The Foreign Service Journal, March 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2022 77 year and, most importantly, a set of friends who can reconnect the instant they see each other. FS parents may understand the special challenges facing Third Culture Kids—a group that includes all expatriate children. But there is a parallel process that also affects their sense of identity, which parents and extended family members may not be so sensitive to: namely, the rapid cultural changes in the United States related to fashion, music, slang, what’s in/out, etc. While FS kids may return “home” periodically on home leave or R&R, grandma and grandpa may not be the best ones to help them catch up with changes to Americana since their last visit. Here again, summer camp can play a useful role by providing our TCKs with a “safe space” where they feel comfortable being updated about life in America by trusted friends. Beyond describing how summer camps can mitigate some of the special challenges FS kids face, I’d like to offer a brief overview of America’s current camp scene and how interested parents can find an appropriate camp. Types of Camps Today’s parents have an incredible variety of choices among camps, including whether they are co-ed, or gender specific, age grouped, etc. These include: • Day Camps: with a full range of activities but no overnight stay. • Traditional Camps: periods of one Counselor Tibor Nagy (on horseback) teaching riding at Camp Soles in 1971. COURTESYOFTIBORNAGY