For anyone who doesn’t know, a third culture kid is being from two places but that you have never lived in either of those countries. Being a third culture kid has it’s positives and negatives. First of, you get to experience many different cultures and ways to live. You learn different languages, try different foods, and get to meet many new people. For example, I am a third culture kid. My dad is from Mexico and my mom is from California, yet I have never lived in either of those places. I have lived all over the world though.

I was born in Colombia on a farm, then moved to Indonesia and lived in a huge gated oil camp. Then I moved to Doha, Qatar where I went to a big school, in a big city, lived in a small gated compound, and spent most of my childhood there. Now, I moved to Senegal, Africa and this is my first year. Already I am beginning to get used to the two cultures here; the Senegalese culture and the ISD culture. I am learning to speak french, I try Senegalese food, I notice Senegalese traditional clothing, and I notice their normal ways of living life everyday. It is definitely different then what I was used to in a big city. Here there is poverty that you see everyday. You will see cows or horses just randomly walking along the street. Everyone is very nice and polite. The ISD culture is very different for me as well.  My school is small so everyone knows everyone and I like that here. Everyone hangs out with each other no matter the age difference, teachers are always willing to help. You have many opportunities at ISD, you can do sports, art, theater, and so much more.

This makes me think. If I wasn’t a third culture kid then I would only be used to one or two cultures. I would see people that look different then me and find it strange. I would see people that eat different food and find it weird or gross. Because I am a third culture kid I am accustomed to accepting other cultures since they are part of my everyday life. I have traveled the world and have seen people of every race, religion, ethnicity, and culture. Although, there are some times where I don’t know my own culture or the trends that are happening where I am from. This is because I don’t live there. I have lived in every other culture except mine. This can be hard but I am used to it. Being a Third Culture Kid can be hard, but it’s totally worth it.