anyway I know right the accent um so
it’s quite a unique accent around
apparently um so I’m going to give the
audience the opportunity to answer the
following question where does my accent
come from kind of kind of as well anyone
else Zimbabwe no not really it’s not
from the UK no um unless you know me
very well it’s going to be quite a
difficult task you to decipher where
this accent comes from so I’ll explain
step one you get a Korean kid about that
tall let’s say let’s move into a random
country let’s say Australia for step two
and then step three let’s move into
another random country which which
country should we move into your
audience South Africa Oh anybody else
yes yes we move them to Norway for a few
years somebody who knows me um and then
moving back to an international school
in Korea and see what happens to his
accent apparently and voila so that’s
where my accent comes from this
magnificent brilliant accent which
nobody here seems to be able to
understand so do my best to talk in this
American accent and see what happens but
no very uncomfortable accent Amy um I
know my life’s journey is quite special
but I know it’s not that special because
I’ve met so many my age who’ve had so
many more exotic so many more
interesting cultural experiences having
moved from international school to
International School I’ve met so many
who have their parents culture and the
culture in which they were raised but
they do not identify with either or
perhaps more accurately they identify so
strongly with both that it’s basically
impossible for them to choose which one
they are third culture kids they are
those who have the their own distinct
islands of cultures there have been
brought up in one way in a sense and
their parents have been brought up in
another way and they have to harmonize
these two and it is a very difficult
task for them and I know there are many
of you out in the audience today
who our third culture kids how they
speak what they do what they believe are
not what they were brought up to believe
nor what their parents were brought up
to believe but are rather their own
little islands of culture they have
their own way of thinking their own
little rituals and for better or for
worse their own accents
so today I would like to be talking to
you about three main things about the
third culture kid firstly the importance
of experience secondly about about why
the third culture kid is so relevant in
a dynamic and globalizing 21st century
world and finally about how the third
culture kid overcomes the tragedy of
having to leave everything behind and
move to another place so first and
foremost I would like to ask a question
for the audience to ponder not to answer
just just a ponder um if a particular
person were to have lived or to have
been born in one country and have lived
their entire childhoods their entire
lives in another country which country
is it that they truly belong to in other
words this culture come from experience
what does it come from ethnicity and
this is a difficult question and as with
all difficult questions what do we do
with them we procrastinate if there’s
one thing hashtag Ivy and promotes its
procrastinating on difficult questions
um and I’ve I’m guilty of this myself as
well but I think that it’s not a
question that can be avoided it’s an
inevitable question that always lingers
where do you belong to everybody asks
are you Korean or are you Australian or
are you Norwegian some some even ask
when I asked armed students from
international schools this question is
it this culture come from ethnicity or
experience they overwhelmingly answered
that it was experience that defines
who they are but by contrast when I
asked non international school students
the same question they suggested that it
was their nationalities that defines um
who they are so I think this is what
distinguishes third culture kids from
other individuals they’re somewhat more
free from the shackles of nationality
but a question that’s perhaps more
important to you at your audiences why
should you care why are third culture
kids important and I would argue
precisely that in an interconnected and
globalizing world third culture kids are
more vital than ever in all that cliche
you hear when you hear the word
globalization the Internet the social
media and for you nerds out there books
um but um I would argue precisely that
by looking at Nelson Mandela’s quote
speak to a man in his in his second
language get to his brain speak in his
mother tongue
get to his heart I would argue precisely
what this means is that one has to have
lived in a particular area to get to the
heart a man with the finest intellect
who knows everything about another
culture can negotiate in diplomacy and
at times win debates but just truly get
to the heart of somebody we really need
to have somebody who’s lived their lives
in a globalizing 21st century world
third culture kids who have lived in one
culture and have other different
cultures that they identify with are
going to be the bridges the light that
binds guides all the cultures together
in this globalizing world and but of
course you the audience are probably
thinking now oh the third culture kid is
the way to live moving through different
cultures sounds fun right right yes okay
um but
