Welcome to the Center’s ongoing exploration of the Third-Culture experience! “Third Culture” refers to a person shaped by the culture of their parents, the culture(s) of the places they’ve lived, and the unique blend that forms as a result. Many members of our international community in Taiwan navigate this multicultural identity, and it’s this shared experience that connects them.
If you’re interested in contributing your own story as a Third-Culture individual, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at program@communitycenter.org.tw
By Tim Huang
Growing up between cultures and going to an international school in Taiwan has given me a complex perspective on culture and identity.
As a kid, I definitely felt more connected to the international culture of my school, considering the fact that I practically spent my entire phase of developmental period there. And just about everything in an international school is different from the local Taiwanese schools: teaching style, culture, social life. You’d have a faster time listing out the similarities than pointing out the differences between the two.
But really, because I’m someone who has attended an international school since grade one (especially one that is so enclosed from the rest of the local community), I never had the environment to foster a cultural identity.
Let’s put it this way, I couldn’t really engage with the Taiwanese community as the school was culturally quite distant from it. But at the same time, I couldn’t engage with the culture that the school inhabited, as it only acted as a mirage that reflects the Western culture that is half a globe away from where it is.
Hence, I can’t even really call myself a third-culture kid, since I felt more like a person from within looking outside when it comes to the local Taiwan culture — but I felt like a person from outside looking within when it comes to the international, Western culture.
But do I feel too foreign here in Taiwan, or too local when I’m overseas?
Neither. I will never feel foreign in my local country regardless of my upbringing as it is still the place I live in. I’m able to dissociate myself from its culture without feeling foreign from it at the same time. It’s as though I feel familiar but not intimate.
On the other hand, I will never feel local in international, Western settings as I was never really connected to it in a profound manner. International school or not, my entire childhood development took place in Taiwan. To give an analogy, it’s like comparing theory and practice. You can learn about a particular subject all you want, but the knowledge you gain will ultimately be inextricably different from what you can gain from experiencing it.
Still, what is true is that just by virtue of being in an international school, that kind of school environment did have a significant impact on my worldview. The simple reason being that you get to see things from above instead of within. This is particularly important for an institution that tries to promote objective reasoning and critical thinking.
Growing up in this duality, I think it gave me a tool and lens to approach the world.
Obviously, I think it depends on the individual, but I understood my position in this world very clearly from the beginning without trying to convince myself otherwise. Growing up in between cultures, between these two environments — it is because of this that I have always been very open minded culturally, whilst not having any expectations as to how others should act. I walk these two worlds, wherever I go, finding my own place between them.
Tim Huang
Timothy (Tim) Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up in an international environment before moving to the United States for college. He graduated from Loyola Marymount University, where his interest in psychology blossomed into a passion for mental well-being. This ultimately led him to pursue the path of becoming a counseling psychologist. Before pursuing that path however, he returned to Taiwan to complete his mandatory military service. During his stay in Taiwan, he came across the Center, where he now serves as the Counseling Administrator. Outside of work, he enjoys video games, manga, anime, music, and fitness.
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