Third-Culture Kid or/atau Anak Budaya Ketiga

We live in a world full of grey and nuance. Being born and raised abroad as a third-culture kid membuat aku sadar bahwa satu-satunya kesamaan aku, kamu, kita adalah kita semua berbeda. Baik dalam budaya, keyakinan, agama, dan perspektif yang kita pegang. Banyak pengalaman seru, unik, dan menyenangkan yang sudah membentuk pribadi aku hari ini, sampai saat ini.

Ini definisi Third Culture Kid (TCK) menurut Merriam-Webster:

A child who grows up in a culture different from the one in which his or her parents grew up. The "third culture" is influenced both by their parents' culture and the culture in which they are raised.

A Third Culture Kid menghabiskan sebagian besar masa perkembangannya (childhood/developmental years) di luar budaya orang tua dan di luar negara paspornya sendiri. Biasanya ditandai dengan status tempat tinggal yang memiliki tanggal kedaluwarsa. Not limited to, tapi seringkali orang tua TCK adalah diplomat, misionaris, atau anggota militer dan cenderung menyekolahkan anak-anaknya di sekolah internasional.

Besar kemungkinan, mereka tumbuh bilingual bahkan multilangual. Besar kemungkinan juga mereka merasa asing ketika 'pulang kampung' walaupun secara paspor/etnisitas belong di home country mereka. -Zhafira Aqyla

In my case, negara paspor aku dan keluargaku, Indonesia. Kami juga punya kartu penduduk yang disebut iqamah/iqomah di negara tempat aku tinggal, Arab Saudi. Kedua orang tuaku adalah guru di salah satu SILN (Sekolah Indonesia Luar Negeri) Arab Saudi.

Sebagai TCK, seringkali aku mengalami a sense of disconnection when it comes to culture, origin, and home. Membuat aku tumbuh berpikir kritis tentang apa itu rumah serta identitas yang aku bawa. Siapa aku? Aku mencintai keduanya, tapi di mana aku paling merasa nyaman? Aku bukan satu-satunya orang yang pernah merasakannya.

Another things me and many TCKs struggle with are when:

• People thinking I'm showing off when I talk about my childhood

• Forgetting words, vocabs, grammar, etc in languages that we speak

• Adapting and fitting in to new places, environments, and people

• Learning how to say proper goodbye

• People questioning "Is there -- (things) in A/B/C country?"

• People questioning "Where do you see yourself settling down permanently?" (the hardest, because umm.. I mean, will you?)

And much more..

There's a million things I haven't done, there's a new world to be won.

Pengalaman setiap TCK berbeda-beda. Dan lagi, aku bukan satu-satunya yang mengalami dan merasakannya. For me, it is important to know my identity as a TCK. It helps me to identify myself as a subgroup within society.

Ini, aku bagi quotes favorit aku dari instagram acc @tckglobal di postingannya "Advice third culture kids would give to their younger selves"

Don't worry about fitting in. There are people like you everywhere, eventually, you'll find your tribe and it'll be a beautiful connection from day 1 -@danny._.ke

Never let being a TCK be a crutch; recognize how privileged you are to have experienced the things you did and be proud of your unique perspective. -@andrew.beadle