The Foreign Service Journal, December 2005

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 67 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT about your international background as some people will think you’re showing off.” In fact, Steve Catt reports that sev- eral students did not believe him when he told them of his experiences abroad. • Alternatively, Foreign Service and Third Culture Kids may be perceived as more interesting than the average college student. “Some- times when I tell people I’ve lived overseas my whole life, they react as if I were a god,” says Ian Haight. “Sure, it’s unique, but it doesn’t mean I’m bet- ter than someone who’s lived in the same town his whole life. I’m just dif- ferent.” John Taylor, a junior at the University of California, Riverside, who lived for two years in Ankara, finds his international experiences are viewed as almost universally positive by his peers. “People are interested and even envious that I have had experiences people twice my age haven’t. I often find myself at the center of attention.” • You will not believe the food! Depending on where they were living before they arrived, FS kids’ reactions to college food will be as varied as diets around the world. A student coming from the Third World may be Continued on page 68 They look American, sound American, are American. And so, unlike their international student classmates, no one (including them, perhaps) expects them to be having culture shock.