PROVENCE

(Zara blazer, Forever 21 shirt and shoes, Arch skirt -- Zara top, Tally Weijl leggings, Forever 21 shoes, Mango sunglasses)

Four days in the South of France were a lovely refresher towards the end of exams, though I do feel that a few good meals and good bottles of wine later, it was no longer the weight of my hand luggage that concerned me as much as my own... Anyway, all worth it, right? (The last shot is of my momma =P)

Čtyři dny na jihu Francie byly krásným odpočinkem ke konci zkoušek, i když přiznávám, že po kopách dobrého jídla a pár flaškách dobrého vína už jsem se nezajimala tolik o váhu svých zavazadel, jako o tu svoji... Každopádně to stálo zato, ne? (Poslední fotka je mojí mamky=P)

SAN DIEGO

Forever 21 dress, H&M cardigan, Zara sunglasses

I'm finally getting through the last pictures from California (I apologise if these posts are getting a tad repetitive!), which has taken much too long! Life has been so busy recently with finishing up exams, travelling packing up my belongings in France and getting myself back over to England, where I am now happily planted with Jack and a whole summer to plan out =) I promise to post something a little more up to date very soon. (Please excuse the dodgy expressions on some of these shots!)

Konečně procházím posledními fotkami z Kalifornie (omlouvám se, jestli se tyto články už trošku opakují!), což mi trvalo příliš dlouho! Život byl v poslední době dost hektický - jsem neustále na cestách, právě jsem dodělala zkoušky, balila jsem si všechny věci ve Francii a nějak jsem se se vším dopracovala zpět do Anglie, kde teď jsem šťastně usazená s Jackem a začínám plánovat léto =) Slibuji, že sem brzy dám něco aktuálnějšího. (Prosím odpusťte ty podivné výrazy na některých z těchto fotek!)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Forever 21 shoes, Zara sunglasses

I haven't even finished editing all the (thousands of) pictures from California and I'm already off to Marseille to take a few hundred more =) A picture of my shoes on sunny Laguna Beach in the meantime (and here's to hoping that the weather in France doesn't stay as dreary as the forecasts are promising).

Ani jsem nestačila projít všema (tisící) fotkama z Kalifornie a už odlétám do Marseille nafotit dalších párset =) Prozatím vám tu nechávám fotku mých bot ze slunečné pláže Laguna Beach (a doufám, že počasí ve Francii nebude tak pochmůrné, jak předpovídají).

HIGHWAY 1

Single-handedly some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever experienced. California is so so so lucky in its diversity - the first time I visited I went skiing and sunbathing on the beach in the same week, this time round we drove from windy San Francisco to desert heat in LA! The coast is unbelievable, it took us 5 hours to drive down a 2 hour stretch of the famous Highway 1 between Carmel and San Luis Obispo just because I insisted on stopping at every turnout to take more pictures! I'd say this trip also included some of my more admirable driving moments, seeing as my momma forgot her driving license! =P
P.S. Tigerheart is now a part of a Czech / Slovak online magazine called The Merge, so now comes my attempt at translating this into (what should be) my mother tongue! =)

Bezesporu některé z nejkrásnějších míst, které jsem kdy zažila. Kalifornie má takové štěstí v její pestrosti - když jsem tam byla poprvé, byla jsem lyžovat a opalovala se na pláži ve stejném týdnu, a tentokrát jsem jela z větrného San Francisca do pouštních veder v LA! Jejich pobřeží je tak neuvěřitelně krásné, že nám dvouhodinový kus známé Dálnice 1 z Carmel do San Luis Obispo trval pět hodin, jelikož jsem se musela při každé příležitosti zastavit a fotit! Řekla bych také, že některé z mých obdivuhodnějších momentů za volantem se staly na této cestě, jelikož si máma zapomněla řidičák!=P
Mimochodem se Tigerheart stal částí online časopisu The Merge, proto se tedy snažím psát česky! V bližších dnech zde najdete i překlady předchozích článků =)

THIRD CULTURE KIDS

(Planet Earth from the ESA/Hubble, dress from Forever 21)

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might be confused as to where I’m from. Or where I live. With a post from France here, a post from England there, a post from the Czech Republic in between, I don’t blame you. Whilst in LA last week, I stayed with friends we met when I lived in Singapore (excuse me, I’m not making this any less complicated) and they introduced me to a term I had never heard before but recognised myself in immediately: Third Culture Kids.

