• this world is not my home

People who move out of the culture in which they were born often face challenges, share experiences, and develop traits and talents that are unique. Those who move cross-culturally for any amount of time find themselves, their perspectives, and their ideas forever changed.

This can be disconcerting. When you first arrive in a new culture, you go through a time of fascination. Later, you struggle with the "Why don't people here do things like I do them?" syndrome. If you stay there long enough, you find yourself reaching a balance. You have adapted. You fit in. You will never be a native, but you don't feel confused or like there is something amiss. The things that used to frustrate you no longer do so.

And yet, there remains this sense of being outside.

You have adapted, but you realize that you are not completely a part of this new culture. This is true even for those who have chosen to emigrate, willfully committing to live their lives as a citizen, a member of a country and culture other than the one they were born into.

This feeling of alienation is the reason this site exists.

Some of us have lived overseas for months, some for years. Some have left their home culture never to return. Others of us have returned, only to find that we no longer completely fit in to our "home" culture anymore. The culture we came from didn't change, we did.

This is a site for people who have worked in international business, development or relief work, military families, missionaries, embassy and consulate staff, and especially for people who grew up as children of these workers. Many who spent their childhoods and youth in these circumstances will tell you about feelings of not belonging, of being partially a member of the society that issued their passport, and partially a member of the society in which they grew up, but not a full member of either. That can leave a person feeling rudderless, adrift. It doesn't have to be that way. Others have not only lived through these experiences, but have learned from them and discovered that they have unique gifts, talents, and insights as a result.

This world is not my home derives its name from the feeling like there is no place on the earth that feels quite right. This is a site for third culture people, people who can make themselves comfortable in multiple cultural contexts as a result of cross-cultural experience, but who don't fully belong to any. Instead, these are people who have made, often subconsciously, their own culture out of the parts of each culture with which they are familiar and experienced.

If you haven't found any other place that you really fit in, please feel welcome here. If you have struggled with these experiences and wish to share your insights with others, please do so. There aren't many people in the world who really comprehend what this experience is like. Let's make this a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all of us who do. We don't have an entry exam or specific requirements to be a member. If you feel like you can relate to what we are describing, come on in.

Welcome home!

If you need help getting started, we invite you to read the Help pages.