Geopats Abroad : Chats with expats, immigrants, and locals Sat, 12 Sep 2026 04:09:20 -0400 https://geopats.buzzsprout.com en © 2026 2017-2026 @ All Rights Reserved Stephanie Fuccio yes d1236a6e-752f-485a-89ea-38f1a46dc445 stephfuccio@gmail.com Stephanie Fuccio | Expat of 20+ years episodic false Geopats Abroad is about what helps us feel grounded while in our life abroad. 


For eight years of my serial expat life, I interviewed people about the things that helped them understand, adjust to, and feel more connected to the places they were living.


The original Geopats Abroad podcast ended in 2022, but the conversations still hold up. This Substack is where I’m bringing that archive back to life.


Living Abroad, Culture, Identity, and Belonging

I’m tidying up the older episodes to make them easier to find and listen to because more and more people are making the leap to living outside their passport country. In these conversations, you’ll find stories from expats, immigrants, international students, long-term travelers, and people whose lives don’t fit neatly into one place.


The driving force of the podcast is my own curiosity and desire to connect with other internationals globally. This isn’t just an audio project, a podcast, a YouTube channel, or a Substack. It’s a very personal project. It’s part of who I am and who I was while recording these conversations.


Some episodes are practical. Others are deeply personal. Most explore the small and big things that help us make sense of a new place and feel more at home in it.

What Geopats Abroad Explores


Each season of Geopats Abroad approaches getting comfortable in our new places from a different angle.


Season 1: Guests looked back at something they had written during an earlier period of living abroad, including emails, blog posts, and social media posts, and reflected on how they saw that experience differently later.


Seasons 2 and 3: Language learning. Season 2 focused on foreigners learning Mandarin Chinese, while Season 3 featured native Chinese speakers talking about learning English and other languages.


Seasons 4 and 5: Online communities that helped people feel more connected and at home in a new place.


Season 6: Books that helped people understand the places they were living in.


Season 7: Conversations about learning languages other than Chinese.


Season 8: Coffee and the role it can play in connecting to a place.


Season 9: Podcasting globally: how it’s similar and different. And of course, how it can connect us to each other in our new culture. 


Season 10: A mixed season covering music, photography, returning home, and other parts of life abroad.


Season 11: Immigrant kids who later became expats, exploring how growing up between cultures shaped the way they experienced living abroad as adults.


About Stephanie Fuccio: Serial Expat Since 2003

I’m Stephanie Fuccio. I’ve mostly been living and working outside the U.S. since 2003 and have lived in Asia, Latin America, and Europe during this time.

My own experiences with culture shock, identity, belonging, language, and building a life abroad shaped many of the questions behind Geopats Abroad.

The podcast grew from my curiosity about what helps people feel grounded in a new place, how we build connection far from where we started, and how living abroad changes the way we understand home, culture, identity, and ourselves.

Geopats is my ongoing archive of those conversations.


]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) expat, geopat, live abroad, go abroad, live overseas Stephanie Fuccio | Expat of 20+ years stephfuccio@gmail.com https://storage.buzzsprout.com/3jbynupp2dpozc4xv6cz4g1r2gfh?.jpg Geopats Abroad : Chats with expats, immigrants, and locals https://geopats.buzzsprout.com Stephanie Fuccio A German American Household & Life Abroad in China and Thailand: S11E4 A German American Household & Life Abroad in China and Thailand: S11E4 Send us Fan Mail

Can growing up with an immigrant parent change the way you experience life abroad as an adult? Chelsea grew up in Tennessee with a German mother, then built an expat life in Asia, giving her a new perspective on what immigrant parents pass on to their children.

Listen for:

  • How children of immigrants can experience expat life
  • How assimilation affects heritage language and cultural identity
  • What culture shock reveals about adapting abroad
  • How living abroad can change how adult children understand immigrant parents
  • Why some Americans choose long-term expat life
  • How third-culture kids develop identity across cultures

How Can Growing Up as the Child of an Immigrant Shape Expat Life?

Growing up with an immigrant parent can make life abroad feel possible because another country is already part of family life. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Chelsea describes growing up in Clarksville, Tennessee, with an American father and a German mother from Aachen. Her family traveled to Germany about every two years, often staying for a month, making international travel and cultural differences familiar before Chelsea became an expat.

After graduating with a history degree in 2010, Chelsea started questioning whether restaurant work or a conventional desk job suited her. Teaching English abroad let her test a teaching career while seeing more of the world. Chelsea moved to Nanjing, China, in 2011, beginning a decade abroad. Her immigrant-family background didn’t prepare her for every challenge, but it made living outside the United States feel imaginable.

How Can Living Abroad Change the Way Adult Children Understand Immigrant Parents and Assimilation?

Living abroad can make an immigrant parent’s culture shock easier to understand because the adult child finally experiences being the outsider. In Geopats Abroad, Chelsea explains that her German mother moved to the United States without speaking English and focused on assimilation. She eventually chose English rather than German as the family language, although German food such as schnitzel, Jäger sauce, cucumber salad, and goulash remained part of Chelsea’s childhood.

Chelsea’s perspective changed when her mother visited her in China. Chelsea could speak enough Chinese to manage daily life, and people in her neighborhood knew her. Watching her mother become the confused newcomer helped Chelsea reinterpret childhood conflicts about why their family did things differently. Chelsea realized that she and her mother had once been learning how to be American at the same time, only at different ages. Expat life gave Chelsea a new understanding of assimilation, culture shock, and what her mother had navigated while raising children in the United States.

How Do Expat Parents Raise Third-Culture Kids Across Countries, Languages, and Cultures?

Expat parents can raise third-culture kids by making room for several languages, cultures, and identities at once. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Chelsea had moved from Shanghai to Bangkok for a three-year international-school contract. Her 18-month-old daughter had been born in China and was beginning life in Thailand.

Chelsea is American with German family roots, while her husband is from Cameroon, a French-speaking country. They were considering teaching their daughter French, but Chelsea didn’t want to prescribe one cultural identity. She wants her daughter to keep what feels meaningful from the cultures around her and communicate comfortably with people from different backgrounds. Chelsea’s immigrant-family history and expat life shape how she approaches raising a third-culture child across countries.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Tennessee | Clarksville | Aachen | Germany | Nanjing | China | Shanghai | Bangkok | Thailand | Cameroon | immigrant parents | children of immigrants | assimilation | heritage language | cultural identity | culture shock | expat life | living abroad | third-culture kids

Original publication date: August 27, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Can growing up with an immigrant parent change the way you experience life abroad as an adult? Chelsea grew up in Tennessee with a German mother, then built an expat life in Asia, giving her a new perspective on what immigrant parents pass on to their children.

Listen for:

  • How children of immigrants can experience expat life
  • How assimilation affects heritage language and cultural identity
  • What culture shock reveals about adapting abroad
  • How living abroad can change how adult children understand immigrant parents
  • Why some Americans choose long-term expat life
  • How third-culture kids develop identity across cultures

How Can Growing Up as the Child of an Immigrant Shape Expat Life?

Growing up with an immigrant parent can make life abroad feel possible because another country is already part of family life. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Chelsea describes growing up in Clarksville, Tennessee, with an American father and a German mother from Aachen. Her family traveled to Germany about every two years, often staying for a month, making international travel and cultural differences familiar before Chelsea became an expat.

After graduating with a history degree in 2010, Chelsea started questioning whether restaurant work or a conventional desk job suited her. Teaching English abroad let her test a teaching career while seeing more of the world. Chelsea moved to Nanjing, China, in 2011, beginning a decade abroad. Her immigrant-family background didn’t prepare her for every challenge, but it made living outside the United States feel imaginable.

How Can Living Abroad Change the Way Adult Children Understand Immigrant Parents and Assimilation?

Living abroad can make an immigrant parent’s culture shock easier to understand because the adult child finally experiences being the outsider. In Geopats Abroad, Chelsea explains that her German mother moved to the United States without speaking English and focused on assimilation. She eventually chose English rather than German as the family language, although German food such as schnitzel, Jäger sauce, cucumber salad, and goulash remained part of Chelsea’s childhood.

Chelsea’s perspective changed when her mother visited her in China. Chelsea could speak enough Chinese to manage daily life, and people in her neighborhood knew her. Watching her mother become the confused newcomer helped Chelsea reinterpret childhood conflicts about why their family did things differently. Chelsea realized that she and her mother had once been learning how to be American at the same time, only at different ages. Expat life gave Chelsea a new understanding of assimilation, culture shock, and what her mother had navigated while raising children in the United States.

How Do Expat Parents Raise Third-Culture Kids Across Countries, Languages, and Cultures?

Expat parents can raise third-culture kids by making room for several languages, cultures, and identities at once. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Chelsea had moved from Shanghai to Bangkok for a three-year international-school contract. Her 18-month-old daughter had been born in China and was beginning life in Thailand.

Chelsea is American with German family roots, while her husband is from Cameroon, a French-speaking country. They were considering teaching their daughter French, but Chelsea didn’t want to prescribe one cultural identity. She wants her daughter to keep what feels meaningful from the cultures around her and communicate comfortably with people from different backgrounds. Chelsea’s immigrant-family history and expat life shape how she approaches raising a third-culture child across countries.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Tennessee | Clarksville | Aachen | Germany | Nanjing | China | Shanghai | Bangkok | Thailand | Cameroon | immigrant parents | children of immigrants | assimilation | heritage language | cultural identity | culture shock | expat life | living abroad | third-culture kids

Original publication date: August 27, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-11212254 Thu, 25 Aug 2022 05:00:00 +0200 2291 full true Life Abroad in Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Mexico After Growing Up In A Chilean American Household:: S11E3 Life Abroad in Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Mexico After Growing Up In A Chilean American Household:: S11E3 Send us Fan Mail

How much do our immigrant parents impact our adult expat experiences? This is what we're exploring in this conversation with return guest Alison. 

Alison and I dig into growing up with two unequal cultures in one household,  the racial struggles she's seen in many countries during her years living outside of her passport country of the U.S. and her coming to terms with the differences between her mother's immigrant experience and her own expat life. 

Original publication date: August 26, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

How much do our immigrant parents impact our adult expat experiences? This is what we're exploring in this conversation with return guest Alison. 

Alison and I dig into growing up with two unequal cultures in one household,  the racial struggles she's seen in many countries during her years living outside of her passport country of the U.S. and her coming to terms with the differences between her mother's immigrant experience and her own expat life. 

Original publication date: August 26, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-11207517 Thu, 18 Aug 2022 05:00:00 +0200 2600 expat, geopat, immigrant full true From Immigrant Roots to Expat Life: Growing Up with Immigrant Parents and Living Abroad: S11E2 From Immigrant Roots to Expat Life: Growing Up with Immigrant Parents and Living Abroad: S11E2 Send us Fan Mail

Questions about family can be triggering if the experience was not ideal. This is one of the reasons that Steph's talked about her family in tiny drips here and there but not in depth. But it felt disingenuous to ask other expats to open up about their early family life growing up with immigrant parents without diving into these experiences herself. So to help with this tabled turned interview, Melissa was kind enough to hop in and guide the conversation.

Melissa's podcast: Tired In My Twenties: https://tiredtwenties.substack.com/

Original publication date: August 29, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Questions about family can be triggering if the experience was not ideal. This is one of the reasons that Steph's talked about her family in tiny drips here and there but not in depth. But it felt disingenuous to ask other expats to open up about their early family life growing up with immigrant parents without diving into these experiences herself. So to help with this tabled turned interview, Melissa was kind enough to hop in and guide the conversation.

Melissa's podcast: Tired In My Twenties: https://tiredtwenties.substack.com/

Original publication date: August 29, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-11221793 Thu, 11 Aug 2022 05:00:00 +0200 2509 full true Montreal to Shanghai: A Greek Canadian Expat Story: S11E1 Montreal to Shanghai: A Greek Canadian Expat Story: S11E1 Send us Fan Mail

Have your immigrant parents ever visited you in any of your expat places? Georges' parents have and it shifted how he understood their struggles moving from Greece to Canada. We cover a lot more ground on his parents' immigrant story and how it has both positively and negatively influenced his own expat experience. 

Original publication date: July 28, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Have your immigrant parents ever visited you in any of your expat places? Georges' parents have and it shifted how he understood their struggles moving from Greece to Canada. We cover a lot more ground on his parents' immigrant story and how it has both positively and negatively influenced his own expat experience. 

Original publication date: July 28, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-11214068 Thu, 04 Aug 2022 05:00:00 +0200 2724 expat, immigrant, China, Greece, Italy, US, Canada full false Damon Castillo on Making Music, Letting Go, and Creating for Others: S10E5 Damon Castillo on Making Music, Letting Go, and Creating for Others: S10E5 Send us Fan Mail

This episode is really special for me. Last month for NaPodPoMo I had the extreme pleasure of chatting with Damon Castillo for this episode. Yes, THE Damon Castillo of the Mess of Me album that we've been using for the past 2 years in all of the Geopats Podcast Network shows. We talk about the longevity of the Damon Castillo Band, his geopatness, my favorite song on the Mess of Me Album (Saint Cecilia), his recording studio in San Luis Obispo, what music he listens to and some creative struggles. In short, we cover the elements that make up the language of music, lovely, lovely music. 

Original publication date: December 24, 2020

Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This episode is really special for me. Last month for NaPodPoMo I had the extreme pleasure of chatting with Damon Castillo for this episode. Yes, THE Damon Castillo of the Mess of Me album that we've been using for the past 2 years in all of the Geopats Podcast Network shows. We talk about the longevity of the Damon Castillo Band, his geopatness, my favorite song on the Mess of Me Album (Saint Cecilia), his recording studio in San Luis Obispo, what music he listens to and some creative struggles. In short, we cover the elements that make up the language of music, lovely, lovely music. 

Original publication date: December 24, 2020

Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio f9c0da3f-2795-486c-8dbb-af5e2a5bf79f Thu, 10 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0100 2025 full true What It Feels Like to Return to Japan as a Japanese American: S10E4 What It Feels Like to Return to Japan as a Japanese American: S10E4 Send us Fan Mail

Ken Hirano was born in Japan but his family moved to the U.S. before he started school. He returned to Japan to live a few times in his life, and now is one of them. He moved back to Tokyo about a year ago and recently (wrote a post on LinkedIn) on this geographic anniversary about his cultural and language identity. And that is what we are digging into today. 

This identity path took us through how he feels in different languages, why he feels more simple and defenseless in Japanese than English, how Japanese locals versus expats in Japan treat his Japanese & Americanness and where he is the most comfortable. Spoiler: none of these issues have a clearly defined answer and that is what made this nuanced discussion with Ken so interesting to have.  

Original publication date: September 28, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Ken Hirano was born in Japan but his family moved to the U.S. before he started school. He returned to Japan to live a few times in his life, and now is one of them. He moved back to Tokyo about a year ago and recently (wrote a post on LinkedIn) on this geographic anniversary about his cultural and language identity. And that is what we are digging into today. 

This identity path took us through how he feels in different languages, why he feels more simple and defenseless in Japanese than English, how Japanese locals versus expats in Japan treat his Japanese & Americanness and where he is the most comfortable. Spoiler: none of these issues have a clearly defined answer and that is what made this nuanced discussion with Ken so interesting to have.  

Original publication date: September 28, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5c2b565f-8bcf-4c59-adf1-cbec15b7753a Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:00:00 +0100 2476 full true California to Prague: Building an Online Life Across Countries: S10E3 California to Prague: Building an Online Life Across Countries: S10E3 Send us Fan Mail

Alison Maciejewski made me think long and hard about food photos in our shifting expat lives. How does our wanderlust come through online?  But the conversation is not all serious, we have some fun comparing emoji options on Line (in Thailand) and WeChat (in China), what and where “ugly delicious food” is, and how using teen dramas are a good way to learn the Thai language.

original publication date: December 13, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Alison Maciejewski made me think long and hard about food photos in our shifting expat lives. How does our wanderlust come through online?  But the conversation is not all serious, we have some fun comparing emoji options on Line (in Thailand) and WeChat (in China), what and where “ugly delicious food” is, and how using teen dramas are a good way to learn the Thai language.

original publication date: December 13, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8bda9ac4-3b85-4a60-9189-feeb9b9eaa42 Thu, 13 Jan 2022 05:00:00 +0100 4609 full false A Welsh Expat in Denmark: The Album That Helped Him Settle In: S10E2 A Welsh Expat in Denmark: The Album That Helped Him Settle In: S10E2 Send us Fan Mail

Has a song ever carried you through a rough time in your life? That's exactly what happened to British international Karl when he moved to Denmark. 

original publication date: November 12, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Has a song ever carried you through a rough time in your life? That's exactly what happened to British international Karl when he moved to Denmark. 

original publication date: November 12, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 506259ac-7981-4e03-862a-eeaa3cf8863e Thu, 30 Dec 2021 05:00:00 +0100 4162 Denmark, music, expat, immigrant, live abroad, move abroad, UK full false Thomas Sandfield on Street Photography, Culture Shock, and His First Year in Hong Kong: S10E1 Thomas Sandfield on Street Photography, Culture Shock, and His First Year in Hong Kong: S10E1 Send us Fan Mail

Can you imagine taking 35,000 photos in one year? Photographer Thomas Sandfield did this his first year in Hong Kong. Join us on this Expat Rewind show for a flashback to this first year as an expat for Thomas and all the flicker fun he had.

Original publication date: September 4, 2018

Thomas Sandfield: https://www.instagram.com/thomassandfield

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Can you imagine taking 35,000 photos in one year? Photographer Thomas Sandfield did this his first year in Hong Kong. Join us on this Expat Rewind show for a flashback to this first year as an expat for Thomas and all the flicker fun he had.

Original publication date: September 4, 2018

Thomas Sandfield: https://www.instagram.com/thomassandfield

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio eb75554d-d4fb-4496-8dc4-ee3e5dfe462b Thu, 16 Dec 2021 05:00:00 +0100 6195 full false Early podcasting in Spain and the UK with Pilar Orti and Craig Wealand: S9E4 Early podcasting in Spain and the UK with Pilar Orti and Craig Wealand: S9E4 Send us Fan Mail

Language podcaster Craig is from the UK but has been podcasting in Spain for many years. Alternatively business podcaster Pilar has the opposite geographical podcasting experience being from Spain and podcasting from the UK for a long time. And yet they found each other and created a podcast about the scene in Spain some years ago. In this conversation with Craig and Pilar we dig into what they learned about podcasting in these two countries, how the space has changed since their podcast was live and how indy podcasting differs from business podcasting. These two folks are knowledgeable and are tapped into the space in a passion led way so there's a lot to learn from them. Let's get to it!

Pilar's podcast: Adventures in Podcasting

Craig's podcast: Inglespodcast

Their podcast on the Spanish podcasting space: https://enclavedepodcast.wordpress.com/

Original publication date: July 22, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Language podcaster Craig is from the UK but has been podcasting in Spain for many years. Alternatively business podcaster Pilar has the opposite geographical podcasting experience being from Spain and podcasting from the UK for a long time. And yet they found each other and created a podcast about the scene in Spain some years ago. In this conversation with Craig and Pilar we dig into what they learned about podcasting in these two countries, how the space has changed since their podcast was live and how indy podcasting differs from business podcasting. These two folks are knowledgeable and are tapped into the space in a passion led way so there's a lot to learn from them. Let's get to it!

Pilar's podcast: Adventures in Podcasting

Craig's podcast: Inglespodcast

Their podcast on the Spanish podcasting space: https://enclavedepodcast.wordpress.com/

Original publication date: July 22, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-12711092 Thu, 18 Nov 2021 05:00:00 +0100 2176 full false Expat Life in Nepal, Two Americans on Podcasting and Kathmandu: S9E3 Expat Life in Nepal, Two Americans on Podcasting and Kathmandu: S9E3 Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live, work, and podcast in Kathmandu, Nepal, this episode are for you!

Big & White, their podcasting nicknames, are two American Linguists who, until very recently were living in Nepal and creating a rather hilarious audio account of their daily lives. Their episodes covered much of what expat podcasts cover like food, weather, language, and cultural differences but there is an extra kick to their podcast. Their connection and how they bounce off each other is so much fun to listen to. This is the main reason I became a fan of The Big & White Podcast in the first place and definitely why I asked to interview them for the show.

Don't worry, we also talk about podcasting bits like technology, social media, podcast learning curve, editing, audience feedback, Nepali podcasts, guests, and advice for new Podcasters also. But this conversation is a bit more free-flowing than some of the other Geopats Podcasting episodes because we dipped into some of their content topics too like their visual stickoutness in Nepal (thus the name of the podcast), weight lifting and so much more.

And since they are Linguists that were doing field work all over Nepal, there is an episode coming on Geopats Language podcast with that geeking out aspect as well.

Original publication date: January 19, 2021

Big and White podcast: https://pod.link/1425627430

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live, work, and podcast in Kathmandu, Nepal, this episode are for you!

Big & White, their podcasting nicknames, are two American Linguists who, until very recently were living in Nepal and creating a rather hilarious audio account of their daily lives. Their episodes covered much of what expat podcasts cover like food, weather, language, and cultural differences but there is an extra kick to their podcast. Their connection and how they bounce off each other is so much fun to listen to. This is the main reason I became a fan of The Big & White Podcast in the first place and definitely why I asked to interview them for the show.

Don't worry, we also talk about podcasting bits like technology, social media, podcast learning curve, editing, audience feedback, Nepali podcasts, guests, and advice for new Podcasters also. But this conversation is a bit more free-flowing than some of the other Geopats Podcasting episodes because we dipped into some of their content topics too like their visual stickoutness in Nepal (thus the name of the podcast), weight lifting and so much more.

And since they are Linguists that were doing field work all over Nepal, there is an episode coming on Geopats Language podcast with that geeking out aspect as well.

Original publication date: January 19, 2021

Big and White podcast: https://pod.link/1425627430

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio bbadff64-c22d-4e73-a985-9a781ba1a8cd Thu, 04 Nov 2021 05:00:00 +0100 3835 full true Strong Sense of Place A Travel Podcast on Books That Bring Places to Life: S9E2 Strong Sense of Place A Travel Podcast on Books That Bring Places to Life: S9E2 Send us Fan Mail

David Humphreys and Melissa Joulwan are the hosts of Strong Sense of Place, a podcast and web site dedicated to literary travel and books with vivid settings. In each episode of their show, they explore one destination and talk about what makes that place different from everywhere else on earth. Then they recommend books set in that destination and talk to a special guest.

Original publication date: March 6, 2020

Strong Sense of Place: https://pod.link/1494452606

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

David Humphreys and Melissa Joulwan are the hosts of Strong Sense of Place, a podcast and web site dedicated to literary travel and books with vivid settings. In each episode of their show, they explore one destination and talk about what makes that place different from everywhere else on earth. Then they recommend books set in that destination and talk to a special guest.

Original publication date: March 6, 2020

Strong Sense of Place: https://pod.link/1494452606

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5b56bf52-f43a-40ee-b34a-bc7df5517841 Thu, 21 Oct 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2998 full true An American Expat Podcaster in Freiburg on Building a Podcast Life in Germany: S9E1 An American Expat Podcaster in Freiburg on Building a Podcast Life in Germany: S9E1 Send us Fan Mail

What do you do as an expat when your life goal is to collect and share experiences and information? You start a podcast! And that is exactly what American expat in Germany Nicole Palazzo did just after her first year in Freiburg, Germany. We recorded this mini episode on the new Podbean Live app, which was in Beta version. There were some technical issues but we pushed through and I think there is so much useful and interesting information in Nicole's audio story. In fact, she is going to come back and in the future and update us on her expat podcasting life and adventures. Hurrah. ​

Original publication date: September 26, 2019

The Expat Cast: https://pod.link/1412547847

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

What do you do as an expat when your life goal is to collect and share experiences and information? You start a podcast! And that is exactly what American expat in Germany Nicole Palazzo did just after her first year in Freiburg, Germany. We recorded this mini episode on the new Podbean Live app, which was in Beta version. There were some technical issues but we pushed through and I think there is so much useful and interesting information in Nicole's audio story. In fact, she is going to come back and in the future and update us on her expat podcasting life and adventures. Hurrah. ​

Original publication date: September 26, 2019

The Expat Cast: https://pod.link/1412547847

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 96d8e1ab-f348-4640-a15c-8b5a222b7b40 Thu, 07 Oct 2021 05:00:00 +0200 1274 full false From Tokyo Kissaten to Paris Cafés, A Book Lover’s Coffee Life: S8E5 From Tokyo Kissaten to Paris Cafés, A Book Lover’s Coffee Life: S8E5 Send us Fan Mail

What helps you feel at home when more than one country has shaped who you are? For literary translator and Book Nerd Tokyo creator Yuki Tejima, one answer is coffee: her rituals across Japan and the United States show why everyday habits matter when home exists in more than one place.

