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Third Culture Mama

Raising bridge-builders

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Review

Meet Emily Steele Jackson, author of TCK novel “Home, James”

March 5, 2018March 6, 2018 Third Culture Mama

Last month, I devoured “Home, James“, a brand new novel (Feb. 2018) featuring Third Culture Kid, James, who makes an epic ‘return home’ to the US after growing up in […]

Transition

The not so warm welcome home

November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 Third Culture Mama

The following is a sequel to my last post on our recent trip to America. In that article, I shared how we all went through some adjusting, after being gone […]

Third Culture

Welcome back to America, Third Culture Kids!

November 8, 2017February 8, 2018 Third Culture Mama

The kids were delirious by the time we reached the rental car place in Denver. They kept flipping from giggling to crying, while I tried to make sense of the […]

Guest Post

How families can bridge the academic gap when moving around

September 29, 2017November 9, 2017 Third Culture Mama

I am delighted to feature this guest post written by Christianna Pangalos, Founder and CEO of TwigaTutors. Christianna helps highly-mobile US families scattered across the globe, maintain a consistent US […]

Third Culture

When cross-cultural kids are rejected by their own family

June 9, 2017June 9, 2017 Third Culture Mama

From this side of the ocean, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. Those little moments of laughter or mimicking or side comments are natural and usually not out […]

Third Culture

Third Culture Kids in love: MaDonna’s story

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Welcome to part two of the TCKs in love series. Join me as I interview MaDonna, who was raised in small town America and has been married to her German-Taiwanese […]

Third Culture

Third Culture Kids in love: Suzanne’s story

April 23, 2017May 1, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Welcome to a three part series all about married Third Culture Kids and how their Third Culture affects their relationship. For our first interview, I really wanted to hear from […]

Third Culture

Where do I belong? The early years.

January 24, 2017January 26, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Could my young children already be wrestling with their cultural identity? In preschool?? As with many profound reflections, this one came about at the table, where precious friends asked us […]

Travel with kids

Holidays are for world-schooling

October 30, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Well, we’re back from our adventure to Italy. Wow. The film director and family were staying at our place between the London film premiere and a London award ceremonies (yeay!). […]

Transition

The Q&A edition!

October 25, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

In this post, I ask my husband (aka Tall Mountain) to share from his perspective how the transition has affected him.. Alright. Why don’t you start by painting a bit […]

Motherhood

Playdate anguish

October 20, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

It happened so fast. I was caught a bit off guard. Our boy was asked if he wanted to come over for a playdate and he excitedly said he’d love […]

Long-distance

Christmas in October

October 17, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Another thing I hadn’t mentioned in my last post about house guests is that they double up as postmen and women. Growing up, not one visitor flew to America or […]

Transition

Visitors: the good and the bad

October 16, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We don’t know when it happens along the cross-cultural adjustment timeline, but at some point the outsider becomes an insider. You’re developing a sense of belonging in your new home. […]

Transition

‘Yes’ people in a ‘No’ culture

October 5, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

France is a country that will always be part and parcel of our family. I grew up here, Tall Mountain and I dated and got married here. Despite living in […]

Third Culture

Growing a world-shaped heart

July 27, 2016 Third Culture Mama

I just love that French word “terroir”, most often used in reference to wine. Terroir describes that dynamic process by which the whole environment: climate, geography, soil, air – gives […]

Third Culture

New Eyes for an Old Home: Adult Third Culture Kids

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 Third Culture Mama

“I am sure you’ll be so thankful to be back home in your country” wrote my friend in a farewell card as all the cogs were in motion for us […]

International Move

Keeping the family afloat

June 10, 2016November 15, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We uprooted our life just one week ago. That’s when we moved our family of five from city life in the United States to a small village in France. Wow. […]

Transition

Neither here nor there

May 12, 2016May 12, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Our last month in the United States is flying by at a breakneck pace. I had all these ideas of topics to blog about, but I am not finding the […]

Transition

Big news for our family

April 27, 2016April 30, 2016 Third Culture Mama

In case you’ve caught word, friends, the rumors are true. In just five weeks from today, we will move our little family of five to a village in France. It’s […]

Travel with kids

Pediatricians around the world!

April 7, 2016April 8, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We just recently took all three kids, ages four and under, to our pediatrician here in the United States. It’s difficult to even describe the level of chaos generated by […]

Third Culture

6 tips for TCKs returning “home”

January 18, 2016January 19, 2016 Third Culture Mama

The move to my passport culture, a country I hadn’t lived in for 20 years, was littered with pain and grief. I felt the physical ache in my heart as […]

Multilingualism

New language goals!

January 8, 2016January 8, 2016 Third Culture Mama

You might remember how down I was on New Year’s resolutions in 2015. I didn’t set any goals at the beginning of last year other than the resolve to just […]

Multilingualism

Language-learning: an alive, natural, changing process

October 23, 2015April 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

When I first thought about this month’s Multilingual Carnival topic on “lost languages“, I didn’t think we had all that much to share. Our kids are all under four years […]

Travel

When kids aren’t a distraction to your calling…

September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I plucked up the courage to leave my chaotic and needy small humans to invest into my future at Influence Conf this month. The time away was such a gift […]

Review

On race, immigration and love: Americanah

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Introducing a book that depicts life pretty accurately on three continents and unpacks the sensitive subject of race in a relatively non-judgmental fashion. It’s a book that also humanizes the […]

Long-distance

Beyond Skype: let’s stay in touch!

