"Third Culture Kid..."

One of the things the kids on the ship face is being a "Third Culture Kid".  A third culture is defined as "the "expat"culture where the kids live.  On board the ship, the second culture after home culture is the nation we are visiting, but the third culture is represented by shipboard life, with its 30-35 odd nationalities, and own peculiarities."(Kim Robinson)  The kids were given an assignment to write about what it is like living in a third culture.  This was Joshua's response-it is a bit long for a blog, but I thought it was worth it.

Don' be surprised when you see sights that you don't usually see in your home country.  Sometimes if you go to a different place, like Africa, you will see people with an AK-47, but in America we would not see that.

When my family and I stepped on board, I thought it would be fun. But when I saw Africa, I was in some ways surprised, in some ways disappointed.  I was used to America with the greenness in the grass and trees and not having sand and garbage everywhere.  Also in America there are buildings that are fully built.  But in many of the West African countries there are a lot of buildings only half built.  If I go back to America, and go to the mall, I am not used to all the stuff in the malls since I've been in Africa where they don't have such stores like Toys R Us or Game Stop.  This is because in Africa there is so little stuff.  In Africa you don't have as many choices.

In National Geographic, they only show the bad parts of Africa.  But when you actually live there you see the real Africa.  It is not all bad and crumbled.  You see how people live and help each other.  They always want to help their neighbour.  They basically work as one, a family.  The African people are really friendly.  They have a lot to offer.  They have good food; they are excellent artists and craftsmen.  This was a shock for me because of what I had seen in National Geographic compare to what I saw in Africa.

Even though some of the African countries are at the bottom of the World Development Index, they still are really friendly and willing to help anybody, even "yovos", which are foreigners.

Now that I have lived in Africa for awhile, I realize that in America how little Americans help each other,  on the ship we live in community,  We help those that are sick and help those who are on the ship from different countries.  Even though the kids on the ship don't have a lot of toys, Lego's, games, and freedom to run around we are still so very happy.   The adults, even though they don't get paid, still work hard and don't complain.

When I went to America for vacation, I did not have the joy of being a kid because our friends don't live next door like they do on the ship.  The kids in America are busy doing lots of work and things outside of school, like Boy Scouts, choir, AWANA, and many other activities.  When I first came to the ship, it was really hard to leave my friends in America.  Then when I went on vacation back to America, it was hard to leave my friends on the ship.  I thought it would be fun to go "home", but I realized when I got there, I was wrong.  I realized home was on the ship.

I feel kind of in the middle of everything.  Even though in America I can ride my bike, on the ship my friends and right next door.  Also, in Africa I cannot buy all the games and toys I want, like I would in America.  But on the ship if teaches me self-control and I actually learn how to not want everything.  On the ship I can see and tell that God is there.  He does a lot of miracles with the patients in our midst.  And God always provides for us.  Like when we had to move off ship in South Africa during the dry dock period, we did not think God would provide one place for all the families and singles (about 150 people).  But he provided Appelsbosch mission which used to be an old college in Kwa-Zulu Natal where the Zulu people had been resettled.  The Appelsbosch Mission has provided us with shelter, food, big places to play, and dogs.  Some of these things like big spaces and dogs, we don't have on the ship.  I can tell God has been living in our lives and protecting us.  In America we don't see God working as clearly because we are too caught up in our jobs, school, and activities.  We are not able to see that a miracle is happening right in from of us.

Even though many of the things are a culture shock, I enjoy being a Third Culture Kid.  It is interesting to see all the different cultures, to meet new people, to taste new foods, to see miracles and to meet people from other countries.  But most of all, it is interesting to see God's big creation.  Being a Third Culture Kid is an adventure.

Joshua's class, countires represented-Ghana, United Kingdom, and America.