Ghazi Gashut grew up as an international student who attended a large variety of international schools. He truly exemplifies what it is to be a TCK - a third culture kid, or someone who is not “from” the host country, but is not really “from” their country of passport either, hence “third culture”. Another, more recent term for this is “Cross-cultural kid”. Audrey was lucky enough to get to know Ghazi a little bit when he was in high school at the International Community School of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Currently, he is an international educator working in Germany. Being a TCK/ CCK has allowed him to appreciate the nuances of being a global citizen. He believes that you are what your experiences make you -- in which case, he must have had some pretty amazing experiences!
Our guiding question for the episode was “how did growing up as a cross-cultural kid, a CCK, affect your personal development?”
Ghazi shared the term “multi-local” as one aspect of being a cross-cultural student with many localities that one transitions through when growing up. He spoke to his increased adaptability and learning to let go of the previous places while being open to what new places offer. Empathy and seeing multiple perspectives were some of the other life skills he developed.
Resources:
TED Talk by Taiye Selasi. Don’t Ask Where I am From, Ask Where I’m a Local.
This episode was recorded on November 18, 2022.