August 20, 2015August 21, 2015 Third Culture Mama

8264km / 5135miles. That is the closest I have lived to my parents in the past seven years. In the meantime, we’ve had children that can walk, talk, communicate. Despite […]

Bilingualism

Little language vignettes

August 12, 2015August 13, 2015 Third Culture Mama

After picking up a collection of short stories on clearance at a bookstore earlier this year, I rediscovered a wealth of beauty in the novella. That seemingly random purchase taught […]

Multilingualism

Bilingual Avenue Podcast

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I am really honored to feature on this week’s episode of Bilingual Avenue, a weekly podcast with insightful tips and advice from language experts and normal parents like us, raising […]

Schooling

The school question

February 26, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Over the past couple of years, as parents of older kids discussed preschool, my eyes would glaze over. We have time, and we won’t be living in the United States […]

Multicultural

What? I’m not calling them “maids”!

February 13, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

It started with a whole lot of tension and ended with a whole lot of compromise. It climbed hills of heartache but led to a lush land of so much […]

Third Culture

Ditching Brittany

February 10, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I sat in my favorite solid wooden chair at our kitchen table and stared out the window. Many an “aha” moment has come to me on this comforting chair with […]

Spirituality

The time I almost missed Christmas

December 17, 2014December 9, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We all have hopes and longings for our children. We want them to learn to crawl, to walk, to talk. We want them to care for others, to be bridge-builders, […]

Third Culture

That global vs. local tension

December 3, 2014May 6, 2015 Third Culture Mama

A friend of mine recently sent me a message with a question that got me thinking. He asked me how I developed a hunger for both local and global experiences, […]

Cultural Reflections

This gift of diversity

September 19, 2014January 16, 2015 Third Culture Mama

How desperately, do I want to teach our kids to be lovers of this world. Interesting then, when it actually came to inviting the so-called ‘world’ into our home (without us […]

Cultural Reflections

God Bless America.

July 5, 2014March 5, 2015 Third Culture Mama

The first Fourth of July I experienced as an Adult Third Culture Kid was in 2008. We went to some highly political parade in the middle of the country. We […]

Cultural Reflections

Constant acts of kindness

April 3, 2014November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

I find that the mundane often meets the extraordinary these days. Date: Friday, March 7, 2014 Time: 11:30am [Read: soon to be collective meltdown time for kiddos.] Place: Our little neighborhood […]

Cultural Reflections

The iconic American cookie

March 20, 2014November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

I was driving the hubs to the airport the other day when I noticed this hotel shuttle with a gargantuan chocolate chip cookie on the side… The branding person inside […]

Motherhood

Flying alone w/ 19 month Ayo

October 20, 2013November 24, 2014 Third Culture Mama

This cozy Sunday afternoon found me catching up on Pam’s witty blog about air travel with a toddler over here. I beckoned Tall Mountain to come over and read her […]

Cultural Reflections

This just happened…

October 17, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Hi there, We just returned home by airplane and our tube of SunnyBaby SPF 30 squeezed out into our suitcase. I am wondering how best to wash the lotion out […]

Cultural Reflections

When less is more…

October 2, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Last week, I returned our ill-functioning blender we had bought over two years ago. Tall Mountain put it on my “to do list” and I shuddered thinking of the battle […]

Travel

NYC with a toddler?

October 1, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

I love big cities. I love how alive they are, how endless the culinary, cultural, interpersonal experiences can be, how outrageous personalities and clothing are acceptable, how beautiful architecture and […]

Travel

Cupcakes & hotdogs

July 7, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Today was the first day I have felt like myself again following another gruesome trip over the Atlantic. The airplane didn’t turn back this time, but we missed our connection in […]

Cultural Reflections

French vs. American Butchery

May 28, 2013February 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

After visiting the farm and pouring over the details (quality of beef, cost, transportation etc), we finally decided to purchase a whole cow with three other families. One of the […]

Musings

Co-housing thoughts

May 21, 2013November 24, 2014 Third Culture Mama

On Sunday, we enjoyed an impromptu post-church lunch with some friends of ours. They have four children, two of whom were adopted into their family from mainland China. Their four […]

Baby

Searching for raw milk

April 23, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

We took advantage of Grammie being in town this past weekend to go on a little road trip to an organic dairy farm. We’ve been looking into our raw milk […]

Birth

For the birth geeks!

April 9, 2013April 17, 2013 Third Culture Mama

Here is an interview between Future Midwives of America and Aubre Tompkins (CNM, MSN), who is the clinical director of Mountain Midwifery Center. Aubre explains some of the joys of […]

Bilingualism

Language tiers

March 25, 2013November 24, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Back when I was reading up about bilingual parenting, I found one book that wrote about the importance of understanding which tier your languages fall into. It went on to […]

Cultural Reflections

Rwandan colored spectacles

March 19, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Have you ever thought about how strange your life looks behind a different cultural shade of our world’s glasses? Today, my Rwandan mama friend came over for a spontaneous playdate, […]

Birth

Maisons & Maternage

March 2, 2013March 5, 2015 Third Culture Mama

You’d think there would be birth centers all over France. Natural birth advocate Michel Odent, is, after all French! This report on last night’s 8pm TF1 news shows that maisons […]

Spirituality

Remembering the Sabbath

February 9, 2013November 24, 2014 Third Culture Mama

When asked what was the hardest thing about living in the States, my friend recently responded: “probably the way the Sabbath day is treated like any other day. I mean, […]

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