As I skip my way through the blogosphere I come across many, many "mom" blogs. Sometimes I skip right on by and then other times I stop and stay a while. In a few cases, I find a blog that I can relate to and that I find enriches my parenting skills and my life. I'm so pleased to introduce you to the woman behind one such blog today. Take a trip to Hungary this morning and find out a little about one mom's life there, working and raising two little peas in a pod with Mama Pea Pod.
Tell me 3 things about yourself
1. I've lived in 5 countries on 3 continents; currently we live in Hungary, in Budapest. We love it here! There are so many things to do with children in Budapest, there are lots of cultural events going on all the time, and at the same time there are plenty of open, green spaces, even in the city.
2. We are currently in the process of buying our first house. Very exciting and terrifying at the same time! Somehow we don't really feel 'old enough' to be taking on so much responsibility (even though we are in our later 30s!). Marriage? Kids? No problem. A house? Yikes, that's a big commitment! (tongue in cheek) It's scary to be commiting to a place. We've never done that before; we've always moved around a lot. But we're super excited to have our very own place to raise our kids in, that will really be home. And I can't wait to get some great outdoor play spaces set up in our own garden! I've been busy 'pinning' for months now, and I have so many ideas....
3. There's absolutely nothing I love more in the world that watching my girls learn about the wonders of the world around them, whether through sensory play, creative projects, or outdoor adventures. It's amazing to see how they learn new things every day!
Are you for, or against, small appliances on the kitchen counter?
I'm pretty sure I don't have a philosophy on this, but I can tell you this much: I keep the coffee maker and the kettle on the counter because we use them every day. The toaster and other small appliances that aren't used daily are kept in cupboards. It's not a philosophy per se, it just makes sense for us.
Name 5 things that are on your counter right now
Ha! This question should really be 'name 5 things that are not on your counter right now'! With a preschooler, a toddler, a full-time teaching job, and a two-bedroom apartment that we have definitely outgrown, our kitchen counter has become the drop off place for everything that doesn't have a home elsewhere - which could be just about anything at the moment. So let's see ... there's a rainbow slinky, a handful of chestnuts, a mini laminating machine, a half bottle of water, and a corkscrew. And some half-baked (literally) salt dough creations by my kids. And all the paraphernalia that goes along with them.
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| This is the neat side ... hehe |
What, if anything, would you change about your kitchen counter?
I like the counter we have. I guess I'd like it to be self-cleaning! And to be our own.
What is your favourite thing to do on your kitchen counter?
Make coffee - coffee is my life blood! I'm really not a morning person, but my kids have me up between 5:30 and 6 most days. Coffee is my only hope! Bonus Questions
On your blog Mama Pea Pod you say that your kids are "third-culture kids" can you explain
this. What impact do you think it will have on them as they grow?
On Wikipedia, it says that American sociologist David C. Pollock describes Third Culture Kids as:
| a person who has spent a significant part of [their] developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background. |
Basically, it refers to 'ex-pat' kids who mostly (or completely) grow up living 'overseas'. Our kids were born in Germany and Hungary, but neither of them are German or Hungarian citizens, and neither of them qualify for German or Hungarian citizenships. They both hold British passports, though neither have lived in the UK and we have no family in the UK. Our older daughter visited there once as a baby when we went to a job fair, but that's it. Our family's official 'home of record' is Canada, so they are sort of mainly Canadian, though neither of them have ever lived there, and actually only our older daughter has Canadian citizenship since we haven't applied for it for our younger daughter yet. And in our case, it's even more complex because my husband and I also both grew up between more than one culture, and neither of us were born in Canada either. It's all rather complicated, but it basically means that the 'where are you from?' question is always hard for any of us to answer. What makes third culture kids particularly different from, say, immigrant children who are growing up in a culture that they weren't born into, is that they are not part of any one culture. They don't really have a 'home country culture', because they aren't a part of the culture of their official 'home country' either. My kids have no idea what Canadian culture is like, and are clearly different from kids in Canada the same age. They don't have the same cultural references through TV, school, or friends, that give kids a common 'language' so to speak. When my 4 year old hears kids in Canada talking when we visit, she has a hard time understanding what they're talking about and keeping up with the conversation because she doesn't share that cultural background as a point of reference. But she also doesn't quite 'fit in' with Hungarian kids either. She's different here, too. Even though she speaks Hungarian fluently and attends a Hungarian preschool, she lives in a different culture than her classmates within our house.She speaks a different language at home and has different social and cultural experiences. TCKs live in a sort of bubble, where the 'third' culture is being a third culture kid. They share more of a cultural background with other TCKs, regardless of where they all hold passports from or have as their official 'home of record' in their visas. My daughters' friends (outside of her preschool) are officially from countries all over the world (I was going to try to say where, but, like us, it's hard to pinpoint where they're from as they are all also from multiple countries), but they are also TCKs and as such, this group of kids have more of a shared culture than they do with kids from their respective official 'home countries', or with kids from the country where we live.
Writing my blog has made me more conscious of the things I am doing with my girls on a daily basis. How has writing your blog changed your parenting experience?
In a way, it's made me more accountable for how I spend my time with my kids. When I wasn't working, I posted on my blog every weekday about the activities I was doing with them. I found that it forced me to make sure that no matter how busy our day was, I made time to do fun activities with my girls that were worth sharing. It's also encouraged me to solidify and share my own beliefs about kids and parenting. I'd always believed that spending time outdoors was beneficial to children, and I once even started a 'virtual outdoor playgroup' where my friends around the world would all take our kids outside to play and then post about what we did in our online forum. Similarly, I'd always encouraged my children to take the lead in their play and learning. But it wasn't until I started blogging that I really started to read more and more about the importance of outdoor play, messy play, and play in general. I found others with similar beliefs and philosophies about raising children, and it gave me the confidence to share mine. That in turn has made me more conscious of my own actions (or inactions as the case may be) with regard to allowing my children to freely explore and engage in (sometimes messy) child-led play, and in getting them outdoors every day in all types of weather.
Thanks for having me over, Jen! 
Thank you Mama Pea Pod! I learned so much through these answers. I find the whole TCK concept fascinating. Our family is the complete opposite...we couldn't be more thoroughly Canadian...9 generations in fact! However, I can see that being born and living in different countries and different cultures is certainly the way of the future. Thanks so much for enlightening us and for sharing your amazing story. Be sure to hop on over to Mama Pea Pod's blog where you will find an amazing array of ideas and inspiration.
Have a great weekend everyone...and happy first day of fall! (or perhaps it's the first day of spring where you are)
kari says
Thanks for sharing your amazing story with us and for sharing the joy of outdoor play. - I hope you start an outdoor playgroup in Budapest, not just virtually.
But, we do share more things in common my kids are similar to yours. Living in Canada but with a Norwegian mom and American dad. We spend our summers in Norway so our kids have a strong Norwegian identity too.
Kari
Mama Pea Pod says
Thanks for having me over, Jen! And what lovely things you said about my blog - thank you!
@Kari - Perhaps I will!