What's an MK? A Missionary Kid. Many of these could also apply to any kid who grew up in another culture that was not their own, with parents working in business' etc. or possibly even to someone whose family just moved a lot.
For those that don't know...I grew up as a Missionary Kid, my parents were missionaries overseas for just over 8 years. So I could relate to a lot of these!! The author however is from the US and lived in a boarding school part of the time, so some are not part of my context as I didn't go to boarding school.
There is a list of 500 hundred (yup!) things in the little booklet, and so the other day I went through some with Carter and he pointed out the ones to me that at his young age of 8 already would apply. I always think these things are so interesting.
If /when we ever move back to Canada, I would love to work with kids or adults that are dealing with issues from having lived overseas. 'Cause while it's wonderful to live overseas, it can also cause a number of emotional issues to process.
So here are the first 20 of the ones that apply to us, and I'll let you know who they apply to...(and I will substitute the US for Canada).
1. You speak two languages, but can't spell in either. Carter says sometimes...I believe this would apply more so to Logan right now, who is in Grade 1 and learning to spell in both English and Spanish and often gets them confused.
2. You flew before you could walk. Carter
3. Canada is a foreign country. This was for me as a kid...moving back to Canada felt like going to a foreign country. In today's day and age our boys don't feel that quite as much, and I'm sure they will note the cultural differences more as they get older. When we visit Canada now, the things they notice are often physical things about the area.
4. You embarrass yourself by asking what swear words mean. Did this as teen.
5. You have a passport, but no driver's license. Was me, and is our kids.
6. Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times. Applies to myself and the boys!
7. You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel. Love airline travel...
8. You go to Canada, and get sick from a mosquito bite. Maybe not a mosquito bite, but we often get sick the first week in Canada as our stomachs get used to new foods and water, the same as you may feel something when you come here!
9. Strangers say they can remember you when you were "This tall".
10. You sort your friends by continent. Or by country. And Carter at age 8 already sorts by country, as he has friends from so many countries because of his school.
11. You realize that furlough is not a vacation. I don't know if our kids realize this yet, as they get to see their Grandparents and cousins...
12. You wince when people mispronounce foreign words. It is quite funny when Carter winces when people mispronounce Spanish words.
13. Furlough means that you are stuffed every night...and have to eat it all to seem polite. ha! And we'll be on furlough next month! (Furlough is Home Assignment) But we love the food there too...so it's partly our fault for stuffing ourselves.
14. You stockpile mangoes. As a kid we had mango trees in our backyard and ate them all the time. Here we buy them at the store.
15. You never take anything for granted. Not our life, not seeing family, not having friends here in Mexico and all over the place.
16. You watch a movie set in a foreign country, and you know what the nationals are really saying into the camera. Well, only if it's Spanish.
17. Rain on a tile patio - or a corrugated metal roof - is one of the most wonderful sound in the world. I've always loved that loud sound of the rain on a metal roof.
18. You know how to pack. oh yeah....
19. You don't do well in job interviews because you were taught to be modest. This is interesting, the correlation between this and being an MK. I don't like talking myself up though.
20. You think nothing of straddling white lines to pass between trucks or buses traveling side by side, because "There was plenty of room, officer. Honest! At least six inches clearance". Somehow Dallas has managed to take this one on...MK or not!
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