This blog showcases my personal journey captured by others in various interviews over the years. The chats are all centered around my cultural identity and experiences as a cross-cultural (CCK) or third cultural kid (TCK). Some talks focus more on the author side of life, but in all my multiculturalism shines through.
Check the links below for the actual interviews.
Celebrating life as a Third culture kid
A chat with OverloadedSteph (https://transcontinentaloverload.buzzsprout.com/)
Stephanie is a podcaster, a writer and a serial expat/nomad. She has lived in Germany, UK and the US and has been hosting a podcast for a very long time with some fantastic guests. If you haven’t heard Steph’s podcasts, do check them out. I’ve enjoyed numerous of her previous episodes, thereby getting to know some of the members of the ‘May on the Move’ community better (don’t know what MOTM is? Check my previous blog).
I am very grateful to the effort Steph puts into her podcasts. During the recording session Stephanie created an online setting in which it didn’t feel like an interview at all, but more like a lovely chat with a fellow international. As if we were seated on her couch. We chatted about various cross-cultural issues like:
- What is it like to constantly bridge two or more cultures?
- What does it mean to belong?
- We also talked about the power of celebrations, and the gift of multilingualism.
As you’ll hear in the podcast I’m always trying to create communities wherever I go. I am immensely grateful to the ‘May on the Move’ community on Insta❤️ for connecting me with a bunch of interesting women who share a set of common values due to having lived abroad or travelled the world, and are open to interacting with different cultures and its people.
Are you one of those women who are interested in other cultures and interacting with people from different countries? Would love to meet you, drop a line below and say Hi.
Life in the Netherlands as an adult TCK
A chat with Rossella from Going Expat (https://www.goingexpat.info/en/)
While chatting with Rossella I was conscious of the fact that it was a video interview, and therefore felt less at ease as compared to the podcast episode with Steph a few months earlier.
Another interesting difference was that the chat with Rossella touched upon topics I found hard to answer straight away. Her questions made me contemplate more on the differences and similarities between India, Belgium and the Netherlands. Some of her questions were for example:
- How do I deal with Dutch directness?
- How do I stay connected to my Indian side?
- What is the difference between Dutch & Belgians?
- Will I stay in the Netherlands forever?
This question lingered on in my mind “How do I react to Dutch ‘directness’?” 🤔
Interestingly one of my Dutch friends called me up after the interview and told me: “I just had an issue with a colleague. I was quite upset. You helped me place it in the right perspective. Thanks” Amazing isn’t it?! I was definitely amazed that my thoughts on this matter had such a profound impact on a Dutch born.
Would love to hear how you deal with or react to Dutch directness. What is Dutch directness according to you?
Your story is our story – MS&PC
A chat with Linda Strom as part of her project ‘your story is our story’. Linda collected personal stories from MS&PC members about their Boston and MIT experience. Want to know more about MS&PC (MIT Spouses & Partners Connect), then check out one my other blogs…. I just realised that I haven’t dedicated a blog solely to MS&PC. I might do so in the near future because this community has been fundamental in my self growth and self-acceptance.
It was wonderful to have been part of the conversation led by Linda. As you know I am truly grateful to MS&PC for creating a close-knit & safe space for all who visit MIT as a spouse/companion. Listen to the full interview.
A written account- meet the author
I had a lovely chat with Usha for her blog ‘Meet the author’.
We talked a bit about my upcoming book. How exciting! It’s the first time I talked about ‘Kamala’s Entropy’. More info on this on my previous blog.
The internet archives aren’t ‘forever’
My first public ‘author talk’ was on 18th March 2021, with Vince Stevensen from Boomer on Books. It was an hour long livestream. Unfortunately, I just found out, the YouTube video is no longer available, and I regret that I don’t have a copy of the conversation. We mostly discussed both our writing processes, and why I write.
A few months later MIT Spouses & Partners Connect invited me for my first author talk with an online interactive audience. It was a beautiful session as genuine questions were asked by readers; they were an interested audience. What made it extra special was that the interviewer was at MS&PC. This was the place where my writing journey began. Yes, all those years back, in Boston. Here’s a snippet from the talk.
Do you want to know more about the book Colours of a Cultural Chameleon, or do you want to read it? Click here. Have you read it? Then please reach out to me or leave a reply or review online.
Shakti Hannie 