ENGLISH 1A

Out of Class Essay 1

 

Third Culture Kids: Expat Subculture

 

I dread the question “Where are you from?”

“Well,” I usually respond with an odd exhalation of sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, and begin the explanation- I am originally Israeli, however I was born in England, raised primarily in California, and when I was twelve years old, my family moved to Shanghai, China for three years. Invariably a look of utter confusion ensues. As almost anyone who is part of the expat subculture can say, defining where you are from is not a very easy task. The term Ex-Patriot or expat refers to families or individuals that consistently move every few years to different countries, usually being sent by a company or other organization. Expats generally exist within a mixture of three or more cultures at any given time: the home or parents’ culture (or cultures), the culture of the new location, and the third culture “refers to a created culture that is neither the ‘‘home’’ culture nor the ‘‘host’’ culture; it is the culture between culture,” [2].  Expat kids can be characterized as a subgroup of their own, and there are many cultural markers that distinguish us. Expat kids face a variety of unique challenges, and are afforded exceptional opportunities.  Expats are usually multicultural “chameleons”, having the ability to adapt to different cultures, and bring out the cultural behaviors that fit the situation or the people around them. The essence of an expat is a person who belongs everywhere and nowhere; a highly adaptable, multicultural chameleon.  

 

Many families experience moving homes throughout their lives, and a subculture of people who are raised or live for prolonged periods of time in a culture other than their parents’ arises. This subculture is called expats or Ex-Patriots, and the kids of these expats are called TCKs or third culture kids. The “third culture” aspect of these kid’s lives usually entails having a “home culture,” that of their parents, a culture gleaned from the new environment, and the third being that of a mixture between the two cultures. It’s very common for there to be fifth or sixth culture kids even, because people may have parents belonging to two different cultures, and have lived in multiple countries. While most people today are multicultural in a sense, expats are often viewed differently as people who struggle to define their identity because it is colored with such varied experience. While people may have predispositions and subscribe to stereotypes about TCKs being entitled rich kids who think the world belongs to them, it’s difficult to stereotype a group that can’t even define itself.  In a study of how TCK women view their identity one said, “ ‘Our identity is an anti-identity, the only way we can define ourselves is how we are not,’ ” [2]. While some people may identify with a subculture because it brings them a sense of unity with others, third culture kids experience a sense of unity in the disunity- by finding common ground with an experience of adjusting to uncommon terrain, rather than the terrain itself, and in that way TCKs can both belong to a place and culture and not.

 

Being a TCK comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. On the positive end, TCKs often speak two or more languages, not only giving the ability to communicate with a wider variety of people, but think from the perspective of the different language and the culture to which it belongs. As any bilingual person can say, when switching languages (especially between languages spoken fluently), the way in which one speaks- speed, aggressiveness, the gestures used, pitch, the kind of humor even, changes to reflect the cultural norms of that language. There is even growing evidence that cognitive functioning such as “executive functioning benefits from bilingual experience,” [1]. Similarly to mobility of language, mobility of location forces TCKs not to fear new places, opening up literally an entire world of possibilities. On the other hand, the constant need to adjust to new surroundings creates many challenges. Because of the transient nature of expat lives, one of the integral challenges is adjusting to a mobile world, not only one in which the expat moves, but so do the fellow expats: teachers, peers, and friends are also constantly relocating. This experience both helps and hinders TCKs as, “Although this lifestyle may equip TCKs to be more independent at an earlier age, their ability to connect with others may be lacking as TCKs tend to experience more interpersonal distance from others than non-TCKs,” [2]. The ability to form long-term connections and friendships, or avoid abandonment issues is sometimes not developed in expat kids, causing a variety of problems in life as well. Because of the parents’ jobs, often times expat kids do not spend a lot of time with one or both parents, as the parent is travelling for work. In extreme, but not all that rare situations, the kids don’t live with either parent but rather with a housekeeper or third party. Tenuous or inconsistent attachments with parents, extended family, and friends sometimes leave TCKs feeling isolated. Although there are many exceptional benefits to being an expat, there are often times also great hardships that people do not consider when they think of the entitled spoiled TCK, who thinks the world belongs to him/her.

