I recently realised that I never finished my “catch up” series of Recommended Reading – going back and sharing links I collected while I was sick. Since I’m currently travelling (and very busy!) I thought it would be a good time to share these great posts from December 2018 with you. Also, I realise that being a series of posts from December, several reflect on the holiday season and new beginnings. They’re still worth reading – even a few months later!

The Nightly Pilgrimage
TCK Town
Reflections on connecting with a place and its people through food. I recommend you don’t read this on an empty stomach!
“Leaving India was a strange mixture of relief and sadness. I had grown accustomed to the vibrancy of such a bustling country but looked forward to returning to quieter times. I would often catch myself reflecting on my stay and appreciating how I felt, to an extent, local even if it were only for those few weeks. The culinary experiences I had are something unable to be replicated without returning. Chennai’sfood without the context is just food; the people and surroundings completed it.”

The Intrepid Chef: Kaesta McFee [Muscat, Oman]
The Black Expat
The story of an expat chef with connections to many countries! Hear about his journey to where he is, and what he’s done along the way. Really interesting!
“If I was in Canada, I wouldn’t have the same experience. Food is a big part of it. In Singapore, you have Chinese, Malaysians, Indians and they brought all these foods and cultures with them. Singapore is such a hub for these different cultures. I could go on and on but just from Singapore, you could experience different meals. If you don’t enjoy [the country] while doing something you like to do, then maybe you’re not meant to be there.”

“Why we’re the kids that fit nowhere – and everywhere”
Grazia Middle East
I’m going to give you the first paragraph of this article, because if you’re anything like me, this alone will be enough to whet your appetite for more!
“Omar Tom, Reem Hameed and Mohamad Akkaoui – the voices behind the thought-provoking podcast The Dukkan Show – call themselves neo-bedouins. And tracking the journeys that brought them to Dubai, it’s easy to see why. “Neo means new, and bedouins are travellers and nomadic by nature, so have never really been one culture,” Omar – aka OT – explains. For the record, OT is Sudanese in origin, spent his early years in the UAE, and “thinks and speaks in English as a first language, even though it’s meant to be Arabic.” OT is joined on the show by fellow third-culture cohorts Manilla-born Reem – a Filipino-Iraqi who grew up in Baghdad, Kuwait and Canada – and Akkaoui, who was born in Abu Dhabi to Lebanese parents.”

The Privilege of Drinking Tap Water
What Expats Can Do
An expat reflects on the privilege of safe drinking water, from her experiences living in places where it isn’t readily available.
“I am very grateful to my life abroad in tough countries for teaching me things I would not have understood otherwise. I am privileged to be able to drink tap water now, but I am also privileged to have gone through the experience of learning what it means to live day by day with no healthy and safe running water.”

Why “Third Culture” Online Therapists are Excellent with Cross-Cultural Clients
Kyler Shumway
Clinical Psychologist Daniela Tomer shares a little about her journey to offering online sessons for clients in other locations. This is a growing trend, and a huge help for many TCKs and expatriates.
“Most of the global nomad clients who choose to work online are doing so because they can’t find a professional who can speak their language in their location. It is very understandable, crossing cultures is complicated enough; so, seeking for the comfort of communicating in your mother tongue is very natural… I embraced the online technique as the primary modality in my practice as opposed to my former preference of “in-person” coaching. And, when occasionally people seem to be confused with my accent and I am asked about my mother tongue, I answer: “It is complicated…. How much time do you have?” If they insist, I say: “I speak four languages, but I am most comfortable in the common language of the third culture, the language of the ones that moved around.””

Investing in Traditions That Travel Well
A Life Overseas
Another great Jerry Jones post, this time talking about how to create family traditions that travel well. While written in the context of Christmas, this is a really important skill for all expat families to learn, at all times of year.
“Traditions, for the expat (and the repat), are one of the great opportunities for something solid in a life which is otherwise incessantly marked by change. Adaptation is required to be sure. Adjustment is essential. You can’t do this without some tweaks and twerks and modifications but rock solid traditions are worth the investment. My family needs that. I need that. So I’m investing in a solid set of traditions (holiday and otherwise) that can remain constant here, there or anywhwere.”

Home For Christmas
A Life Overseas
Another post from A Life Overseas, this one a lovely reflections on Christmas and home, from the mother of a culturally complicated family.
“The concept of home is even more complicated in our little family of four as we span three continents by birth and nationality. We are a confused, but contented bunch. This Christmas will be our American son’s first Christmas in a western country since age three as well his first in England. It will be our four year old Chinese daughter’s first Christmas ever… There is so much good to experience this Christmas in England. Then in the New Year we’ll come home to Indonesia, another not-quite-fully-home where we currently live. In all the travel, in all the places we’ve lived, we did find home. Our mixed up and meshed together hodgepodge of cultures and experiences created our own unique family culture.”

Three Must-Have Goals for Expats in the New Year
World Tree Coaching
Jodi unpacks some simple practices behind the process of making and reaching the goals we set for ourselves. She talks about presence, values, and self compassion. Really helpful reflections!
“If we simply start making a list of things we want to do, it’s always seemed to me that our intentions will fizzle by the time March rolls around. We may lack direction or a deeper understanding of the why behind the goals we’re setting. This is exacerbated by the unpredictability of expat life. One little glitch can lead us astray. That being said, there are some goals that are universal. There are habits and intentions that we can bring into our lives that are foundational to creating the everyday, practical goals we hope to bring about in the New Year.”

Gift Guide for Third Culture Kids, 2018
Djbouti Jones
And finally, a bit late for this year but something to keep in mind for graduating TCKs soon! And I was very touched to see Misunderstood on the list of recommended books to give you TCK.