Three years ago, I would not have been able to answer that question myself. But after living abroad for 2 years, I get it now.
My husband and I are originally from the Southern U.S., North Carolina to be exact. Well, I can't quite claim that I am a born and bred Southern girl, but I am definitely Southern at heart. Up until August 2012, we were raising our 2 kids in a small suburb of Raleigh. That was until my husband got a promotion, which just happened to move us to England. Southern England, which by the way is NOTHING like the Southern U.S. When he first told me, I was excited, then worried and then scared (all within about 30 minutes). I thought, "Hey we speak the language. No worries!" Ha! The joke was on me. Yes, we speak English. But it ain't the same! I sometimes think it might have been easier to move somewhere that was completely foreign.
Our Third Culture Adventures are what has happened since we moved from our 1st Culture (Raleigh, NC) to our 2nd Culture (England) and all of the transitions along the way-that would be our 3rd Culture by the way.
One would think that going back to visit friends and family wouldn't be so different now. After all, there were lots of people who we didn't see but 1-2 times a year anyway. But it is so different now, we all have a hard time fitting in. Sometimes it feels like we are in a foreign country even though we've been there many times. That's where that 3rd culture comes into play and that is what this blog is all about, with some other random bits thrown in on the side.
Kara
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