Book Nerd Tokyo: https://www.booknerdtokyo.com/

Listen for:

  • Japanese vs. American coffee culture
  • What Tokyo kissaten reveal about Japanese coffee
  • How hand-drip coffee rituals create familiarity across countries
  • Why neighborhood cafes can strengthen belonging
  • How coffee, books, and creative culture connect to place

How Do Coffee Rituals Create a Sense of Home Between Japan and the United States?

Coffee rituals can create continuity when more than one country feels like home. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima describes a life shaped by Japan and the United States: born in Tokyo, raised in Los Angeles from age four, then living in Okinawa, New York, and Tokyo again. Coffee entered her life in her twenties, first through Starbucks lattes and later through black coffee, hand-drip brewing, and neighborhood roasters.

Yuki’s Tokyo morning ritual is specific: she heats water, grinds beans, and uses a dark-blue ceramic dripper her husband brought home from a Japanese pottery town. She prefers darker, less acidic coffee and repeatedly found that coffees she loved came from Guatemala. She also buys a new bag before the current one runs low. A familiar routine can move between countries even when the culture around it changes.

What Are the Differences Between Japanese and American Coffee Culture?

Japanese and American coffee culture differ in serving style, cafe behavior, and expectations around space. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima compares American cafes, where customers often spread out with laptops and stay for hours, with Tokyo cafes that may limit visits to 90 minutes or two hours because tables need to turn over.

Traditional Japanese kissaten add another difference. Yuki describes retro coffee shops that may have operated for 70, 80, or 90 years, serving small cups of dark, rich coffee. After growing up with larger American servings, she initially found a roughly 600-yen kissaten coffee surprisingly small until she tasted how intense it was. Japan may label a lighter, larger style “American coffee.” The contrast shows that coffee culture is about more than beans. The same drink can reveal different ideas about public space, portion size, and how long people are expected to stay.

How Do Tokyo Coffee Shops and Historic Cafes Create a Sense of Belonging?

Tokyo coffee shops and historic cafes can make a large city feel personal by tying routines to specific streets, train lines, and histories. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima describes Horiguchi Coffee as a regular stop when she lived one station away and Woodberry Coffee Roasters as a favorite she could later reach on foot. The day before the interview, she worked at Blue Bottle Coffee before buying two bags of beans at Cafe Shozo in Aoyama.

Coffee also overlaps with Yuki’s relationship to books and creative history. In Kyoto, she once felt too intimidated to enter Rokuyosha as a UC Irvine exchange student. About ten years later, she returned, walked in, ordered coffee, and finally experienced the legendary cafe herself. Cafe Reggio in Greenwich Village gave her a similar connection to earlier generations of writers and artists. Belonging grows through repeated places and rituals, not just an address.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Japan | Tokyo | Los Angeles | New York | Okinawa | Kyoto | Japanese coffee culture | American coffee culture | kissaten | hand-drip coffee | Horiguchi Coffee | Woodberry Coffee Roasters | Rokuyosha | Book Nerd Tokyo

Original publication date: February 9, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

What helps you feel at home when more than one country has shaped who you are? For literary translator and Book Nerd Tokyo creator Yuki Tejima, one answer is coffee: her rituals across Japan and the United States show why everyday habits matter when home exists in more than one place.

Book Nerd Tokyo: https://www.booknerdtokyo.com/

Listen for:

  • Japanese vs. American coffee culture
  • What Tokyo kissaten reveal about Japanese coffee
  • How hand-drip coffee rituals create familiarity across countries
  • Why neighborhood cafes can strengthen belonging
  • How coffee, books, and creative culture connect to place

How Do Coffee Rituals Create a Sense of Home Between Japan and the United States?

Coffee rituals can create continuity when more than one country feels like home. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima describes a life shaped by Japan and the United States: born in Tokyo, raised in Los Angeles from age four, then living in Okinawa, New York, and Tokyo again. Coffee entered her life in her twenties, first through Starbucks lattes and later through black coffee, hand-drip brewing, and neighborhood roasters.

Yuki’s Tokyo morning ritual is specific: she heats water, grinds beans, and uses a dark-blue ceramic dripper her husband brought home from a Japanese pottery town. She prefers darker, less acidic coffee and repeatedly found that coffees she loved came from Guatemala. She also buys a new bag before the current one runs low. A familiar routine can move between countries even when the culture around it changes.

What Are the Differences Between Japanese and American Coffee Culture?

Japanese and American coffee culture differ in serving style, cafe behavior, and expectations around space. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima compares American cafes, where customers often spread out with laptops and stay for hours, with Tokyo cafes that may limit visits to 90 minutes or two hours because tables need to turn over.

Traditional Japanese kissaten add another difference. Yuki describes retro coffee shops that may have operated for 70, 80, or 90 years, serving small cups of dark, rich coffee. After growing up with larger American servings, she initially found a roughly 600-yen kissaten coffee surprisingly small until she tasted how intense it was. Japan may label a lighter, larger style “American coffee.” The contrast shows that coffee culture is about more than beans. The same drink can reveal different ideas about public space, portion size, and how long people are expected to stay.

How Do Tokyo Coffee Shops and Historic Cafes Create a Sense of Belonging?

Tokyo coffee shops and historic cafes can make a large city feel personal by tying routines to specific streets, train lines, and histories. In this Geopats Abroad conversation, Yuki Tejima describes Horiguchi Coffee as a regular stop when she lived one station away and Woodberry Coffee Roasters as a favorite she could later reach on foot. The day before the interview, she worked at Blue Bottle Coffee before buying two bags of beans at Cafe Shozo in Aoyama.

Coffee also overlaps with Yuki’s relationship to books and creative history. In Kyoto, she once felt too intimidated to enter Rokuyosha as a UC Irvine exchange student. About ten years later, she returned, walked in, ordered coffee, and finally experienced the legendary cafe herself. Cafe Reggio in Greenwich Village gave her a similar connection to earlier generations of writers and artists. Belonging grows through repeated places and rituals, not just an address.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Japan | Tokyo | Los Angeles | New York | Okinawa | Kyoto | Japanese coffee culture | American coffee culture | kissaten | hand-drip coffee | Horiguchi Coffee | Woodberry Coffee Roasters | Rokuyosha | Book Nerd Tokyo

Original publication date: February 9, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 6598ec4d-97f1-4268-8ab4-3747e9e89f57 Thu, 02 Sep 2021 05:00:00 +0200 3075 full true Vietnam Egg Coffee & Italian Espresso, A Canadian Expat’s Coffee Journey: S8E4 Vietnam Egg Coffee & Italian Espresso, A Canadian Expat’s Coffee Journey: S8E4 Send us Fan Mail

Erin and I met in Vietnam many years ago, the place where both of our coffee obsession hit a peak, so it only made sense to have her on the podcast. In this episode we dive into her coffee explorations in Australia, many countries in Asia, Italy and Canada. 

Original publication date: July 24, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Erin and I met in Vietnam many years ago, the place where both of our coffee obsession hit a peak, so it only made sense to have her on the podcast. In this episode we dive into her coffee explorations in Australia, many countries in Asia, Italy and Canada. 

Original publication date: July 24, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio bf201cda-e38b-48fc-9ee0-ef0c56a0b9e1 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2504 full false An American Expat's Coffee Journey Through Germany, Prague, and the U.S: S8E3 An American Expat's Coffee Journey Through Germany, Prague, and the U.S: S8E3 Send us Fan Mail

Travis lived in Germany and the Czech Republic for 20 years and podcasts about history on podcastnik.com. After talking about alchemy and witches as a ghost-tour guide in Prague, he teamed up with Pete Collman to figure out podcasting as a medium to tell stories from history. Travis has a long and complicatedly long adoration with coffee that started in his childhood upbringing in Germany. Now, he now lives in Oregon, where he partakes in specialty and 7-11 coffee.

Original publication date: June 19, 2020

Travis's website: https://podcastnik.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Travis lived in Germany and the Czech Republic for 20 years and podcasts about history on podcastnik.com. After talking about alchemy and witches as a ghost-tour guide in Prague, he teamed up with Pete Collman to figure out podcasting as a medium to tell stories from history. Travis has a long and complicatedly long adoration with coffee that started in his childhood upbringing in Germany. Now, he now lives in Oregon, where he partakes in specialty and 7-11 coffee.

Original publication date: June 19, 2020

Travis's website: https://podcastnik.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 328a9194-77ae-424e-acbd-3ce3f104bfc4 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2495 full false The Philippines to Berlin, a Coffee Lover on Brewing and Farming: S8E2 The Philippines to Berlin, a Coffee Lover on Brewing and Farming: S8E2 Send us Fan Mail

Did you view your home country differently after moving abroad? Marielle, a Filipino data scientist living in Germany, found that leaving the Philippines didn’t pull her farther from home, it gave her a new way back through her family’s coffee farm in Benguet, where expat life, family history, specialty coffee, and global markets come together.

Listen for:

  • How expat life in Germany can change your connection to home
  • Why coffee farming in Benguet matters to the Philippines
  • How expats can support family projects from abroad
  • Why Asian specialty coffee is growing in global markets
  • How specialty coffee prices connect to farmer pay

How Can Expat Life in Germany Change Your Connection to the Philippines?

Expat life can create new ways to participate in the place you left. After growing up in the Philippines, moving to Melbourne, and then spending nearly seven years in Germany, this Filipino expat found that coffee connected her international life back to her family’s land in Benguet. From Germany, she researches coffee farming, follows industry trends, and sends useful information back to her family. Living abroad didn’t weaken her connection to the Philippines; it changed the role she could play.

Why Is Coffee Farming in Benguet Important to the Philippines?

Coffee farming in Benguet connects family history with the region’s agricultural past. Her family found letters from her American great-great-grandfather describing a coffee plantation on the same land, though no one knows what happened to the original trees. Today, the family has roughly 5,000 coffee seedlings across about three hectares and expects to wait several years for a major harvest. What looked like a new project turned out to be a return to something her family had already done generations earlier.

How Can Expats Support Family Businesses From Abroad?

Expats can support family projects from abroad through research, professional networks, and skills that complement the work happening locally. Her mother manages much of the Benguet coffee farm, while she researches farming methods, follows Specialty Coffee Association resources, attends World of Coffee events, and shares what she learns from Germany. Her data-science background also led her to consider a weather station for the farm, with local data she could analyze remotely. Distance changes how she contributes, not whether she contributes.

Why Is Asian Specialty Coffee Growing in Global Coffee Markets?

Asian specialty coffee is gaining attention because countries such as China, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar produce high-quality coffees many European drinkers rarely encounter. Trying a fruity Yunnan coffee at Berlin roastery 19 Grams made her rethink what Asian coffee could mean in the global specialty market. It also changed her assumption that success meant exporting Philippine coffee to Europe. Some of Asia’s best coffee already has strong demand closer to home, so European approval isn’t the only measure of value.

How Do Specialty Coffee Prices Connect to What Farmers Earn?

Specialty coffee prices don’t show how much farmers earn because the cafe price comes at the end of a long supply chain. After comparing €4 flat whites, €7 hand brews, and €15 bags of beans in Berlin with lower prices in Düsseldorf, she began asking where that money goes and how much reaches growers. She encourages coffee drinkers to look at roaster transparency reports and think beyond the cafe to the growing, harvesting, sorting, and processing behind every cup. Coffee farming turned a consumer habit into a question about labor, fairness, and who benefits.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Philippines | Benguet | expat life in Germany | Berlin | Melbourne | specialty coffee | coffee farming | Asian specialty coffee | Yunnan coffee | World of Coffee | data science | coffee farmers | coffee prices

Original publication date: February 29, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Did you view your home country differently after moving abroad? Marielle, a Filipino data scientist living in Germany, found that leaving the Philippines didn’t pull her farther from home, it gave her a new way back through her family’s coffee farm in Benguet, where expat life, family history, specialty coffee, and global markets come together.

Listen for:

  • How expat life in Germany can change your connection to home
  • Why coffee farming in Benguet matters to the Philippines
  • How expats can support family projects from abroad
  • Why Asian specialty coffee is growing in global markets
  • How specialty coffee prices connect to farmer pay

How Can Expat Life in Germany Change Your Connection to the Philippines?

Expat life can create new ways to participate in the place you left. After growing up in the Philippines, moving to Melbourne, and then spending nearly seven years in Germany, this Filipino expat found that coffee connected her international life back to her family’s land in Benguet. From Germany, she researches coffee farming, follows industry trends, and sends useful information back to her family. Living abroad didn’t weaken her connection to the Philippines; it changed the role she could play.

Why Is Coffee Farming in Benguet Important to the Philippines?

Coffee farming in Benguet connects family history with the region’s agricultural past. Her family found letters from her American great-great-grandfather describing a coffee plantation on the same land, though no one knows what happened to the original trees. Today, the family has roughly 5,000 coffee seedlings across about three hectares and expects to wait several years for a major harvest. What looked like a new project turned out to be a return to something her family had already done generations earlier.

How Can Expats Support Family Businesses From Abroad?

Expats can support family projects from abroad through research, professional networks, and skills that complement the work happening locally. Her mother manages much of the Benguet coffee farm, while she researches farming methods, follows Specialty Coffee Association resources, attends World of Coffee events, and shares what she learns from Germany. Her data-science background also led her to consider a weather station for the farm, with local data she could analyze remotely. Distance changes how she contributes, not whether she contributes.

Why Is Asian Specialty Coffee Growing in Global Coffee Markets?

Asian specialty coffee is gaining attention because countries such as China, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar produce high-quality coffees many European drinkers rarely encounter. Trying a fruity Yunnan coffee at Berlin roastery 19 Grams made her rethink what Asian coffee could mean in the global specialty market. It also changed her assumption that success meant exporting Philippine coffee to Europe. Some of Asia’s best coffee already has strong demand closer to home, so European approval isn’t the only measure of value.

How Do Specialty Coffee Prices Connect to What Farmers Earn?

Specialty coffee prices don’t show how much farmers earn because the cafe price comes at the end of a long supply chain. After comparing €4 flat whites, €7 hand brews, and €15 bags of beans in Berlin with lower prices in Düsseldorf, she began asking where that money goes and how much reaches growers. She encourages coffee drinkers to look at roaster transparency reports and think beyond the cafe to the growing, harvesting, sorting, and processing behind every cup. Coffee farming turned a consumer habit into a question about labor, fairness, and who benefits.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Philippines | Benguet | expat life in Germany | Berlin | Melbourne | specialty coffee | coffee farming | Asian specialty coffee | Yunnan coffee | World of Coffee | data science | coffee farmers | coffee prices

Original publication date: February 29, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 26966c7c-66b5-4c87-96a8-a4140ca9019b Thu, 22 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2022 full false From Prague to Turkey, Italy, and Norway, an Expat’s Coffee Journey: S8E1 From Prague to Turkey, Italy, and Norway, an Expat’s Coffee Journey: S8E1 Send us Fan Mail

Ana Blackstad has experienced coffee culture in so many different places that I ran out of ink during our chat yesterday. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit but seriously, Ana moved to Prague, Czech Republic only 3 years ago but she has made the caffeinated most out of her time there by exploring both local Prague cafes (many of which are listed down below) and those in neighboring countries like Italy, Greece, the UK, Norway, Finland and Turkey. Her love of this beany goodness comes through loud and clear. Ohhhhh, just wait until you reach the part where she describes the best latte she ever had. She speaks of “peak coffee experiences” and the “theatricality” of cafes so eloquently that I think we should all adopt this vocabulary to share the coffee goodness going forward. Who’s with me on this idea? 

Original publication date: October 25, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Ana Blackstad has experienced coffee culture in so many different places that I ran out of ink during our chat yesterday. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit but seriously, Ana moved to Prague, Czech Republic only 3 years ago but she has made the caffeinated most out of her time there by exploring both local Prague cafes (many of which are listed down below) and those in neighboring countries like Italy, Greece, the UK, Norway, Finland and Turkey. Her love of this beany goodness comes through loud and clear. Ohhhhh, just wait until you reach the part where she describes the best latte she ever had. She speaks of “peak coffee experiences” and the “theatricality” of cafes so eloquently that I think we should all adopt this vocabulary to share the coffee goodness going forward. Who’s with me on this idea? 

Original publication date: October 25, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8b905fbb-4168-4d56-b5aa-5657ee594c40 Thu, 08 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2374 full false Peace Corps in Albania and Bangkok: An American Couple on Learning Albanians: S7E7 Peace Corps in Albania and Bangkok: An American Couple on Learning Albanians: S7E7 Send us Fan Mail

Two Americans who barely traveled before the Peace Corps ended up mastering Albanian, building lives in tiny towns, and falling for a place that completely changed how they see themselves. Their stories about learning Albanian in real Albanian villages, picking up slang and dialects, switching between Albanian and Greek, and figuring out daily expat life through immersion and community are wild, and honestly it reminded me how much language is tied to belonging. If you want to hear what fluency looks like when it grows out of real life in Albania, not textbooks, and how learning a language can change who you are, listen to the full episode.

Diane's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/life__of__di/

Original publication date: March 21, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Two Americans who barely traveled before the Peace Corps ended up mastering Albanian, building lives in tiny towns, and falling for a place that completely changed how they see themselves. Their stories about learning Albanian in real Albanian villages, picking up slang and dialects, switching between Albanian and Greek, and figuring out daily expat life through immersion and community are wild, and honestly it reminded me how much language is tied to belonging. If you want to hear what fluency looks like when it grows out of real life in Albania, not textbooks, and how learning a language can change who you are, listen to the full episode.

Diane's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/life__of__di/

Original publication date: March 21, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio aaa62226-72f9-47e0-975b-cd0fd649a8b7 Thu, 10 Jun 2021 05:00:00 +0200 3228 Albania, Albanian language, language learning, learn a language, Balkans, Peace Corps full true British Author in Kosovo on Learning Albanian and Language Differences Across Albania: S7E6 British Author in Kosovo on Learning Albanian and Language Differences Across Albania: S7E6 Send us Fan Mail

Language can be a lens into culture, a way to share our experiences and a tool to help others.  These are some of the aspects of language that we discuss with guest Elizabeth Gowing. She worked in primary education in inner London before moving to the Balkans in 2006. From then until very recently she split her time between Kosovo, Albania and the UK. During her time in the Balkans she immersed herself in many of the languages used there and shares the cultural insights that she learned. One of these experiences while she was in Kosovo was co-founding The Ideas Partnership non-profit. She is also the owner of the Sapune social enterprise, offering employment to village and minority community women and support to the education of their children. Elizabeth is also an author of five travel books and has translated two books from Albanian. 

Original publication date: March 5, 2021

Elizabeth's website: https://www.elizabethgowing.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Language can be a lens into culture, a way to share our experiences and a tool to help others.  These are some of the aspects of language that we discuss with guest Elizabeth Gowing. She worked in primary education in inner London before moving to the Balkans in 2006. From then until very recently she split her time between Kosovo, Albania and the UK. During her time in the Balkans she immersed herself in many of the languages used there and shares the cultural insights that she learned. One of these experiences while she was in Kosovo was co-founding The Ideas Partnership non-profit. She is also the owner of the Sapune social enterprise, offering employment to village and minority community women and support to the education of their children. Elizabeth is also an author of five travel books and has translated two books from Albanian. 

Original publication date: March 5, 2021

Elizabeth's website: https://www.elizabethgowing.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ab3ca8e6-3e60-4698-bbaf-cd55c9053d4c Thu, 27 May 2021 05:00:00 +0200 1938 Albanian language, language learning, Kosovo culture, multilingualism, expat life, cross-cultural communication full true American Linguists in Nepal on Nepali, Facebook, and Language Preservation: S7E5 American Linguists in Nepal on Nepali, Facebook, and Language Preservation: S7E5 Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live and do linguistic research in Kathmandu, Nepal, this episode is for you! Big & White, their podcasting nicknames, are two American Linguists who, until very recently were living in Nepal and creating a rather hilarious audio account of their daily lives on their podcast (the https://bigwhitepodcast.libsyn.com/website (Big & White podcast). Their connection and how they bounce off each other is so much fun to listen to. This is the main reason I became a fan of The Big & White Podcast in the first place and definitely why I asked to interview them for the show. This episode is a part of a podcast pair. How apt. 

Original publication date: February 9, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live and do linguistic research in Kathmandu, Nepal, this episode is for you! Big & White, their podcasting nicknames, are two American Linguists who, until very recently were living in Nepal and creating a rather hilarious audio account of their daily lives on their podcast (the https://bigwhitepodcast.libsyn.com/website (Big & White podcast). Their connection and how they bounce off each other is so much fun to listen to. This is the main reason I became a fan of The Big & White Podcast in the first place and definitely why I asked to interview them for the show. This episode is a part of a podcast pair. How apt. 

Original publication date: February 9, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 0ab8fcbd-f6fe-489f-a33d-fe721975419e Thu, 13 May 2021 05:00:00 +0200 834 full true 4 Language Learning Podcasters on Motivation, Accessibility, and Starting a Podcast: S7E4 4 Language Learning Podcasters on Motivation, Accessibility, and Starting a Podcast: S7E4 Send us Fan Mail

On September 30, 2020 I was thrilled to lead a language learning Podcasters panel for International Podcast Day. You can watch the video of this panel on YouTube, https://youtu.be/hR8fr0Hapo0, OR you can listen to this on this episode. Thank you to Dave and Steve, the geniuses behind IPD, for holding yet another amazing year's sessions of Podcasters from around the world. And for allowing us to use the audio versions of our panel on our podcasts. Since you are language lovers, you may want to check out the other IPD sessions on YouTube IN other languages. 

Original publication date: October 13, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

On September 30, 2020 I was thrilled to lead a language learning Podcasters panel for International Podcast Day. You can watch the video of this panel on YouTube, https://youtu.be/hR8fr0Hapo0, OR you can listen to this on this episode. Thank you to Dave and Steve, the geniuses behind IPD, for holding yet another amazing year's sessions of Podcasters from around the world. And for allowing us to use the audio versions of our panel on our podcasts. Since you are language lovers, you may want to check out the other IPD sessions on YouTube IN other languages. 

Original publication date: October 13, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio be18cc33-f3a6-4220-ad07-2a0f3c08cac7 Thu, 29 Apr 2021 05:00:00 +0200 3238 International Podcast Day, language learning, languages, podcasting, podcasts, how to learn a language full true German in America on Language Differences, Culture, and Everyday Communication: S7E3 German in America on Language Differences, Culture, and Everyday Communication: S7E3 Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Steph Cook of Transcontinental Overload is kind enough to ponder 3 aspects of German that strike me (Geopats Steph) as strange. Her insights and humo(u)r about these differences is a sheer delight. You will never hear the German language in the same way again. 

Original publication date: July 17, 2020

Get The Boots (rebranded Transcontinental Overload): https://pod.link/1501120374

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Steph Cook of Transcontinental Overload is kind enough to ponder 3 aspects of German that strike me (Geopats Steph) as strange. Her insights and humo(u)r about these differences is a sheer delight. You will never hear the German language in the same way again. 

Original publication date: July 17, 2020

Get The Boots (rebranded Transcontinental Overload): https://pod.link/1501120374

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 3b1c8539-02a0-410c-bc82-093f2e23e870 Thu, 15 Apr 2021 05:00:00 +0200 2597 full true A Singaporean Writer in New York: Language, Identity, and Living Between Cultures: S7E2 A Singaporean Writer in New York: Language, Identity, and Living Between Cultures: S7E2 Send us Fan Mail

​As a  writer and playright,  words are what Jeremy Tiang uses to share his ideas about the world and all of its ambiguity. 

