As a military child, growing up in various places is not out of the ordinary. I moved a total of 12 times before my dad retired from the Marine Corps. Two of the places I moved to were outside of the United States: Okinawa, Japan, and Stuttgart, Germany. After moving back to the U.S., I kept getting asked the same questions. So, here are the answers…
Q: Did people at your schools speak English?
A: I lived on American bases in the countries my family was stationed in, so everyone spoke English at school. At my elementary and middle school in Japan, we had culture and language classes where we were taught Japanese traditions and common phrases. Those classes, and all the others, were taught in English because pretty much every student was an American child.
In Germany, I took German language classes for the three years I lived there, but that was pretty much the extent of hearing the native language in my school. This topic brings me to my next most asked question which is…
Q: Do you know how to speak German/Japanese?
A: Unfortunately no. Even though I took German for three years, all of the language has left my brain. I can read and understand very basic German, but that’s it. Once I moved back to the U.S., there weren’t any opportunities for me to practice the language. As for Japanese, I learned how to say “please” and “thank you” and that was it. Sorry to disappoint.
Q: Did you like living outside the U.S.?
A: I did! While I was abroad, I never really got homesick because I didn’t have a designated home in the U.S. I did miss Chick-fil-A while I was in Germany simply because of the sauce. When I visited the U.S. for three weeks in the summer, I brought back handfuls of Chick-fil-A sauce to share with my friends. So, I missed the brands and fast food chains more than the country itself. In fact, I have begun to miss some of my favorite restaurants and stores from Germany and Japan. People assume I would’ve missed the U.S. terribly as a kid, but I really didn’t since each place felt like home.
I also had many opportunities to travel while I lived abroad. We had many long weekends at my schools on base so my parents always had a trip planned.
Q: Was it hard to make friends?
A: Making friends on American bases is much easier than making friends at public schools in the U.S. Everyone on American bases is new to the area so no one has long-term friends. I was also surrounded by kids with similar living situations so it made me feel more comfortable. My peers in the U.S. already had long-term friends and many were not interested in adding someone new to their group. Learning to make friends in a new environment is definitely a skill I’m glad I gained.
Q: How is an American military base different from normal housing?
A: First of all, our housing is surrounded by fences and barbed wire. I also had to show the military police my ID every time I wanted to come back to the base. The oddest thing by far was standing up to do the pledge of allegiance right before the film at the movie theater started. But other than that, the bases allowed me and my friends to have more independence and freedom. Everything was within walking distance and we were safely enclosed in one area.
Growing up in a military family was unique in many aspects, but I would not have wanted my childhood to be any other way.