Talks with a TCK Friend

TCKs use different methods to express their up bringing in various ways. Josué, a fellow TCK & an award-winning installation and sculpture artist, shares his story and how his upbringing deeply influences his art.

Based in the New York Metropolitan area, Josué Morales Urbina is an award-winning installation and sculpture artist, whose work primarily explores transcultural displacement and dépaysement. Among frequent themes that arise in his art are a pervading sense of foreignness and the impermanence of memory, which he examines via contemplative abstract installations. These works are composed of a broad range of materials, including ordinary household objects such as, drinking straws, coffee beans, toasted white bread, rubber bands, and edible materials.

The questions of foreignness in Morales Urbina’s work are rooted in his being born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and having lived across the United States as a “third culture kid” (an individual raised in a culture other than their parents'). Yet, as much as he creates to engage audiences in such explorations, Urbina’s artmaking has also afforded him the self-discovery that he, ultimately, creates art “to build a home for myself; my art practice is my home.”

Morales Urbina’s career is marked by numerous accomplishments, including solo and group exhibitions in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas. An alum of the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, he has completed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, La Napoule Art Foundation’s Résidence d'Artiste Internationale, Centrum in Washington state, GoggleWorks, Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, and a current Textile Arts Center’s TAC AIR 16. In 2023, he was recognized as a Sculpture Finalist by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and was awarded the 2024 Jersey City Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship. Morales Urbina has also served as a panelist for various residencies and grants. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Art History and Criticism from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Website: www.josuemoralesurbina.com

Up Coming events:

·         Textile Arts Center AIR 16 Open Studios February 15, 2pm - 5pm

        505 Carroll St, Brooklyn NY, 11215

·         AiR Exhibition, Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, 36 Tinker St., Woodstock, NY 12498

        Dates: April 19 – May 25, 2025

        Opening reception: Saturday, April 19, 2025, 4-6 pm

·         Depths of Being, IMUR Gallery, 67 Greene St, Jersey City, NJ 07302

        Dates: April 17 - 24, 2025

        Opening reception: Saturday, April 17, 2025, 6-8 pm and April 24th, 2025, 8-9pm

·         NARS International AIR October 1, 2025, and ends on December 15, 2025

        201 46th Street 4th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11220

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Transition educator, Chesed, joins us once again this time talking about the Identity Formation of a TCK and how transitioning from being with family to living alone can lead a TCK questioning their identity.

Chesed is an adult third culture kid who grew up in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. For the last 12 years she has been living in Virginia training college students how to navigate cross-cultural transitions in an emotionally healthy way. She is passionate about coaching emerging adults in that process and showing them how this world was never meant to be their home anyway (Philippians 3:20).

TCK Merch: ⁠⁠@⁠⁠⁠⁠chesedco_maps⁠

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

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Like what you hear? Consider supporting this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/MarieSuazo⁠⁠

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Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Inga joins us to talk about her new book and her childhood as a TCK moving from one country to the next due to country's conflict. She shares her quest looking for belonging and how it led her to write her own memoir.

Inga Aksamit is an award-winning author, globe-trotting adventurer and veteran oncology nurse who writes about travel and human connection. Her love of exploration has taken her around the world to hike in remote mountain ranges, explore ancient ruins, and immerse herself in different cultures. She started traveling at age four when her family embraced the expat lifestyle and moved from the US to Asia for her father’s work. Her childhood experiences as a third-culture kid (TCK) in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Peru, and Indonesia, combined with her career in oncology nursing, allow her to see the world through a compassionate lens of wonder and discovery. Her memoir, “Between Worlds: An Expat Quest for Belonging,” will be published in 2025. Her hiking memoir, “Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail,” won The Best Outdoor Book award from the Outdoor Writers Association of California in 2015 and “The Hungry Spork Trail Recipes” won the Best 

Outdoor Guidebook award in 2020. 

Find Inga Aksamit on her ⁠Blog⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠ or ⁠Twitter⁠. 

Book: Between Worlds: An Expat’s Quest for Belonging

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠

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Like what you hear? Consider supporting this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/MarieSuazo⁠

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Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Kanako joins us on this podcast as she shares her TCK story and some of her thoughts growing up with Japanese parents.

