TCK Question: Where Are You From?

This is a letter that I wrote to the Wall Street Journal concerning a matter that I know all TCKs could write 5 page essays on, given the chance. Hmmm, maybe I should get my English Lit teacher to let me write about this as an essay then...=P

I came across this article when I was browsing www.tckid.com and thought it might be a really good idea to actually write back to you on this.

I am a Malaysian Chinese born TCK living in Perth at the moment. I've been moving around since I was 2 months old, and I've lved in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Africa and of course, Australia.The question 'where do you come from?' does get frequently asked, and it's an incredibly hard question to answer. Even though I consider myself to be a Malaysian, I find that simply saying 'Malaysia' is not enough. When I am abroad, I am known as 'the Malaysian girl' and while I am in Malaysia, I am 'the [insert name of current country of residence] girl'. When I am abroad, it is very difficult to explain about Malaysia and all its different races, and why I am a Malaysian CHINESE and not simply a Malay. When I am in Malaysia, it is a lot easier to say that I am Malaysian, but many find it difficult to understand why my english is at a higher level than theirs, and why I am unable to speak the local language. A lot of the friends I make in different countries also find it hard to understand why I am able to speak english so fluently.

My travelling also affects the way people see me. Many caucasians see me as an 'uncivilised' asian girl because of my looks, and assume that I am from China- but this is simply not true. Many of my Malaysian peers see me as strange, and maybe even a little snobby because of my travelling and my international schooling- also simply untrue.
My travelling has made me more aware of the world and it's problems from a global aspect, and this does frighten some people who are only able to see the world from one point: much like a child looks at the world with tunnel vision.

Sometimes I see people as being incredibly ignorant. People who have never travelled like to stereotype people. If I came from the UAE, people would class me as a muslim terrorist. If I was from England, people might think that I am now a very rich person with a posh sort of accent. The thing is that it is simply not true. While I may have gained many cultural experiences, and understand the culture better than many others do, it does not mean that I have suddenly adopted their culture.

Take Barack Obama for instance. He is of a mixed American and Kenyan parentage, and used to live in Indonesia. We see America as a violent and even possibly ignorant country: does that make Barack Obama violent and ignorant? We see Kenya as a poor, uncivilised nation: does this make Barack Obama poor and uncivilised? And of course, Barack Obama has lived in Indonesia, a predominantly muslim country: does this make Barack Obama a muslim terrorist?
I would disagree. While Barack Obama may have been highly influenced by all of these factors, it does not mean that he is violent, ignorant, poor, uncivilised or even a muslim terrorist.
In fact, all this travelling shows that he is incredibly cultured, and is more likely to see things from several different perspectives.

It is through all these factors that we find the question: 'where are you from?' so difficult to answer. We have so many different perspectives, we have been influenced by so many different cultures: For a TCK to answer 'Where are you from?' could take up to an entire essay like the one I've just written here.

Mishy <3