In his prose he addresses issues of identity, culture, and the boundaries of what we think these things mean. His upbringing in Singapore was multicultural and yet it was not. So much so that when asked what his first language is he replies, “It is complicated” and it is easy to see why.​ Singapore, very much like Jeremy and very much like most curious, discerning people such as yourself (yes, listeners, I am talking about you), is in a state of constant change. This change includes how it shares itself with the world and Jeremy plays a part in how we see both Singapore and its people, especially, if I understand it right, those who are not often portrayed in the national narrative. 

original publication date: October 9, 2018

Jeremy Tiang's website: https://www.jeremytiang.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

​As a  writer and playright,  words are what Jeremy Tiang uses to share his ideas about the world and all of its ambiguity. 

In his prose he addresses issues of identity, culture, and the boundaries of what we think these things mean. His upbringing in Singapore was multicultural and yet it was not. So much so that when asked what his first language is he replies, “It is complicated” and it is easy to see why.​ Singapore, very much like Jeremy and very much like most curious, discerning people such as yourself (yes, listeners, I am talking about you), is in a state of constant change. This change includes how it shares itself with the world and Jeremy plays a part in how we see both Singapore and its people, especially, if I understand it right, those who are not often portrayed in the national narrative. 

original publication date: October 9, 2018

Jeremy Tiang's website: https://www.jeremytiang.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 23833805-c030-4948-bc39-c95b155d725e Thu, 01 Apr 2021 05:00:00 +0200 6758 writing, author, Singapore, books, online behavior, social media, translation, China full true A Chinese American on Cantonese, Mandarin, and the Emotions of Language Learning: S7E1 A Chinese American on Cantonese, Mandarin, and the Emotions of Language Learning: S7E1 Send us Fan Mail

Liv is in an interesting language experience right now. She grew in New York City using Cantonese with her Southern Chinese mother and some Mandarin Chinese with her Taiwanese father. She then picked up Spanish and English in her diverse NYC environment. She has traveled extensively and has learned a few more languages along the way. But it is now, while living and working in Shanghai, China, that she is faced with a myriad of language AND cultural obstacles that she feels the most challenged by.

Original publication date: June 16, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Liv is in an interesting language experience right now. She grew in New York City using Cantonese with her Southern Chinese mother and some Mandarin Chinese with her Taiwanese father. She then picked up Spanish and English in her diverse NYC environment. She has traveled extensively and has learned a few more languages along the way. But it is now, while living and working in Shanghai, China, that she is faced with a myriad of language AND cultural obstacles that she feels the most challenged by.

Original publication date: June 16, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio eca37105-5099-475a-b75a-1abff0cd0175 Thu, 18 Mar 2021 05:00:00 +0100 5562 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning, Cantonese full true Two American Expats on Hemingway’s A Movable Feast and Life Abroad: S6E11 Two American Expats on Hemingway’s A Movable Feast and Life Abroad: S6E11 Send us Fan Mail

In December 2019 my dear friend Shannon Martin and I sat down and recorded an episode about The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. We were so intrigued with the book that we wanted to repeat the process with the more autobiographical version of the book, A Moveable Feast.

And then we both left China and you know what happened.

We did record this follow up episode in mid-2020 but life was still hectic. So here it is, nearly a year later. Thank you to Shannon for being so patient during this time.

Original publication date: June 5, 2021

Shannon's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twowhotravelsam/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In December 2019 my dear friend Shannon Martin and I sat down and recorded an episode about The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. We were so intrigued with the book that we wanted to repeat the process with the more autobiographical version of the book, A Moveable Feast.

And then we both left China and you know what happened.

We did record this follow up episode in mid-2020 but life was still hectic. So here it is, nearly a year later. Thank you to Shannon for being so patient during this time.

Original publication date: June 5, 2021

Shannon's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twowhotravelsam/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 114eb672-26ff-4f43-865f-f87b69d10fce Thu, 28 Jan 2021 05:00:00 +0100 3381 full false Life in Germany as an American, Culture Shock, Bread, and German Habits: S6E9 Life in Germany as an American, Culture Shock, Bread, and German Habits: S6E9 Send us Fan Mail

If your picture of German culture still comes mostly from stereotypes about coldness, efficiency, or bluntness, Rebecca Schuman offers a much more human way in. In this warm, funny conversation, the author of Schadenfreude, A Love Story and former Fulbright scholar uses her years in Germany and Austria to explore German hospitality, language, family life, academia, and belonging, showing how much more complicated a place becomes once you live inside it.

Listen for:

  •  How German hospitality differs from American friendliness 
  •  How expat life in Germany changes everyday habits and culture shock 
  •  Why expats leave Germany even when they prefer life abroad 
  •  How family life in Germany and Austria differs from the United States 
  •  How Schadenfreude, A Love Story explores German culture, Kafka, and belonging 

How Does German Hospitality Differ From American Friendliness?

German hospitality can be far warmer than German small talk suggests. Rebecca Schuman jokes that you might barely know a German beyond one heated argument about politics or soccer, yet mention visiting their town and they may insist you stay for two weeks. Years in Germany changed Schuman too: after returning to the United States, she kept the instinct to offer visitors a place to stay. For expats in Germany, reserve doesn’t necessarily mean rejection.

How Does Expat Life in Germany Change Everyday Habits and Culture Shock?

Living in Germany can permanently change what an expat considers normal, especially around transportation. Rebecca Schuman first studied German in Münster, later lived in Berlin for roughly eight or nine months, and eventually spent a year in Vienna as a Fulbright scholar. One habit stuck: if somewhere is less than about 10 kilometers away, Schuman would rather bike than get into a car “for no reason.” Returning home can create its own culture shock when old habits no longer make sense.

Why Do Expats Leave Germany Even When They Prefer Life Abroad?

Some expats leave Germany because family and career realities outweigh preference. Rebecca Schuman believed being a non-native German speaker made teaching German literature at a German university an unlikely career path. Family mattered even more: Schuman wanted her daughter near her grandparents, and after her father died, staying close to her mother in Oregon became important. Germany and Austria still remained part of her future.

How Does Family Life in Germany and Austria Differ From the United States?

Family life in Austria felt more integrated into public life for Rebecca Schuman. While living in Vienna with her husband and young daughter, she remembers what felt like a playground on every block, free activities for children, and public spaces where bringing a child seemed normal. The experience made Schuman question the gap between how strongly American culture celebrates children and how difficult daily life can be for parents.

How Does Schadenfreude, A Love Story Explore German Culture, Kafka, and Belonging?

Schadenfreude, A Love Story connects Rebecca Schuman’s fascination with German culture and her difficult relationship with academia through Franz Kafka. Schuman describes her relationship with Kafka as moving from schoolgirl infatuation to codependent misery and finally to peace. Kafka wrote in German without being German, echoing Schuman’s own connection to German language and culture while remaining partly outside it. Academia created a similar tension, giving the memoir’s two stories a shared theme of belonging.

READ HER BOOK: REBECCA SCHUMAN

Schadenfreude, A Love Story 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Schadenfreude, A Love Story | Rebecca Schuman | German culture | expat life in Germany | Berlin | Münster | Vienna | Austria | German hospitality | German language | Franz Kafka | academia | Fulbright | culture shock | parenting abroad

Original publication date: July 27, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If your picture of German culture still comes mostly from stereotypes about coldness, efficiency, or bluntness, Rebecca Schuman offers a much more human way in. In this warm, funny conversation, the author of Schadenfreude, A Love Story and former Fulbright scholar uses her years in Germany and Austria to explore German hospitality, language, family life, academia, and belonging, showing how much more complicated a place becomes once you live inside it.

Listen for:

  •  How German hospitality differs from American friendliness 
  •  How expat life in Germany changes everyday habits and culture shock 
  •  Why expats leave Germany even when they prefer life abroad 
  •  How family life in Germany and Austria differs from the United States 
  •  How Schadenfreude, A Love Story explores German culture, Kafka, and belonging 

How Does German Hospitality Differ From American Friendliness?

German hospitality can be far warmer than German small talk suggests. Rebecca Schuman jokes that you might barely know a German beyond one heated argument about politics or soccer, yet mention visiting their town and they may insist you stay for two weeks. Years in Germany changed Schuman too: after returning to the United States, she kept the instinct to offer visitors a place to stay. For expats in Germany, reserve doesn’t necessarily mean rejection.

How Does Expat Life in Germany Change Everyday Habits and Culture Shock?

Living in Germany can permanently change what an expat considers normal, especially around transportation. Rebecca Schuman first studied German in Münster, later lived in Berlin for roughly eight or nine months, and eventually spent a year in Vienna as a Fulbright scholar. One habit stuck: if somewhere is less than about 10 kilometers away, Schuman would rather bike than get into a car “for no reason.” Returning home can create its own culture shock when old habits no longer make sense.

Why Do Expats Leave Germany Even When They Prefer Life Abroad?

Some expats leave Germany because family and career realities outweigh preference. Rebecca Schuman believed being a non-native German speaker made teaching German literature at a German university an unlikely career path. Family mattered even more: Schuman wanted her daughter near her grandparents, and after her father died, staying close to her mother in Oregon became important. Germany and Austria still remained part of her future.

How Does Family Life in Germany and Austria Differ From the United States?

Family life in Austria felt more integrated into public life for Rebecca Schuman. While living in Vienna with her husband and young daughter, she remembers what felt like a playground on every block, free activities for children, and public spaces where bringing a child seemed normal. The experience made Schuman question the gap between how strongly American culture celebrates children and how difficult daily life can be for parents.

How Does Schadenfreude, A Love Story Explore German Culture, Kafka, and Belonging?

Schadenfreude, A Love Story connects Rebecca Schuman’s fascination with German culture and her difficult relationship with academia through Franz Kafka. Schuman describes her relationship with Kafka as moving from schoolgirl infatuation to codependent misery and finally to peace. Kafka wrote in German without being German, echoing Schuman’s own connection to German language and culture while remaining partly outside it. Academia created a similar tension, giving the memoir’s two stories a shared theme of belonging.

READ HER BOOK: REBECCA SCHUMAN

Schadenfreude, A Love Story 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Schadenfreude, A Love Story | Rebecca Schuman | German culture | expat life in Germany | Berlin | Münster | Vienna | Austria | German hospitality | German language | Franz Kafka | academia | Fulbright | culture shock | parenting abroad

Original publication date: July 27, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 319350d2-6fc8-4452-a9d5-2a341dcc0fa7 Thu, 07 Jan 2021 05:00:00 +0100 2490 full false From Los Angeles to Tokyo: Booknerd Tokyo on Language, Culture, and Living Abroad: S6E8 From Los Angeles to Tokyo: Booknerd Tokyo on Language, Culture, and Living Abroad: S6E8 Send us Fan Mail

If your understanding of Japan still comes mostly from travel imagery, pop culture, or Haruki Murakami, Yuki Tejima offers a faster way to widen that picture. Born in Japan, raised in Los Angeles, and later returning to Tokyo, the creator of Book Nerd Tokyo uses Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen to explore Japanese literature, grief, food, identity, and everyday communication, showing why the 1988 novel still feels relevant now.

Listen for:

  • Why Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto became a modern Japanese classic
  • How Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature and culture
  • How food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan
  • How Japanese literature helps explain unspoken communication
  • What Japanese authors to read beyond Haruki Murakami

Why Did Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto Become a Modern Japanese Classic?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen became a modern Japanese classic by turning grief into a story about recovery, food, and chosen family. After Mikage loses the grandmother who raised her, she moves in with Yuichi and his mother, Eriko, and begins rebuilding her life. Mikage sleeps beside the refrigerator because the kitchen is the only place where she can rest, and cooking later gives her direction. Yoshimoto said she wrote for people who felt things deeply or found everyday life intensely lonely, yet Kitchen became a phenomenon while she was only 24.

How Does Kitchen Challenge Stereotypes About Japanese Literature and Culture?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature by focusing on ordinary emotions and people who don’t fit neatly into social expectations rather than familiar images of Japan. Yuki points to references to Bewitched, Helen Keller, the Brothers Grimm, and Linus and his blanket instead of Mount Fuji or shrines. Kitchen also introduces Eriko, Yuichi’s transgender mother, without making her identity the central conflict. Yuki says Japanese readers could recognize characters who mourned differently, had unusual families, or didn’t know what they wanted from life.

How Do Food and Seasonal Eating Shape Everyday Life in Japan?

Food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan through regional specialties, changing ingredients, and close attention to preparation. Yuki says Japanese television features food constantly, from restaurants to regional dishes. At an inn in Kyoto, she once ate roughly 20 different tofu dishes and learned to notice differences in texture, preparation, and presentation. Seasonal food became part of that education too: winter cabbage tastes especially sweet, while tomatoes and cucumbers belong to summer.

How Can Japanese Literature Help Explain Communication and Culture in Japan?

Japanese literature helped Yuki understand unspoken communication in Japan by showing the thoughts and emotions behind behavior people didn’t always express directly. Raised in the United States, Yuki describes herself as more American in her communication style. In Tokyo, she found more emphasis on reading the room and noticing nonverbal cues, so modern Japanese novels became a kind of textbook. Yuki also recommends Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor, Hiromi Kawakami, and Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman for readers exploring Japanese literature beyond Haruki Murakami.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: YUKI TEJIMA

Book Nerd Tokyo:
https://www.booknerdtokyo.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/booknerdtokyo/

CONNECT WITH GUEST HOST: TATJANA CHEN

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Kitchen | Banana Yoshimoto | Japanese literature | modern Japanese culture | Book Nerd Tokyo | Tokyo | Japanese food culture | seasonal eating | Japanese communication | The Housekeeper and the Professor | Yoko Ogawa | Hiromi Kawakami | Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata | Haruki Murakami

Original publication date: May 29, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If your understanding of Japan still comes mostly from travel imagery, pop culture, or Haruki Murakami, Yuki Tejima offers a faster way to widen that picture. Born in Japan, raised in Los Angeles, and later returning to Tokyo, the creator of Book Nerd Tokyo uses Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen to explore Japanese literature, grief, food, identity, and everyday communication, showing why the 1988 novel still feels relevant now.

Listen for:

  • Why Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto became a modern Japanese classic
  • How Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature and culture
  • How food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan
  • How Japanese literature helps explain unspoken communication
  • What Japanese authors to read beyond Haruki Murakami

Why Did Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto Become a Modern Japanese Classic?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen became a modern Japanese classic by turning grief into a story about recovery, food, and chosen family. After Mikage loses the grandmother who raised her, she moves in with Yuichi and his mother, Eriko, and begins rebuilding her life. Mikage sleeps beside the refrigerator because the kitchen is the only place where she can rest, and cooking later gives her direction. Yoshimoto said she wrote for people who felt things deeply or found everyday life intensely lonely, yet Kitchen became a phenomenon while she was only 24.

How Does Kitchen Challenge Stereotypes About Japanese Literature and Culture?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature by focusing on ordinary emotions and people who don’t fit neatly into social expectations rather than familiar images of Japan. Yuki points to references to Bewitched, Helen Keller, the Brothers Grimm, and Linus and his blanket instead of Mount Fuji or shrines. Kitchen also introduces Eriko, Yuichi’s transgender mother, without making her identity the central conflict. Yuki says Japanese readers could recognize characters who mourned differently, had unusual families, or didn’t know what they wanted from life.

How Do Food and Seasonal Eating Shape Everyday Life in Japan?

Food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan through regional specialties, changing ingredients, and close attention to preparation. Yuki says Japanese television features food constantly, from restaurants to regional dishes. At an inn in Kyoto, she once ate roughly 20 different tofu dishes and learned to notice differences in texture, preparation, and presentation. Seasonal food became part of that education too: winter cabbage tastes especially sweet, while tomatoes and cucumbers belong to summer.

How Can Japanese Literature Help Explain Communication and Culture in Japan?

Japanese literature helped Yuki understand unspoken communication in Japan by showing the thoughts and emotions behind behavior people didn’t always express directly. Raised in the United States, Yuki describes herself as more American in her communication style. In Tokyo, she found more emphasis on reading the room and noticing nonverbal cues, so modern Japanese novels became a kind of textbook. Yuki also recommends Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor, Hiromi Kawakami, and Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman for readers exploring Japanese literature beyond Haruki Murakami.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: YUKI TEJIMA

Book Nerd Tokyo:
https://www.booknerdtokyo.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/booknerdtokyo/

CONNECT WITH GUEST HOST: TATJANA CHEN

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Kitchen | Banana Yoshimoto | Japanese literature | modern Japanese culture | Book Nerd Tokyo | Tokyo | Japanese food culture | seasonal eating | Japanese communication | The Housekeeper and the Professor | Yoko Ogawa | Hiromi Kawakami | Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata | Haruki Murakami

Original publication date: May 29, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 99af92d4-0436-4461-ae28-3a39b415e4b9 Thu, 24 Dec 2020 05:00:00 +0100 3706 full false Strong Sense of Place Podcast: Two American Expats Exploring Prague Through Books: S6E7 Strong Sense of Place Podcast: Two American Expats Exploring Prague Through Books: S6E7 Send us Fan Mail

The strongest connection between books and place isn’t always where a story is set. Sometimes it’s the bookstore you discover in Prague, the novel someone gives you before you fall in love, or the children’s book you can’t finish reading at your own wedding. Melissa and Dave, creators of Strong Sense of Place, explore how literary travel, books with vivid settings, and local bookstores can deepen the way travelers and armchair travelers understand a destination and remember it long after the trip ends.

Listen for:

  • What literary travel is and how it helps travelers
  • How reading books before a trip can improve the travel experience
  • Why books with vivid settings help readers understand a destination
  • How to find English-language bookstores in Prague
  • Why local bookstores matter for expats and international travelers
  • How travel changes the way readers experience books
  • How books become connected to places, memories, and relationships
  • Why books can become meaningful parts of major life moments

How Literary Travel Helps You Understand a Destination Before You Visit

Reading books set in a destination before a trip can give travelers cultural and emotional context before they arrive. Melissa’s habit of doing this became part of the foundation for Strong Sense of Place, especially after she found that online searches often returned giant algorithm-generated lists instead of thoughtful recommendations. The podcast now helps travelers and armchair travelers explore places through books with vivid settings.

Where to Find English-Language Bookstores in Prague

Prague has several English-language bookstores that give travelers and expats different ways to connect with the city. Neoluxor on Wenceslas Square has a large English-language section in its basement, Shakespeare and Sons near Prague Castle has a used-book basement overlooking a canal, and The Globe combines English books, newspapers, Czech literature in translation, and a café.

Why Local Bookstores Matter for Expats and International Travelers

Local bookstores can help expats and international travelers build a stronger connection with the place where they’re living or visiting. Melissa and Dave use Prague bookstores for different needs, from browsing UK editions to finding Czech books in English translation or sitting with coffee and an English-language newspaper.

How Travel Changes the Way You Experience Books

Travel can make books feel more vivid because places that once existed only on the page become part of your own memory. Once you’ve walked the streets, seen the architecture, and learned the shape of a neighborhood, fictional settings can feel more concrete when you return to them in a book.

How Books Become Connected to Places, Memories, and Relationships

Books can become permanently tied to the places and people around us, even when the story itself has nothing to do with that setting. Before Melissa and Dave started dating, Dave gave Melissa a hardcover copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray during one of their walks in Sausalito, California. Years later, Melissa chose I Like You for their wedding reading, became too emotional to finish it, and handed it to Dave, who completed the reading while the room cried.

CONNECT WITH GUESTS: MELISSA AND DAVE

Website: Strong Sense of Place
https://strongsenseofplace.com

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Strong Sense of Place | literary travel | Prague | Neoluxor | Shakespeare and Sons | The Globe | English-language bookstores | Czech literature in translation | The Picture of Dorian Gray | I Like You | Sausalito

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: February 21, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

The strongest connection between books and place isn’t always where a story is set. Sometimes it’s the bookstore you discover in Prague, the novel someone gives you before you fall in love, or the children’s book you can’t finish reading at your own wedding. Melissa and Dave, creators of Strong Sense of Place, explore how literary travel, books with vivid settings, and local bookstores can deepen the way travelers and armchair travelers understand a destination and remember it long after the trip ends.

Listen for:

  • What literary travel is and how it helps travelers
  • How reading books before a trip can improve the travel experience
  • Why books with vivid settings help readers understand a destination
  • How to find English-language bookstores in Prague
  • Why local bookstores matter for expats and international travelers
  • How travel changes the way readers experience books
  • How books become connected to places, memories, and relationships
  • Why books can become meaningful parts of major life moments

How Literary Travel Helps You Understand a Destination Before You Visit

Reading books set in a destination before a trip can give travelers cultural and emotional context before they arrive. Melissa’s habit of doing this became part of the foundation for Strong Sense of Place, especially after she found that online searches often returned giant algorithm-generated lists instead of thoughtful recommendations. The podcast now helps travelers and armchair travelers explore places through books with vivid settings.

Where to Find English-Language Bookstores in Prague

Prague has several English-language bookstores that give travelers and expats different ways to connect with the city. Neoluxor on Wenceslas Square has a large English-language section in its basement, Shakespeare and Sons near Prague Castle has a used-book basement overlooking a canal, and The Globe combines English books, newspapers, Czech literature in translation, and a café.

Why Local Bookstores Matter for Expats and International Travelers

Local bookstores can help expats and international travelers build a stronger connection with the place where they’re living or visiting. Melissa and Dave use Prague bookstores for different needs, from browsing UK editions to finding Czech books in English translation or sitting with coffee and an English-language newspaper.

How Travel Changes the Way You Experience Books

Travel can make books feel more vivid because places that once existed only on the page become part of your own memory. Once you’ve walked the streets, seen the architecture, and learned the shape of a neighborhood, fictional settings can feel more concrete when you return to them in a book.

How Books Become Connected to Places, Memories, and Relationships

Books can become permanently tied to the places and people around us, even when the story itself has nothing to do with that setting. Before Melissa and Dave started dating, Dave gave Melissa a hardcover copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray during one of their walks in Sausalito, California. Years later, Melissa chose I Like You for their wedding reading, became too emotional to finish it, and handed it to Dave, who completed the reading while the room cried.

CONNECT WITH GUESTS: MELISSA AND DAVE

Website: Strong Sense of Place
https://strongsenseofplace.com

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Strong Sense of Place | literary travel | Prague | Neoluxor | Shakespeare and Sons | The Globe | English-language bookstores | Czech literature in translation | The Picture of Dorian Gray | I Like You | Sausalito

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: February 21, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 7f77d0e5-6066-4a4f-9bca-92cfa633bf33 Thu, 10 Dec 2020 05:00:00 +0100 642 full false Living Abroad: Are Expats Really Any Different Today vs the 1920s? S6E6 Living Abroad: Are Expats Really Any Different Today vs the 1920s? S6E6 Send us Fan Mail

​Years ago an expat friend of mine made a comparison with the Lost Generation in Paris in the 1920’s and Western expats in Asia in the early 2000’s and I have never forgotten it. Shannon Martin returns to the Geopats Podcast for a dive into Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” book about his slice of the Lost Generation so that we can dig into this expat generation comparison with about 100 years time difference between them. We will be following up with a conversation about Hemingway’s more autobiographical version of “The Sun Also Rises”, “A Moveable Feast” in 2020, when both of us will possibly be living in Western Europe. 

Original publication date: December 13, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

​Years ago an expat friend of mine made a comparison with the Lost Generation in Paris in the 1920’s and Western expats in Asia in the early 2000’s and I have never forgotten it. Shannon Martin returns to the Geopats Podcast for a dive into Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” book about his slice of the Lost Generation so that we can dig into this expat generation comparison with about 100 years time difference between them. We will be following up with a conversation about Hemingway’s more autobiographical version of “The Sun Also Rises”, “A Moveable Feast” in 2020, when both of us will possibly be living in Western Europe. 

