they miss me, and obviously I miss them, it?s a difficult question to answer for several reasons. The first is the state of the US economy. I feel like being in China gives me many opportunities to network and create opportunities that people back home may not have. The second is quite simply because I?ve learned that even if I make plans for my life, God?s gonna shake his finger and say ?Nuh uh! That?s not how I see it going down.?

Although the Urban Dictionary definition of a Third Culture Kid is typically someone whose parents have moved him/her around to different countries during childhood, I believe that the term applies to me and my Beijing expat friends as well. Especially those of us who are of Chinese heritage. Sidenote: for those ABCs who have never been to China but think you understand Chinese culture, you?d be amazed at what you discover actually living here. As much as we TCKs complain to each other about the lack of lines outside subway trains, baby poop on the sidewalk, or getting scammed by housing agents, we understand that there?s something that still draws us to China despite all those things.

Having spent my first year and a half in Beijing with only close Chinese friends, it?s nice to finally have friends here who understand what I miss most about America, and also understand what I go through here in China, such as visa issues, looking for housing, getting sick from the lack of quality dairy, even my cross-cultural relationship. Although I didn?t study abroad, I feel like it would?ve been very different from what I?m experiencing now, which is living abroad.

One thing that TCKs share (at least the ones I know) is spending a good portion of their mid-20?s not partying in Vegas, but hitting up Sanlitun or other bar areas. When I see pictures of my friends from home together in Vegas, of course I wish I could be there. But I don?t feel like I?m missing out by being here. Last weekend, I went to Xiu with some friends. I was standing on the rooftop terrace, looking up at the tall, chic Jianwai SOHO buildings that surrounded the bar. It was an awesome view, and I thought to myself, ?This is the epitome of life in your 20?s, of living in this city where the culture doesn?t make sense sometimes, but you just go with it.?

In a way, living overseas doesn?t bring as much pressure as I imagine the ?real world? back home would have. One reason is that we always have a home to go back to, even if we?re living abroad. I?ve always been a nomad, and I love the feeling of not knowing where I?m going to ?settle,? if I do settle at all. To be completely honest, even if I moved back home, I?d be open to moving back to China in the future, or even another country. I don?t like the thought of settling in one place and planning out my entire future based around that one location.

So while I have no idea what my future holds, I?m content just enjoying my life of hanging out in artsy cafes, eating chuan?r?outdoors, and playing basketball with guys whose names I can never remember because three Chinese characters are harder to remember than one English name.

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Source: http://mybeijingsurvivaldiary.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/tck/

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