Every summer I begin thinking about change and transition, about reentry and culture shock. With the first warm breezes of the season, I am transported to places and times where this was my reality. And I begin to hear stories from others who are going through these transitions. The stories are told in photographs and short, often humorous, statements, hiding the tremendous impact of transnational moves.
When I began looking into information on reentry, I came across refugee resettlement and orientation programs for refugees entering a country. I was struck by how much the advice resonated with me as a third culture kid. While on one level the TCK and the refugee experience are worlds apart, the goals and the realistic expectations in refugee orientation programs are remarkably helpful.
Because orientation for the refugee is not just about theory and information, it is designed to give the refugee "the opportunity to develop realistic expectations regarding their resettlement, to consider different situations that might arise in a new country, and develop skills and attitudes that will facilitate their adjustment and well-being"*
The first thing I realized is that we, like the refugee or immigrant, don't 'reenter'. Instead we 'enter' a world that is not familiar, a world that calls up all of our flexibility and ingenuity to adjust. It may seem like a small thing, but the difference between those words is huge.
So I began developing my own list for my tribe, the third culture kid tribe. I offer it here with hopes that both those who enter and those who re-enter may find a nugget of truth. I'd love to here your thoughts through the comment section!
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- Realistic time expectations. Entering a new world is a journey and it rarely happens in three months or six months. We are moving to a new country, a new world. As such it deserves all the attention we would give to going into a totally different culture. Transitioning to a new life in our passport country is far bigger than spending a summer vacation there. Give yourself a minimum of two years, but don't be surprised if it takes five.
- Accepting that we are a combination of worlds. As TCKs, our worlds are woven together in a semi-formed tapestry. Many of us feel like completely different people when we're in our passport countries. We are not chameleons and we are not impostors; rather we're trying to make sense of our worlds and figure out what cultural adaptation looks like as we effectively transition to our passport countries. Yes - there is loss of identity. But as we work through these losses, our identities as those who can live between worlds emerge stronger than ever.
- Understanding culture shock. We don't go through reverse culture shock - we go through culture shock. Reverse culture shock means we know a culture, have been away from it, and are returning to differences we didn't expect. In our case, we don't really know this culture we are entering. We may think we know it, because our passports tell us we should, but we don't. And while reverse culture shock is described as "wearing contact lenses in the wrong eyes", culture shock is having completely different lenses.
Read the rest of the piece here at A Life Overseas.