Original publication date: December 13, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio abff94fb-64b3-4426-96e4-584dd3a2b10f Thu, 26 Nov 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4521 full false A Singaporean Immigrant Explains China Through Story and History: S6E5 A Singaporean Immigrant Explains China Through Story and History: S6E5 Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode, I am honored to talk with Tina Kanagaratnam about the book The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Tina is a Bookish Expat with both strong literary and historical knowledge of China. I have been to a number of bookish events in Shanghai where Tina has joined in to provide some historic context to the texts that we were discussing. Every time I have blown away by how knowledgeable, insightful and personable she is. Tina is one of those people that balances intelligence, perspective and humor perfectly. 

Original publication date: August 23, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode, I am honored to talk with Tina Kanagaratnam about the book The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Tina is a Bookish Expat with both strong literary and historical knowledge of China. I have been to a number of bookish events in Shanghai where Tina has joined in to provide some historic context to the texts that we were discussing. Every time I have blown away by how knowledgeable, insightful and personable she is. Tina is one of those people that balances intelligence, perspective and humor perfectly. 

Original publication date: August 23, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio b0d67561-7dac-469f-9210-84d3a9b04fa0 Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4406 full false Germany Through an American Expat and a German Abroad: Culture, Language, and Misunderstandings:: S6E4 Germany Through an American Expat and a German Abroad: Culture, Language, and Misunderstandings:: S6E4 Send us Fan Mail

What do you get when you have two American Expats and one German Expat talk about a book by a former American Expat living in 1990’s Former East Germany? This culturally windy episode dripping with heaps of blasted stereotypes, linguistic gems and lots of laughter. We are delighted to have Nicole Palazzo, Host of the Expat Cast Podcast on the show today. 

Original publication date: July 26, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

What do you get when you have two American Expats and one German Expat talk about a book by a former American Expat living in 1990’s Former East Germany? This culturally windy episode dripping with heaps of blasted stereotypes, linguistic gems and lots of laughter. We are delighted to have Nicole Palazzo, Host of the Expat Cast Podcast on the show today. 

Original publication date: July 26, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 83c632c9-56a1-4b20-892f-d22853e65bb1 Thu, 29 Oct 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4629 full false Two American Expats on Living Between Cultures: S6E3 Two American Expats on Living Between Cultures: S6E3 Send us Fan Mail

The Global Soul by Pico Iyer is a seminal geopat book. Stephanie and Summer (Steph’s Co-Host on the new podcast Creatively Complicated) dig into this book in a very big way. This is not a regular episode because Steph is not interviewing Summer about her reading story but instead they are discussing both of their reactions to this book. Summer read this book for the first time recently thanks (or no thanks, lol) to Steph’s persistent recommendation and Steph tried to reread it for the first time since she fell in love with it in 2002.   

Original publication date: July 5, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

The Global Soul by Pico Iyer is a seminal geopat book. Stephanie and Summer (Steph’s Co-Host on the new podcast Creatively Complicated) dig into this book in a very big way. This is not a regular episode because Steph is not interviewing Summer about her reading story but instead they are discussing both of their reactions to this book. Summer read this book for the first time recently thanks (or no thanks, lol) to Steph’s persistent recommendation and Steph tried to reread it for the first time since she fell in love with it in 2002.   

Original publication date: July 5, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ad09d5f0-10b2-4dd4-86eb-b4fa91286ffe Thu, 15 Oct 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5791 full false What Indian Fiction Taught a German Expat: S6E2 What Indian Fiction Taught a German Expat: S6E2 Send us Fan Mail

In the podcast episode we chat with Tatjana, in her words “a German married to an Indian-Chinese - or Chinese-Indian depending on the mood of the day”. Tatjana grew up wanting to live in different countries, so she went into Hospitality in order to do so. Of course, at the same time she read voraciously. In fact, while living in Dubai, one of the six cities she has called home thus far, she met her husband. Just before she moved to India to be with him she started reading the works of Indian Author Chetan Bhagat. And thus began her bookjucation of India and Indian culture. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Tatjana in my home in Shanghai and chat about some of Chetan’s books that had an impact on her life in India. We also dig into her bookology, her favorite books and places to read them and so much more. 

Original publication date: May 31, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In the podcast episode we chat with Tatjana, in her words “a German married to an Indian-Chinese - or Chinese-Indian depending on the mood of the day”. Tatjana grew up wanting to live in different countries, so she went into Hospitality in order to do so. Of course, at the same time she read voraciously. In fact, while living in Dubai, one of the six cities she has called home thus far, she met her husband. Just before she moved to India to be with him she started reading the works of Indian Author Chetan Bhagat. And thus began her bookjucation of India and Indian culture. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Tatjana in my home in Shanghai and chat about some of Chetan’s books that had an impact on her life in India. We also dig into her bookology, her favorite books and places to read them and so much more. 

Original publication date: May 31, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio e183652d-b181-450e-8561-1e856ed60f1a Thu, 01 Oct 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5626 full false How an American Learned Thai Work Culture Through a Book: S6E1 How an American Learned Thai Work Culture Through a Book: S6E1 Send us Fan Mail

Working in Thailand can expose cultural differences in workplace communication that language skills alone won’t solve. Evo Terra learned that a smile during conflict could signal discomfort rather than agreement, and understanding those signals became essential to avoiding mistakes that could damage working relationships across cultures.

Evo is a podcasting pioneer, Podcasting for Dummies author, and longtime business and marketing professional who lived in Bangkok for more than two years. After struggling to find work and realizing his direct American communication style wasn’t translating well, a friend recommended Working with the Thais. The book became a practical guide to understanding Thai workplace culture, saving face, hierarchy, feedback, and cross-cultural communication.

Listen for:

  • How Thai workplace culture differs from American workplace culture
  • Why direct communication can create problems when working with Thai colleagues
  • What smiling during conflict can mean in Thai culture
  • How saving face affects workplace relationships in Thailand
  • Why hierarchy and status shape communication in Thai workplaces
  • What the Thai wai reveals about respect, status, and social expectations
  • Why Western management styles can backfire in Thailand
  • How working abroad can change cross-cultural communication habits

How Thai Workplace Culture Differs From American Workplace Culture

Evo came to Thailand with years of experience in advertising, marketing, startups, and business operations, but his usual direct style wasn’t helping him professionally. Working with the Thais gave him a framework for understanding why pressure, urgency, criticism, and hierarchy operated differently than he expected.

What Smiling During Conflict Can Mean in Thai Culture

At the school where Evo taught adults, he confronted a scheduler who kept assigning classes during hours he couldn’t work. She smiled during the tense exchange, a reaction he might once have read as dismissive. Instead, the book helped him recognize that the smile could signal discomfort, and the aftermath showed how badly a direct confrontation could damage a working relationship.

How Saving Face and Hierarchy Affect Thai Workplace Relationships

Evo became more aware of how public embarrassment could affect not just one person, but how others around them viewed that person too. He also began noticing how status changed tone, deference, body language, and even who initiated the Thai wai. Those patterns made hierarchy far more visible than it had been to him in American workplaces.

How Working in Thailand Changed Cross-Cultural Communication

After leaving Thailand, Evo found that the lessons stayed with him. He now pays closer attention to the status and role each person brings into an interaction, not to rank people, but to understand what the relationship requires. The experience made him less “in your face” and more aware that clear communication depends on how the other person interprets the exchange.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: EVO TERRA

Podcast: Podcast Pontifications
https://podcastpontifications.com

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Working with the Thais | The Dragon Page | Podcasting for Dummies | The Three-Body Problem | Bangkok | Thailand | Thai wai | saving face

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: April 23, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Working in Thailand can expose cultural differences in workplace communication that language skills alone won’t solve. Evo Terra learned that a smile during conflict could signal discomfort rather than agreement, and understanding those signals became essential to avoiding mistakes that could damage working relationships across cultures.

Evo is a podcasting pioneer, Podcasting for Dummies author, and longtime business and marketing professional who lived in Bangkok for more than two years. After struggling to find work and realizing his direct American communication style wasn’t translating well, a friend recommended Working with the Thais. The book became a practical guide to understanding Thai workplace culture, saving face, hierarchy, feedback, and cross-cultural communication.

Listen for:

  • How Thai workplace culture differs from American workplace culture
  • Why direct communication can create problems when working with Thai colleagues
  • What smiling during conflict can mean in Thai culture
  • How saving face affects workplace relationships in Thailand
  • Why hierarchy and status shape communication in Thai workplaces
  • What the Thai wai reveals about respect, status, and social expectations
  • Why Western management styles can backfire in Thailand
  • How working abroad can change cross-cultural communication habits

How Thai Workplace Culture Differs From American Workplace Culture

Evo came to Thailand with years of experience in advertising, marketing, startups, and business operations, but his usual direct style wasn’t helping him professionally. Working with the Thais gave him a framework for understanding why pressure, urgency, criticism, and hierarchy operated differently than he expected.

What Smiling During Conflict Can Mean in Thai Culture

At the school where Evo taught adults, he confronted a scheduler who kept assigning classes during hours he couldn’t work. She smiled during the tense exchange, a reaction he might once have read as dismissive. Instead, the book helped him recognize that the smile could signal discomfort, and the aftermath showed how badly a direct confrontation could damage a working relationship.

How Saving Face and Hierarchy Affect Thai Workplace Relationships

Evo became more aware of how public embarrassment could affect not just one person, but how others around them viewed that person too. He also began noticing how status changed tone, deference, body language, and even who initiated the Thai wai. Those patterns made hierarchy far more visible than it had been to him in American workplaces.

How Working in Thailand Changed Cross-Cultural Communication

After leaving Thailand, Evo found that the lessons stayed with him. He now pays closer attention to the status and role each person brings into an interaction, not to rank people, but to understand what the relationship requires. The experience made him less “in your face” and more aware that clear communication depends on how the other person interprets the exchange.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: EVO TERRA

Podcast: Podcast Pontifications
https://podcastpontifications.com

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Working with the Thais | The Dragon Page | Podcasting for Dummies | The Three-Body Problem | Bangkok | Thailand | Thai wai | saving face

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: April 23, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8c200c68-2ec2-4877-80ae-348ce106e75e Thu, 17 Sep 2020 05:00:00 +0200 3370 full false From Africa to Germany, One Online Community at a Time: S5E11 From Africa to Germany, One Online Community at a Time: S5E11 Send us Fan Mail

Can social media ground us and make us feel more at peace in this crazy world? 

This conversation with Tania from Swahili Secrets will present an answer to this question that is not common but very refreshing. Tania was born in Kenya and moved around a lot. Her geographical footprint includes 4 other African countries, Thailand, Austria and Germany. Although she calls Germany home, her heart and her projects revolve around Kenya. In this conversation we follow her online journey from her first chat room all the way through to her current day Instagram world. This IG space includes the travel services of Swahili Secrets, the African inspired merchandise of Bantu Sisters, and the community oriented The Kenyan Kind. 

 In this conversation we chat about:

  • her amazing geographical trajectory
  • her first experiences online & her current onlineness
  • private and public social media choices
  • how her online posting habits have changed
  • the online lessons she’s learned over time 

Original publication date: April 2, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Can social media ground us and make us feel more at peace in this crazy world? 

This conversation with Tania from Swahili Secrets will present an answer to this question that is not common but very refreshing. Tania was born in Kenya and moved around a lot. Her geographical footprint includes 4 other African countries, Thailand, Austria and Germany. Although she calls Germany home, her heart and her projects revolve around Kenya. In this conversation we follow her online journey from her first chat room all the way through to her current day Instagram world. This IG space includes the travel services of Swahili Secrets, the African inspired merchandise of Bantu Sisters, and the community oriented The Kenyan Kind. 

 In this conversation we chat about:

  • her amazing geographical trajectory
  • her first experiences online & her current onlineness
  • private and public social media choices
  • how her online posting habits have changed
  • the online lessons she’s learned over time 

Original publication date: April 2, 2021

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 1141dd06-1aa8-41a2-8f19-02d7f7d9074a Thu, 20 Aug 2020 05:00:00 +0200 3247 full false Music and Politics From China to the UK: A British Expat on Social Media and Real Life Abroad: S5E10 Music and Politics From China to the UK: A British Expat on Social Media and Real Life Abroad: S5E10 Send us Fan Mail

Before social media became nonstop political warfare, moving abroad often meant building creative communities online from scratch. James spent 14 years outside the UK, first in the Czech Republic and later in China, where blogs, expat forums, mixtapes, and early music podcasts helped him stay connected across cultures. Now back in England, he reflects on how dramatically online life changed between 2002 and 2016. We talk about Prague’s early expat blogging scene, podcasting before it went mainstream, China’s surprisingly open early internet years, the rise of the Great Firewall, reverse culture shock, Brexit-era social media tension, and the story behind Centuries of Sound, his podcast creating mixtapes for every year of recorded sound history.

Original publication date: July 18, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Before social media became nonstop political warfare, moving abroad often meant building creative communities online from scratch. James spent 14 years outside the UK, first in the Czech Republic and later in China, where blogs, expat forums, mixtapes, and early music podcasts helped him stay connected across cultures. Now back in England, he reflects on how dramatically online life changed between 2002 and 2016. We talk about Prague’s early expat blogging scene, podcasting before it went mainstream, China’s surprisingly open early internet years, the rise of the Great Firewall, reverse culture shock, Brexit-era social media tension, and the story behind Centuries of Sound, his podcast creating mixtapes for every year of recorded sound history.

Original publication date: July 18, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio cb1e0bf1-f679-400d-a11b-cda87dca4517 Thu, 23 Jul 2020 05:00:00 +0200 1075 music, China, UK, podcasting, podcasts, politics full false Starting An Expat Podcast in Germany as a South African Immigrant: S5E9 Starting An Expat Podcast in Germany as a South African Immigrant: S5E9 Send us Fan Mail

Podcasting in Germany can give immigrants and long-term international residents a way to reconnect with the curiosity and identity that can fade once life abroad becomes ordinary. After 12 years in Germany, Shaun Behrens found that creating an English-language podcast about expat life didn’t just connect him with listeners, it pulled him back into conversations about movement, belonging, and international life that he was starting to miss.

Shaun is originally from South Africa and had become a German citizen after more than a decade in Germany. He started Expat Life Germany partly because he missed the “expat spirit” of people willing to pack everything up and build a life somewhere new. With two children, a third on the way, and a settled life in Germany, moving again wasn’t realistic, so interviewing people still navigating international life became another way to stay connected to that part of himself.

Listen for:

  • How a long-term immigrant in Germany stayed connected to international life
  • Why settling in Germany changed Shaun’s relationship with expat identity
  • How an English-language podcast helped him reconnect with the “expat spirit”
  • Why Germans listened to an expat podcast for an outsider’s view of Germany
  • How life in Germany shaped the direction of Expat Life Germany
  • Why speaking fluent German didn’t mean hosting a podcast in German felt right
  • How conversations with expats and immigrants changed Shaun’s view of Germany
  • Why an expat podcast started expanding into immigration, identity, and belonging
  • How building an audience made Shaun reconsider the podcast’s original focus

How Immigrants Stay Connected to International Life After Settling in Germany

After 12 years in Germany, Shaun no longer considered himself an expat. He’d become a German citizen and described himself more as an immigrant, but he still missed the curiosity and movement of international life. Expat Life Germany gave him regular contact with people who were still experiencing the process of moving somewhere new.

Why Germans Listen to English-Language Podcasts About Germany

Shaun expected an English-language podcast about Germany to attract foreigners, but Germans started listening too. They told him they enjoyed hearing their country through “outsiders’ eyes.” That unexpected audience made him reconsider whether the podcast was really just about expat life.

How Expat Podcasts Expand Into Immigration, Identity, and Belonging

Shaun originally planned to interview people currently living in Germany as expats, but the stories he wanted to tell soon became broader. One upcoming guest had German grandparents who left during the Holocaust, later studied German at university, and spent several months living in Germany. Shaun began thinking less about “expat life” and more about the wider “Germany experience” created through immigration, travel, language, history, and family.

The show was also growing faster than Shaun expected. Just 13 episodes in, his Facebook group had around 40 members and his downloads were strong enough that changing the concept no longer felt invisible. He was considering a rebrand, even if it meant losing some listeners, because making a show he wanted to keep producing mattered more than protecting the original idea.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: SHAUN BEHRENS

Podcast: The Germany Experience (the new name): https://pod.link/1464633448

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Expat Life Germany | Podstock | Podcastnik | The Expat Cast | Buzzsprout | Zencastr

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: September 30, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Podcasting in Germany can give immigrants and long-term international residents a way to reconnect with the curiosity and identity that can fade once life abroad becomes ordinary. After 12 years in Germany, Shaun Behrens found that creating an English-language podcast about expat life didn’t just connect him with listeners, it pulled him back into conversations about movement, belonging, and international life that he was starting to miss.

Shaun is originally from South Africa and had become a German citizen after more than a decade in Germany. He started Expat Life Germany partly because he missed the “expat spirit” of people willing to pack everything up and build a life somewhere new. With two children, a third on the way, and a settled life in Germany, moving again wasn’t realistic, so interviewing people still navigating international life became another way to stay connected to that part of himself.

Listen for:

  • How a long-term immigrant in Germany stayed connected to international life
  • Why settling in Germany changed Shaun’s relationship with expat identity
  • How an English-language podcast helped him reconnect with the “expat spirit”
  • Why Germans listened to an expat podcast for an outsider’s view of Germany
  • How life in Germany shaped the direction of Expat Life Germany
  • Why speaking fluent German didn’t mean hosting a podcast in German felt right
  • How conversations with expats and immigrants changed Shaun’s view of Germany
  • Why an expat podcast started expanding into immigration, identity, and belonging
  • How building an audience made Shaun reconsider the podcast’s original focus

How Immigrants Stay Connected to International Life After Settling in Germany

After 12 years in Germany, Shaun no longer considered himself an expat. He’d become a German citizen and described himself more as an immigrant, but he still missed the curiosity and movement of international life. Expat Life Germany gave him regular contact with people who were still experiencing the process of moving somewhere new.

Why Germans Listen to English-Language Podcasts About Germany

Shaun expected an English-language podcast about Germany to attract foreigners, but Germans started listening too. They told him they enjoyed hearing their country through “outsiders’ eyes.” That unexpected audience made him reconsider whether the podcast was really just about expat life.

How Expat Podcasts Expand Into Immigration, Identity, and Belonging

Shaun originally planned to interview people currently living in Germany as expats, but the stories he wanted to tell soon became broader. One upcoming guest had German grandparents who left during the Holocaust, later studied German at university, and spent several months living in Germany. Shaun began thinking less about “expat life” and more about the wider “Germany experience” created through immigration, travel, language, history, and family.

The show was also growing faster than Shaun expected. Just 13 episodes in, his Facebook group had around 40 members and his downloads were strong enough that changing the concept no longer felt invisible. He was considering a rebrand, even if it meant losing some listeners, because making a show he wanted to keep producing mattered more than protecting the original idea.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: SHAUN BEHRENS

Podcast: The Germany Experience (the new name): https://pod.link/1464633448

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Expat Life Germany | Podstock | Podcastnik | The Expat Cast | Buzzsprout | Zencastr

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: September 30, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio be10ffd3-d455-4f0f-a6f4-2e2f082c8223 Thu, 09 Jul 2020 05:00:00 +0200 1080 full false Living Abroad in China: Why This American Expat Prefers Chinese Social Media: S5E8 Living Abroad in China: Why This American Expat Prefers Chinese Social Media: S5E8 Send us Fan Mail

In China, WeChat, Alipay, and Didi can give expats and internationals something bigger than convenience: independence. That matters fast when daily life depends on local apps, and Keturah Kendrick’s experience in Shanghai shows how technology can reshape transportation, payments, communication, and the basic ability to navigate life abroad.

Keturah Kendrick is an international English teacher, author of No Thanks: Reflections on Freedom, and host of Unchained, Unbothered, a podcast centering Black women across the African diaspora. After growing up in New Orleans, spending 14 years in New York City, living in Rwanda, traveling across 13 African countries, and then moving to Shanghai, she experienced a major shift in her relationship with technology. In this conversation, she explains how someone who once resisted Instagram came to rely on WeChat, Alipay, Didi, translation tools, food delivery, and streaming to live more independently abroad and stay connected to home.

Listen for:

  • How living in China changes expat internet habits
  • Why WeChat is essential for expat life in China
  • How Alipay and mobile payments change daily life in China
  • Why Didi and translation tools help expats navigate China independently
  • How expats use Chinese apps and Western social media differently
  • Why Chinese social media is harder for foreigners to understand
  • How online communities turn into real friendships abroad
  • Why living abroad can increase connection to media from home
  • How internet access becomes essential for expats and internationals

Why WeChat Matters for Expat Life in China

WeChat sat at the center of Keturah’s shift from reluctant tech user to someone who depended on digital tools every day. She used it for messaging, payments, translation, group communication, and even arranging rides when her phone initially wouldn’t download Didi. Combined with Alipay, Ele.me, Explore Shanghai, and SmartShanghai, these apps became less about “being online” and more about functioning independently in Shanghai.

How Expats Use Chinese and Western Apps Differently

Keturah used Chinese and Western platforms for different parts of her life. WeChat, Didi, Ele.me, and city apps helped her navigate Shanghai, while Facebook and Instagram kept her connected with friends, family, readers, and podcast listeners outside China. That split created two parallel digital lives: one for where she physically lived and one for the community she carried with her.

Why Living Abroad Can Increase Connection to Home

Living in China also made Keturah watch more American television than she had in the US. Shows like Pose, Queen Sugar, 90 Day Fiancé, and the Real Housewives franchises helped recreate the cultural conversations she no longer picked up naturally through coworkers, students, and friends. Streaming became another way to stay connected to home.

Keturah also challenges the idea that online relationships are automatically less real. Some of the people who found her through her podcast and book became genuine friends before they ever met in person. As she put it, “we’ve been met.”

By the end of the conversation, internet access no longer felt optional to her. She went from questioning why anyone needed Instagram to seeing internet access as essential modern infrastructure for work, communication, transportation, information, and independence abroad.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: KETURAH KENDRICK

Author: No Thanks: Reflections on Freedom
Podcast: Unchained, Unbothered
Website: https://www.keturahkendrick.com/

CONNECT WITH STEPH FUCCIO

Website: PodcastSteph.com

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

WeChat | Alipay | Didi | Ele.me | Explore Shanghai | SmartShanghai

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: September 27, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In China, WeChat, Alipay, and Didi can give expats and internationals something bigger than convenience: independence. That matters fast when daily life depends on local apps, and Keturah Kendrick’s experience in Shanghai shows how technology can reshape transportation, payments, communication, and the basic ability to navigate life abroad.

Keturah Kendrick is an international English teacher, author of No Thanks: Reflections on Freedom, and host of Unchained, Unbothered, a podcast centering Black women across the African diaspora. After growing up in New Orleans, spending 14 years in New York City, living in Rwanda, traveling across 13 African countries, and then moving to Shanghai, she experienced a major shift in her relationship with technology. In this conversation, she explains how someone who once resisted Instagram came to rely on WeChat, Alipay, Didi, translation tools, food delivery, and streaming to live more independently abroad and stay connected to home.

Listen for:

  • How living in China changes expat internet habits
  • Why WeChat is essential for expat life in China
  • How Alipay and mobile payments change daily life in China
  • Why Didi and translation tools help expats navigate China independently
  • How expats use Chinese apps and Western social media differently
  • Why Chinese social media is harder for foreigners to understand
  • How online communities turn into real friendships abroad
  • Why living abroad can increase connection to media from home
  • How internet access becomes essential for expats and internationals

Why WeChat Matters for Expat Life in China

WeChat sat at the center of Keturah’s shift from reluctant tech user to someone who depended on digital tools every day. She used it for messaging, payments, translation, group communication, and even arranging rides when her phone initially wouldn’t download Didi. Combined with Alipay, Ele.me, Explore Shanghai, and SmartShanghai, these apps became less about “being online” and more about functioning independently in Shanghai.

