Nonetheless, he hesitated longer to return to his Luxembourg life after finishing school in 2004. When he turned 18, he applied for Luxembourg citizenship, although at the time it meant giving up his Belgian passport. His grand-parents, originally from Belgium and Germany, first moved to the Grand Duchy, which his parents also call home. Challenges for integration include not only the language, but also school schedules that don't match the Luxembourg system for after-school activities.Ĭoupled with a certain reticence on the side of the locals to take the initiative to get to know their international neighbours, “there is hardly any point of contact,” said Alexander, a third-generation Luxembourg resident. “It assumes that people stay for a few years and then leave, but many don't,” he said. And while they have started the procedure to get dual citizenship, Matilde and Valeria seem unsure whether this piece of paper will make them feel any more “Lëtzebuergesch” than they do now.įor Alexander von Debschitz, a former German section student, there is a flaw in the system. Not having learnt Luxembourgish at school, the young women said it was challenging to make a start and build relationships with the locals.Īlthough they have called Luxembourg “home” all their lives, there are times when they are still made to feel like foreigners, they said, for example when job searching without a Luxembourg passport or during legislative elections, which neither can take part in. “It was a bubble.” Breaking out of that bubble is difficult, even as an adult, Matilde and Valeria have found. “Already at school, it was an 'us' and 'them' situation,” she reflected. “My roots are in Luxembourg,” said Matilde, but at the same time, she does not feel 100 percent like a Luxembourger. Both born here, they know the country of their parents as a holiday destination where you go to visit family. Ten years after graduating from the Kirchberg institution, a number of its alumni have made their way back to the Grand Duchy.īut what draws these third culture kids back to Luxembourg?įor Matilde Fernandes, who studied in the Portuguese section, and Valeria the answer is a simple one – Luxembourg is home. What raises eyebrows elsewhere in the world is commonplace in Luxembourg, especially for students at the country's international schools, such as the European School. “My friends at university just didn't understand,” said Valeria Cazzetta, speaking to /en, “that I am Italian, but born in Luxembourg and studying in France.”
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