The Summer Seminar Snag
The summer seminar snag and solution might be just what you need. We’ve told you a lot about Transit Lounge and the other cross-cultural transition seminars TCKs can attend this summer. It’s possible that some of them may still have room. However, Transit Lounge is full to overflowing. We don’t have room, but we do have a waiting list. See? A snag.
As much as we love inhabiting the same space as TCKs, we know the one week a year we get to do Transit Lounge doesn’t fit everyone’s schedule. In fact, we’re very aware that it’s possible none of the weeks scheduled throughout the summer for cross-cultural transition seminars fit your schedule.
On top of that, we also know crossing cultures is difficult. Some will be completely fine with the knowledge they have and the wisdom of their communities. Also, we know this isn’t true for everyone. Some TCKs have no one to prepare them for this major change in life stage. Others have had amazing preparation for leaving well, but there’s a gap in their knowledge about entering well. No one’s experiences and education perfectly prepare them for the unknown.
The American world 18 year old TCKs are in the process of entering, is not the world they and their parents left a few years ago. The pandemic caused some tectonic shifts and riffs in the nation that are still being identified and worked with. Normal has yet to emerge from it’s year of hibernation.
There are two more things we know. (Well, at least two more things that we’re going to mention today.) The first is this: we know transition is better when we have community around us to process and anticipate what we experience. Secondly, we’ve learned that virtual community is real and possible.
The Solution: Wayfinder
Wayfinder, Interaction International’s online cross-cultural transition program, is a great solution to the problem of not being able to attend a summer seminar. We meet weekly from mid-September through mid-November. The program focuses on entering American culture well as TCKs are in process of doing it.
Small groups are core to the Wayfinder program. Each group is led by an experienced TCK care specialist as well as a TCK a little further down the American road than the recent high school graduates in the program. There are weekly topics to explore, challenges to conquer, and fun mail to receive. It’s a program like no other.
Wayfinder is a great place to land for those who could not (or would not) attend one of the in-person programs this summer. It’s also perfect for those who want both timely reminders and a community they don’t have to explain their lives to. It doesn’t matter if you spent part of your summer talking about re-entry with others or if you spent that time in the backseat of your parent’s car. Did you have the best pre-departure seminar in the world? It doesn’t matter if you’re starting college, trade school, taking a g Do you have no clue what a pre-departure seminar is? We don’t care if you’re starting college, going to trade school, taking a gap year, or staring at your navel this fall. If you’re a TCK coming to America to stay for a while, Wayfinder is for you.
We look forward to meeting you soon! Journey into Next with us. It’s going to be great. You can register here.