Campus Tour = Pains of Longing?

This will be the first of many Third Culture Kid/UK memories themed postings. So if you're reading this and you've never heard of the term "Third Culture Kid", let me enlighten you! A Third Culture Kid is.....

"A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents' culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the third culture kid's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background, other TCKs."

I, to my joy and pain some days, am one of these anomalies. I moved from my home in Indiana when I was eight to the United Kingdom. The plan was to live there for two and a half years, well nine and a half years later we moved back to the States. Part of my experiences in the UK was the MANY tours I took at various historical sites. I always made sure I was at the front of the group so I could see what the tour guide was pointing out and hear what he/she was saying.

A few days ago, my Roman Architecture professor, Dr. K, decided to take a walking tour of our campus to examine some of the architecture on campus. Almost from the moment the tour started, my brain clicked into "tourist" mode. It was a little weird. A sense of calm and belonging came over me.

Of course I didn't have much time to ponder these feelings until later, because while Dr. K is a wonderful professor when it comes to talking about all things Roman, his tour guide skills need a little tweaking. Dr. K is about my height but walks faster than my brothers and father who are 6ft or taller. I was struggling to keep up and I was completely fit! One of the students in the class had spent most of the semester on crutches and in a boot. As this particular student came up Dr. K commented that it was just good physical therapy. :)

This tour made me realize that I miss the tours I took when I lived in the UK. Even when I was taking a tour for the twentieth time because we were taking a visitor to a site, I always learned something new. This along with my mom's mantra "There's always something new to learn!", I realized that I love learning! Don't know if this is the experience of all TCK, but I don't think I would have such a desire if I hadn't lived in the UK.

All I know is that the passion was instilled in me and it's going to stick around for a long time!! Oh and for those of you keeping track......32 more days until my internship starts!!

Me and Pipes at Lullingstone Villa