TCK Interview: Jessie

Hey guys! Today, I want to share an interview that I did with a friend of mine, Jessie. I have known her since right before I moved overseas and we have kept up with each other from time to time over the years. After recently talking a little bit more than normal, I thought it would be fun to interview her.

1. How old are you?

I just turned 14 years old in May.

2. Do you have any siblings? Pets?

I have four siblings. One older brother, two younger brothers, and the baby of the family, my little sister. I have 2 dogs named Boomer and Sooner like the American football team. Then I also have a third dog named Maximus Mlandu. Mlandu means trouble in our country's language.

3. How long have you lived overseas?

I have lived overseas for a little over five years. So I was 8 years old when we first moved.

4. Where have you lived overseas?

I live in Malawi, Africa. So far, I have only lived there.

5. What do you miss most about your home country?

The most that I miss about my home country would probably be being able to eat out and to do fun things at amusement parks and stuff where they have things like that there.

6. What is your favorite thing to do in your host country?

My favorite thing to do in my host country would be probably going to events and celebrations, but also being able to celebrate with my family when something special happens. Shopping, and going to the mall along with just hanging out with people are also things that I enjoy doing.

7. What is the hardest part of being a TCK?

The hardest part about being a TCK to me would be not being able to have close relationships with people. This is mostly because we are homeschooled, but there are not many opportunities for us to just hang out with people or to have people over. If we invite people over they feel uncomfortable because our house is so much different than their own. So I just miss being able to have a friend over every once and a while, and then them being able to understand what you're going through. I think that means a lot for all third-culture kids.

8. What is the best part?

The best part of being a TCK would be having an interesting life. Things can't really get that boring in the life of a TCK. You always have something you could be doing. As long as you engage your world, you will not be bored.

9. Do you keep in touch with friends from your home country? If so, how?

I do keep in touch with people in the US. I call my family every once in a while to talk. People also visit us almost every year if they can. I have a few friends in the states that FaceTime me when I need to talk to someone. I actually also have a friend who came and stayed with us for about three months. So now, we call every few weeks to talk about how the week went and what we did. And then, I also have a friend who is only a few days older than me. She used to be a TCK and we text each other a lot. We understand each other well so we can tell each other everything.

10. Do you have any advice for fellow TCKs?

If I had to give any advice for fellow TCKs, I would say that you may feel like you are weird and have a different life than normal people, but honestly, we should be different from the world. You can impact so many people by just being irregular. Many times I have asked myself how I can be like everyone else even though I am overseas. You're not supposed to be like everyone else!

11. Is there anything you want to add?

I would just say that I appreciate this opportunity to share my life. I think it's very important to hear about and see what the life of a TCK looks like, and I am very happy to be able to write this.

I totally agree with Jessie! In fact, are you a TCK who would like to be interviewed for TCK times? If so, feel free to contact us at tcktimes@gmail.com! I hope that you have enjoyed this interview, I always think it’s really cool to hear about other TCK’s lives because everyone has such different life circumstances.

Rose