Where are you from?

It is such a banal question. Yet whenever I meet new people I cringe at the inquiry. Where do I come from? Funny answer: my mother. Simple answer: India. But I feel the response is inadequate. It does not define me as I think the answer should. Where someone is from, is supposed to help other people understand a new acquaintance. Trying to find a succinct definition of myself leaves me struggling.

I was born in India, lived there for a few years, lived in England for a few, lived in Hong Kong for several years, moved back to India for a few, and I've lived in the States now for a few years. This is the background that defines me and to some extent (minus the US part, defines my sisters). We have friends all over the world. We have travelled through most of the world too. We're not afraid to move to another country. We're able to adapt to different cultures and lifestyles. My sisters, friends, and I fall under a category termed 'TCK'. This stands for "Third Culture Kids" (Yes. I do realise I am not a child anymore!). TCK "refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and his or her own birth culture, into a third culture."

TCKs are amalgamations of various cultures. They can speak many languages, (curse in several), understand the customs of people that do not belong to their culture, religion, or race. TCKs have also, generally, tried food from all over the world. TCKs are able to break the boundaries that nation states form.

Why do people fight or go to war? The main reason is fear of the unknown. When people from all over the world live and learn together, understanding is created. So if Indians and Pakistanis, Israelis and Palestinians, Hutus and Tutsis, Catholics and Protestants, North Koreans and South Koreans, White Americans and Black Americans, Spaniards and Basques and so on and so forth around the world, went to school together, the globe would be a better and more peaceful place to live. It is so cliche, hippie, bleeding-heart liberal, and beauty pageantesqe, but my most fervent desire is for world peace and the end of discrimination.

From all my travels I've discovered that although our food, language, music, and religion may be different, we're all basically the same. Please, hold back that stunned emotion! This is why my favorite Shakespearean plays are Othello and The Merchant of Venice. Is our world drastically different from Othello’s or Shylock’s? Sadly, it’s not. Something needs to be done to change the discrimination, hatred, and violence that has occurred around the world since the beginning of time and continues to date.

Help change the world. You don’t have to save a cheerleader but you do have to travel. (People are trying to make flying less damaging to the environment). Explore the world for yourself. You won’t regret it (even if you do get Delhi belly). Get off the tourist-beaten path, absorb the culture of the country you're visiting. If you can afford to, help others experience the privilege. When people from all walks of life can travel all around the world, the global village will no longer be virtual, it will be real.

At my current school if someone has been there for ten or more years one is dubbed a 'lifer'. I can't even imagine what that is like. I think I will always have this need to travel and discover. I may not be a "lifer" or a Jersey girl, but my time in NJ is now an indelible part of my life. It is a new ingredient to add to the "where are you from?" answer. I will cherish the friendships I've formed here and I hope I'll see you during your travels.