Third Culture Kids (TCK) are children raised in a culture other than their parents' native home for a significant part of their early development years. TCKs become exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences during a formational time.  The first culture of TCKs is the culture of the country from which the parents originated.  The second culture is the culture in which the family resides.  And the third culture refers to the blending of these two cultures. TCKs are often exposed to a second (or third, fourth, etc.) language while living in their host culture. 

The video below entitled "So Where's Home?" explores the unique perspectives and identities of Third Culture Kids.

So Where's Home? A Film About Third Culture Kid Identity from Adrian Bautista on Vimeo.

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Want to learn more about culture and cultural training in the Department of Defense (DoD)?  CultureReady.org is here to help!  We are a public resource to discover specific information about various cultures and also training on cross cultural competence or general concepts that affect all cultures.  If you are in the military, or support the military, or are thinking of joining the military, we welcome you to check it out!  Some of our Department of Defense (DoD) oriented material is restricted to government ID holders, or password protected, but our goal is to provide you with some training that is easy to access.  Cultural competence is important to military missions, the Department of Defense (DoD), and for all those who support those missions.  Learning about specific cultures will help you accomplish challenging tasks in a culturally complex environment.  Being ready for any cultural challenge in an important aspect of military readiness.  For more information on culture readiness and training, be sure to check back to CultureReady.org