Having lived in Taipei for 10 years as a missionary (I’m back in the States now), I have a great interest in how cultures cross paths and work through their differences. This happens in the areas of language, religion, global trends, globalization, glocalization, expats, repats, international students, third-culture kids, adoption, culture stress, reverse culture stress, immigration, travel, fast food, and the list goes on. Sometimes it’s a dance, sometimes a battle. Sometimes it affects entire nations, sometimes a single heart.
I am especially interested in the emotional process of adjusting to new cultures, whether that’s brought about by a move to another country or a move back “home.”
Thanks for stopping by,
Craig Thompson
email: craig (at) clearingcustoms.net
Clearing Customs 
Great blog – I’m going to take some time to read back through all the posts! Great title as well.
LikeLike
I’m glad you found some useful stuff here. Come back again.
LikeLike
Since we don’t have team meetings any more I’ll have to take your blog to Starbucks with me instead. :-)
LikeLike
Hey, Jen. Next time you’re there, order a Ralph Machiatto in my honor.
LikeLike
Thanks for the “like”!
Regards,
ISCommunity
LikeLike
thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
Thanks for the visit and the like. Your blog content looks interesting too!
LikeLike
Thanks for returning the favor.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by and “like”ing my blog! I look forward to getting to know your blog. Looks interesting!
LikeLike
And thanks for returning the favor.
LikeLike
Thanks for Like-ing one of my posts! You’ve got quite an interesting blog. Cheers!
LikeLike
And thank you for coming by and leaving a comment.
LikeLike
Hi Craig! Thanks for stopping by – glad you liked our Eating Ministry post… during your time in Taiwan, did you ever have the chance to try Bird Nest Soup yourself?? Hope you’ll come back & share more of our journey, we love to hear from fellow/former expats like yourself who actually KNOW what it’s like out here! :D
LikeLike
Nope, I’ve never had bird’s nest soup, but I’d like to give it a try some day. Thanks.
LikeLike
I am wondering what you are going to do now, back in the USA? I am wondering how your children are going to fare, and how their early life will influence their life choices as they grow and become independent. I hope you will keep blogging; I want to know what comes next :-)
LikeLike
Ahhhh. We are wondering, too. Thanks for dropping by and for the comments.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by my blog and liking one of my posts – it gave me the chance to find your blog, which looks great! I’ll definitely be checking out a bunch of your posts and stopping by again! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
LikeLike
And thanks for coming by here. Stop by again soon.
LikeLike
Hi Craig! I’m really enjoying your blog so I nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award. To find out more, visit http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/. Have a great weekend!
LikeLike
Wow, thanks! I’m not sure I’ll be able to pass it on down the line. I don’t have a list of 15 blogs I’m following yet.
LikeLike
Thanks so much for liking my blog! As a history/anthro major, I really appreciate your world view and I’m looking forward to reading your posts.
LikeLike
Thanks. Hope your studies go well. We need more people with a good understanding of the world.
LikeLike
Hey, Craig, nice to meet you :-) !
LikeLike
Thanks, Brian. Nice to meet you, too. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog.
LikeLike
First, thanks for dropping by the Curmudgeon and ‘liking’ my post about cross-cultural factors in PTSD following childhood sexual abuse.
I had an all expense paid ‘vacation’ in a certain southeast Asian country in the late 60s and learned of the squat there (as well as during an R&R trip to Japan). Japan in particular featured squatty potties and I recall in Viet Nam seeing citizens trying to use the squate on a regular toilet in my compound. My untrained western legs couldn’t quite hit a really good squat but many trtroops learned to use it in general when at rest.
LikeLike
And thank you for dropping by my blog. Certainly the best way to get good at the Asian squat is to start when you are young.
LikeLike
20thpmu
At least you had squat toilets. Where I was stationed in Vietnam, we didn’t even have that. Our urinal, when we had one, was a spent shell casing from a 90 mm cannon shell (open at both ends) pounded into the ground and we were fortunate to have toilets made of plywood with a round hole cut in the top for our rear end and below that was half of a fifty-gallon metal drum with a few inches of diesel fuel in it. In the mornings, we dragged out the filled fifty-gallon metal drums crawling with maggots and set fire to them while sliding in the one that was burned the day before. Away from our base camp and in the field, we didn’t even have that.
LikeLike
Hi Craig, Thanks for reading my blog on living in Granada, Nicaragua. I am looking forward to reading yours. I do think that we can understand each other better by living in different cultures and making the effort to empathize.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Looks like things are interesting for you in Nicaragua. Hope things continue to go well there.
LikeLike
Hi
I have awarded you an award…. check it out
http://expatalien.com/2012/08/20/inspiring-blogs/
LikeLike
Thanks much! I look forward to taking a look at all the other links in your post.
LikeLike
Thanks for the like. Some interesting stuff you have here, no doubt will be useful to a new waiguo ren in Taiwan. Cheers!
LikeLike
And thank you for returning the favor and for your comments. Hope you enjoy Taiwan.
LikeLike
Wow thanks for the like, so are you still working as a missionary in the states too ?
LikeLike
And thank you for stopping by. No, I’m not a missionary but doing my part to help others who are working cross-culturally.
LikeLike
I’m so excited we found each other’s blogs! I read through some of your past posts, and I’m so interested in reading more! Looking forward to following you. Thanks for checking out my blog too. :]
LikeLike
Welcome. I’ve enjoyed your blog, too. Hope you continue to find this one interesting.
