No matter which country you are in, you can spot someone who went to an international school from a mile away. They interest other people, as they have experienced things which some can only dream of. This, however, comes with a myriad of things that people don’t understand.
There are two types of international students. Those who have lived in more countries than you could count, and those who studied at an international school in the country where they were born. Regardless of which of the two they are, international school students always hear these statements, even in their home country.
“Wait, so why do you talk like that?”
“Where's your accent from?”
“Wow! Your English is really good, I almost thought you were from here!”
You lived most of your life in Asia, you still spell labour and colour with a 'u,' but call that things at the front of the store a cashier, not a till. Sometimes you may throw in a “lah" or “na” into your speech, or some other untranslatable words. You only came to realize that your English was "different" once you went to university, where you actively tried to suppress some of your jargon.
“So how good are you at speaking _____?”
Honestly, not that good. Aside from English, I only picked up some French along the way, I only learned Spanish because of IB, I can only order food in Korean, I can only understand Turkish if it's in the context of a night market, I only know some words in Tagalog (like "puke" or "armpit sweat"), but I can swear in pretty much any language.
“How do you know what ___ is?”
“So what do you eat?”
“I'm sorry, what? You eat that with that?”
Yes, I do know what that is, I have been to that place, you know. And I eat the food you do. But sometimes I will have really specific cravings, like for bread from The Philippines, noodles from Korea, meat from Argentina, sauce from Brazil, or chocolate from Switzerland.
“How long is the longest flight you have been on?”
“How long does it take you to get over jet lag?”
At this point, a 12 hour flight seems normal. You will always have to have certain number of things ready for every flight and a certain way to get over jet lag. If not, it just becomes a way of life.
“How often do you see the people you grew up with?”
“You seem to know someone everywhere we go!”
The truth is, not often; but whenever you do, it seems like time has not passed and you can finally talk to someone who understands the real you. And you do know someone everywhere you go. Because of this, everywhere reminds you of home, but you know, deep down, that the world is your home.
