TCI Talks: Elisa Stad on Third-Culture Identity, Heritage, and Belonging

With identities that have evolved over time and place, three Third Culture individuals share how they continue to explore their own culture and heritage.

Elisa Stad

CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR AND PHILANTHROPIST

What kind of Third Culture individual are you?

My mother is Chinese and a Vietnamese refugee; my father is American and Scottish. So, my identity was shaped by two very different histories: my mother’s story of resilience, displacement and survival, and my father’s more traditional American experience.

As a child, we moved every few years—Los Angeles, Hong Kong, the Bay Area, and Boise—each feeling like a different world culturally, politically, and socially. As a child, I learned to adapt, translate, and shift depending on where I was, and as an adult I’ve continued to live in different places: Hong Kong, Paris, San Francisco, and now Santa Barbara.

How important is it to continue exploring your culture, heritage and identity?

It’s very important. Identity isn’t something you figure out once—it’s something you continually shape. As a mother, I feel responsible to stay connected to my roots and be intentional about what I pass down. I explore my heritage by asking questions about my parents’ histories, learning more about Chinese Vietnamese Scottish culture, and honouring the resilience that shaped our family. I also stay engaged with the cultures I’ve lived in through travel, language, food, relationships, and community.

My Buddhist practice is central to this exploration. It provides a cultural and spiritual home where identity feels expansive rather than limiting. For me, exploring heritage isn’t choosing one culture over another; it’s integrating the parts that feel true and carrying them forward consciously.

“For me, exploring heritage isn’t choosing one culture over another; it’s integrating the parts that feel true and carrying them forward consciously”

Is there one item or ritual that best represents your personal culture of exploration?

Tea. No matter where I’ve lived, tea has been a constant. It connects me to my Chinese–Vietnamese heritage: loud dim sum gatherings with my aunts, uncles, and grandparents, or quietly pouring tea at a Buddhist discussion meeting in San Francisco. Tea is experienced differently across cultures but it always slows me down, creates space, and bridges the places I carry with me.