I am a local. I am multi-local: I am or have been a local of London, Lahore, Dacca, New Delhi, Kuwait City, Dhahran, Manila, Bangkok, Pattaya, Tokyo, Salt Lake City, Evanston (Wyoming), Istanbul, Saigon, Hong Kong, Toronto, Freetown, Addis Ababa, Singapore. It seems like a lot but it’s kind of a blur.
Genetically I appear to be a white male. However, growing up as a TCK, I have a very checkered cultural makeup. I can discern five or six major cultural components to my personality.
As part of my minimalism kick, over the last year or so I have been going through what few mementos I still had. Most of my keepsakes burned up in a storage unit fire in the year 1999 – lost everything from my childhood and the military and family (very liberating in a way). But I still had stuff that I carried with me.
Minimalism. What does it mean? At the risk of sounding vague, this absolutely depends on the individual. However I am approaching it from the point of view of a serial expatriate, and as a TCK. And I’m sure other serial ex-pats and TCKs will be able to relate to this.