CHAMELEON: A TCK/CCK experience : Third Culture Kid spotlight: Teresa L.

CHAMELEON: A TCK/CCK experience : Third Culture Kid spotlight: Teresa L.: I found some of my old research survey answers from 2004 when I began my TCK research journey that started as part of my Senior project dance while at UCLA.



This post is approximately a 10 min. read

Enjoy the Journey

Enjoy the Journey T-Shirts and more

I designed a t-shirt to inspire you to get out in the world to travel more on Teespring.com
There's a Women's T-shirt, Men's T-shirt, Unisex Tank Top, and Sticker.

The photo is taken by me on a daily hike when I was living in the Swiss Alps.

These shirts are only available for a limited time and in limited quantities so if you like the shirt (no pressure!) order one (or more!) ASAP!

Don't hesitate to send me a message via Facebook if you have a specific shirt (color, idea, quote, etc.) that you want me to create for the next time.

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6 of my Favorite Travel Memories

These are some of my favorite travel photos that invoke some fun memories from summer 2013- Jan. 2015

C venues headquarters at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2013. I took my dance production "Habitat" to the festival and we performed everyday for two weeks. It was such an amazing time and many laughs with my dancers in and around Edinburgh. 

After the free Sandeman's walking tour in Barcelona, we were on a quest for churros and a coffee break. With our new friend Sheryl, we wandered through the small winding streets of Barcelona and found a cute cafe to order pastries and coffee. July 2014.

Rocky serene "beach" in the archipelago island of Brännö, just a short ferry ride from Gothenburg. That morning a passenger airplane from Amsterdam was shot down somewhere over Ukraine and on its way to Kuala Lumpur. The flight that was trailing not far from the fated plane was a flight from Copenhagen en route to Singapore. It was a flight I was taking to head back to Singapore a week later. Feeling distraught, I felt I needed the day off to be away from people and surrounded by nature. So I took the ferry out to Brännö Island. I spent that afternoon just meditating and sunbathing. Scandinavia in the summer is gorgeous! July 2014.

Technically not a "travel" photo as I had just returned from my European summer trip. I was invited to a third culture kids picnic at Marina Barrage. I used to love having third culture kids picnics in New York so I went. What an awesome time that was catching up with my friends and watching the beautiful sunset. I had never been to the Marina barrage and it made Singapore look so pretty during sunset. August 2014.

A short fall break trip with my friend to Stockholm. That summer I spent a short whirlwind 24 hours in Stockholm after Gothenburg and it was so awesome that I vowed to return to this beautiful capital city. My friend and I went shopping, ate amazing meals, visited Gamla Stan, Vasa museum, Djurgården, and wandered the streets of central Stockholm and Södermalm. We hung out with my local resident friends and we went to the best places to eat & drink. Oct 2014.

This is what winter looks like above the Arctic circle in Finland. I went to Finland before my postgraduate program started to try and catch the Northern lights. I wasn't very successful at seeing the northern lights. This was the coldest temperature and furthest north I have ever been. -20celsius! My friend had a great idea to visit the "summer cottage" and spend a night there. Sounded like a great idea at the time because we might have been able to catch the Northern lights if it wasn't so cloudy. One of the heaters was broken so the cottage was freezing cold, my friend had trouble starting the fire in the fireplace, but the grilled sausages over the fireplace was nice, so was the sauna, and waking up to a beautiful winter wonderland was truly priceless. Jan 2015.

Weekend getaways

Sometimes life really needs that little break. Since moving to Europe in 2015, I've travelled to many places whether for a weekend getaway, day trip, a few days, or a week. It has been exciting to travel to Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Oulu, Prague, Barcelona, Dresden, Innsbruck, Zurich, Geneva, Vevey, Zermatt, and the little random towns. 

Leukerbad Therme, Switzerland May 2015

Sometimes one needs to recharge but doesn't have too much time to take off from work. Weekend getaways are perfect. Day trips, weekend trips, 1/2 day trips.

When I lived in NYC, I would take ski trips up to Vermont using a bus that would pick up at 4 a.m. in Manhattan and then arrive at the mountain by 9 a.m. We'd ski all day then the bus would take us back at around 4 pm followed by Korean bbq or a nice big bowl of Japanese ramen in the city for apres ski. Those were great memories.

Okemo mountain resort, VT

In Singapore, I didn't really take weekends or day trips away. I worked during the weekend so I saved up my vacations to coincide with school holidays and flew further away to recharge. Those jaunts to the UK, Europe, Chiang Mai, Malacca, Bali, Hong Kong, really added up and I had a gold frequent flyer status. The perks of fast track and lounge access alleviated the stress of airports and waiting around for flights.

Chiang Mai, Thailand Dec 2012

Zermatt ski holiday, Switzerland Dec 2013

London, UK July 2013

Copenhagen, Denmark Dec 2013

Berlin for Christmas, Germany Dec 2013

Milano, Italy July 2014

Goodbyes and Hellos

Beautiful Switzerland

School trip to Vevey

I miss these beautiful sunsets

Foggy fall day

How can you not fall in love with the Swiss Alps?

Hidden beauty

The past 6 months flew by with much gusto and fanfare!

It was stressful, hectic, crazy, and filled with interviews, job searching, event management, studying, rehearsing, planning, searching, etc.. an emotional roller coaster to say the least. 

My last semester of my hospitality postgraduate academics is finally done. Its been a couple weeks and I miss my classmates, teachers, and friends in the mountains. They were like family to me. 

I started my internship last week in a new city and new country. Its always a bit anxious to start in a new location. Starting fresh. I am weary and cautious about meeting new people the older I get. Perhaps it is the notion that I don't know if I want to get too attached as I don't know how long I'll be here. Or it could simply be that I've become more introverted as I get older. 

As a Adult Third Culture Kid, I think I am not the only one to feel attachment anxiety when it comes to meeting new people. 

Hellos and Goodbyes this year. 2015 has been a year of learning. I'm curious to see what 2016 brings to me.