Susan LaffertyIn the early 1980s, I was invited to a strategic gathering.
Large group. All different ages. Raised in countries on every continent. Brought together on purpose.
Why? To gain understanding of a term coined by Ruth Hill Useem in the 1950s.
And now found in Webster’s dictionary.
Third culture kid. TCK.
Back in the day we studied our stress by listing losses. Marking life experiences.
All the cross-cultural moves. Illnesses. Births. Deaths. Evacuations.
Added up, the numbers were telling.
Stress levels confirmed.
Arrivals and departures. Travel patterns of individuals. Families. Groups.
People of various languages and cultures and ethnicities. In the ebb and flow through airports.
Walking the halls. Rushing from one terminal to another.
Or sitting. Wandering. Sleeping.
While they wait.