A Third Culture Kid, or a TCK, is “a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.” (David Pollock, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds).

I don’t think I’ve had such a big “aha!” moment in a while, if ever before. Being half-Czech, half-Vietnamese and having spent my childhood between the Czech Republic, Singapore and the UK, suffice it to say I often have trouble associating with only one, or indeed any of these cultures fully. Equally, some (though by no means all) of my best friends are TCKs, including a Czech raised in America and alternating between the two; an Afghan Canadian who spent her childhood in the Czech Republic; Russians raised in the Czech Republic, now living in England and Switzerland… the list goes on. When people ask me where I’m from, my standard thought in response is I don’t have time to explain. When people ask me where “home” is, I muster up little more than a blank, sometimes confused, expression. I’ve recently taken to just saying the first city / country that pops into my head, which doesn’t really help things either, but people don’t react well when you say “oh, I’m just displaced”. Sometimes I throw in the “you know, citizen of the world!” thing, which can’t help but make one cringe.

But being able to associate with a group of people who are defined by not being able to fully associate with – well, anyone else is somewhat liberating. Not that I’ve ever found my mixed background a disadvantage, much the opposite in fact, and yet the realisation that there is no need to associate with any one culture just feels good.

My mom (who is, ironically, Vietnamese) always tells me off for burning bridges with my Czech roots. I was born in the Czech Republic (and oh lord if you think it’s the same place as Chechnya then so help me) and carry a Czech passport. I spent roughly 2/3 of my childhood there, intermittently. And as much as I’m proud of my Czech roots, I don’t necessarily feel Czech. I don’t always understand the mentality of the Czech people and I have tended toward the international community there. In fact (and if my grandparents are Google translating this then I’m in trouble), I arguably associate with the Czech mentality less than those of other cultures. Being half-Vietnamese I have often come across racial discrimination and just a generally negative attitude toward foreigners – which is especially tough as I’m pretty much a foreigner everywhere.  And I am by no means attributing this to the whole of the Czech population, but I am speaking from experience. I love the Czech Republic for many reasons and I don’t intend to burn bridges, but sometimes it’s just difficult to feel at home there.

In Vietnam on the other hand, I have always been welcomed with a sense of curiosity and openness, despite sticking out like a sore thumb both physically and culturally. Much as I’d like to connect more with my Vietnamese roots though, those western threads are sewn into me and I know I can’t associate fully. What’s more, I’m happy with that. I’m grateful for the opportunities my mom gave me through taking me around the world at a young age. I like speaking a number of languages and being able to find some sense of belonging, if never a profound one, almost anywhere I go.

So my (extremely extended, lengthily worded) point is, TCKs are a thing. And that’s good to know. And if you yourself are a TCK, or if you have a friend who appears to have lived everywhere and seems to act a little odd sometimes, I highly recommend the book Third Culture Kids: Growing Up AmongWorlds (David Pollock, Ruth Van Reken). And for a bit of amusement (especially if you are a TCK), this blog =)

SAN FRANCISCO (PART 2)

The historical trolley ride through San Francisco was such a highlight - it reignited child-like sensations in me that I'd long forgotten, never mind making me question the sanity of the person who decided it would be a good idea to build a city on those ridges. I have no idea what San Franciscans did before the invention of automatic cars - I would have literally died if I had to take those hills on with a gear stick. Cheeky touristy shot with the Golden Gate Bridge at the end - but hey, sometimes being a tourist is fun. Actually, I spend most of my time being a tourist. The advantages of being a mixed background kid =)

SWEET HOME

I've been away from him for a day and I'm already missing this boy. We took this picture sometime in snowy February in our College in Cambridge and I've just had a play with adding feathers in Photoshop =)

P.S. If you have any questions, feel free to use the ask box in the sidebar so that everyone can see the answers>>>> =)