Stories from who?

…who I am, what I write, and why

Welcome! My name is Tanya. I am originally from Canberra, Australia. I lived in Beijing, China for 10.5 years, first as a student at a Chinese university and later working with Third Culture Kids (TCKs) – the children of expat families. I also lived briefly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, working with TCKs and working on my book about TCKs. I recently moved to Sydney, Australia, to study toward a Master of Divinity degree at SMBC.

This blog evolved from an email newsletter updating friends and family around the globe on my crazy little life. Somewhere along the line I realised that the best way to explain my life is not to summarise, but to capture moments and tell stories.

So, that’s what this is – a collection of stories about the everyday life of an Aussie girl living in China/Cambodia, and an expat girl now “home” in Australia. If you don’t know where to start, this post explains how I’ve organised my stories.

Here’s the sort of things you can expect to read here – with some examples:

• “Real Life” as an expat in Beijing – including the pollution (here, here and here).
• Conversations with Chinese locals (here, here and here).
• Explanations of elements of Chinese culture I find particularly interesting (here, here and here).
• Learning Mandarin Chinese – and explaining things that tend to confuse foreigners (here, here and here).
• Thoughts on transition and goodbyes, especially when moving countries (here, here and here).
• Repatriation – getting used to life in my native Australia (here, here and here).
• Experiencing Australia (here, here and here).
• Thoughts on my work with TCKs (here, here and here).
• Trips to Cambodia to work with TCKs there (here, here and here).
• Travel stories (and photos) from various places I’ve visited (here, here and here).