The TCK: Amanda Jada

Hey everyone! My name is Amanda Jada and everyday I will be sharing with you my thoughts, ideas, and experiences of being a Third Culture Kid (TCK). Whether you’re one or not, you might be wondering what on earth “TCK means.” But before I get into that, let me tell you a little bit about myself in this first post.

My name is Amanda Jada and I’m a Palestinian who grew up in a small country in the Middle East called Oman. I was raised in the capital, which is known as Muscat, but spent several of my winters and summers as a child in Jordan and Syria. That may seem weird to some of you but the reason for this is that’s where my parents grew up. That’s where they considered home was, and up until recently I considered those places to be home too, even though I had never lived there. I didn’t realize that my real home was in fact, Oman, until I left. Don’t get me wrong, I have so many wonderful memories of being in Jordan and Syria with all my relatives and it holds a special place in my heart. But being there never really felt like home. It didn’t give me that warm feeling of familiarity and nostalgia that I get every time I go back to Oman now.  Oman is where I had all the good and bad experiences that shaped me; it’s where I grew from a child to a teenager; where I had my first boyfriend, my first birthday, and my first alcoholic drink. It’s where I spent most of my life and everyday I am greatful for being lucky enough to be able to call Oman my home. Check out this video to get a sneak peak into this beautiful, majestic country.  

One of the biggest contributors to who I am and what made Oman so great is the school I attended most of my life. I went to TAISM which is short for The American International School of Muscat. I believe that it is the environment of that school that shaped me into the person I am today. Why? Probably because by going there, I was surrounded by amazing people that came from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. It was like a highly diverse, yet small community of students whose parents had to move to a foreign country, so they went to  TAISM to get a decent education in the most common language in the World. Everyone was so different, yet we were all the same in so many ways. Yes, we all had different nationalities, but we were all there for the same reason: to get an education as similar, if not better, than the one we would have otherwise gotten in our initial "home" countries. Because of this school, I met the greatest people, made the strongest bonds and friendships, and got the opportunity to travel to the most amazing places. This is why I consider myself a TCK. Stay tuned for my next post where I explain what being a TCk entails and how to know if you are one or not!