I would argue that it’s much more
complicated than that and I’m drawing
from my own experiences as well as from
those third culture kids that I’ve
spoken to there is this tragedy that one
has to overcome when one moves from one
country to another when one leaves
behind everything that they’ve loved and
known their previous schools and their
previous lives they have to all be left
behind I would argue that there are two
main ways that one can deal with this
particular tragedy one way is to have
some constancy in life and what I mean
by constancy is on for example for me it
was in my education there needs to be
something that binds you together and
hold your identity together and for me
this was through education the constancy
in my education which was through 12
rigorous years in the International
Baccalaureate which for those of you
aren’t familiar is a program that’s very
similar worldwide and run from Geneva
however perhaps more importantly than
education because education obviously
isn’t everything
um I would argue that it’s the moments
in one’s life
those beautiful savoring moments that
truly defines a third culture kid I
recall the last time I saw Australia
when I waved goodbye to that sunburnt
country snot the last of that salty air
as I saw the last of trondheim Cathedral
school as I saw heard the bells of the
beautiful needleless Cathedral ringing
for the last time dear audience I can
talk to you all day about what being a
third culture kid in the 21st century
really means but these moments in my
life scattered throughout the continents
is truly what defines Who I am in a
sense it is something that I’ve thought
and rethought over and over again and I
feel that these moments is savoring
moments are the greatest moments that
define who I am so
when you meet a third culture kid in the
meantime and I guarantee you if you’re
watching this video you most probably
have met a third culture kid or here’s
one right now
you can talk to um why don’t you ask
them about their whole journey about
their entire lives rather than just
about where they’ve been end of
conversation because that’s what really
matters you see my accent now which I’ve
been speaking to you for with the for
the last 11 minutes with is not a place
where I show up back anymore rather it’s
a sense of pride it’s another souvenir
that I’ve earned from this great journey
that I have had so I’ve been speaking to
you now for 11 minutes but why don’t you
meet me later in another 11 years let’s
say and listen to my accent then and
guess my journeys path until then the IB
has tasked me to do a lot of rigorous
work so until then I will say Ally
[Applause]
it’s quite a unique accent around
apparently um so I’m going to give the
audience the opportunity to answer the
following question where does my accent
come from kind of kind of as well anyone
else Zimbabwe no not really it’s not
from the UK no um unless you know me
very well it’s going to be quite a
difficult task you to decipher where
this accent comes from so I’ll explain
step one you get a Korean kid about that
tall let’s say let’s move into a random
country let’s say Australia for step two
and then step three let’s move into
another random country which which
country should we move into your
audience South Africa Oh anybody else
yes yes we move them to Norway for a few
years somebody who knows me um and then
moving back to an international school
in Korea and see what happens to his
accent apparently and voila so that’s
where my accent comes from this
magnificent brilliant accent which
nobody here seems to be able to
understand so do my best to talk in this
American accent and see what happens but
no very uncomfortable accent Amy um I
know my life’s journey is quite special
but I know it’s not that special because
I’ve met so many my age who’ve had so
many more exotic so many more
interesting cultural experiences having
moved from international school to
International School I’ve met so many
who have their parents culture and the
culture in which they were raised but
they do not identify with either or
perhaps more accurately they identify so
strongly with both that it’s basically
impossible for them to choose which one
they are third culture kids they are
those who have the their own distinct
islands of cultures there have been
brought up in one way in a sense and
their parents have been brought up in
another way and they have to harmonize
these two and it is a very difficult
task for them and I know there are many
of you out in the audience today
who our third culture kids how they
speak what they do what they believe are
not what they were brought up to believe
nor what their parents were brought up
to believe but are rather their own
little islands of culture they have
their own way of thinking their own
little rituals and for better or for
worse their own accents
so today I would like to be talking to
you about three main things about the
third culture kid firstly the importance
of experience secondly about about why
the third culture kid is so relevant in
a dynamic and globalizing 21st century
world and finally about how the third
culture kid overcomes the tragedy of
having to leave everything behind and
move to another place so first and
foremost I would like to ask a question
for the audience to ponder not to answer