 

Expats view themselves as citizens of the world, and thus are able to live on the micro as well as macro, connecting with everyone, but also only being able to truly connect to few. The ability to adopt different cultures and understand ways other cultures think and behave makes expat kids able to connect to people of all sorts. This ability to form connections with people who are so different, or with other expats, shows our diversity both for the better and worse, and “reveals that most TCKs either have a multiple sense of belonging or no sense of belonging at all (Fail et al., 2004). They have moved so many times, attended so many different schools, and lived in so many different places that they feel at home everywhere and nowhere,” [2]. Expat kids are often very well travelled, both because they have moved to many countries, and also visit neighboring countries during vacations. A common conversation between expats could be listing the various countries each has travelled, because there will usually be a place they’ve both visited, or some kid that goes to the international school in Dubai they both know. Because we have emotional and interpersonal connections throughout the world, we tend to view problems in a more global way, or connect with global  issues that others may feel disconnected to. Because we belong to everywhere and nowhere, we get to pick our culture based on the situation, or associate ourselves with one culture more strongly over others. This ability to connect with a diverse array of people allows for a lot of personal mobility, however, it may also cause a feeling of isolation. A sort of cultural insulation can sometimes occur in third culture kids, in which upon returning home “they become socially marginalised. Because their peers do not understand their unique experiences and lifestyle, TCKs are often forced to put that part of their identity to the side. They may feel socially isolated and have no social group to which they belong,” [2]. Although it is common that expats feel alienated at times, partially because a difference in life experience and partially because of difficulty attaching to others, usually expats pick and choose a few cultures to adopt most dominantly and assimilate into their society. Because of the complexity of third culture kids’ cultural identity, often the strongest connections can only be made with other expats, however TCKs still utilize an uncanny and paradoxical ability in connecting to everyone and no one.

 

Although cultural fragmentation and compartmentalization may occur for expats, they are culturally dynamic yet still remain solidified people. Despite a possible lack of predominant cultural identifiers, TCKs often still “know who they are,” as symbolized by a chameleon. When speaking a certain language, we change the ways in which we think and speak in alignment to the culture of the language. When I speak in a common language, such as English, with perhaps a British person or a French person, I will usually unconsciously change my accent to an affected English accent, rather than my American one. When I immerse myself in a certain country or culture, people will often think I am actually from that country. When I’m in Israel people think I’m Israeli, in America, American, in Spain, Spanish. While having this ability to become a part of almost any culture quickly, expats still retain their own culture, an amalgamation of global cultures. Similarly to how a chameleon changes colors and textures, but is still always a chameleon, an expat may change their behavior or speech to fit the culture of their environment, but will still retain their expat culture. In this way, I don’t think that my cultural integrity as an American, an Israeli, or an expat, becomes compromised, because although I can switch between them, I will always be all of them at once, and not fully any of them.

 

Like other subcultures, the expat subculture is a way of life. It characterizes the experiences one has, the people one is drawn to, the way one thinks, behaves, and speaks, and what one creates. Being an expat causes an blend of cultures into a unique individual culture that fosters a unique perspective on one’s surroundings. Before I moved to Shanghai and discovered the expat subculture, I didn’t quite know how to categorize myself. I felt alien in America and alien in Israel, and didn’t know how to reconcile and balance the cultural differences when in either country. I think that identification with this subculture has helped me to understand where I “fit in” and that it’s okay that that “where” is not necessarily one certain address. By identifying myself with the expat subculture, I feel that I have found a subculture that includes people with similar experiences, and identifies me with a type of people that aren’t necessarily from either of my home countries and yet are more similar to me. By finding shelter under a categorical roof for the world’s “culturally homeless,” I can more readily define my culture as that which is what I want it to be.

 

WORKS CITED

 

Morales, Julia, Carlos J. Gómez-Ariza, and Teresa M. Bajo. "Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control in Bilinguals and Monolinguals."Journal of Cognitive Psychology 25.5 (2013): 531-46. EBSCO Host. Web. 5 May 2015.

 

Walters, Kate A., and Faith P. Auton-Cuff. "A Story to Tell: The Identity Development of Women Growing up as Third Culture Kids." EBSCO. EBSCO Host, 7 May 2009. Web. 5 May 2015.