hello there, i'm Nettra (pronounced according to spelling: net + tra = nettra).
i'm a global nomad and digital native currently based in Paris. i was born in California, raised in Phnom Penh and loved my three years in New York City.
i am a recovering political scientist keen on helping diverse stakeholders work together towards sustainable solutions to poverty. learning about the impact of technology, entrepreneurship and creativity on society is what gives me energy.
this tumblr helps me keep track of things which have happened to me, as well as the interesting, funny, inspiring and beautiful links i find this on this internet odyssey (read more).
for something more focused and structured (i.e., without photos of cute animals), you may like to browse my online art portfolio or visit my website. you can also find me on twitter, ask me a question or feed my fish.
Kant Help Me by Nettra Pan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Material posted here is my own, unless otherwise stated.
If you find your content here and would like me to remove or attribute it to you, please let me know and I would be happy to oblige.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
3 Types of Expatriates
I’m considering a real expatriate move for the first time in my life. Very interesting to read these three “archetypes” from @rachelpiehjones (via @denizenmag)
Un beau discours de la charmante @anjuli928, une camarade de classe.
Funny and authentic. Privileged to take classes with this future leader.
Love seeing other Third Culture Kids spread the love. Reminds me of my own (multi)culture and helps me stay grounded.
One of my favorite #TED talks is by Devdutt Pattanaik Myths of the East vs West. Love his humor and the skill with which he ties business and mythology together.
Perhaps because I do see myself as a mix of Western European, Anglosaxon and (Southeast) Asian cultures (Cambodian culture in particular has been heaving influenced by Indian culture — my name is a Sanskrit word). I am inspired and try to live by a hodgepodge of the different philosophies. The lines are not as clear as you would think (try to read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations without thinking of Buddhism.)
Was reminded of this talk after re-watching Susan Cain’s talk on introverts. The West inherits the outgoing salesman as the ideal role model. She encourages to unplug and think independently.
At the end of 2012 I started making alone time a ritual, and it has been so hard. It’s difficult to prioritize your health sometimes by saying no to people. It’s also easy to fall into rhythms and habits with others. I would like to make that quiet time within myself less intimidating.
But then again, I still have time :) or as Devdutt Pattanaik might indicate: *Indian headshake.*
Yet home need not always be a place. It can be a territory, a relationship, a craft, a way of expression. Home is an experience of belonging, a feeling of being whole and known, sometimes too close for comfort. It’s those attachments that liberate us more than they constrain. As the expression suggests, home is where we are from — the place where we begin to be
Must read piece from @gpetriglieri on global nomads and leadership.
(via Moving Around Without Losing Your Roots - Gianpiero Petriglieri - Harvard Business Review)
though some of this is involuntary and tragic—the number of refugees in the world, which came to just 2.5 million in 1970, is now at least 27.4 million—it does involve, for some of us, the chance to be transnational in a happier sense, able to adapt anywhere, used to being outsiders everywhere and forced to fashion our own rigorous sense of home. (And if nowhere is quite home, we can be optimists everywhere.)
Pico Iyer in his wonderful essay on traveling, still relevant today. http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-stories/why-we-travel-20081213/
So Where’s Home? A Film About Third Culture Kid Identity cc @taroush
Thanks Kim and Shuntaro for sharing!
I’m not the classic TCK… but then again, are there classic TCKs? I totally feel at home at an aiport too. I have some of my warmest memories at airports.
This is quite amusing!
I’ve seen a lot of good accent imitations but this guy takes the cake. After he imitated a couple of accents, I thought he was pretty accurate and believed that the show was over, but was I wrong! He continues to impress and surprise throughout the vid - outrageous stuff! Although there’s some explicit language here, I had to share given his talent and the diplomatic introduction and conclusion.
Watch this! You’ll be amazed!
The English Language In 24 Accents (via Truseneye92)
First of all, this kid is adorable. And talented.
Second of all- if I could speak in those accents I would never take any conversation seriously ever again. Especially at work.
(via thefoush)
Obama's 'Third Culture' Team - The Daily Beast
Interesting read. Obama’s team definitely has an interesting composition.
You know you’re a global nomad when…
you start calling cities by their airport code. (via denizenmag)
Very true!
If foursquare was around back then, I imagine I would be the only 10-year-old in the running for mayor of:
- BKK
- PNH
- LAX
- CDG
Recently, I also took a lot of trips from college via LGA and JFK.
The craziest flight path I ever took was in the summer of 2009:
LGA - YYZ - CDG - HEL - BKK - PNH - BKK - HEL - CDG - YYZ - LGA
At the end of that summer, I flew the equivalent of the Earth’s hemisphere…
I need to start offsetting my carbon footprint…
Don’t just go into something because you like to be doing something good. It’s important to discover what you really care about.
Mari Kuraishi responds to the question: What advice would you give to TCKs who want to succeed in a non-profit organization?
Reminds me of Howard Thurman’s quote:
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
- Howard Thurman
(1900-1981) minister, educator, civil rights leader
(via Third Culture Kid | I’m a TCK and the president of a global nonprofit | Denizen)
