American | Surinamese
I identify as a Surinamese-Dutch American, a Global Nomad and a White -Mixed (Irish, French, Dutch, Chinese, Indian) Atheist. My Mom is Suriname and my Dad is American. They met in Suriname on a blind date! As a diplomat’s daughter, I essentially grew up in 4 cultures at a time: American, Surinamese-Dutch, Diplomatic, and whatever country I lived in. There’s a term for this called: ‘Third Culture Kid’; where your parents are from 2 different cultures, but you grow-up in a culture different from theirs. I kind of don’t have a home anywhere but have a home everywhere; and I love that.
Growing up we visited Suriname almost once a year but being part of the American Embassy culture going to international schools, I also retained a strong sense of my American self. I managed to have the two cultures side-by-side quite easily. I think my parents made sure to show the popular culture of these places and have me understand where I came from. I am very lucky that my parents really gave me a strong sense of my cultural self. For example, I grew up celebrating Sinterklaas, Christmas, Halloween, & Thanksgiving, but I would also get introduced to international holidays and the local holidays of whatever country I lived in. I think for me what was always interesting growing up was to see the difference of family dynamics growing up. My Mom’s side resembled a South American family – your extended family was 40+ people - you knew everyone from your cousin to your cousin’s cousin and so on - but then, you don’t really know how you’re related to everyone, you just are related.
My Dad’s family is a more typical American structure. He’s one of 7, but we keep things to the 1st cousin level, but it’s still a unit. I feel blessed to have such a wide-ranging family and family types. It’s allowed me to connect to so many people of so many different backgrounds - and I would not have been able to do that, had I not grown up interacting with them as much as I did.
If I had the opportunity to be reborn I don’t think I’d want to be anything different. I love who I am.
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