How Expats Use Chinese and Western Apps Differently

Keturah used Chinese and Western platforms for different parts of her life. WeChat, Didi, Ele.me, and city apps helped her navigate Shanghai, while Facebook and Instagram kept her connected with friends, family, readers, and podcast listeners outside China. That split created two parallel digital lives: one for where she physically lived and one for the community she carried with her.

Why Living Abroad Can Increase Connection to Home

Living in China also made Keturah watch more American television than she had in the US. Shows like Pose, Queen Sugar, 90 Day Fiancé, and the Real Housewives franchises helped recreate the cultural conversations she no longer picked up naturally through coworkers, students, and friends. Streaming became another way to stay connected to home.

Keturah also challenges the idea that online relationships are automatically less real. Some of the people who found her through her podcast and book became genuine friends before they ever met in person. As she put it, “we’ve been met.”

By the end of the conversation, internet access no longer felt optional to her. She went from questioning why anyone needed Instagram to seeing internet access as essential modern infrastructure for work, communication, transportation, information, and independence abroad.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: KETURAH KENDRICK

Author: No Thanks: Reflections on Freedom
Podcast: Unchained, Unbothered
Website: https://www.keturahkendrick.com/

CONNECT WITH STEPH FUCCIO

Website: PodcastSteph.com

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

WeChat | Alipay | Didi | Ele.me | Explore Shanghai | SmartShanghai

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: September 27, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio d3701513-24c4-4548-8722-b8b26d26a35c Thu, 25 Jun 2020 05:00:00 +0200 3517 full false From Turkey to China: How One Expat Rebuilt His Life and Went Viral: S5E7 From Turkey to China: How One Expat Rebuilt His Life and Went Viral: S5E7 Send us Fan Mail

In this episode I am pleased to welcome Yunus Emre Karasakal, a Turkish expat in Shanghai, China. Yunus is a Brazilian JiuJitsu (BJJ) Instructor here in Shanghai as well as an Abu Dhabi World Pro Masters Champion (Brown Belt) and an IBJJF Asian Open Champion (Brown and Black Belt). Yes, for the language geeks, he gives BJJ instruction in English and Chinese and yes, we chatted about him coming on the Changing Scripts show soon, don’t worry. Yunus is the first expat I’ve talked to that spends more time on his host country’s social media platforms than the ones he used before moving abroad. The platform he uses the most is the very popular Chinese video app, Douyin, which has an outside of China app spin off called Tiktok. He brings BJJ to a funny level on this current platform. If you don’t have Douyin, don’t worry, you can still see some of his videos on Instagram.  

Original publication date: September 13, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode I am pleased to welcome Yunus Emre Karasakal, a Turkish expat in Shanghai, China. Yunus is a Brazilian JiuJitsu (BJJ) Instructor here in Shanghai as well as an Abu Dhabi World Pro Masters Champion (Brown Belt) and an IBJJF Asian Open Champion (Brown and Black Belt). Yes, for the language geeks, he gives BJJ instruction in English and Chinese and yes, we chatted about him coming on the Changing Scripts show soon, don’t worry. Yunus is the first expat I’ve talked to that spends more time on his host country’s social media platforms than the ones he used before moving abroad. The platform he uses the most is the very popular Chinese video app, Douyin, which has an outside of China app spin off called Tiktok. He brings BJJ to a funny level on this current platform. If you don’t have Douyin, don’t worry, you can still see some of his videos on Instagram.  

Original publication date: September 13, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 9f230cfb-cdcc-4575-bde1-9a1f6ac4f3b0 Thu, 11 Jun 2020 05:00:00 +0200 7169 full false Third Culture Kid Life Online: Social Media, Identity, and Growing Up Across Countries: S5E6 Third Culture Kid Life Online: Social Media, Identity, and Growing Up Across Countries: S5E6 Send us Fan Mail

Third culture kids don’t use the internet the same way everywhere they live, and Ting’s moves between China, the US, Singapore, and Hong Kong show how geography reshapes social media habits, online identity, privacy, language, and communication. As more of our relationships and professional lives move online, understanding how culture and location influence the platforms we use, what we share, and how we connect across borders matters more than ever.

What You’ll Learn About Third Culture Kids, Social Media, and Online Identity

  • How living in different countries changes social media habits
  • Why WeChat became essential for communication in China
  • How privacy settings influence what people share online
  • Why WhatsApp became important in Singapore and Hong Kong
  • How bilingual people use different languages online
  • Why geography influences which social media platforms people use

How Living in Different Countries Changes Online Identity

Ting was born in Hainan, grew up in San Francisco and Beijing, attended university in North Carolina, and studied in Singapore and Hong Kong. By middle school, she was already noticing that online profiles showed only selected parts of a person.

As her geography changed, so did the platforms, languages, and social expectations around her.

How Social Media Helps Maintain Friendships Across Borders

At around 14, Ting moved from San Francisco back to Beijing and entered a local Chinese school while rebuilding her Chinese. She dropped from partway through ninth grade in the US back to eighth grade and prepared for the Zhongkao high school entrance exam.

AIM became a way to stay connected with childhood friends in the US and feel less isolated after the move.

Why WeChat Became Essential for Communication in China

Ting didn’t initially understand why classmates wanted smartphones. Then WeChat groups became part of everyday social life, and not having a smartphone meant missing conversations.

Her parents saw smartphones as a distraction, so Ting eventually saved enough money to buy one herself.

How WeChat Privacy Differs From Facebook

Ting kept using WeChat wherever she lived partly because WeChat Moments felt more private than Facebook. Likes and comments are only visible to people who are also connected to the person interacting with the post.

That privacy influenced what people shared, from harmless screenshots of jokes to group-chat arguments exposed publicly.

Why WhatsApp Is Popular for International Communication

During a university exchange in Singapore, Ting encountered another communication norm: exchanging WhatsApp details when meeting someone.

She liked that WhatsApp focused on direct communication rather than giving a new acquaintance access to years of public posts and photos. It stayed important when she later studied in Hong Kong.

How Messaging Apps Support Long-Distance Friendships

Ting met her best friend during the Singapore exchange and became closer to her in Hong Kong. Her friend doesn’t use Facebook or Instagram, so WhatsApp became their main way to message and call across countries.

Different apps weren’t interchangeable. Some became closely tied to particular relationships and places.

How Local Culture Changes Online Conversations

When Ting moved from Singapore to Hong Kong, the apps people used stayed similar, but the conversations changed. She noticed much more politically heated discussion and online activism around local elections.

The technology was similar, but geography changed what people used it to discuss.

How Bilingual People Use Different Languages Online

Ting mainly uses English on Facebook and Instagram. On WeChat, she moves between English and Chinese depending on the person and what she wants to express.

With other third culture kids, she may code-switch between both languages. Often, the language she first uses with someone becomes the language she continues using with them.

Why Geography Influences Social Media Platform Use

MySpace and AIM mattered in California. WeChat became essential in China, while WhatsApp entered Ting’s life in Singapore and remained useful in Hong Kong.

Ting describes herself as “social media slow,” which makes the pattern clearer: geography and community kept deciding which technologies became relevant.

What Old Social Media Posts Reveal About Online Identity

Ting sometimes looks back at old blog and social media posts and barely recognizes the person who created them. She sees that distance as evidence of growth.

For people who move across countries and cultures, old posts can preserve earlier versions of someone whose geography, language, relationships, and ideas about privacy were all changing at the same time.

Original publication date: August 16, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Third culture kids don’t use the internet the same way everywhere they live, and Ting’s moves between China, the US, Singapore, and Hong Kong show how geography reshapes social media habits, online identity, privacy, language, and communication. As more of our relationships and professional lives move online, understanding how culture and location influence the platforms we use, what we share, and how we connect across borders matters more than ever.

What You’ll Learn About Third Culture Kids, Social Media, and Online Identity

  • How living in different countries changes social media habits
  • Why WeChat became essential for communication in China
  • How privacy settings influence what people share online
  • Why WhatsApp became important in Singapore and Hong Kong
  • How bilingual people use different languages online
  • Why geography influences which social media platforms people use

How Living in Different Countries Changes Online Identity

Ting was born in Hainan, grew up in San Francisco and Beijing, attended university in North Carolina, and studied in Singapore and Hong Kong. By middle school, she was already noticing that online profiles showed only selected parts of a person.

As her geography changed, so did the platforms, languages, and social expectations around her.

How Social Media Helps Maintain Friendships Across Borders

At around 14, Ting moved from San Francisco back to Beijing and entered a local Chinese school while rebuilding her Chinese. She dropped from partway through ninth grade in the US back to eighth grade and prepared for the Zhongkao high school entrance exam.

AIM became a way to stay connected with childhood friends in the US and feel less isolated after the move.

Why WeChat Became Essential for Communication in China

Ting didn’t initially understand why classmates wanted smartphones. Then WeChat groups became part of everyday social life, and not having a smartphone meant missing conversations.

Her parents saw smartphones as a distraction, so Ting eventually saved enough money to buy one herself.

How WeChat Privacy Differs From Facebook

Ting kept using WeChat wherever she lived partly because WeChat Moments felt more private than Facebook. Likes and comments are only visible to people who are also connected to the person interacting with the post.

That privacy influenced what people shared, from harmless screenshots of jokes to group-chat arguments exposed publicly.

Why WhatsApp Is Popular for International Communication

During a university exchange in Singapore, Ting encountered another communication norm: exchanging WhatsApp details when meeting someone.

She liked that WhatsApp focused on direct communication rather than giving a new acquaintance access to years of public posts and photos. It stayed important when she later studied in Hong Kong.

How Messaging Apps Support Long-Distance Friendships

Ting met her best friend during the Singapore exchange and became closer to her in Hong Kong. Her friend doesn’t use Facebook or Instagram, so WhatsApp became their main way to message and call across countries.

Different apps weren’t interchangeable. Some became closely tied to particular relationships and places.

How Local Culture Changes Online Conversations

When Ting moved from Singapore to Hong Kong, the apps people used stayed similar, but the conversations changed. She noticed much more politically heated discussion and online activism around local elections.

The technology was similar, but geography changed what people used it to discuss.

How Bilingual People Use Different Languages Online

Ting mainly uses English on Facebook and Instagram. On WeChat, she moves between English and Chinese depending on the person and what she wants to express.

With other third culture kids, she may code-switch between both languages. Often, the language she first uses with someone becomes the language she continues using with them.

Why Geography Influences Social Media Platform Use

MySpace and AIM mattered in California. WeChat became essential in China, while WhatsApp entered Ting’s life in Singapore and remained useful in Hong Kong.

Ting describes herself as “social media slow,” which makes the pattern clearer: geography and community kept deciding which technologies became relevant.

What Old Social Media Posts Reveal About Online Identity

Ting sometimes looks back at old blog and social media posts and barely recognizes the person who created them. She sees that distance as evidence of growth.

For people who move across countries and cultures, old posts can preserve earlier versions of someone whose geography, language, relationships, and ideas about privacy were all changing at the same time.

Original publication date: August 16, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 38fec39e-7681-40fd-88af-3f859e7f69e0 Thu, 28 May 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5717 full false Filmmaker in China: An American Expat on Creativity and Life Online: S5E5 Filmmaker in China: An American Expat on Creativity and Life Online: S5E5 Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with Brendan Davis, an American expat who has lived in China for many years. Brendan is a Film and TV Writer, Producer, Director and fellow Podcaster. His podcasts are: If I Knew You Better, Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom and How China Works. Brendan somehow has kept grounded as has been involved with some pretty spectacular creative projects globally. Okay, to be honest, he is a bit crazy, good crazy, as his website, https://www.crazyinagoodway.com admits to. The kind of crazy that you want in your life and in your earbuds. 

 In this conversation Steph and Brendan chat about how his move to China changed what he did online, how he is splitting his time now that he has decided not to work IN China but will continue to keep a home base (and an Internet connection) here, and how he cultivated his crazy in a good way online persona while being a deep, thought provoking and may I say, wonderful human being.

Original publication date: June 21, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with Brendan Davis, an American expat who has lived in China for many years. Brendan is a Film and TV Writer, Producer, Director and fellow Podcaster. His podcasts are: If I Knew You Better, Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom and How China Works. Brendan somehow has kept grounded as has been involved with some pretty spectacular creative projects globally. Okay, to be honest, he is a bit crazy, good crazy, as his website, https://www.crazyinagoodway.com admits to. The kind of crazy that you want in your life and in your earbuds. 

 In this conversation Steph and Brendan chat about how his move to China changed what he did online, how he is splitting his time now that he has decided not to work IN China but will continue to keep a home base (and an Internet connection) here, and how he cultivated his crazy in a good way online persona while being a deep, thought provoking and may I say, wonderful human being.

Original publication date: June 21, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 4827380b-7e11-4933-868a-55d390f7a560 Thu, 14 May 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5859 full false American in the Netherlands: Expat Life, Social Media, and Sense of Place: S5E4 American in the Netherlands: Expat Life, Social Media, and Sense of Place: S5E4 Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with Kelly Merks, a Texas expat who has lived abroad since 2011, in Japan and in the Netherlands. Her Twitter bio tells is: “A Texan full of fernweh (NOTE: “fernweh is a German word that means “ A Farsickness or Longing for Unseen Places.). Noob knitter and clay thrower. Fairy godmother of @WeAreXpats, a project of @xpatarchive: http://wearexpats.org “

​​@WeAreXpats is how Kelly and I first met online and connected over discussions of place, social medianess and expat life. For those of you not familiar with rocur accounts, they are rotating accounts where usually 1 person in that category (in this case, an expat) tweets for a week and then the account will rotate to another person after that. Kelly started this rocur account while she was a volunteer at the Expatriate Archive Center in The Hauge where she now is their Public Relations Manager. Outside of the EAC, Kelly also is raising a tiny human with her husband and somehow finds time to write about her geographic pondering in her blog, Bullet Trains & Bike Lanes.

Original publication date: May 14, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with Kelly Merks, a Texas expat who has lived abroad since 2011, in Japan and in the Netherlands. Her Twitter bio tells is: “A Texan full of fernweh (NOTE: “fernweh is a German word that means “ A Farsickness or Longing for Unseen Places.). Noob knitter and clay thrower. Fairy godmother of @WeAreXpats, a project of @xpatarchive: http://wearexpats.org “

​​@WeAreXpats is how Kelly and I first met online and connected over discussions of place, social medianess and expat life. For those of you not familiar with rocur accounts, they are rotating accounts where usually 1 person in that category (in this case, an expat) tweets for a week and then the account will rotate to another person after that. Kelly started this rocur account while she was a volunteer at the Expatriate Archive Center in The Hauge where she now is their Public Relations Manager. Outside of the EAC, Kelly also is raising a tiny human with her husband and somehow finds time to write about her geographic pondering in her blog, Bullet Trains & Bike Lanes.

Original publication date: May 14, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 34f67e5a-1a57-49e2-b295-5e99ae76befc Thu, 30 Apr 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5563 full false Inside China’s Livestream World: Director Hao Wu on Fame, Fans, and Big Money: S5E3 Inside China’s Livestream World: Director Hao Wu on Fame, Fans, and Big Money: S5E3 Send us Fan Mail

China’s internet culture reveals how powerfully money, status, and the need for connection shape what people do online. Documentary filmmaker Hao Wu explains how moving between China and the US changes his internet habits, and what China’s YY livestreaming world reveals about class, fame, connection, and the creator economy.

Hao Wu: https://www.haowufilm.com/

What You’ll Learn About China’s Internet and Chinese Livestreaming

  • How internet use differs between China and the US
  • How China’s Great Firewall shapes online behavior
  • How YY livestreaming helped build China’s creator economy
  • How migrant workers found community through livestreaming
  • What online fame and creator burnout look like
  • Why social media creates both connection and dependence

How Internet Use Differs Between China and the US

Hao moved from China to the US at age 20 in 1992, when staying connected meant sending email through Unix commands on black screens with green text.

His habits still change with geography. In China, he turns to WeChat, Toutiao, and Tencent Video. In the US, he shifts toward The New York Times, BuzzFeed, YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu.

How China’s Great Firewall Shapes Online Behavior

China’s Great Firewall explains only part of that divide. Conversations with cab drivers and childhood friends also change what he researches online.

For Hao, digital life doesn’t exist separately from everyday life. Moving countries changes the information and online spaces he needs.

How YY Livestreaming Helped Build China’s Creator Economy

Hao began filming People’s Republic of Desire in 2014, before livestreaming became mainstream in China. YY fascinated him because wealthy tuhao and poorer diaosi could occupy the same online space even though they rarely mixed that way offline.

YY connected performers, fans, patrons, agencies, and the platform through virtual gifts and revenue sharing. Big spenders gained recognition and status while streamers built careers around keeping audiences engaged.

How Chinese Livestreaming Created Community for Migrant Workers

Hao followed Yong, a migrant worker who spent his evenings watching livestreamer Big Lee. When Hao asked when he would stop, Yong said: when Big Lee stopped performing.

For devoted fans, livestreaming offered more than entertainment. It created a recurring social space built around personalities, jokes, competitions, and a performer’s success.

What It Takes to Become a Successful Livestreamer in China

Livestreaming could look like easy money, but successful hosts might improvise for one or two hours while entertaining viewers and responding in real time.

Big Lee became so drained by performing that he no longer wanted to talk after broadcasts. The connection viewers valued could leave the performer exhausted.

What Chinese Livestreaming Reveals About Class, Money, and Status

Hao doesn’t claim YY represents all of China. Instead, he describes livestreaming as an extreme reflection containing “kernels of truth.”

Money, status, aspiration, recognition, and inequality already existed offline. YY made those forces unusually visible online.

Why Social Media Creates Connection and Dependence

After two years filming People’s Republic of Desire and another year and a half editing it, Hao began questioning his own desire for likes, comments, and recognition online.

Yet social media also helped people discover, fund, and share his independent films. The same technology could create dependence while providing genuine community and support.

How Geography Shapes Online Identity Across Countries

Move Hao from the US to China and his apps, news, conversations, and questions change. The livestreamers and fans he documented show a related pattern: what people want or lack offline shapes what they seek online.

Our online identities don’t exist separately from where and how we live. They grow out of them.

Original publication date: April 20, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

China’s internet culture reveals how powerfully money, status, and the need for connection shape what people do online. Documentary filmmaker Hao Wu explains how moving between China and the US changes his internet habits, and what China’s YY livestreaming world reveals about class, fame, connection, and the creator economy.

Hao Wu: https://www.haowufilm.com/

What You’ll Learn About China’s Internet and Chinese Livestreaming

  • How internet use differs between China and the US
  • How China’s Great Firewall shapes online behavior
  • How YY livestreaming helped build China’s creator economy
  • How migrant workers found community through livestreaming
  • What online fame and creator burnout look like
  • Why social media creates both connection and dependence

How Internet Use Differs Between China and the US

Hao moved from China to the US at age 20 in 1992, when staying connected meant sending email through Unix commands on black screens with green text.

His habits still change with geography. In China, he turns to WeChat, Toutiao, and Tencent Video. In the US, he shifts toward The New York Times, BuzzFeed, YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu.

How China’s Great Firewall Shapes Online Behavior

China’s Great Firewall explains only part of that divide. Conversations with cab drivers and childhood friends also change what he researches online.

For Hao, digital life doesn’t exist separately from everyday life. Moving countries changes the information and online spaces he needs.

How YY Livestreaming Helped Build China’s Creator Economy

Hao began filming People’s Republic of Desire in 2014, before livestreaming became mainstream in China. YY fascinated him because wealthy tuhao and poorer diaosi could occupy the same online space even though they rarely mixed that way offline.

YY connected performers, fans, patrons, agencies, and the platform through virtual gifts and revenue sharing. Big spenders gained recognition and status while streamers built careers around keeping audiences engaged.

How Chinese Livestreaming Created Community for Migrant Workers

Hao followed Yong, a migrant worker who spent his evenings watching livestreamer Big Lee. When Hao asked when he would stop, Yong said: when Big Lee stopped performing.

For devoted fans, livestreaming offered more than entertainment. It created a recurring social space built around personalities, jokes, competitions, and a performer’s success.

What It Takes to Become a Successful Livestreamer in China

Livestreaming could look like easy money, but successful hosts might improvise for one or two hours while entertaining viewers and responding in real time.

Big Lee became so drained by performing that he no longer wanted to talk after broadcasts. The connection viewers valued could leave the performer exhausted.

What Chinese Livestreaming Reveals About Class, Money, and Status

Hao doesn’t claim YY represents all of China. Instead, he describes livestreaming as an extreme reflection containing “kernels of truth.”

Money, status, aspiration, recognition, and inequality already existed offline. YY made those forces unusually visible online.

Why Social Media Creates Connection and Dependence

After two years filming People’s Republic of Desire and another year and a half editing it, Hao began questioning his own desire for likes, comments, and recognition online.

Yet social media also helped people discover, fund, and share his independent films. The same technology could create dependence while providing genuine community and support.

How Geography Shapes Online Identity Across Countries

Move Hao from the US to China and his apps, news, conversations, and questions change. The livestreamers and fans he documented show a related pattern: what people want or lack offline shapes what they seek online.

Our online identities don’t exist separately from where and how we live. They grow out of them.

Original publication date: April 20, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 3630253c-5773-4a91-964a-f025e78e6b90 Thu, 16 Apr 2020 05:00:00 +0200 2672 full false Australia and Shanghai: Andy Curtain on Expat Life and Stand-Up in China: S5E2 Australia and Shanghai: Andy Curtain on Expat Life and Stand-Up in China: S5E2 Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with long term China Expat Andy Curtain about his geographical movement from Melbourne, Australia to Shanghai, China and what effect it had on his online activities/presence. Even though he was online quite early in Australia with IRC and ICQ, he admits that most of his current online activities have been utility based, focusing on his stand up comedy promotions and community building. 

​As a fellow Content Creator (and Influencer, lol), I find it very interesting that the making of his podcast, Stuck in the Middle, helps him process his own comedic material. There is so much to say about Andy, the deep impression he has made on the stand up comedy scene in China and his own business savvy that has impacted how I think of my own creative endeavors on and offline in the short time since this interview took place. But for now I will just say thank you Andy for coming on the show and sharing your story.  

Original publication date: April 9, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast episode we chat with long term China Expat Andy Curtain about his geographical movement from Melbourne, Australia to Shanghai, China and what effect it had on his online activities/presence. Even though he was online quite early in Australia with IRC and ICQ, he admits that most of his current online activities have been utility based, focusing on his stand up comedy promotions and community building. 

​As a fellow Content Creator (and Influencer, lol), I find it very interesting that the making of his podcast, Stuck in the Middle, helps him process his own comedic material. There is so much to say about Andy, the deep impression he has made on the stand up comedy scene in China and his own business savvy that has impacted how I think of my own creative endeavors on and offline in the short time since this interview took place. But for now I will just say thank you Andy for coming on the show and sharing your story.  

Original publication date: April 9, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8508d279-e89c-4d16-8cb2-ed66b216ba96 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 05:00:00 +0200 5035 full false Expat Life in China: An Australian’s Deep Dive into Mandarin & Identity: S5E1 Expat Life in China: An Australian’s Deep Dive into Mandarin & Identity: S5E1 Send us Fan Mail

Mandarin Chinese can feel completely different depending on whether you’re reading it, hearing it, or trying to speak it. After 25 years with Mandarin, Tanya Crossman explains why Chinese characters, tones, grammar, listening comprehension, and real-world language use need different kinds of practice, and what learners should understand before those gaps get harder to close. Her experience across classrooms, workplaces, and daily life in China shows why fluency is about learning how those skills connect.

Tanya's website: https://www.tanyacrossman.com/

Original publication date: April 1, 2019

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, Listening Comprehension, and Fluency

  •  Why Mandarin reading and listening can develop at different speeds 
  •  How 10 years of Mandarin study can still leave listening gaps 
  •  Why Chinese grammar depends on context and implied meaning 
  •  How living and working in China builds real-world Mandarin fluency 
  •  How Chinese TV can improve Mandarin listening comprehension 
  •  Why emotional vocabulary matters for advanced Mandarin fluency 
  •  What it means to feel ownership over a second language 

Why Mandarin Chinese Reading and Listening Develop Differently

Tanya started learning Mandarin at age eleven and studied it for about a decade before moving to China. At university in Beijing, she could read her entire textbook but struggled to answer even two out of ten listening-comprehension questions correctly.

