Comparative Education Bulletin - Faculty of Education - The ...

I was at the rugby recently and it was America vs. Hong Kong and
I was there with Nicole [another member of the TCK participant
group]. We were like ‘who should we go for?’ We have both lived
here for a while and we wanted to root for Hong Kong. We looked
at each other and at the same time said ‘Hong Kong’. Then, when
America lost we were jumping up and down. It was very funny.
Speaking more about ‘personal identity’ she commented:
I was born in Boston, USA, but moved to Hong Kong nine years
ago when I was only four. I still remember things about Boston,
but I didn’t grow up there and the only real memories I have are of
birthday parties and eating chocolate covered raisins. My mother
was born and raised in New Jersey, and my father was born and
raised in Toronto. I guess I am a mix of so many things.
Adriana, another TCK, also spoke of her ‘personal identity’ in terms
of her relationships with others, her sense of belonging and her
relationship to her surrounding environment, saying:
I know I’m different [to the Chinese people in my school] but not
in a bad way. Does that make sense? They are who they are and I
am who I am and we can all hang out together and we all know
who we are. The Chinese people stay together and the other people
stay together. I’m good friends with them.
I’m a Hong Kong resident. I’m American. I speak English. My
parents speak English and grew up there. I go back every summer.
I spend time in the summer camps [in America]. If I didn’t tell
them [kids at camp] I come from Hong Kong they would never
know the difference.
Participants spoke of their sense of ‘shared identity’, specifically
focusing on the types and meanings of relationships that they have
formed with peers, family and their countries of abode.
When speaking about relationships, Nicole, a TCK who has lived in
Hong Kong for five years, said:
My experiences here are different to those of my friends in the
States. My friends remain the same, but I’ve had a lot of experiences.
I have travelled a lot. My friends in the States haven’t.
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