"Don't you speak a bunch of different languages?"
Yes, but at the core, we have these special keywords that draw up mutual understanding that outsiders do not immediately understand. Here is my guide to such phrases, from the perspective of an American MK. I can't promise it's complete, but at least it's a start:
Airport--a magical place full of stressful situations that will eventually get you where you need to go
Airport Security--people who believe a seventeen-year-old girl's gel pen collection is the latest threat to travel safety; they generally have no sense of humor
Border Crossing--more people with no sense of humor
America--a mystical land far away where apparently everything "good" on earth comes from and generally doesn't live up to expectations
Americans--an annoying group of people who feel they rule the world; that English should be spoken everywhere; and when English isn't understood, feel the appropriate response is to speak louder and slower; people who cause us to want to disown our home country; NEVER EVER be an "American"
Candy Bar--an American invention so amazing, it is treated like gold until the moment it's all consumed; everyone who can eat chocolate has a favorite, and that is usually the one they will request if given a chance
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| Choosing a candy bar is a very serious decision |
Consulate--people who get your passport renewed
Craving--In America, we crave foreign food. On the field, we crave American food. Yet we always try to remain content.
Culottes--in the words of an MK guy from my mission board, "a skirt for each leg"; the worst fashion statement Cultural Fundamentalism developed; hopefully eventually going out of style
Culture Shock--the sudden realization that you're not in America anymore; sometimes there's a honeymoon period, sometimes there isn't
| "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." "No joke, Dorothy!" |
Embassy--another important place filled with important people
Field--the place the missionary family serves in
Furlough--all the driving around, visiting churches missionaries do for several weeks to a year at a time while taking a "break" from ministering
Home--(1) the land our parents are from; (2) the land we serve in; (3) the house we reside in; (4) wherever we happen to be staying for the night
Home Church--the church you theoretically attend most of the time when you're in America/the church that sends you out
Home Country--the land our parents are from
Hoard vs. Gorge--the decision an MK on what to do with his Christmas candy--should you make it last until Easter or eat it all now because you've been craving it so badly? (If you choose to gorge, you will regret it when your sibling has a Milky Way in three months and you don't.)
Immigration--a long line you stand in to get into a country; yet another group of people who apparently have no sense of humor
Immigration Office--an important place with important people doing important stuff that they believe is very important for you to do stay in the country--as long as they're allowed to do it as slowly as they want to
Instant Connection--the feeling you get when you meet another missionary kid who's been through similar stuff as you
International Date Line--an evil little line that I still don't understand further than it causes me to lose and gain days
"It might not be here next time!"--the best way to justify buying all the Teddy Grahams the grocery store has on the shelf
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| Yes, sir, I'm 100% certain we want 20 bags of Teddy Grahams. |
Jet Lag--the grogginess you get for a few days to a couple weeks after sending your body on the other side of the world
Ladies Missionary Fellowships--ladies who get together and sign birthday cards and also pray for the missionaries
Missionary Cupboards--a closet full of stuff for the missionaries to take and use; some smart churches also have a great stash of gift cards, which is way better than yet another set of towels, because we can spend them on what we actually need, especially with the limited space we have
Missionary Pen Pal--a kid who needs some questions answered for a church/school project; technically, a "pen pal" should write back and forth, but typically all they want is the one letter to complete the project and they're done
Mission Board--the important people who do important stuff in the States for the missionaries--honestly, I don't really remember what they do, but it seems like it has a lot to do with money and...field stuff; it also kind of defines who you are as a missionary when you say what board you're from (honestly, though, about half my MK friends aren't even from my parents' board)
Missions Songs--"Send the Light," "Jesus Saves," "Rescue the Perishing," etc.; by week eight of furlough, every missionary is about ready to scream as they hear these songs for the eighth week in a row
MK--abbreviation for missionary kid
Moochionary--portmanteau of "mooch" and "missionary"; a missionary who thinks it's okay to just mooch off the kindness of others and expect everything to be given to them (We're not all this way! Sorry if you had one stay at your house!)
On Base--foreign military base; center of all foreign things related to the country it belongs to; American ones are full of American products; if you have someone to let you on, your mom stocks up on all those American things you wouldn't have otherwise; typically also fill the surrounding area with American-ness
Package--wonderful magical goodness of America all contained within cardboard
Passport--a magical little book that allows you into a bunch of countries
Permanent Residency--magical paperwork that apparently makes you have to do less other magical paperwork
Prayer Cards--the pictures of missionary families that MKs hate seeing around and want replaced as soon as possible after each visit because they look so young and dorky by the time each furlough rolls around
Prayer Letter--the letters the parents send out telling all the stuff they actually want to tell about the field
Re-entry Permit--a magical piece of paperwork that lets you into the short line at immigration when you go back to the field
Reverse Culture Shock--forgetting how strange a place America is; usually hits within minutes of getting off the plane; with America...there is no honeymoon period
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| Let's face it; as soon as we get off the plane, every American is as about weird to an MK as Lady Gaga is to every American--if only we knew who Lady Gaga was, but we don't because we haven't been around and stereotypically have no understanding of pop culture |
Stateside--what an MK is when he's in America
Suitcase--You don't think I can fit fifty pounds of clothing, books, and gifts in this? Watch me! I wish I could still get seventy-five pounds in this!
Suitcase of Stuff for Other People--everyone's got a wish list of things for the missionary going on furlough to bring back, containing items from hair dryers to deodorant to Lego; in our family, at least, all this was set in the suitcase we'd used to bring gifts back to the close friends and relatives in the States
Supporting Churches--churches that send missionaries money so you can live in a foreign country
Time Difference--the reason missionaries have gotten calls at 3 in the morning is not always because something important has happened; it's sometimes because Grandma forgot how to properly calculate the time difference (But my Grandma is awesome and doesn't do that stuff)
Third Culture Kids--children who have spent most of their formative years in a culture different from the ones their parents grew up in while usually being expected to maintain some level of connection to the parent's culture
Visa--important paperwork to let you stay in the country for a long period of time, not a credit card
"Where are you from?"--the world's most annoying question because one does not simply answer it in a few words; it usually takes about a paragraph for us to feel we've adequately answered it
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| That's right, Boromir meme |
"You Know You're An MK When..."--MK brand humor that unites all of us; I will have to post some someday; Andy and Deborah Kerr published a book on it
So...that's all I can think of for now. If you're an MK, Military Brat, or other Third Culture Kid, suggest some more and I'll make a Part 2!
ETA: My mom corrected my consulate definition; in my defense, we usually visit the immigration office and the consulate at the same time, so that's why I got them confused. I've added "immigration office" separately, and redefined consulate. Either way, it's a bunch of bureaucrats who I wish would just learn the meaning of haste.
You have it so spot on.
ReplyDeleteHahaha... I concur.
ReplyDelete