During her first year in China, she sometimes pictured Chinese characters while trying to speak. Because characters don’t create the same bridge between writing and pronunciation as alphabet-based languages, reading and conversation can develop very differently.

Why Mandarin Chinese Grammar Depends on Context and Implied Meaning

Mandarin doesn’t rely on verb conjugations like many European languages. Its complexity instead comes through word order, vocabulary, particles, context, and implication.

Forms such as 看书, 看完书, 看了书, and 看书了 show how surrounding words change meaning even when the core verb stays recognizable. Learners can know every word and still miss what the speaker means.

How Living and Working in China Builds Real-World Mandarin Fluency

Tanya’s biggest leap toward fluency came in an open-plan office where she was the only foreign employee. She heard coworkers persuade suppliers, joke with the DHL delivery person, talk with partners, and complain to family members.

Hearing the same people shift their Mandarin across situations taught her tone, humor, and implication. She still remembers the first time she successfully used sarcasm in Chinese.

How Chinese TV Can Improve Mandarin Listening Comprehension

Tanya recommends soap operas because repeated plots and phrases give learners several chances to catch language they initially miss.

Early in China, she watched a Russian soap opera dubbed and subtitled in Chinese. The long Russian names created pauses that gave her extra time to process the Mandarin she’d just heard.

Why Emotional Vocabulary Matters for Advanced Mandarin Fluency

Classroom Mandarin often teaches practical communication before learners can express complicated feelings. Tanya developed more emotional vocabulary by helping a Chinese friend interpret and write personal messages in English.

Those conversations showed how advanced fluency requires more than vocabulary and grammar. Learners also need the language and cultural knowledge to communicate who they are.

What It Means to Feel Ownership Over Mandarin Chinese

After studying around a dozen languages, Tanya says she feels true ownership only over English and Mandarin.

A Malaysian Chinese woman who usually addressed Tanya in English eventually apologized for underestimating how deeply Chinese was part of her life. For Tanya, being recognized as a Chinese speaker mattered more than proving she could speak it.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Mandarin Chinese can feel completely different depending on whether you’re reading it, hearing it, or trying to speak it. After 25 years with Mandarin, Tanya Crossman explains why Chinese characters, tones, grammar, listening comprehension, and real-world language use need different kinds of practice, and what learners should understand before those gaps get harder to close. Her experience across classrooms, workplaces, and daily life in China shows why fluency is about learning how those skills connect.

Tanya's website: https://www.tanyacrossman.com/

Original publication date: April 1, 2019

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, Listening Comprehension, and Fluency

  •  Why Mandarin reading and listening can develop at different speeds 
  •  How 10 years of Mandarin study can still leave listening gaps 
  •  Why Chinese grammar depends on context and implied meaning 
  •  How living and working in China builds real-world Mandarin fluency 
  •  How Chinese TV can improve Mandarin listening comprehension 
  •  Why emotional vocabulary matters for advanced Mandarin fluency 
  •  What it means to feel ownership over a second language 

Why Mandarin Chinese Reading and Listening Develop Differently

Tanya started learning Mandarin at age eleven and studied it for about a decade before moving to China. At university in Beijing, she could read her entire textbook but struggled to answer even two out of ten listening-comprehension questions correctly.

During her first year in China, she sometimes pictured Chinese characters while trying to speak. Because characters don’t create the same bridge between writing and pronunciation as alphabet-based languages, reading and conversation can develop very differently.

Why Mandarin Chinese Grammar Depends on Context and Implied Meaning

Mandarin doesn’t rely on verb conjugations like many European languages. Its complexity instead comes through word order, vocabulary, particles, context, and implication.

Forms such as 看书, 看完书, 看了书, and 看书了 show how surrounding words change meaning even when the core verb stays recognizable. Learners can know every word and still miss what the speaker means.

How Living and Working in China Builds Real-World Mandarin Fluency

Tanya’s biggest leap toward fluency came in an open-plan office where she was the only foreign employee. She heard coworkers persuade suppliers, joke with the DHL delivery person, talk with partners, and complain to family members.

Hearing the same people shift their Mandarin across situations taught her tone, humor, and implication. She still remembers the first time she successfully used sarcasm in Chinese.

How Chinese TV Can Improve Mandarin Listening Comprehension

Tanya recommends soap operas because repeated plots and phrases give learners several chances to catch language they initially miss.

Early in China, she watched a Russian soap opera dubbed and subtitled in Chinese. The long Russian names created pauses that gave her extra time to process the Mandarin she’d just heard.

Why Emotional Vocabulary Matters for Advanced Mandarin Fluency

Classroom Mandarin often teaches practical communication before learners can express complicated feelings. Tanya developed more emotional vocabulary by helping a Chinese friend interpret and write personal messages in English.

Those conversations showed how advanced fluency requires more than vocabulary and grammar. Learners also need the language and cultural knowledge to communicate who they are.

What It Means to Feel Ownership Over Mandarin Chinese

After studying around a dozen languages, Tanya says she feels true ownership only over English and Mandarin.

A Malaysian Chinese woman who usually addressed Tanya in English eventually apologized for underestimating how deeply Chinese was part of her life. For Tanya, being recognized as a Chinese speaker mattered more than proving she could speak it.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 52ac16d9-3527-4096-bd17-c38e5053d911 Thu, 19 Mar 2020 05:00:00 +0100 5882 full true South Korean Expat on Moving Abroad: China, the US, UK, and a Life Online: S4E12 South Korean Expat on Moving Abroad: China, the US, UK, and a Life Online: S4E12 Send us Fan Mail

Eva Yu cycled from Shanghai to London across 15 countries partly to break away from her hyper-connected life, only to discover that the internet followed her almost everywhere. The multilingual journalist had already lived and worked across South Korea, the United States, the UK, Ecuador, Israel, and China, watching her relationship with technology change with every move. For expats and internationals building lives across borders, her story shows why online communities and constant connectivity matter now, but also why knowing when to disconnect can determine whether you actually experience the place you moved to.

Seek Roads: https://seekroads.co/

What You’ll Learn About Living Abroad, Online Communities, and Digital Identity

  • How South Korea’s early internet culture shaped digital habits
  • How Cyworld and Korean fandoms built online communities before Facebook
  • How blogging helps expats process culture shock
  • Why disconnecting can change the experience of living abroad
  • How international work can create digital overload
  • How moving to China shaped a multilingual digital identity
  • What cycling from Shanghai to London revealed about internet access
  • How expats can use online communities to build local connections

How South Korea’s Early Internet Culture Shaped Digital Life

Eva first used computers around 1997–1998. By age eleven, she was uploading school assignments online, reading Korean web novels, following K-pop groups including Shinhwa and TVXQ, and participating in digital communities.

She later joined Cyworld, the Korean social network that combined diaries, photos, music, and friends’ messages before Facebook became dominant in Korea.

How Blogging Helps Expats Process Culture Shock

During an exchange in the UK, Eva began writing online diaries to process cultural differences, relationships, and her reactions to living abroad. She later moved to Naver Blog, writing about Korea, China, business, travel, and international life.

At the time of this interview, her blog received roughly 600 visits a day. Writing became a way to understand her experiences as she moved between countries.

Why Disconnecting Can Change the Experience of Living Abroad

In 2012, Eva spent a year volunteering in Ecuador, teaching Korean in Spanish and living with local people. She deliberately left her phone behind and used the internet for only about an hour every two days.

Rather than staying connected to Korea through KakaoTalk, Eva wanted to focus on the life around her. Disconnecting removed an easy escape route back home.

How International Work Can Create Digital Overload Abroad

Her next experience pushed her in the opposite direction. During seven months in Israel, Eva managed social media, articles, and video across Korean and Israeli schedules while interviewing about 75 startups.

Some videos took ten hours to edit, and work could keep her online for twelve or more hours a day. The internet had shifted from a place for personal connection into an always-on workplace.

How Moving to China Shaped a Multilingual Digital Identity

Eva moved to Shanghai in 2015 to work as a journalist for TechNode. She reported in English, functioned in Chinese, and wrote personal observations in Korean.

She noticed that language changed how she presented herself. Korean encouraged more politeness and humility, while English felt more direct and professional. One Chinese diary post received around 2,200 views, highlighting how differently her multilingual audiences responded.

What Cycling From Shanghai to London Revealed About Internet Access

Eva later spent eight months cycling along the Silk Road from Shanghai to London through 15 countries, interviewing entrepreneurs and holding seminars along the way.

She expected the journey to pull her away from her connected Shanghai life. Instead, internet access followed her almost everywhere. Her longest offline stretches included a 36-hour ferry across the Caspian Sea, a 48-hour train journey in Kazakhstan, and a week in Croatia after her phone broke.

With 14 sponsors expecting updates, Eva often felt she was either cycling or online documenting the cycling.

How Expats Can Balance Online Communities With Local Life

Eva doesn’t reject the internet. She uses Couchsurfing, Meetup, and Tantan to meet local people, then gives those interactions her full attention before writing about them later.

Across years of living abroad, she learned to give her online and offline lives different jobs. The internet helps her reach people, but she doesn’t want it to replace being with them.

For expats and internationals, staying connected across borders is easier than ever. The harder skill is knowing when that connection helps you experience a new place, and when it keeps you from fully being there.

Original publication date: March 26, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Eva Yu cycled from Shanghai to London across 15 countries partly to break away from her hyper-connected life, only to discover that the internet followed her almost everywhere. The multilingual journalist had already lived and worked across South Korea, the United States, the UK, Ecuador, Israel, and China, watching her relationship with technology change with every move. For expats and internationals building lives across borders, her story shows why online communities and constant connectivity matter now, but also why knowing when to disconnect can determine whether you actually experience the place you moved to.

Seek Roads: https://seekroads.co/

What You’ll Learn About Living Abroad, Online Communities, and Digital Identity

  • How South Korea’s early internet culture shaped digital habits
  • How Cyworld and Korean fandoms built online communities before Facebook
  • How blogging helps expats process culture shock
  • Why disconnecting can change the experience of living abroad
  • How international work can create digital overload
  • How moving to China shaped a multilingual digital identity
  • What cycling from Shanghai to London revealed about internet access
  • How expats can use online communities to build local connections

How South Korea’s Early Internet Culture Shaped Digital Life

Eva first used computers around 1997–1998. By age eleven, she was uploading school assignments online, reading Korean web novels, following K-pop groups including Shinhwa and TVXQ, and participating in digital communities.

She later joined Cyworld, the Korean social network that combined diaries, photos, music, and friends’ messages before Facebook became dominant in Korea.

How Blogging Helps Expats Process Culture Shock

During an exchange in the UK, Eva began writing online diaries to process cultural differences, relationships, and her reactions to living abroad. She later moved to Naver Blog, writing about Korea, China, business, travel, and international life.

At the time of this interview, her blog received roughly 600 visits a day. Writing became a way to understand her experiences as she moved between countries.

Why Disconnecting Can Change the Experience of Living Abroad

In 2012, Eva spent a year volunteering in Ecuador, teaching Korean in Spanish and living with local people. She deliberately left her phone behind and used the internet for only about an hour every two days.

Rather than staying connected to Korea through KakaoTalk, Eva wanted to focus on the life around her. Disconnecting removed an easy escape route back home.

How International Work Can Create Digital Overload Abroad

Her next experience pushed her in the opposite direction. During seven months in Israel, Eva managed social media, articles, and video across Korean and Israeli schedules while interviewing about 75 startups.

Some videos took ten hours to edit, and work could keep her online for twelve or more hours a day. The internet had shifted from a place for personal connection into an always-on workplace.

How Moving to China Shaped a Multilingual Digital Identity

Eva moved to Shanghai in 2015 to work as a journalist for TechNode. She reported in English, functioned in Chinese, and wrote personal observations in Korean.

She noticed that language changed how she presented herself. Korean encouraged more politeness and humility, while English felt more direct and professional. One Chinese diary post received around 2,200 views, highlighting how differently her multilingual audiences responded.

What Cycling From Shanghai to London Revealed About Internet Access

Eva later spent eight months cycling along the Silk Road from Shanghai to London through 15 countries, interviewing entrepreneurs and holding seminars along the way.

She expected the journey to pull her away from her connected Shanghai life. Instead, internet access followed her almost everywhere. Her longest offline stretches included a 36-hour ferry across the Caspian Sea, a 48-hour train journey in Kazakhstan, and a week in Croatia after her phone broke.

With 14 sponsors expecting updates, Eva often felt she was either cycling or online documenting the cycling.

How Expats Can Balance Online Communities With Local Life

Eva doesn’t reject the internet. She uses Couchsurfing, Meetup, and Tantan to meet local people, then gives those interactions her full attention before writing about them later.

Across years of living abroad, she learned to give her online and offline lives different jobs. The internet helps her reach people, but she doesn’t want it to replace being with them.

For expats and internationals, staying connected across borders is easier than ever. The harder skill is knowing when that connection helps you experience a new place, and when it keeps you from fully being there.

Original publication date: March 26, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8f20f160-0968-4cc5-8de0-72a5526a295d Thu, 20 Feb 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4837 full false New York Writer Moves Abroad and Finds Home in Beirut: S4E11 New York Writer Moves Abroad and Finds Home in Beirut: S4E11 Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we chat with Alexandra Talty, an American who has lived on and offline in Italy, the Dominican Republic and Beirut, Lebanon, where she has been based for 4 years now. Over the years Alexandra has taken full advantage of online opportunities available via blogs/blogging, social media platforms, and YouTube.

She maintains a healthy IRL-VRL (online-offline) balance with regular social media fasts and by participating in and hosting online groups that meet in person. She is very honest and candid about her experiences being a foreign, American, female Journalist and all of the advantages and disadvantages those pieces of her identity invite as she works online while living abroad. 

Original publication date: March 5, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we chat with Alexandra Talty, an American who has lived on and offline in Italy, the Dominican Republic and Beirut, Lebanon, where she has been based for 4 years now. Over the years Alexandra has taken full advantage of online opportunities available via blogs/blogging, social media platforms, and YouTube.

She maintains a healthy IRL-VRL (online-offline) balance with regular social media fasts and by participating in and hosting online groups that meet in person. She is very honest and candid about her experiences being a foreign, American, female Journalist and all of the advantages and disadvantages those pieces of her identity invite as she works online while living abroad. 

Original publication date: March 5, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 7db8d7db-fe3f-4ccf-aef0-f39707ae6520 Thu, 06 Feb 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4958 full false Canada and Thailand: What Expat Life Was Like Before Smartphones: S4E10 Canada and Thailand: What Expat Life Was Like Before Smartphones: S4E10 Send us Fan Mail

Before Google Maps and Instagram, Greg moved from Canada to Thailand with almost no digital safety net. In this conversation, the Bangkok Podcast cohost reflects on what expat life looked like in 2001, from IRC chatrooms and internet cafés to early blogging, Napster, Friendster, and the slow rise of social media.

We also explore how moving abroad changed his relationship with technology, community, and identity online. Greg shares stories about building one of his first blogs from Thailand, navigating life overseas before smartphones, and how platforms like Twitter eventually became essential for expats living far from home.

Along the way, we talk about podcasting, online personas, digital overwhelm, third culture identity, and what it means to stay connected to your home culture while building a life somewhere else.

Listen to hear how one expat’s online world evolved alongside the modern internet itself.

Original publication date: February 12, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Before Google Maps and Instagram, Greg moved from Canada to Thailand with almost no digital safety net. In this conversation, the Bangkok Podcast cohost reflects on what expat life looked like in 2001, from IRC chatrooms and internet cafés to early blogging, Napster, Friendster, and the slow rise of social media.

We also explore how moving abroad changed his relationship with technology, community, and identity online. Greg shares stories about building one of his first blogs from Thailand, navigating life overseas before smartphones, and how platforms like Twitter eventually became essential for expats living far from home.

Along the way, we talk about podcasting, online personas, digital overwhelm, third culture identity, and what it means to stay connected to your home culture while building a life somewhere else.

Listen to hear how one expat’s online world evolved alongside the modern internet itself.

Original publication date: February 12, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 1a175c73-0497-41ee-a211-f0eb86b19d44 Thu, 23 Jan 2020 05:00:00 +0100 4754 Canada, Thailand, expat, social media, online, immigrant, live abroad, move abroad full false Living Abroad as an Immigrant: When Online Virality Does NOT Change Anything: S4E9 Living Abroad as an Immigrant: When Online Virality Does NOT Change Anything: S4E9 Send us Fan Mail

Creatrix Tiara went viral and earned major media attention, but online visibility, social media reach, and global audience growth didn’t remove the geographic, financial, and immigration barriers shaping her life abroad. For internationals building careers and communities across countries, her story shows why online communities and digital visibility matter most when they lead to real opportunities, income, access, and belonging.

Creatrix Tiara: https://creatrixtiara.com/

What You’ll Learn About Online Communities, Moving Abroad, and Digital Visibility

  • How online communities help internationals find belonging across countries
  • How early internet communities built global connections before social media
  • Why blogging mattered for activism in Malaysia
  • How online connections can create opportunities abroad
  • Why going viral and gaining followers don’t guarantee income
  • How online vulnerability can generate real-world support
  • Why global visibility doesn’t erase geographic and immigration barriers

How Online Communities Help Internationals Find Belonging Abroad

Creatrix Tiara first got online around 1995 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, when she was about ten. As a teenager who often felt isolated, internet connected her with people, ideas, and creative communities she couldn’t find locally.

She joined GeoCities and fandom communities, eventually building what she remembers as the largest Savage Garden fanfiction archive.

How Blogging Supported Activism and Alternative Education in Malaysia

By around 2004, blogging had become an important outlet in Malaysia for political commentary, activism, and ideas that didn’t always fit traditional media. Tiara later created EducateDeviate, an alternative education blog shaped by her gap year, youth journalism work with The Star, and international experience with Up with People.

It also helped make Tiara an early public voice on gap years in Malaysia.

How Online Communities Create Opportunities Abroad

When Tiara moved to Brisbane in 2006, online connections began shaping her offline life. She found her first residential college through someone she followed on LiveJournal.

Later, after moving to San Francisco for an MFA, online connections helped her find communities she’d previously known through a screen. Online communities helped her build a local life in new countries.

Why Going Viral on Social Media Doesn’t Guarantee Income

In 2014, Tiara wrote an essay criticizing privacy problems on Ello. Within about 24 hours, it went viral, drawing attention from the Washington Post, Vogue, Engadget, Fast Company, and The New Yorker.

But visibility didn’t create the paid opportunities she hoped for. At the time, Tiara had around 6,000 Twitter followers and 2,000 Tumblr followers, while roughly 35 Patreon supporters generated about $150 per month.

“I get a lot of attention, but it doesn't necessarily translate into something tangible.”

Her experience exposes the gap between online attention and conversion: followers, shares, and media coverage can grow without producing stable income or paid work.

How Social Media Vulnerability Can Create Real-World Support

During one overwhelming weekend, Tiara posted that she was struggling with a housing inspection and a performance. Friends pooled money to hire her a cleaner.

That experience shaped her approach to online vulnerability. Sharing can help people respond to a real need, but privacy still matters. As Tiara puts it, “No one is entitled to every part of you.”

Why Global Online Visibility Doesn’t Remove Geographic Barriers

Tiara’s online life stretches from Malaysia to Brisbane, San Francisco, and Melbourne. The internet helped her find housing, creative collaborators, professional networks, and communities across borders.

But international visibility didn’t eliminate immigration restrictions, local industries, financial inequality, or finding paid work. For internationals, your audience can be global while many of the opportunities shaping your life remain stubbornly local.

original publication date:  December 27, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Creatrix Tiara went viral and earned major media attention, but online visibility, social media reach, and global audience growth didn’t remove the geographic, financial, and immigration barriers shaping her life abroad. For internationals building careers and communities across countries, her story shows why online communities and digital visibility matter most when they lead to real opportunities, income, access, and belonging.

Creatrix Tiara: https://creatrixtiara.com/

What You’ll Learn About Online Communities, Moving Abroad, and Digital Visibility

  • How online communities help internationals find belonging across countries
  • How early internet communities built global connections before social media
  • Why blogging mattered for activism in Malaysia
  • How online connections can create opportunities abroad
  • Why going viral and gaining followers don’t guarantee income
  • How online vulnerability can generate real-world support
  • Why global visibility doesn’t erase geographic and immigration barriers

How Online Communities Help Internationals Find Belonging Abroad

Creatrix Tiara first got online around 1995 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, when she was about ten. As a teenager who often felt isolated, internet connected her with people, ideas, and creative communities she couldn’t find locally.

She joined GeoCities and fandom communities, eventually building what she remembers as the largest Savage Garden fanfiction archive.

How Blogging Supported Activism and Alternative Education in Malaysia

By around 2004, blogging had become an important outlet in Malaysia for political commentary, activism, and ideas that didn’t always fit traditional media. Tiara later created EducateDeviate, an alternative education blog shaped by her gap year, youth journalism work with The Star, and international experience with Up with People.

It also helped make Tiara an early public voice on gap years in Malaysia.

How Online Communities Create Opportunities Abroad

When Tiara moved to Brisbane in 2006, online connections began shaping her offline life. She found her first residential college through someone she followed on LiveJournal.

Later, after moving to San Francisco for an MFA, online connections helped her find communities she’d previously known through a screen. Online communities helped her build a local life in new countries.

Why Going Viral on Social Media Doesn’t Guarantee Income

In 2014, Tiara wrote an essay criticizing privacy problems on Ello. Within about 24 hours, it went viral, drawing attention from the Washington Post, Vogue, Engadget, Fast Company, and The New Yorker.

But visibility didn’t create the paid opportunities she hoped for. At the time, Tiara had around 6,000 Twitter followers and 2,000 Tumblr followers, while roughly 35 Patreon supporters generated about $150 per month.

“I get a lot of attention, but it doesn't necessarily translate into something tangible.”

Her experience exposes the gap between online attention and conversion: followers, shares, and media coverage can grow without producing stable income or paid work.

How Social Media Vulnerability Can Create Real-World Support

During one overwhelming weekend, Tiara posted that she was struggling with a housing inspection and a performance. Friends pooled money to hire her a cleaner.

That experience shaped her approach to online vulnerability. Sharing can help people respond to a real need, but privacy still matters. As Tiara puts it, “No one is entitled to every part of you.”

Why Global Online Visibility Doesn’t Remove Geographic Barriers

Tiara’s online life stretches from Malaysia to Brisbane, San Francisco, and Melbourne. The internet helped her find housing, creative collaborators, professional networks, and communities across borders.

But international visibility didn’t eliminate immigration restrictions, local industries, financial inequality, or finding paid work. For internationals, your audience can be global while many of the opportunities shaping your life remain stubbornly local.

original publication date:  December 27, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 3bbc0bdd-1e4c-4e99-870b-6852c0dd65ca Thu, 09 Jan 2020 05:00:00 +0100 5903 full false American Teacher Living Abroad in Shanghai: First-Year Expat Lessons, Food, and Culture Shock: S4E8 American Teacher Living Abroad in Shanghai: First-Year Expat Lessons, Food, and Culture Shock: S4E8 Send us Fan Mail

This week we expat chat with first time expat, Miicher, a Florida, US native who decided it was time for a change. Miicher is a teacher, an actor, a mom and a natural storyteller, which explains why her Facebook China Chronicles , where she has been sharing her experiences in Shanghai, China, have become such a hit. 

original publication date: December 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This week we expat chat with first time expat, Miicher, a Florida, US native who decided it was time for a change. Miicher is a teacher, an actor, a mom and a natural storyteller, which explains why her Facebook China Chronicles , where she has been sharing her experiences in Shanghai, China, have become such a hit. 

original publication date: December 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ce94fdca-09c1-4af1-a793-39fa67b31520 Thu, 26 Dec 2019 05:00:00 +0100 3085 China, US, Florida, expat, immigrant, teacher, move abroad, live abroad, culture shock full false From Hanoi to New York: A Vietnamese Immigrant on Art, Social Media, and Living Abroad: S4E7 From Hanoi to New York: A Vietnamese Immigrant on Art, Social Media, and Living Abroad: S4E7 Send us Fan Mail

Moving abroad can reshape your online identity and sense of home. After moving from Hanoi, Vietnam, to the United States, artist and art educator Anh Ta used Facebook to help with her homesickness.

Her biggest insight is simple: social media works better when you know what you want from it. From Facebook breaks and her “Only Me” posting test to finding a New York City apartment online, Anh shows how expats and internationals can use social media for connection and opportunity without letting it define their self-worth.

Anh's art: https://anhtaart.com/

What You’ll Learn About Living Abroad, Social Media, and Online Identity

  • How moving abroad can change your social media habits and online identity
  • How social media can help expats/internationals cope with homesickness
  • How Facebook and Instagram can affect self-esteem
  • How to create healthy social media boundaries
  • How expats maintain friendships across countries
  • How living abroad shapes memory, creativity, and identity
  • How social media can create real-life opportunities abroad

How Social Media Helps Expats Cope With Homesickness

When Anh moved from Hanoi to the US in 2009, Facebook became an emotional bridge to home. She posted photos from America, and friends in Vietnam commented, encouraged her, and helped her adjust to life abroad.

By around 2014, those interactions changed as friends graduated, started jobs, and moved to other countries. Social media still helped maintain those relationships, but even a like could become a small way of saying, I remember you. I still care.

How Social Media Affects Self-Esteem and Emotional Wellbeing

Anh deleted Facebook several times during college, sometimes for three or four months, after noticing how much online reactions affected her. If a post or message didn’t get a response, she could start wondering whether she’d done something wrong.

Taking breaks helped her separate social media from her self-worth. Close friends still found other ways to stay connected, including email and letters.

How to Create Healthy Social Media Boundaries

Anh developed a simple test before posting on Facebook: she’d write the post and set the audience to “Only Me.” Then she’d ask whether she was sharing something useful or mainly looking for reassurance and approval.

If the post had a purpose, she’d publish it. If it came from insecurity, she’d delete it. The goal wasn’t to stop using social media, but to understand what she wanted from it before publishing.

How Moving Abroad Shapes Identity, Memory, and Creativity

Anh’s art draws from home, domesticity, memory, women’s roles, cooking, and her childhood in Hanoi. She creates prints, paintings, and three-dimensional structures using projection, light, paper, fabric, sound, and other materials.

Living in the US gave her access to an art education she hadn’t imagined in Vietnam. Her long-term dream is to combine fine art, food, and immersive experiences.

Artist Portfolio Website vs. Instagram

Anh treats her professional online identity differently from her personal social media life. Her portfolio website supports gallery proposals, exhibitions, and job applications, while Instagram helps artists share work and connect with galleries.

For Anh, the platform matters less than knowing why you’re using it. Professional visibility and personal approval don’t need to serve the same purpose.

Online Friendships vs. Real-Life Connection

Social media helps Anh maintain friendships across countries, but she doesn’t see online contact as a replacement for closeness. She especially values emails from old friends or professors who take time to write about their lives and ask about hers.

She found her New York City apartment through online connections, showing how social media can become a path to relationships, opportunities, and real-world experiences.

original publication date: December 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Moving abroad can reshape your online identity and sense of home. After moving from Hanoi, Vietnam, to the United States, artist and art educator Anh Ta used Facebook to help with her homesickness.

Her biggest insight is simple: social media works better when you know what you want from it. From Facebook breaks and her “Only Me” posting test to finding a New York City apartment online, Anh shows how expats and internationals can use social media for connection and opportunity without letting it define their self-worth.

Anh's art: https://anhtaart.com/

What You’ll Learn About Living Abroad, Social Media, and Online Identity

  • How moving abroad can change your social media habits and online identity
  • How social media can help expats/internationals cope with homesickness
  • How Facebook and Instagram can affect self-esteem
  • How to create healthy social media boundaries
  • How expats maintain friendships across countries
  • How living abroad shapes memory, creativity, and identity
  • How social media can create real-life opportunities abroad

How Social Media Helps Expats Cope With Homesickness

When Anh moved from Hanoi to the US in 2009, Facebook became an emotional bridge to home. She posted photos from America, and friends in Vietnam commented, encouraged her, and helped her adjust to life abroad.

By around 2014, those interactions changed as friends graduated, started jobs, and moved to other countries. Social media still helped maintain those relationships, but even a like could become a small way of saying, I remember you. I still care.

How Social Media Affects Self-Esteem and Emotional Wellbeing

Anh deleted Facebook several times during college, sometimes for three or four months, after noticing how much online reactions affected her. If a post or message didn’t get a response, she could start wondering whether she’d done something wrong.

Taking breaks helped her separate social media from her self-worth. Close friends still found other ways to stay connected, including email and letters.

How to Create Healthy Social Media Boundaries

Anh developed a simple test before posting on Facebook: she’d write the post and set the audience to “Only Me.” Then she’d ask whether she was sharing something useful or mainly looking for reassurance and approval.

If the post had a purpose, she’d publish it. If it came from insecurity, she’d delete it. The goal wasn’t to stop using social media, but to understand what she wanted from it before publishing.

How Moving Abroad Shapes Identity, Memory, and Creativity

Anh’s art draws from home, domesticity, memory, women’s roles, cooking, and her childhood in Hanoi. She creates prints, paintings, and three-dimensional structures using projection, light, paper, fabric, sound, and other materials.

Living in the US gave her access to an art education she hadn’t imagined in Vietnam. Her long-term dream is to combine fine art, food, and immersive experiences.

Artist Portfolio Website vs. Instagram

Anh treats her professional online identity differently from her personal social media life. Her portfolio website supports gallery proposals, exhibitions, and job applications, while Instagram helps artists share work and connect with galleries.

For Anh, the platform matters less than knowing why you’re using it. Professional visibility and personal approval don’t need to serve the same purpose.

Online Friendships vs. Real-Life Connection

Social media helps Anh maintain friendships across countries, but she doesn’t see online contact as a replacement for closeness. She especially values emails from old friends or professors who take time to write about their lives and ask about hers.

She found her New York City apartment through online connections, showing how social media can become a path to relationships, opportunities, and real-world experiences.

original publication date: December 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5f310cca-bad3-4ebd-8d1e-f8d6d55732ac Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:00:00 +0100 4627 Vietnam, U.S., art, expat, international student, immigrant, online behavior, online, social media full false Scotland and China: A Long-Term Expat on Social Media and Life Abroad: S4E6 Scotland and China: A Long-Term Expat on Social Media and Life Abroad: S4E6 Send us Fan Mail

Steve left the UK for a trip to Spain quite a number of years ago. After that trip he ended up living in Greece for a year and just reached his 6 year anniversary in Asia this month. After living a number of years both on and offline in mainland China, he moved to Hong Kong earlier this year, where he now works as a Life Coach.

​Like yours truly, he has been an avid user of online technologies and social media from the beginning and has a lot of stories of wonderful and not so wonderful things that have happened online. And, also like myself, he has a lot of questions about what the hell we are doing online and how sustainable our virtual selves are going forward. His expat geographic life and VRL (virtual reality life) do in fact seem to affect each other in a rather interesting way, so have a listen and let us know what you think.

original publication date: November 19, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Steve left the UK for a trip to Spain quite a number of years ago. After that trip he ended up living in Greece for a year and just reached his 6 year anniversary in Asia this month. After living a number of years both on and offline in mainland China, he moved to Hong Kong earlier this year, where he now works as a Life Coach.

​Like yours truly, he has been an avid user of online technologies and social media from the beginning and has a lot of stories of wonderful and not so wonderful things that have happened online. And, also like myself, he has a lot of questions about what the hell we are doing online and how sustainable our virtual selves are going forward. His expat geographic life and VRL (virtual reality life) do in fact seem to affect each other in a rather interesting way, so have a listen and let us know what you think.

original publication date: November 19, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5f8af29a-9694-45cf-acbc-c22421cc5247 Thu, 28 Nov 2019 05:00:00 +0100 7772 China, UK, move abroad, live abroad, Guangzhou, online behavior, social media, online full false Living Abroad in the UK: An Egyptian Student on YouTube, Philosophy, and Online Identity: S4E5 Living Abroad in the UK: An Egyptian Student on YouTube, Philosophy, and Online Identity: S4E5 Send us Fan Mail

Social media, online identity, digital privacy, and screen time can all change when you move abroad, especially when better internet access and new online communities expand what’s possible. Egyptian YouTube creator Mai Hindawi explains how moving from Cairo to the UK changed her relationship with social media, content creation, representation, and the boundary between IRL and her “virtual reality life.”

Mai's YouTube channel: Intellect Grime

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh1XXAWClU4QKAxnH8ksKEQ

What You’ll Learn About Social Media, Online Identity, and Living Abroad

  • How living abroad can change your online identity
  • How internet access affects online participation
  • Why representation matters for Arab women on YouTube
  • How social media screen time affects offline life
  • How to create digital privacy boundaries
  • Why creators don’t need every social media platform
  • How YouTube comments can build online community

Living Abroad and Building an Online Identity

Mai grew up in Cairo and moved to the UK at 17 to study philosophy. After her first year, she started Intellect Grime to share philosophy, poetry, books, languages, art, and ideas.

Better internet access, easier access to technology, and being near London’s YouTube community helped creating feel more possible.

Internet Access, Representation, and YouTube

Mai rarely saw Arab women creating the intellectual and educational YouTube content she wanted to make. She didn’t want separate conversations; she wanted more people contributing to the same ones.

English vs. Arabic Online

Egyptian Arabic was Mai’s first language, but most of her online life happened in English. She found many Arabic-language websites harder to navigate and considered making short Arabic videos to maintain the language while living abroad.

That raised a wider question: if so much online information starts in English, who gets easier access to it?

Social Media Screen Time: The Five-Hour Phone Day

Mai used the Moment app to track her phone habits and discovered she’d spent about five hours on her phone in one day, picking it up roughly 100 times.

She began trying to keep phone use under an hour and reduce the micro-distractions pulling her away from offline life.

Online Life vs. Real Life: Creating Digital Boundaries

While trying to find an opposite for IRL, “in real life,” Mai creates another acronym: VRL, “virtual reality life.”

Online and offline life aren’t completely separate. Steph gives the example of WeChat in China, where work groups, friendships, and plans all happen through the same app.

The question becomes how much space VRL should get before it starts consuming IRL.

Digital Privacy: What Should You Share on Social Media?

Mai shares philosophy, books, languages, art, and ideas online, but she doesn’t want to turn doctor’s appointments, lunches with friends, evenings at home, or ordinary private moments into content.

Her test is simple: would you feel comfortable if a stranger knew this? Would you feel comfortable if a family member or acquaintance saw it?

Your online identity can be public without making your entire life public.

Social Media Strategy: Why Creators Don’t Need to Be Everywhere

Mai used YouTube and Instagram for Intellect Grime, then created a Facebook page even though she didn’t like Facebook. She felt pressure to be everywhere, but posting everywhere isn’t the same as building community everywhere.

YouTube Engagement and Online Community

Mai spent years watching YouTube without commenting until she realized creators might actually read and respond to what she wrote.

By the time of this conversation, Intellect Grime had around 200 people, and the quality of their comments mattered more to her than passive numbers.

How Living Abroad Changes Your Relationship With Social Media

Moving from Egypt to the UK didn’t create an entirely different online Mai, but it changed her access, confidence, and sense of what was possible.

Greater access also means deciding what doesn’t get access to you. Your VRL can expand your world without consuming your IRL.

original publication date: October 23, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Social media, online identity, digital privacy, and screen time can all change when you move abroad, especially when better internet access and new online communities expand what’s possible. Egyptian YouTube creator Mai Hindawi explains how moving from Cairo to the UK changed her relationship with social media, content creation, representation, and the boundary between IRL and her “virtual reality life.”

Mai's YouTube channel: Intellect Grime

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh1XXAWClU4QKAxnH8ksKEQ

What You’ll Learn About Social Media, Online Identity, and Living Abroad

  • How living abroad can change your online identity
  • How internet access affects online participation
  • Why representation matters for Arab women on YouTube
  • How social media screen time affects offline life
  • How to create digital privacy boundaries
  • Why creators don’t need every social media platform
  • How YouTube comments can build online community

Living Abroad and Building an Online Identity

Mai grew up in Cairo and moved to the UK at 17 to study philosophy. After her first year, she started Intellect Grime to share philosophy, poetry, books, languages, art, and ideas.

Better internet access, easier access to technology, and being near London’s YouTube community helped creating feel more possible.

Internet Access, Representation, and YouTube

Mai rarely saw Arab women creating the intellectual and educational YouTube content she wanted to make. She didn’t want separate conversations; she wanted more people contributing to the same ones.

English vs. Arabic Online

Egyptian Arabic was Mai’s first language, but most of her online life happened in English. She found many Arabic-language websites harder to navigate and considered making short Arabic videos to maintain the language while living abroad.

That raised a wider question: if so much online information starts in English, who gets easier access to it?

Social Media Screen Time: The Five-Hour Phone Day

Mai used the Moment app to track her phone habits and discovered she’d spent about five hours on her phone in one day, picking it up roughly 100 times.

She began trying to keep phone use under an hour and reduce the micro-distractions pulling her away from offline life.

Online Life vs. Real Life: Creating Digital Boundaries

While trying to find an opposite for IRL, “in real life,” Mai creates another acronym: VRL, “virtual reality life.”

Online and offline life aren’t completely separate. Steph gives the example of WeChat in China, where work groups, friendships, and plans all happen through the same app.

The question becomes how much space VRL should get before it starts consuming IRL.

Digital Privacy: What Should You Share on Social Media?

Mai shares philosophy, books, languages, art, and ideas online, but she doesn’t want to turn doctor’s appointments, lunches with friends, evenings at home, or ordinary private moments into content.

Her test is simple: would you feel comfortable if a stranger knew this? Would you feel comfortable if a family member or acquaintance saw it?

Your online identity can be public without making your entire life public.

Social Media Strategy: Why Creators Don’t Need to Be Everywhere

Mai used YouTube and Instagram for Intellect Grime, then created a Facebook page even though she didn’t like Facebook. She felt pressure to be everywhere, but posting everywhere isn’t the same as building community everywhere.

YouTube Engagement and Online Community

Mai spent years watching YouTube without commenting until she realized creators might actually read and respond to what she wrote.

By the time of this conversation, Intellect Grime had around 200 people, and the quality of their comments mattered more to her than passive numbers.

How Living Abroad Changes Your Relationship With Social Media

Moving from Egypt to the UK didn’t create an entirely different online Mai, but it changed her access, confidence, and sense of what was possible.

Greater access also means deciding what doesn’t get access to you. Your VRL can expand your world without consuming your IRL.

original publication date: October 23, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 03af0fbc-4cde-469e-b262-6ea82e3f581f Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:00:00 +0100 5546 social media, online behavior, Egypt, UK, YouTube, writing, community, identity full false An Indian Immigrant on Facebook, Distance, and Building Life Across Borders: S4E4 An Indian Immigrant on Facebook, Distance, and Building Life Across Borders: S4E4 Send us Fan Mail

Sowmya Vajjala is a Data Scientist, a Computational Linguist and one of the most intelligent and down to earth people you will ever meet. She is from India, lived in Germany for her PhD program and then taught at Iowa State University in the U.S., which is where I met her. She has since moved to Toronto, Canada, where she was during this conversation. Personally, she has impacted my life in ways I am only beginning to understand.

​But that is all explained in the podcast itself. Her perspective on if living in different countries impacts people’s online experiences is very different than what we have heard so far in this podcast. This honest, matter of fact approach to the messiness of online life as it currently exists is, frankly, refreshing. I think you are going to appreciate this very different point of view on social media, geographical movement and why we do what we do online.

original publication date: October 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Sowmya Vajjala is a Data Scientist, a Computational Linguist and one of the most intelligent and down to earth people you will ever meet. She is from India, lived in Germany for her PhD program and then taught at Iowa State University in the U.S., which is where I met her. She has since moved to Toronto, Canada, where she was during this conversation. Personally, she has impacted my life in ways I am only beginning to understand.

​But that is all explained in the podcast itself. Her perspective on if living in different countries impacts people’s online experiences is very different than what we have heard so far in this podcast. This honest, matter of fact approach to the messiness of online life as it currently exists is, frankly, refreshing. I think you are going to appreciate this very different point of view on social media, geographical movement and why we do what we do online.

original publication date: October 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8b6d8d57-cb75-4760-b951-97b6ae210aaf Thu, 31 Oct 2019 05:00:00 +0100 2975 online behavior, India, Germany, United States, expat, immigrant, social media, online forums full false Living Abroad in Thailand: An American Expat’s Story Told Through Photography: S4E3 Living Abroad in Thailand: An American Expat’s Story Told Through Photography: S4E3 Send us Fan Mail

Living in Thailand as an expat means learning fast about Bangkok life, culture shock, visas, local laws, and the gap between the country you imagined and the one you actually live in. Allison Maciejewski’s first year in Bangkok included political unrest outside her home and visa runs to Cambodia, giving current and future expats a practical look at what changes once Thailand stops being a destination and becomes home.

What You’ll Learn About Living in Thailand as an Expat

  • What living in Bangkok as an expat is really like
  • What expats should know about political unrest in Thailand
  • How Thailand visa runs to Cambodia worked
  • What Songkran and Thai New Year traditions are like
  • How regional Thai food differs beyond Bangkok
  • Why culture shock can last for years
  • Why learning Thai doesn't eliminate communication problems
  • How living abroad changes your sense of home

Living in Bangkok as an Expat: Housing and First-Year Expectations

Before moving to Thailand, Allison imagined backpacking and inexpensive, stripped-down living. Instead, she and her girlfriend found a one-bedroom apartment in Thong Lo for less than $800 a month before utilities, with security, a gym, and a rooftop pool overlooking Bangkok.

The experience quickly challenged what she thought life in Thailand would look like.

Political Unrest in Thailand: What Expats Should Know

Soon after Allison arrived, protests filled Sukhumvit Road outside her building. At first they seemed peaceful, but bombings later occurred near places she regularly visited, including MBK and Siam Paragon.

She began researching Thai politics and reconsidering what protections foreigners have abroad. Rights and assumptions from your home country don't automatically follow you when you move somewhere else.

Thailand Visa Runs to Cambodia

One cheerful photo looks like Allison is sightseeing in Cambodia. She was actually completing a visa run from Thailand.

She took a bus to the border, crossed into Cambodia, visited a casino, bought cigarettes, posed near a shrine, crossed back into Thailand, and returned to Bangkok that day.

After two visa runs, she decided she wanted a more stable legal status.

Songkran in Thailand: Thai New Year Traditions

Allison's first Songkran turned into a day of hoses, buckets, ice-cold water, and powder rubbed onto people's cheeks.

She learned that Songkran was more than a giant water fight. The water represented renewal and cleansing for the Thai New Year. She “played water” for several years before eventually preferring to stay inside.

The Parts of Expat Life That Stay Uncomfortable

Outside Don Mueang Airport, Allison photographed a child working beside an adult cleaning the roadside. She'd already seen children working elsewhere in Southeast Asia and realized she was becoming accustomed to something she didn't want to normalize.

Living abroad didn't always give her clearer answers. Sometimes it made questions about migration, inequality, work, and opportunity more complicated.

Isan Food and Regional Thai Cuisine

In Nakhon Phanom in northeastern Thailand, Allison discovered grilled sausages made with pork and fermented rice, served with vegetables and green chilies.

As a former chef and food writer, traveling beyond Bangkok showed her how much Thai cuisine changes by region. Her food photography also reflected respect for street-food vendors who may spend decades mastering what they make.

Motorbike Travel in Southern Thailand

A photo from Khanom shows Allison on a motorbike beside the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by quiet beaches beyond heavily developed tourist areas.

Years later, she saw freedom in that photo. Thailand gave her distance from an NGO career that had consumed much of her life and opened space for travel, curiosity, and a different pace.

Culture Shock and Learning Thai

Four years into living in Thailand, Allison still experienced culture shock in ordinary moments. Asking a 7-Eleven employee not to give her a plastic bag could still end with her carrying three home.

She'd also spent years learning to speak, read, and write Thai, yet could order food and not be understood because she'd used the wrong tone.

Familiarity didn't mean complete understanding. Even after years abroad, small moments could still make her feel like a beginner.

Moving From Thailand to Prague

After about four and a half years in Thailand, Allison moved to Prague and became a newcomer again.

This time, she approached visa problems and unfamiliar systems with more patience. Thailand had taught her that frustration doesn't make bureaucracy move faster and that living abroad requires becoming more forgiving of yourself and others.

How Living Abroad Changes Your Sense of Home

The Thailand photos that once looked strange and exciting eventually became familiar. Bangkok streets, food stalls, Songkran, beaches, and temples became part of a place Allison knew.

Then she moved and began again.

The photos capture a short but important stage of expat life: the period before the strange becomes ordinary and the foreign becomes home.

original publication date: September 25, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Living in Thailand as an expat means learning fast about Bangkok life, culture shock, visas, local laws, and the gap between the country you imagined and the one you actually live in. Allison Maciejewski’s first year in Bangkok included political unrest outside her home and visa runs to Cambodia, giving current and future expats a practical look at what changes once Thailand stops being a destination and becomes home.

What You’ll Learn About Living in Thailand as an Expat

  • What living in Bangkok as an expat is really like
  • What expats should know about political unrest in Thailand
  • How Thailand visa runs to Cambodia worked
  • What Songkran and Thai New Year traditions are like
  • How regional Thai food differs beyond Bangkok
  • Why culture shock can last for years
  • Why learning Thai doesn't eliminate communication problems
  • How living abroad changes your sense of home

Living in Bangkok as an Expat: Housing and First-Year Expectations

Before moving to Thailand, Allison imagined backpacking and inexpensive, stripped-down living. Instead, she and her girlfriend found a one-bedroom apartment in Thong Lo for less than $800 a month before utilities, with security, a gym, and a rooftop pool overlooking Bangkok.

The experience quickly challenged what she thought life in Thailand would look like.

Political Unrest in Thailand: What Expats Should Know

Soon after Allison arrived, protests filled Sukhumvit Road outside her building. At first they seemed peaceful, but bombings later occurred near places she regularly visited, including MBK and Siam Paragon.

She began researching Thai politics and reconsidering what protections foreigners have abroad. Rights and assumptions from your home country don't automatically follow you when you move somewhere else.

Thailand Visa Runs to Cambodia

One cheerful photo looks like Allison is sightseeing in Cambodia. She was actually completing a visa run from Thailand.

She took a bus to the border, crossed into Cambodia, visited a casino, bought cigarettes, posed near a shrine, crossed back into Thailand, and returned to Bangkok that day.

After two visa runs, she decided she wanted a more stable legal status.

Songkran in Thailand: Thai New Year Traditions

Allison's first Songkran turned into a day of hoses, buckets, ice-cold water, and powder rubbed onto people's cheeks.

She learned that Songkran was more than a giant water fight. The water represented renewal and cleansing for the Thai New Year. She “played water” for several years before eventually preferring to stay inside.

The Parts of Expat Life That Stay Uncomfortable

Outside Don Mueang Airport, Allison photographed a child working beside an adult cleaning the roadside. She'd already seen children working elsewhere in Southeast Asia and realized she was becoming accustomed to something she didn't want to normalize.

Living abroad didn't always give her clearer answers. Sometimes it made questions about migration, inequality, work, and opportunity more complicated.

Isan Food and Regional Thai Cuisine

In Nakhon Phanom in northeastern Thailand, Allison discovered grilled sausages made with pork and fermented rice, served with vegetables and green chilies.

As a former chef and food writer, traveling beyond Bangkok showed her how much Thai cuisine changes by region. Her food photography also reflected respect for street-food vendors who may spend decades mastering what they make.

Motorbike Travel in Southern Thailand

A photo from Khanom shows Allison on a motorbike beside the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by quiet beaches beyond heavily developed tourist areas.

