Who am I, really?

It always seems as though just as I'm once again figuring out who I am, culturally that is, and fitting myself into a rather comfortable box, some humdinger comes at me and I find myself a muddled mess once again. (Yes, I said "humdinger."  That would be the result of many years of Jimmy Stewart movies and the Andy Griffith Show at Grandma's house!)

Being a "cultural chameleon" is a blessing and a curse, that is for sure.  I spent my morning in a very typical American capacity, sitting in the hard, metal bleachers of a high school stadium watching my fifth graders compete in a track meet.  Then I jumped in my car, ran errands, and proceeded to get vehicle maintenance taken care of while I leisurely surfed the web at Starbucks.  I pulled out my laptop, did the usual Facebook stalking (er...perusing), and suddenly found myself in a totally different place mentally, searching through the wonderful work of Third Culture Kids and reading articles that I can relate so clearly to: stories of lessons learned in flight (because Lord knows I've been on enough of those), watching stories that are so like mine, and wondering how I am where I am.  "You are so normally abnormal," they all seem to be reminding me ever so bluntly.

If you haven't read David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken's book "Third Culture Kids" and have spent any significant time as a child in a country other than your own, you really need to.  And if that demographic doesn't fit you, but you have friends or children of your own that fit the profile, you should probably skim it too.

Location: Auburn, WA

Local Time (PST -- GMT-7): 2:58 p.m. (4/28/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 5:58 a.m. (4/29/2012)

Anticipation

Have you ever stopped to think about that feeling in your stomach just before a plane takes off? Or just before you get some big news that you had a feeling was coming? Or just before you get results from the doctor? Or just before the teacher passes back a test that you are sure you aced...or worried that you didn't?  I love that feeling.

The anticipation of whatever is to come is one of the most revered and simultaneously feared feelings that a person can experience.  There is excitement mixed with dread; thrill mixed with apprehension.  I have that feeling in my stomach right now.  Tomorrow, my school here in the US will find out what is going on for the coming year.  My students will hear that I am leaving, and while they wouldn't be in my class anyway, it does change things.  Change is hard.  I know that as well as anyone else, and I don't like forcing change on people.  But guess what...it's going to happen whether you like it or not.

And so I eagerly wait with anticipation...excited for however things play out and ready with back-up (well, not really, but I'm sure I could muster some up) in case the tables turn :)

Location: Auburn, WA

Local Time (PST -- GMT-7): 11:18 a.m. (4/25/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 2:18 a.m. (4/26/2012)

Leaving Again

Leaving a place after a week shouldn’t be bittersweet, but when there are people that I love involved, it always is.  There are always more things that we could have done, more conversations that we could have had, and the ever-illusive “more time”.   It was a wonderful spring break back in the Arbor, but now I’m headed back to my current reality, only to leave in a few months for a new reality.

Sometimes as a Third Culture Kid (TCK), I feel as though I’m constantly entering into a new state of being or an alternate universe of some sort.  There may be items, memories, or even people that are similar to my many different lives, but at the end of the day I seem to be the only earthly constant in each of the vignettes into my life.

Maybe you’re reading this and you’ve known me for years, or maybe I am a new friend, or simply a random stranger whose blog has hit your radar.  I should probably give you a bit of a view into my world.  I was born in the United States while my parents were living in Haiti, ended up spending my first few months in Haiti, moved back to Eastern Washington, relocated to Rwanda when I was two, moved back to the States for what was supposed to be a year when I was six, ended up living south of Seattle for almost seven years, moved to Ethiopia at the age of thirteen, went to boarding school at the age of sixteen, went to college in Michigan at eighteen, and finally returned to Seattle after college at twenty-two.  (If that’s not a run on sentence, I don’t know what is!)  My life has been split between very wonderful and unique corners of globe, all of which seem to constantly be beckoning me in a new direction.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So here I am, sitting in an airport departure lounge (DTW – good old Detroit), ready to get back home from a “vacation” and go into crazy mode as I prepare for the end of the school year and the big move that will inevitably change everything.  Sometimes I’m reminded of just how different and quirky my life really is from whatever normal might be.

Location: Detroit, MI

Local Time (EST -- GMT-4): 2:39 p.m. (4/14/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 11:39 a.m. (4/14/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 2:39 a.m. (4/15/2012)

Greetings from the Mitten

Happy Easter and Merry Spring Break!

I've been back in Michigan this week, revisiting my "previous life" and stepping back into good old Spring Arbor.  It has been a blessing to be back in a place that was home for 4 years, with so many memories and friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Flying is always a bit of a strange phenomenon, don't you think?  You start on the ground in one place, surrounded by the [vaguely] familiar, spend multiple hours on a plane, and land somewhere completely different.  That completely different place may be a familiar place, but often it is somewhere new and exciting, with a bit of anxiousness mixed in no matter how recognizable that place might be.  An article in a favorite online magazine of mine put it best...you should read it (The Enigma of Arrival).

Being back at this former "home" of mine has been fantastic, though.  Seeing friends that I honestly haven't had a lot of time to keep in touch with over the past few years and getting back up to speed on what is happening in their lives, as well as catching them up on what is going on in mine.  It's amazing what a shock this whole China idea is to most of them.  After the shock wears off, though, it is the seemingly never-ending process of explaining that "Yes, I am moving to China," and "No, I am not going to teaching English," although I suppose English is a part of what will I be covering in my classroom with my students.

I am braving into an unknown universe, it seems; one where few of the people that I know have a concept of footprints off of the well-worn path.  So on I tread.  I hope my flip flops will be able to hold up!

Location: Spring Arbor, MI

Local Time (EST -- GMT-4): 5:30 p.m. (4/13/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 2:30 p.m. (4/13/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 5:30 a.m. (4/14/2012)

The first day of the rest of my life?

I've been itching to start this blog for weeks (maybe even months at this point), but I didn't want to jump the gun and somehow jinx myself as plans begin to get in place for the coming couple of years in my life.  However, today I got a fantastic phone call on my way to work and am ready to share it with the world...drum-roll please...
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I'm officially moving to China next year!  I will be the 4th or 5th grade teacher at an international school in Chengdu.  Exciting, isn't it.  Perhaps a little terrifying too...but in a good way.

So, this blog will be a record of my journeys; of the stops along the way and the people and places that I encounter.  This is by the far the biggest move of my life, and the first that is to a totally unfamiliar destination with relatively unfamiliar people.  It will have it's ups and downs, with many a bend and twist I'm sure.

I'll try to post in here weekly, but sometimes I'm sure it will be more and sometimes far less.  I won't be in China until the end of July, but I have a few adventures before then that I'll try to get on here for you.  No promises, though :)

I'm glad to have you along for the ride!

Location: Auburn, WA

Local Time (PST -- GMT-7): 4:29 p.m. (4/2/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 7:29 a.m. (4/3/2012)