Kanako Suwa (KA-nako) is a Third Culture Kid, EAL teacher at an international school, and an advocate for multilingualism, mental health, equity, agency, passions, and queer & Asian representation in media & in teaching. Kanako uses her experiences of global upbringing & late start to multilingualism to understand and connect with students at international schools. She can usually be found reading by the pool in her spare time and you can reach her on her Twitter @kanakosuwa :)

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mariesuazoauthor⁠

Like what you hear? Consider supporting this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/MarieSuazo

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Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Generational trauma isn't always discussed among families, especially Asian ones. Joining us today is fellow ATCK Melanie who shares how she navigated through the generational trauma she has seen passed down in her family.

Born in Korea and raised in East Africa, Melanie Hyo-In Han recently moved from the U.S. to the U.K., where she is a Ph.D. candidate in Creative Writing. She is the author of Uprooted, Replanted, Uprooted Again (FlowerSong Press, forthcoming 2026), My Dear Yeast (Milk & Cake Press, 2023) and Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips (Finishing Line Press, 2021). Learn more about her at melaniehan.com.

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor

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Like what you hear? Consider supporting this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/MarieSuazo⁠------------

Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

TCKs are multicultural themselves, but how does that play a role in being in relationship? On this podcast fellow ATCK and psychologist Karina talks about her experience counseling intercultural couples and shares some of her personal stories on her relationship.

Karina is an ATCK, born in Spain, grew up in different Countries of Europe. She holds a French passport, a Catalan diploma in Psychologist and the tittle of MOTHER to two TCK aged 7 and 9, both born in Belgium, lived in Ireland and Spain. She is also a PhD candidate in Sensory Processing Sensitivity and expatriated motehrhood and is writing a mental health guideline called;

Mental Health Best practices across borders with Jennifer Linton.

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Instagram: @karinalagarriguepsychologist⁠⁠------------

If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: [email protected]

Like what you hear? Consider sponsoring this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support me!⁠⁠⁠

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Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Our second episode in the Valentine's day series talks about online dating and what life has been like married for 5 years. Joining us again is Chesed from our Christmas episode to share her love story.

Chesed is an adult third culture kid who grew up in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. For the last 12 years she has been living in Virginia training college students how to navigate cross-cultural transitions in an emotionally healthy way. She is passionate about coaching emerging adults in that process and showing them how this world was never meant to be their home anyway (Philippians 3:20).

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TCK Merch: ⁠@⁠⁠chesedco_maps⁠----------------------------------------

If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: [email protected]

Like what you hear? Consider sponsoring this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support me!⁠⁠------------------------------------------Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers

Kicking off our Valentine's month series with Lynette as she talks about her love story, married life the last two years, and communicating in love.

Lynette Allcock Yoon is a writer, teacher, and former radio host. She grew up between three countries as a Third Culture Kid (TCK), and now lives in South Korea with her husband. She writes about culture, faith, and relationships from an expat, TCK perspective. She loves helping fellow wanderers & sojourners to feel seen, encouraging them to overcome the challenges and find the beauty in cross-cultural living.

Awe is a unique emotion most people don't talk about. Mathieu a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada discuses his research on the emotion and how it relates to our global up bringing.

Mathieu is a Canadian diplomat ATCK who grew up in many different countries (France, Morocco, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Switzerland). He now resides in Kingston (Canada) with his wife and 2 children, and is a professor of psychology at the Royal Military College of Canada. Mathieu's research interests center on emotions (with a particular interest in awe) and the TCK experience.

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Podcast: ⁠TCK Research Podcast

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!

Transportation is one of the first things TCKs have to learn to navigate when moving to another country. Learning how to do that smoothly is easier said than done. In this episode Kim, a post-doctoral researcher working between Norway and Portugal, talks about her project called "Mobile Worlds" where she discusses transportation from the perspective of a TCK.

Kim is a post-doctoral researcher working between Norway and Portugal on a project called "Mobile Worlds". In this project she is connecting her personal experiences as a TCK with research on daily mobility and different perspectives on mobility. Mobile Worlds explores how "third cultures" can also be about thinking outside conventional "boxes" of thought, and potentially unleashing creativity for new ways of organizing socially, including how we want to move from one place to another. Her background is in Human Geography and Urban and Regional Planning, and she has dipped into work on alternative economics, critical innovation studies, and more.

MobileWorlds is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the European Union and hosted by Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL).

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Website: https://mobileworlds.online

Instagram: @mobileworldstc

Survey

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If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or just want to connect, feel free to reach out!Insta: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mariesuazoauthor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: [email protected]

Like what you hear? Consider sponsoring this podcast monthly to help me continue on making this content :) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support me!⁠⁠⁠------------------------------------------Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers