Because third culture kids see the world from a different perspective, they sometimes feel alone. Nobody thinks like them in their home or host country. The truth is, there are plenty of third culture kids who share the same experiences. Some of them are famous. In this series I will be profiling famous third culture kids and how their experience has impacted their life.
President Barack Obama is an adult third culture kid born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father is an economist from Kenya. His mother, Ann Obama is a white American from Kansas. When the President was two years old, his parents divorced. Later, his mother married Loto Sotero, a foreign student from Indonesia. In 1967, his family moved to Jakarta. In Indonesia, he attended local schools from the age of six to the age of ten. Then, he travelled back to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents and attended Punahou School from the 5th grade till he graduated from high school in 1979.
When the President was running for the Democratic Presidential nomination, he was criticized for not having enough foreign policy experience. His response? The four years he lived in Indonesia when he was a child was part of his foreign policy experience.
Third culture kids agree this counts as experience. TCKs grow up around different cultures are comfortable with other cultures. They also have the ability to treat others with respect regardless of their rank, race, or background.
Source:
Barack Obama is a Third Culture Kid! (Paulette M. Bethel, PhD)
TIME: Obama's Foreign-Policy Problem
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Comments
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Hadn't thought of obama as a tck but i suppose he is :) on my phone so will comment only once.
Hadn't thought about this, but you're right! Great job!
Interesting take. I hadn't considered it.
:-)
Interesting articles, thanks! Obama is also a Ennenagram Nine, might want to check it out! Most trans pats, see the world differently then most Americans. I lived in Japan for two years, and I have a different perspective on many things. Most of my friends are from other countries, like china, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Great Britain
Having been to many places helps keep an open minded perspective on the world.
Miami Astrology Examiner
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