As many of you know, I lived a number of years in Australia as a child. Although it was only five years in all, it was two separate stints in two different cities, with 2.5 years in the States in between. These were some of the most formative years -- starting school in Perth and beginning my pre-adolescent years in Sydney.
Add to that quite a number of moves within the States -- I went to three different high schools -- so by the time I got to college, I wasn't exactly sure where home was.
What would be a simple conversation for most people, for me went something like this:
"Do you want to know where I was born? Where I lived the longest? Where I lived last or where I live now?"
Before you move on from this because it sounds like self-pity, let me quickly add that I consider myself richer for all these experiences.
I have many friends who actually spent most if not all of their childhood in a country that neither of their parents were originally from. These are called Third Culture Kids, a term coined by US sociologist Ruth Hill Useem in the 1950's. Most of the ones I know grew up as "MKs "-- missionaries' kids -- but some are children of expat workers, and still others attended an international school in their own country.
Yes, it is a trade-off: in exchange for feeling rootless and saying way too many goodbyes, most of these people turn out to be highly adaptive and resourceful adults. Many are bi- or even trilingual -- 85% in an online survey spoke two or more languages. So it's not surprising that these people have a broad understanding of the world and how it works. They generally cope with change more easily than most. And yes, they can sometimes get impatient with what they consider parochial mindsets around them.
Are you a TCK? Do you have friends who are? Are you a parent who raised TCK's? If you're in a hiring position, they will likely make some of your most creative employees. They will make some of your best teachers. If you're a TCK now raising kids of your own, the more you share the different parts of yourself with them, the richer they will be.