LikeLike
Having lived in different countries, especially in India, it is beautiful to witness how many people are stepping outside their comfort zones to explore different cultures. It is this opening that promotes peace. Thanks for your blog…..all the best….
LikeLike
Glad to have you drop by. I like the banner at the top of your blog. We took a similar photo at a black-rock beach on the east coast of Taiwan. It’s the wallpaper on one of our computers
LikeLike
hi Craig – have been off due to glitches in India. Working that out so will be posting more soon. Thanks for checking in….in peace….kai
LikeLike
Enjoyed reading some of your posts:) Very informative and funny.
Thanks for the “like”!
raisinghands.wordpress.com
LikeLike
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
I enjoyed reading some of your recent posts. I was also raised in rural Missouri before experiencing life’s bigger picture.
Thanks for finding and liking my most recent post.
LikeLike
And thanks for stopping by here. Now I’m curious. What part of Missouri?
LikeLike
Hullo, fellow blogger. Homesick and Heatstruck has just been nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and I am now sharing the love… I think your blog is inspiring, well written and thoroughly worth reading, so I have nominated you for the award too: consider yourself a Very Inspiring Blogger! There. Well done. If you would like to accept the award, click on the following link to read the rules and the post in which you are listed: http://homesickandheatstruck.com/about/ Of course, you don’t have to do anything at all if you don’t want to. No one can make you. Cheerio, and congratulations for receiving the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Keep up the bloody good blogging.
LikeLike
Thanks, I’m honored. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog, too.
LikeLike
Hi Craig thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m really enjoying reading through yours! Love the title!
LikeLike
Welcome. Glad to find your blog. Always good to hear more expat points of view.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by my travel blog Travel By Terry. I am glad you enjoyed the post “Missionary Travel: You Render Service, We Provide Support” http://wp.me/p2vQmR-B2. I look forward to checking our your blog.
LikeLike
Thank you. Good to see what you’ve written.
LikeLike
Love the blog – Thanks for being so candid, it’s super refreshing!
LikeLike
And thank you for the kind words.
LikeLike
I’ve added your blog to my TCK blogs to follow, and posted your article on Vince Mahe to the Facebook TCKid group. Always nice to meet a fellow TCK.
LikeLike
Thanks for helping me get the word out. I’m actually not a TCK myself, but I am the father of five of them.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by and liking our blog post. One of the things I love about travelling is experiencing new cultures and learning about the different ways people live, so I really like the concept of your blog. Some great posts here!
LikeLike
And thanks for returning the favor. Hope you stop by often.
LikeLike
Hey, thanks for reading/liking my blog about my faux pas here in Taiwan. I enjoyed reading your fast food outlets overseas posting just now. By the way, Dunkin Donuts closed up entirely here a few months ago and the few Burger Kings we had, at least in Kaohsiung, closed down last month. I agree with the chap you mentioned who said Taco Bell wouldn’t do well here. I also liked the idea of having the Pitt Pal program you wrote about. I once worked tutoring international students at the U of MN, and I believe there were many similar issues they faced. Anyway, I appreciate the read! Keep up the posts!
Cheers,
MJB in KHH
LikeLike
Thanks for the visit and the comment. If there’s one constant about restaurants and storefronts in Taiwan, it’s that quick and constant change is inevitable.
LikeLike
Thank you for stopping by my blog. When it’s a dance, remember to listen to the music!
LikeLike
And thank you for returning the favor.
LikeLike
What a well-written, thoughtful About! This seems like a great gather place of interesting ideas and perspectives. Well done! xLaura
LikeLike
And what a nice compliment. Thanks for your encouraging words.
LikeLike
Thank you for stopping by my blog – glad you liked my post about an especially difficult question you may be asked by your child. I enjoy reading about your cross-cultural observations!
LikeLike
Thanks, Rita. I’ve enjoyed your blog, too. There’s so much to learn about raising multilingual kids.
LikeLike
Hi Craig and thanks for the like on A Place in the World. I see from your blog we have lots in common – I’m going to follow you. Happy Thanksgiving – the best holiday we’ve ever come up with!
LikeLike
Just noticed that I never replied to you. So in case you stop by again, thanks for the comment and the follow.
LikeLike
Hi, thanks for liking my blog. Your blog is really interesting! Having just moved back to the UK after living in Asia, I am suffering from reverse culture shock, at the moment I’m caught somewhere between the two. I look forward to reading your future posts!
LikeLike
Thanks, Sarah. Reverse culture shock is no fun, but it is normal, though you probably don’t feel too “normal” right now. Hang in there.
LikeLike
Hi Craig, thanks for liking my recent post and adjusting to village life in Spain. I really appreciate it! It led me to check out your blog, which I’m finding very interesting and relevant. Keep it up! :)
LikeLike
You’re welcome, and thanks for stopping by here. I hope the adjustment continues to go well.
LikeLike
Excited to discover you and your ministry, Craig. (A ministry, indeed.) Blessings as you lead and serve!
LikeLike
Thanks, Patricia, for the affirmation. I appreciate your kind words and encouragement. And thank you for -your- ministry.
LikeLike
Thank you for your *like* Craig – I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing. I wasn’t a 3rd culture kid, but my children are, and we have lots more transition ahead. I’ll be following your blog with interest. MLM x
LikeLike
Glad you stopped by. I’m happy to have found your blog. Blessings in raising the TCKs – transitions, transitions, transition.
LikeLike
As someone who lived a nomadic life for 20 years growing up, the most difficult transition has been staying in the United States for the next 43!
LikeLike
Yes, transitioning to fewer transitions can be a big change in itself. Thanks!
LikeLike