Denizen | for third culture kids

I’m getting an award my junior year of high school in suburban New York. I’m positively giddy. The superintendent of schools steps to the podium and proceeds to give me a rousing introduction:

“The University of Pennsylvania Book Award goes to Alan Garcia. Alan recently got accepted into our coveted AP English class, without even taking Honors English his junior year. This is remarkable considering Alan moved here from the Fiji Islands his freshman year and just learned English…”

I stop listening. I’ve been in international schools my whole life. English is my first language. My high school is taking credit for my supposedly miraculous mastery of the English language in two and a half years. My friends in the auditorium know better and start laughing. People clap as I go up, take the award, and sit back down, shaking my head.

I later write a “Thank You” note in my impeccable English. I can already tell he’ll be impressed.

Denizen’s anecdotes is for quick snapshots from your TCK lives. Email in your funny stories to steph@denizen-mag.com. For more entries, click “anecdotes” in the right navigation bar.

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