“I won’t be able to speak to my teacher,” Pierre said to me while out on our evening stroll.
“Why not?” I asked curiously.
“She can’t speak English, and she can’t speak French. She can only speak Spanish,” he responded, with apprehension in his little voice.
“Oh honey. Don’t worry. You are going to an American school. All of the teachers can speak English there,” I reassured my six-year-old.
Apprehension, Jitters, Excitement
Apprehension, jitters, excitement—my kids are facing another new school.
Pierre’s thought process was normal. We had just moved to Spain. Everyone he encountered in the grocery stores, in the parks, at the market, in our neighborhood . . . they all spoke Spanish. Most of them could only speak Spanish.
That thought had never once crossed my mind. My child was already anticipating a language barrier at school. Thankfully, this time, there would be no language barrier. The worries and concerns inside his little mind could cease and be put to rest.
Pierre had other concerns.
“What should I say to kids when I meet them at school on the first day? Should I just say, ‘Hello, do you want to play soccer with me?’“
He had a lot of questions as he faced—once again—the unknowns of his new world.
Not the Only One
Pierre wasn’t the only one with concerns. His big brother, David, also worried about walking this new path.
“I will have to sit by myself on the bus going to the high school camp,” David said to me. I could hear the concern in his voice.
“Why is that?” I asked him.
“The two kids I know are going to camp early, because they are on the Student Council and have to help with set up,” he went on to explain.
“I’m sure that other kids will let you sit with them. What about that boy you met playing soccer at the Open House? What was his name? Caleb?”
“Oh yeah, maybe I can sit with him,” David replied.
Apprehension, jitters, excitement—my kids are facing another new school.
It’s the usual “first day of school jitters.” Our kids just have the added layer of being a new kid in a new school—again.
Not the First, Not the Last
This isn’t the first time that they go to a new school, and I can’t guarantee them that it will be the last time.
I wish that I could make some promise or some guarantee, but I’ve learned the hard way. I’ve learned not to make promises to my children that I’m not sure to keep.
Several of our moves in the past ten years have been last-minute, unexpected, unplanned, unwanted. How can I be sure that life won’t throw us some curveballs that might eventually take us to another place in the world?
There will be no guarantees. There will be no promises of that sort coming from the mouth of this mother.
As my two youngest boys start once again as new students in a new school, I have been reflecting on the lives of my four children—all “global nomads.”
Timothee—age 21—attended 3 different preschools on 3 different continents in France, Morocco, and the U.S., 1 elementary school in Morocco, 2 different middle schools on 2 different continents in the U.S. and France, and 3 different high schools on 2 different continents in France, Germany, and Senegal. He then attended a university in Germany for three years from which he just graduated.
That’s a total of 8 different schools, in 5 different countries, on 3 different continents.
Wow!
Robert—age 19—attended 2 different preschools in Morocco, 2 different elementary schools in 2 different countries—Morocco and the U.S., 1 middle school in France, 3 high schools in 3 different countries on 3 different continents—France, Senegal, and the U.S. He is now in his second year of university studies in England.
That’s a total of 7 different schools, in 5 different countries, on 3 different continents.
Wow!
David—age 13—attended 2 different preschools—in Morocco and in the U.S., 2 different elementary schools in France, 2 different middle schools in France and the U.S., and he is now attending high school in Spain.
That’s a total of 7 different schools, in 4 different countries, on 3 different continents.
Wow!
Pierre—age 6—attended 3 different preschools in France and in the U.S., and he is now in 1st grade in his new school in Spain.
That’s a total of 4 different schools, in 3 different countries, on 2 different continents.
Lots of Differences!
In the midst of all these different schools, there have been other differences—educational systems, languages, cultures, climates, family dynamics (as our two oldest sons went to boarding schools during their final years of high school), etc.
While in Pennsylvania this past year, it was surprising to my boys to meet so many students at their school who were born and raised in the same small town. Most of them have attended the same school since kindergarten. Many of them have their grandparents living in the same town as well.
Those kids know “same, same, same.” Our kids know “different, different, different.”
Those kids know “familiar, familiar, familiar.” Our kids know “new, new, new.”
Our children live in another world. Yes, it certainly has its trials and challenges. When I look back, I sometimes wish that we could have offered our kids more stability—more “sameness” and more “familiarity.” When I have heart-to-heart conversations with my older sons, they express that too. They sometimes wonder if they would be in a better place today if they had been born and raised in one country—with no changes and no differences.
I Wonder Too
I wonder too, but we will never know what life would have been like—if we didn’t have change in our family’s life, if our whole world wasn’t “different” and “new.”
Growing up, I knew “same” and “familiar.” Born and raised in Missouri, I attended 1 preschool, 1 elementary school, 1 middle school, 1 high school, 1 university (well, 2 universities, if I count my year abroad in France.) I had the same friends, the same educational system, the same climate, the same culture, the same language. Nothing changed . . . until the age of 19. When I studied abroad for the first time, my eyes were opened to the world around me. I experienced the world, became a “cultural learner,” and began to cultivate my cultural awareness.
I wouldn’t change that for anything—for myself or for my kids.
My kids started earlier than I did. They entered the world of travel, change, “different,” and “new” from the moment they were conceived. Most of them traveled overseas while in my womb. It was a part of their lives from the beginning.
They are “TCKs”
My kids think globally, see globally, hear globally, smell globally, and feel globally. They are “Third Culture Kids.”
“A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.”
American Sociologist – David C. Pollock
To learn more about TCKs, here are a few good resources.
No, my kids didn’t choose this cross-cultural life. They didn’t necessarily want it. We chose it for them. We wanted it for them.
So, here we go again!
Here we are today—in Spain. Our family managed to cross the “Land Between.” We left our “Land of the Familiar” and packed up our suitcases. Today, my kids are facing another new school. They will be able to add one more school and one more country to their already-long list of schools, countries, and continents.
Mom, How Long?
“Mom, how long do you think I’ll be at this school?” Pierre asked me as we drove home from his new school on the first day.
“I hope until you graduate, when you will be 18-years-old,” I told him.
“Hmmm . . . until I’m 18. That’s a long time away,” he answered. “How do you know that we will be here that long?”
“I don’t know, Pierre,” I answered. “Only God knows. Only God knows.”
Happy Ending to This Story!
Pierre and David both had an awesome first day, second day, third day . . . They love their new country, their new school, and their new friends. They are integrating well and have already connected with all the other “TCK” students at their new school!
It’s the exciting life of “global nomads”!
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Have you or you kids ever had to change new schools? How have these decisions affected you positively, negatively? If you could go back and change things, would you? Why or why not?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
