Thoughts of a Third Culture Kid

So, recently I asked my mom if I could start a book blog; because I absolutely love books.  I can't live without them.  Her response was: "Honey, you can do whatever you want on your blog! Do a couple book reviews if you want." So I paused, looked at her, then asked: "So....if I wanted to do a topic on random, obscure facts in history, I can do it?" Needless to say, she agreed, and that is what this blog post is about, just because I'm a history geek. When I was homeschooled, history was my favorite subject.  It was always fascinating. But, the coolest part was learning obscure things that not many history classes teach! So, here it is, without further ado: My Top Twenty Tales 1) Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, fought in the Imperial German Army during WWI.  Later, his entire family was killed for being Jewish during WWII by the same country he had previously defended. 2) The author of Dracula , Bram Stoker, was inspired by the 15th century ...

What do you do when your parents are gone and there's not that much food in the house?  My answer: Make french toast, drizzle whipped cream and syrup on it, then plop down on the couch and turn on a girly movie to watch with your sister. (translation for my not-so-girly family: Captain America or Harry Potter) I happen to think that most of the whipped cream skipped the french toast and landed in my sister's mouth when I wasn't watching....but don't take my word for it. Dinner with the Backes'!!                     Whipped cream galore!!                                                           Well, I bet you're wondering why we were home alone. My parents were gone with Natalie in the States, so we jumped from house to house for awhile, before finally coming back and staying with ...

          Ah, don't you just love that Christmas song?  Well, I don't.  Every time I hear it blaring out of our speakers, I start singing along....right up until I start sweating from just standing there.  That is probably the cruelest song that has ever been sung in the history of songs!!  I look outside hoping to see snow falling, instead I see the heat radiating of our drive way, and the trees wilting from the scorching sun.  Welcome to Christmas in Africa.           This is always one of the jokes that get's brought up here during the Christmas season.  Let It Snow, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snow Man, and Winter Wonderland all present some form of mental torture to those living in Africa.      Besides having Christmas without snow, many MK's grow up lacking something else that is considered part of the Christmas tradition.  Family.  Growing up on a separate continent from...

Mambo! As I mentioned in my last post, we took my grandparents to Zanzibar while they were visiting us.  It was so cool, I just had to put a post up about this island that is filled to the brim with history, spices, and doors. (I'll explain that in a moment) When we arrived in Zanzibar, it took me under five minutes to decide that the hassle to get there was definitely worth it.  We were staying in the old part of Zanzibar called Stone Town, which consists of old alleys and pathways that wind around in circles, lined on both sides by ornate wooden doors with carvings all over them, shops filled to the brim with paintings, bright clothing, beautiful wood carvings, and beaded jewelry, old houses that have been there for centuries, women offering ornate henna painting (I was seriously tempted), and much more.   You could wander for hours and never get bored.  I even found a shop that sold old kitchenware.  Just to make sure you're not thinking of rusty mixers an...

Habari! I hope you're enjoying your summer break!  Technically speaking, this is my winter break.  This is Tanzania's cooler season.  Our "winter" is about 30 degrees Celsius.  I don't even bother looking at the thermometer during the summer, for fear that self-pity might drive me insane.                             We went to a popular coffee shop while in Zanzibar Since my sister and I are out of school, my grandparents came over to visit for a couple of weeks.  We had a blast with them, and got to take them over to Zanzibar for a couple of days, to the island for snorkeling, and down to the Peninsula. When I told one of my MK friends that my grandparents were visiting, he mentioned that his family hadn't seen their grandparents in over five years.  I felt awful.  I couldn't imagine not seeing my grandparents for such a long time, but I know that tons of MKs have ...

Mambo! I am sorry that I haven't gotten a post out recently.  I have been busy with different after-school activities, such as the play we put on a little bit ago, a track meet, and a few other things. But besides the after-school activities, every year HOPAC has one special week called SEW.  It stands for Service Emphasis Week. Basically, it's a week where we get to serve others. In the weeks leading up to SEW, you sign up for a certain service group.  They gave options for residential trips, multiple different orphanages, some groups that taught art and science at our school, a group that went out to build dog houses for a pound, and a ton more.  When SEW started, we had all of Monday to plan with our group on what we would do.  I was in a group with five other girls, and we went out to an orphanage called Maunga.   Our job was to paint this one room, so we would paint for about three hours and then we wou...

Mambo! A belated Happy Easter to all from Dar es Salaam!  I would tell you all about out Easter egg hunt except for the fact that....well, we didn't have one.  Weather reports have been telling people to stay indoors because of the rising temperature, so we ate our candy indoors.  In case you're wondering, the heat index of what the temperature feels along with the humidity has reached 120 degrees a couple of times. For this blog post, I have a guest writer- Abigail Hile. She was an MK in South Africa since she was a baby, and grew up calling it her home country.  She and her two brothers were very active in the parents' mission work, but when Abigail was in her junior year of high school, they moved back to the States. While she lived in South Africa, they were only a couple hours away from our family.  I saw her often, since we were on the same missions team.  I always enjoyed visiting them.  She was always the  cool, older MK that w...