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Photography by Di Zhang

Chameleon is a multi-disciplinary presentation about global citizens who have been exposed to several cultures in their developmental years. Exploring the notions of home, cultural identity and relationships through film, spoken word, theater, photography and dance. Approx. 75 minutes

Venue: The Apothecary

• Jul 8th 6 pm
• Jul 10th 11 am
• Jul 23rd 6 pm
• Jul 24th 3:45 pm
• Jul 25th 2:15 pm

Emily's Solo and Shayna's monologue w/ Emily @ Chameleon; University Settlement from Alaine Handa on Vimeo.

From my friend Tina Quick, she has a new book out and it is now available on amazon

“The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition” by Tina Quick with Foreword by Ruth Van Reken

Now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Global-Nomads-Guide-University-Transition/dp/1904881211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276178714&sr=1-1

and Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Global-Nomads-Guide-University/dp/1904881211/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1276177685&sr=1-1-fkmr0

Third culture kids/global nomads have typically interacted with two or more cultures during their developmental years - those years that shape who they are as human beings. As they go about living their normal highly mobile, cross-cultural lives, they have no clue as to how they are being impacted. But one day they have an experience that wakes them up to the fact that they are different from others. This commonly takes place upon repatriation for college or university when they are surrounded mostly by those who have never ventured away from their home country or culture. What results is the feeling of cultural imbalance, not fitting in, inability to connect with their home-country peers. They feel like a “fish out of water” in their own country. This can lead to isolation and depression.

Now there is a guide book to help these students understand what takes place in re-entry and/or transition and gives them the tools and strategies they need to not only survive but to thrive in the adjustment.

This is the first book written to and for students who have been living outside their “passport” countries but are either returning “home” or transitioning on to another host country for college/university. It addresses the common issues students face when they are making the double transition of not only adjusting to a new life stage but to a cultural change as well. Parents will appreciate the chapter dedicated to how they can come alongside their students, prepare them for the journey and support them throughout this major transition. Families repatriating with secondary school aged children will also benefit as many of the psycho-social adjustment issues apply to them as well.

A video of Anna's and Ivi's Solo

A video of Anna's solo and Ivi's solo from Chameleon @ University Settlement



Choreography by the dancers in collaboration with Alaine Handa

Each dancer was interviewed to share their cultural story. We worked with imagery, memories of smells, sounds, sights, touch, people, and events to create solos that were unique to each dancer.

Footage taken from Chameleon performance on 5/14/2010 at University Settlement in NYC

Chameleon is supported by the Singapore International Internationale grant from Singapore International Foundation (http://sif.org.sg)

TCK music

My bf found this on an a cappella forum site (yes, he's an a cappella dork).
This is a TCK group of men living and working in Hong Kong and they are singing both in English and Cantonese.

Famous TCKs - from Wikipedia

Notable third culture kids

• Current US President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to an American mother and a Kenyan father and spent part of his childhood in Indonesia.
• Current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent most of his teenage years in the suburbs of Philadelphia, graduating from high school there.
• Jared Taylor was born in Japan to U.S. parents, and lived in Japan until age 16.
• Former U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry lived in Switzerland as a teenager.
• North Korean leader Kim Jung Il was born in the Soviet Union and spent parts of his childhood in China.
• Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was born in Morocco and raised in Venezuela.
• One of the giants of English literature Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India, and reported being more competent in the vernacular than his "native" English during his childhood.^[31]
• Gerald Durrell grew up in India and Greece.
• Uma Thurman grew up in India.
• British singer Engelbert Humperdinck was born in Chennai (then Madras), India to a British Army officer and his wife, and remained in India until the family returned to England when he was 10 years old.
• Keanu Reeves was born in Lebanon and grew up in Australia
• Viggo Mortensen was born in New York City and grew up in Venezuela, Denmark, and Argentina before returning to the U.S. as a teenager.
• Current NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, the Philadelphia-born son of professional basketball player Joe Bryant, lived in Italy from ages 6 to 13 while his father played in that country.
• David Duke spent part of his childhood in the Netherlands.
• Former NBA star and current team executive Steve Kerr, son of American academic Malcolm Kerr, was born in Beirut and spent most of his childhood in various countries in the Arab world, only moving to the U.S. permanently in high school.
• Another current NBA player, Wally Szczerbiak, is the son of professional basketball player Walter Szczerbiak; Wally was born in Madrid while his father was playing for Real Madrid, and spent his first several years in Spain.
• NBA player Steve Nash was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada.
• Zack Kim, Notable guitarist was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Actor Lee Pace spent a few years of his childhood in Saudi Arabia.
• Lead singer of Queen Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar to Parsi Indian parents and later lived in the United Kingdom.
• Slovenian politician Andrej Bajuk, born in Slovenia, spent his childhood in Argentina, studied in the United States, worked in Paris, before returning to Slovenia in the 1990s.
• U.S. Presidential candidate Bob Barr lived in several countries when his father traveled for his job.

Video glimpse of Chameleon Photography Gallery

Chameleon Photography Gallery at Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery

Photography by Wazha Dube, Albert Gumilang, Mei-Chen Lioe, Michael Mastroianni, Lauryn Ishak

Poems by Edith Södergran, Alex Graham James, Leilani Chan
Spoken Word by Alaine Handa