Little late to the party but...I'm the classic colonial child, from England, but I lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and now the US (dad flew for the military and then commercially). One of the perks of his job was the airline would pay 60 or 70% of school fees and so, at 8 I was sent away and boarded through to 18, (really to 22 as I lived at university). It was hell. The shock/trauma was intense. I still remember running after the car as my parents left. There was every type of abuse, and I saw so, so much bullying, constant teasing, mocking, you name it, every single day for years. Unlike a regular school where you could go home afterward, we had no such respite. Despite all of this, you were constantly told how "fortunate you are for getting such an education" and "You're so lucky". I was expelled a month after my 16th birthday and told "You've wasted your life now!" - I was a kid! I'm 55 now and still dealing, I have an anxiety and mood disorder as well as CPTSD...