By Nafisa Maleah

KUWAIT: Ahmed Saleh, who was born and raised in Kuwait away from his Jordanian roots, has always felt he didn’t fully fit in. He describes it as being “in-between” - neither belonging in Kuwait nor Jordan. “I feel like a part of me is all Kuwaiti. I’m used to the Kuwaiti dialect, the food, the culture. So, it’s a little bit strange when I go back to Jordan. But also, when I come to Kuwait, they consider me Jordanian because of my dialect - Arabic Jordanian is very different from the Kuwaiti one. So, I cannot call either country my home.”

People like Saleh who were raised in a different culture from their parents or of their country of origin are called “Third Culture Kids” (or TCKs), a term coined by sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s. In Kuwait, this phenomenon is common among expatriates who have grown up away from their passport country. But what does the “third culture” refer to? This is the mixed identity that an individual develops, involving influences from both their parents’ cultures and the one they grew up in. Although TCKs are usually adept at building relationships with other cultures, they may struggle to feel a sense of security in their mixed cultural identity.

Alexis De Leon, a Filipino who moved to Kuwait at only two years old, expressed feeling a disconnect from her country of nationality. Although she often visited the Philippines for summer break, she said, “It feels like a vacation more than it feels like home to me.” Additionally, she mentioned that she is beginning to lose her mother tongue, Tagalog, which is one of the biggest challenges she had to face as a TCK. “Whenever you speak here, the universal language is going to be English just to be understood by other nationalities. So, that’s one of the biggest challenges I had to face because I’m losing one of the biggest parts of myself that allows me to connect and interact with other Filipinos.”

Having gone to a Filipino school, De Leon describes school as one of the only ways she felt connected to her culture. “Now that I’m out of school, it’s harder for me to connect. There are times when Filipinos make inside jokes or mention recent news from the Philippines, and I have to actively ask what’s going on because I’m so disconnected.”

But being a TCK can also have advantages. Kuwait’s majority expat population makes it a melting pot of different cultures. When everyone in your environment is different from you, the idea of the foreign “other” often becomes dismantled, breaking down the invisible barriers that stand between you and other people. Zainab Al-Mashoor, who is half Indian and Egyptian, shared how her mixed ethnicity and growing up in Kuwait have positively shaped her interactions with people. “The mixed nationalities that I have sometimes make me confused, I won’t lie to you, but it served me very well because I can understand people more. I’m able to communicate with Arabs. I’m able to communicate with Asians. I’m able to connect with different ethnicities and cultures because it’s all around me,” she said.

Despite feeling different due to her mixed ethnicity, Mashoor emphasized feeling secure in her identity. “When I go to India and Egypt, I do feel different and experience some culture shock because my mindset and upbringing are entirely different from theirs. But people mostly accepted me the way I was. Of course, there were jokes made when I was in school, but I believe because my parents brought me up with confidence, I don’t feel insecure,” she said.

When you are exposed to foreign cultures at a young age, you also learn how to embrace the beauty of difference. Saleh described how being surrounded by multiple nationalities broadened his worldview. “For me, it makes travelling easier because I accept every culture and dialect. I can fit in with people who are close-minded or open-minded - it’s easier for me to interact with everyone.”

Seemingly rootless, TCKs may not be tied to one particular country. However, it can also create a sense of freedom. “When you’ve only lived in one country, I feel that people can have this tiny box in their brains that is not accepting of everyone. But since I’m dealing with many nationalities and am surrounded by so many people from around the world, the box is expanding each time I interact with people,” Saleh said.