Yesterday my husband Andy and I celebrated our one year anniversary of moving from the U.S. to Prague with our seven year old son.  What an adventure it has been!  During the school holidays we’ve been to Barcelona, Krakow, Venice, Florence, Herrnhut, Germany; Vienna, Leipzig, Wittenburg, and “Czech Switzerland”.  And each time we come “home” to Prague!

But WHY did we move to PRAGUE, you ask? The short answer is because Andy got a teaching contract at an international high school. The long answer is because I’m an adult Third Culture Kid (TCK) with an unquenchable wanderlust, and Andy is now also addicted to travel.

David Pollack developed the following description for third culture kids:

 “A third culture kid is an individual who, having spent a significant part of their developmental years in a culture other than their parents’ home culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience.”1

“Children are TCKs for many reasons. Some have parents with careers in international business, the diplomatic corps, the military or religious missions.”2 

I am a TCK because I grew up in India for four years of my childhood, from age seven to eleven.  Why did I grow up in India?  That’s a story for a later post.

There has been much research done on TCKs, and one finding is that many TCKs have an unquenchable wanderlust, which stems from the cross-cultural and high-mobility aspects of their upbringing.  That’s me!  I am a travelholic.  I feel more alive when I am in another country, in another culture. I love being part of an expat community, learning a new language and how to get around in a foreign country.

Prior to our move to Prague, we were living in Wisconsin, raising our son Imageand our daughter, Samantha, now 18. Sam is eleven years older than our son as she is my husband’s daughter from his first marriage. So we decided that when Sam graduated from high school and went away to college in 2011, we would look into finding jobs teaching overseas.

Long story short, Andy got a job offer from an international school in Prague. So we sold our three- bedroom house and most of our belongings, packed up six suitcases and three carry ons, and landed in Prague on July 18, 2011!

It has been a truly amazing year, with so many great memories.  Our son is thriving in his international school and he absolutely loves traveling and experiencing new adventures.  Our son doesn’t realize it yet, but he is now a TCK, growing up amongst other TCKs. Hence my desire to finally start this blog, with the help of our daughter and technical advisor, Sam…who, by the way, we will be meeting in Paris on Wednesday!