just just a ponder um if a particular
person were to have lived or to have
been born in one country and have lived
their entire childhoods their entire
lives in another country which country
is it that they truly belong to in other
words this culture come from experience
what does it come from ethnicity and
this is a difficult question and as with
all difficult questions what do we do
with them we procrastinate if there’s
one thing hashtag Ivy and promotes its
procrastinating on difficult questions
um and I’ve I’m guilty of this myself as
well but I think that it’s not a
question that can be avoided it’s an
inevitable question that always lingers
where do you belong to everybody asks
are you Korean or are you Australian or
are you Norwegian some some even ask
when I asked armed students from
international schools this question is
it this culture come from ethnicity or
experience they overwhelmingly answered
that it was experience that defines
who they are but by contrast when I
asked non international school students
the same question they suggested that it
was their nationalities that defines um
who they are so I think this is what
distinguishes third culture kids from
other individuals they’re somewhat more
free from the shackles of nationality
but a question that’s perhaps more
important to you at your audiences why
should you care why are third culture
kids important and I would argue
precisely that in an interconnected and
globalizing world third culture kids are
more vital than ever in all that cliche
you hear when you hear the word
globalization the Internet the social
media and for you nerds out there books
um but um I would argue precisely that
by looking at Nelson Mandela’s quote
speak to a man in his in his second
language get to his brain speak in his
mother tongue
get to his heart I would argue precisely
what this means is that one has to have
lived in a particular area to get to the
heart a man with the finest intellect
who knows everything about another
culture can negotiate in diplomacy and
at times win debates but just truly get
to the heart of somebody we really need
to have somebody who’s lived their lives
in a globalizing 21st century world
third culture kids who have lived in one
culture and have other different
cultures that they identify with are
going to be the bridges the light that
binds guides all the cultures together
in this globalizing world and but of
course you the audience are probably
thinking now oh the third culture kid is
the way to live moving through different
cultures sounds fun right right yes okay
um but
I would argue that it’s much more
complicated than that and I’m drawing
from my own experiences as well as from
those third culture kids that I’ve
spoken to there is this tragedy that one
has to overcome when one moves from one
country to another when one leaves
behind everything that they’ve loved and
known their previous schools and their
previous lives they have to all be left
behind I would argue that there are two
main ways that one can deal with this
particular tragedy one way is to have
some constancy in life and what I mean
by constancy is on for example for me it
was in my education there needs to be
something that binds you together and
hold your identity together and for me
this was through education the constancy
in my education which was through 12
rigorous years in the International
Baccalaureate which for those of you
aren’t familiar is a program that’s very
similar worldwide and run from Geneva
however perhaps more importantly than
education because education obviously
isn’t everything
um I would argue that it’s the moments
in one’s life
those beautiful savoring moments that
truly defines a third culture kid I
recall the last time I saw Australia
when I waved goodbye to that sunburnt
country snot the last of that salty air
as I saw the last of trondheim Cathedral
school as I saw heard the bells of the
beautiful needleless Cathedral ringing
for the last time dear audience I can
talk to you all day about what being a
third culture kid in the 21st century
really means but these moments in my
life scattered throughout the continents
is truly what defines Who I am in a
sense it is something that I’ve thought
and rethought over and over again and I
feel that these moments is savoring
moments are the greatest moments that
define who I am so
when you meet a third culture kid in the
meantime and I guarantee you if you’re
watching this video you most probably
have met a third culture kid or here’s
one right now
you can talk to um why don’t you ask
them about their whole journey about
their entire lives rather than just
about where they’ve been end of
conversation because that’s what really
matters you see my accent now which I’ve
been speaking to you for with the for
the last 11 minutes with is not a place
where I show up back anymore rather it’s
a sense of pride it’s another souvenir
that I’ve earned from this great journey
that I have had so I’ve been speaking to
you now for 11 minutes but why don’t you
meet me later in another 11 years let’s
say and listen to my accent then and
guess my journeys path until then the IB
has tasked me to do a lot of rigorous
work so until then I will say Ally
[Applause]
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