Years later, she saw freedom in that photo. Thailand gave her distance from an NGO career that had consumed much of her life and opened space for travel, curiosity, and a different pace.

Culture Shock and Learning Thai

Four years into living in Thailand, Allison still experienced culture shock in ordinary moments. Asking a 7-Eleven employee not to give her a plastic bag could still end with her carrying three home.

She'd also spent years learning to speak, read, and write Thai, yet could order food and not be understood because she'd used the wrong tone.

Familiarity didn't mean complete understanding. Even after years abroad, small moments could still make her feel like a beginner.

Moving From Thailand to Prague

After about four and a half years in Thailand, Allison moved to Prague and became a newcomer again.

This time, she approached visa problems and unfamiliar systems with more patience. Thailand had taught her that frustration doesn't make bureaucracy move faster and that living abroad requires becoming more forgiving of yourself and others.

How Living Abroad Changes Your Sense of Home

The Thailand photos that once looked strange and exciting eventually became familiar. Bangkok streets, food stalls, Songkran, beaches, and temples became part of a place Allison knew.

Then she moved and began again.

The photos capture a short but important stage of expat life: the period before the strange becomes ordinary and the foreign becomes home.

original publication date: September 25, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 106c98ad-df0a-4cc8-be7c-8a096fe43e41 Thu, 17 Oct 2019 05:00:00 +0200 5149 social media,Thailand,expat, instagram, online behavior,living abroad,move abroad,American expat full false Venezuelan Artist Living Abroad in China: Creativity, Online Identity, and Expat Life: S4E2 Venezuelan Artist Living Abroad in China: Creativity, Online Identity, and Expat Life: S4E2 Send us Fan Mail

Living abroad can make WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media essential for staying connected to family, culture, work, and identity across countries. After 12 years in China, Venezuelan designer and Creativity Roots host Ronald Paredes explains how Chinese internet restrictions, expat life, online creativity, and social media changed the way he communicated, created, and stayed connected across borders.

Ronald's website:

https://mundosantoart.wordpress.com/

Original publication date: September 4, 2018

What You’ll Learn About Expat Social Media, China, and Online Creativity

  • How expats use WhatsApp and Facebook to stay connected across countries
  • How living in China changes access to social media
  • Why Chinese social media can be difficult for foreigners
  • How Instagram and YouTube changed online creativity
  • Why creativity isn't limited to artists
  • How failure affects creative confidence
  • Why creativity doesn't require completely original ideas
  • How to use social media without letting it control you

How Expats Use WhatsApp and Facebook to Stay Connected Across Countries

Paredes’s sister lived in Mexico, his brother in Peru, his mother in Caracas, and he was in Nanjing. Their WhatsApp family group, marked by four country flags, helped keep the Venezuelan family connected across continents.

That connection became especially important when Paredes learned about his father’s death through Facebook and immediately turned to WhatsApp to reach family.

How Living in China Changes Social Media Access for Foreigners

Paredes met the woman who became his first wife through High Five around 2005, and their relationship continued through Skype before bringing him to China. He lived in Nanjing for 12 years while continuing his work as a graphic designer and artist.

He remembers using Facebook in China around the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As international platforms later became harder to access, VPNs and internet restrictions became part of staying connected outside China.

How Instagram and YouTube Changed Online Creativity

Working on a social venture taught Paredes that Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram served different audiences and needed different strategies. As a visual artist, Twitter eventually stopped fitting his work, while Instagram did.

He sees Instagram as doing for photography what YouTube did for video: opening creative publishing to far more people.

Why Creativity Isn’t Limited to Artists

Paredes rejects the idea that only artists, musicians, writers, and designers are creative. An accountant can be creative, and so can someone cleaning a street.

His distinction is simple: everyone is creative, while creators are people who produce creative work as part of what they do.

How Fear of Failure Can Reduce Creativity

Paredes believes education can train people to distrust creativity by rewarding correct answers and punishing mistakes. He uses his son learning to walk as a reminder that falling wasn't proof he couldn't walk. It was part of learning.

He also rejects the pressure to create something completely original. People build from existing ideas, experiences, culture, and other people's work.

Why Chinese Social Media Is Difficult for Foreigners

Paredes used WeChat but found Chinese social media difficult for reasons beyond language. Memes, jokes, trends, cultural references, and website design reflected local habits that foreigners could miss even when they understood the words.

For him, the challenge wasn't simply translation. It was culture.

How to Use Social Media Without Letting It Control You

Paredes jokes that he “lost my virginity to social media in China” because his online life and expat life developed together. The internet helped him meet his future wife, stay connected to Venezuela, reach family across continents, promote creative work, and build a podcast in English.

His final warning is simple: “Don’t get used by it. You use it.” Social media can connect people and open creative opportunities, but only when the technology remains the tool.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Living abroad can make WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media essential for staying connected to family, culture, work, and identity across countries. After 12 years in China, Venezuelan designer and Creativity Roots host Ronald Paredes explains how Chinese internet restrictions, expat life, online creativity, and social media changed the way he communicated, created, and stayed connected across borders.

Ronald's website:

https://mundosantoart.wordpress.com/

Original publication date: September 4, 2018

What You’ll Learn About Expat Social Media, China, and Online Creativity

  • How expats use WhatsApp and Facebook to stay connected across countries
  • How living in China changes access to social media
  • Why Chinese social media can be difficult for foreigners
  • How Instagram and YouTube changed online creativity
  • Why creativity isn't limited to artists
  • How failure affects creative confidence
  • Why creativity doesn't require completely original ideas
  • How to use social media without letting it control you

How Expats Use WhatsApp and Facebook to Stay Connected Across Countries

Paredes’s sister lived in Mexico, his brother in Peru, his mother in Caracas, and he was in Nanjing. Their WhatsApp family group, marked by four country flags, helped keep the Venezuelan family connected across continents.

That connection became especially important when Paredes learned about his father’s death through Facebook and immediately turned to WhatsApp to reach family.

How Living in China Changes Social Media Access for Foreigners

Paredes met the woman who became his first wife through High Five around 2005, and their relationship continued through Skype before bringing him to China. He lived in Nanjing for 12 years while continuing his work as a graphic designer and artist.

He remembers using Facebook in China around the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As international platforms later became harder to access, VPNs and internet restrictions became part of staying connected outside China.

How Instagram and YouTube Changed Online Creativity

Working on a social venture taught Paredes that Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram served different audiences and needed different strategies. As a visual artist, Twitter eventually stopped fitting his work, while Instagram did.

He sees Instagram as doing for photography what YouTube did for video: opening creative publishing to far more people.

Why Creativity Isn’t Limited to Artists

Paredes rejects the idea that only artists, musicians, writers, and designers are creative. An accountant can be creative, and so can someone cleaning a street.

His distinction is simple: everyone is creative, while creators are people who produce creative work as part of what they do.

How Fear of Failure Can Reduce Creativity

Paredes believes education can train people to distrust creativity by rewarding correct answers and punishing mistakes. He uses his son learning to walk as a reminder that falling wasn't proof he couldn't walk. It was part of learning.

He also rejects the pressure to create something completely original. People build from existing ideas, experiences, culture, and other people's work.

Why Chinese Social Media Is Difficult for Foreigners

Paredes used WeChat but found Chinese social media difficult for reasons beyond language. Memes, jokes, trends, cultural references, and website design reflected local habits that foreigners could miss even when they understood the words.

For him, the challenge wasn't simply translation. It was culture.

How to Use Social Media Without Letting It Control You

Paredes jokes that he “lost my virginity to social media in China” because his online life and expat life developed together. The internet helped him meet his future wife, stay connected to Venezuela, reach family across continents, promote creative work, and build a podcast in English.

His final warning is simple: “Don’t get used by it. You use it.” Social media can connect people and open creative opportunities, but only when the technology remains the tool.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 7ab6cc75-639b-4630-9b58-669e80c536d5 Thu, 03 Oct 2019 05:00:00 +0200 6476 social media, immigration, identify, China, Venezuela, creativity full false From Manchester to Shanghai: Living Abroad as an Expat in the Digital Age: S4E1 From Manchester to Shanghai: Living Abroad as an Expat in the Digital Age: S4E1 Send us Fan Mail

We started this podcast with Jo, a British expat who was living in Shanghai, China. Her wisdom, insight, humour and down to earth advice to other expats about how their online and geographical selves can, should, may and might influence each other is very inspiring. 

Original publication date: September 2, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

We started this podcast with Jo, a British expat who was living in Shanghai, China. Her wisdom, insight, humour and down to earth advice to other expats about how their online and geographical selves can, should, may and might influence each other is very inspiring. 

Original publication date: September 2, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5fcceec2-cdb0-4a83-9a46-ff6aeafc0662 Thu, 26 Sep 2019 05:00:00 +0200 7558 full false From Shanghai to Ireland: A Multilingual Speaker on Language, Identity, and the Limits of Fluency: S3E6 From Shanghai to Ireland: A Multilingual Speaker on Language, Identity, and the Limits of Fluency: S3E6 Send us Fan Mail

How sound sensitive are you? Our guest today, Phoebe, grew up with Mandarin Chinese but has learned a myriad of languages including English, Finnish, German & more. But her sound talent goes far beyond languages into sound and voice research in her current PhD life in Ireland. She is currently researching the connection between recorded voices and listeners’ emotional responses to them. This sensitivity and Phoebe’s general curiosity touch every aspect of language that we discuss in this conversation. 

Original publication date: December 27, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

How sound sensitive are you? Our guest today, Phoebe, grew up with Mandarin Chinese but has learned a myriad of languages including English, Finnish, German & more. But her sound talent goes far beyond languages into sound and voice research in her current PhD life in Ireland. She is currently researching the connection between recorded voices and listeners’ emotional responses to them. This sensitivity and Phoebe’s general curiosity touch every aspect of language that we discuss in this conversation. 

Original publication date: December 27, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 58591de0-d5b0-47fd-a543-d2c5576adaf3 Thu, 15 Aug 2019 05:00:00 +0200 5930 full true How Chinese Is Taught in China: A Shanghai Native Explains Learning Characters and Language: S3E5 How Chinese Is Taught in China: A Shanghai Native Explains Learning Characters and Language: S3E5 Send us Fan Mail

Eric (his English name) grew up partly outside of Shanghai, China and then in Shanghai. He is now a Software Engineer that maneuvers through his Shanghai life in a multitude of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Shanghaiese, English, Japanese and French.

Original publication date: July 10, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Eric (his English name) grew up partly outside of Shanghai, China and then in Shanghai. He is now a Software Engineer that maneuvers through his Shanghai life in a multitude of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Shanghaiese, English, Japanese and French.

Original publication date: July 10, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 346adc9b-8b97-49cb-8d0b-32113a26cfe1 Thu, 01 Aug 2019 05:00:00 +0200 6421 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning, learning English, Shanghai full true How a Chinese Interpreter Translates Meaning, Personality, and Culture Between Languages: S3E4 How a Chinese Interpreter Translates Meaning, Personality, and Culture Between Languages: S3E4 Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we talk to  沃维薇 (Wò wéi wēi), also known as Liz, about her dual Mandarin Chinese-English language experiences. Liz grew up in Shanghai, China with a passion for books and languages, which explains why and how she was reading English Sci-Fi at 14 years old. She is now a Simultaneous Interpreter, which is someone that is translating one language to another during a conversation at regular conversational speed. Yes, wow is the correct response to that.

original publication date: December 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we talk to  沃维薇 (Wò wéi wēi), also known as Liz, about her dual Mandarin Chinese-English language experiences. Liz grew up in Shanghai, China with a passion for books and languages, which explains why and how she was reading English Sci-Fi at 14 years old. She is now a Simultaneous Interpreter, which is someone that is translating one language to another during a conversation at regular conversational speed. Yes, wow is the correct response to that.

original publication date: December 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 52141fd3-b7cf-4454-8814-ce95d0cf4baf Thu, 18 Jul 2019 05:00:00 +0200 5690 Mandarin Chinese, Chinese, China, learn English, study English, learn languages, language and identity full true From Hunan Dialect in China to U.S. Grad School: Learning English with Patience: S3E3 From Hunan Dialect in China to U.S. Grad School: Learning English with Patience: S3E3 Send us Fan Mail

Ziwei is originally from China’s. He's hands down one of the most intelligent, motivated, and hard working people I have ever known. We met in a Natural Language Processing class (taught by Sowmya, guest on the Virtual Expat Podcast in Iowa State University’s PhD in Applied Linguistics and Technology Program.​ In this conversation we talk about his experiences learning Mandarin Chinese and English as a child.

original publication date:  November 17, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Ziwei is originally from China’s. He's hands down one of the most intelligent, motivated, and hard working people I have ever known. We met in a Natural Language Processing class (taught by Sowmya, guest on the Virtual Expat Podcast in Iowa State University’s PhD in Applied Linguistics and Technology Program.​ In this conversation we talk about his experiences learning Mandarin Chinese and English as a child.

original publication date:  November 17, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ec03dbd7-32d1-413d-8868-933bfb46e68c Thu, 04 Jul 2019 05:00:00 +0200 3660 China, United States, learn languages, Chinese, English, study English, learn English, language learning full true Growing up speaking the Songjiang dialect and Chinese: A Native Speaker’s Story from Shanghai: S3E2 Growing up speaking the Songjiang dialect and Chinese: A Native Speaker’s Story from Shanghai: S3E2 Send us Fan Mail

Lucy grew up in Shanghai, China speaking both Standard Mandarin Chinese and a local Songjiang dialect. She later learned other languages both as a child and an adult. Her descriptions of both the Chinese and foreign language classrooms in China are fascinating. She is now working in an English language workplace in Shanghai in the Social Media arena of a local publication, 

original publication date: September 16, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Lucy grew up in Shanghai, China speaking both Standard Mandarin Chinese and a local Songjiang dialect. She later learned other languages both as a child and an adult. Her descriptions of both the Chinese and foreign language classrooms in China are fascinating. She is now working in an English language workplace in Shanghai in the Social Media arena of a local publication, 

original publication date: September 16, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio a6b8aa65-a9de-4b83-973d-e9560d4fe1b8 Thu, 20 Jun 2019 05:00:00 +0200 4294 Mandarin Chinese, Chinese, China, learn English, study English, learn languages, language and identity full true When a British Chinese Learner and a Chinese English Learner Compare Notes: S3E1 When a British Chinese Learner and a Chinese English Learner Compare Notes: S3E1 Send us Fan Mail

This is our first group chat about Simplified Mandarin Chinese. In this episode we have Yifei, a Chinese college student in Shanghai and Phil from episode 2 fame (he's British), who is a Master's student and also works in Shanghai. They share their own language learning stories, their successes and challenges in an open, blunt and friendly group conversation. 

Original recording date: June 29, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This is our first group chat about Simplified Mandarin Chinese. In this episode we have Yifei, a Chinese college student in Shanghai and Phil from episode 2 fame (he's British), who is a Master's student and also works in Shanghai. They share their own language learning stories, their successes and challenges in an open, blunt and friendly group conversation. 

Original recording date: June 29, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 25bc1501-fae3-49ca-91ef-5dc807a9e18f Thu, 23 May 2019 05:00:00 +0200 5774 full true Living in China as a Finnish Student: Learning Mandarin Through Immersion: S2E16 Living in China as a Finnish Student: Learning Mandarin Through Immersion: S2E16 Send us Fan Mail

 In this episode we chat with Lotta, a Finnish college student who lived in Shanghai, China between High School and University. During part of that time she took intensive Chinese language courses. Lotta has continued with her Chinese language learning even after returning to Finland by using TV shows and other media until she can take more language classes at her university.

Original publication date: May 7, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

 In this episode we chat with Lotta, a Finnish college student who lived in Shanghai, China between High School and University. During part of that time she took intensive Chinese language courses. Lotta has continued with her Chinese language learning even after returning to Finland by using TV shows and other media until she can take more language classes at her university.

Original publication date: May 7, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 6c0c8d5b-37ae-4d22-a1f7-f99689a2f208 Thu, 09 May 2019 05:00:00 +0200 4132 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true From TEFL to Podcasting: American Steph on Life Abroad and Reinvention: S2E15 From TEFL to Podcasting: American Steph on Life Abroad and Reinvention: S2E15 Send us Fan Mail

This episode is about half of a conversation that Matthew Boyle of Legendary Language Learner YouTube channel and I had about language teaching, content creation and the intersection between the two.

Original publication date: March 24, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This episode is about half of a conversation that Matthew Boyle of Legendary Language Learner YouTube channel and I had about language teaching, content creation and the intersection between the two.

Original publication date: March 24, 2022

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 1d4186bc-0ad8-40d6-8b5e-9f573685c782 Thu, 25 Apr 2019 05:00:00 +0200 1842 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning, content creation full false Linguist David Moser on the Connection Between Jazz and Language: S2E14 Linguist David Moser on the Connection Between Jazz and Language: S2E14 Send us Fan Mail

How much overlap is there between music and language? Sinologist, Linguist, Jazz Pianist & returning Geopat Podcast Guest, David Moser, joins us again for a dive into this question. 

Original publication date: March 13, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

How much overlap is there between music and language? Sinologist, Linguist, Jazz Pianist & returning Geopat Podcast Guest, David Moser, joins us again for a dive into this question. 

Original publication date: March 13, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio d2bdeaa8-125b-43f7-a80e-e289dca15ad2 Thu, 11 Apr 2019 05:00:00 +0200 2647 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true Yunus Emre Karasakal: Black Belt on Language, Time, and Culture in Turkey and China: S2E13 Yunus Emre Karasakal: Black Belt on Language, Time, and Culture in Turkey and China: S2E13 Send us Fan Mail

This week due to an evil head cold I have something different for you. This mini language episode includes:-a personal German language update (get ready to cringe) and-an unpublished language snippet from a previous interview with Yunus from September 2019. 

Original publication date: February 14, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This week due to an evil head cold I have something different for you. This mini language episode includes:-a personal German language update (get ready to cringe) and-an unpublished language snippet from a previous interview with Yunus from September 2019. 

Original publication date: February 14, 2020

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio da7bf396-93c3-4b0d-8d58-776921370c25 Thu, 21 Mar 2019 05:00:00 +0100 621 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true Linguist David Moser on the Language Wars Behind Modern Chinese: S2E12 Linguist David Moser on the Language Wars Behind Modern Chinese: S2E12 Send us Fan Mail

Can the making of a language be a riveting story? 

Yes, yes, and according to Sinologist, Linguist, Jazz Pianist & returning  David Moser has thoughts on this idea.

Original publication date: December 6, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Can the making of a language be a riveting story? 

Yes, yes, and according to Sinologist, Linguist, Jazz Pianist & returning  David Moser has thoughts on this idea.

Original publication date: December 6, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio d6402021-9f81-4250-9951-a3f2ca88278e Thu, 07 Mar 2019 05:00:00 +0100 2832 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true From Southern California to Beijing: Learning Mandarin and Interpreting at the Olympics: S2E11 From Southern California to Beijing: Learning Mandarin and Interpreting at the Olympics: S2E11 Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever had to create your own path to succeed at something? That is exactly what Venture Capitalist  did to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese. In fact, he was so successful at it that he ended up being the Lead Interpreter for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in China. This is a 2 part interview about his amazing language learning story. 

Ryan Shuken: https://twitter.com/Rshuken

Original publication date: November 17, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever had to create your own path to succeed at something? That is exactly what Venture Capitalist  did to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese. In fact, he was so successful at it that he ended up being the Lead Interpreter for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in China. This is a 2 part interview about his amazing language learning story. 

Ryan Shuken: https://twitter.com/Rshuken

Original publication date: November 17, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 067d2ae4-ea1b-4430-9b33-5cb450c17a9e Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:00:00 +0100 2845 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning, Olympics full true Linguist David Moser: How He Learned Chinese and Built a Life in China: S2E10 Linguist David Moser: How He Learned Chinese and Built a Life in China: S2E10 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese with Pleco and digital dictionaries is radically easier than it was a generation ago, but many learners still spend too much time on Chinese characters, radicals, and handwriting before they can actually speak and understand Mandarin. David Moser, longtime Mandarin educator, translator, and author of A Billion Voices, explains what modern learners should prioritize instead, including speaking and listening, Mandarin grammar, and context.

A Billion Voices: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29501533-a-billion-voices

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, Pleco, and Fluency

  • How Pleco changed learning Mandarin Chinese
  • Why speaking and listening should come before Chinese handwriting
  • How radicals affect Chinese character learning
  • Why Chinese character phonetics don’t always match modern pronunciation
  • How Mandarin grammar expresses time without English-style verb tense
  • Why Mandarin relies so heavily on context
  • How Mandarin pronouns differ from English

How Pleco and Digital Dictionaries Changed Learning Mandarin Chinese

Moser began teaching himself Mandarin around 1986 using John DeFrancis textbooks, Chinese friends, and homemade phrase books. After about a year and a half, he could hold basic conversations and understand enough Chinese structure to work through unfamiliar sentences.

That foundation took him to Peking University, where he helped check the Chinese translation of Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach. With no digital tools, he worked through handwritten Chinese manuscripts using the English original as a guide.

How Chinese Dictionaries Worked Before Pleco

Looking up a Chinese character once meant identifying its radical, counting strokes, finding the correct dictionary section, and searching the entries. Moser remembers spending several minutes on a single word and calls dictionary lookup almost “a whole course in itself.”

While reading Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged, he penciled definitions onto nearly every page so he wouldn’t have to search for the same words again. He jokingly calls the annotated book his “non-computer Pleco.”

Modern learners can now touch a character and get its pronunciation and meaning instantly. Radicals, handwriting, and character history can still matter, but beginners no longer need to master them before using Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Speaking and Listening Should Come Before Chinese Handwriting

Moser sees a problem when Chinese teaching treats characters as if they are the language itself. He considers speaking and listening the core language skills and points out that people can speak excellent Mandarin without writing it well.

Once learners know a word’s sound, meaning, and use, they can attach the written form to knowledge they already have. Digital tools let learners spend more time communicating instead of fighting with dictionary mechanics.

How Mandarin Chinese Grammar Uses Context Instead of English-Style Verb Tense

Chinese doesn’t mark tense on verbs in the same way English does, relying more on aspect and context. Learners often add information Mandarin doesn’t require because English has trained them to expect it.

That can make Chinese sentences feel incomplete to English speakers even when native speakers already have the information they need from context.

How Mandarin Chinese Pronouns Differ From English

Spoken tā can mean he, she, or it. Moser remembers conversations about an incoming professor where people discussed when tā would arrive and who would meet tā at the airport without specifying gender.

Mandarin distinguishes 哥哥, older brother, from 弟弟, younger brother, while English usually says only brother. Each language trains speakers to expect different information.

For Moser, that was part of Mandarin’s appeal from the beginning. He didn’t just want to use Chinese. He wanted to understand what it might be like to “think in Chinese.”

Original publication date: October 4, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese with Pleco and digital dictionaries is radically easier than it was a generation ago, but many learners still spend too much time on Chinese characters, radicals, and handwriting before they can actually speak and understand Mandarin. David Moser, longtime Mandarin educator, translator, and author of A Billion Voices, explains what modern learners should prioritize instead, including speaking and listening, Mandarin grammar, and context.

A Billion Voices: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29501533-a-billion-voices

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, Pleco, and Fluency

  • How Pleco changed learning Mandarin Chinese
  • Why speaking and listening should come before Chinese handwriting
  • How radicals affect Chinese character learning
  • Why Chinese character phonetics don’t always match modern pronunciation
  • How Mandarin grammar expresses time without English-style verb tense
  • Why Mandarin relies so heavily on context
  • How Mandarin pronouns differ from English

How Pleco and Digital Dictionaries Changed Learning Mandarin Chinese

Moser began teaching himself Mandarin around 1986 using John DeFrancis textbooks, Chinese friends, and homemade phrase books. After about a year and a half, he could hold basic conversations and understand enough Chinese structure to work through unfamiliar sentences.

That foundation took him to Peking University, where he helped check the Chinese translation of Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach. With no digital tools, he worked through handwritten Chinese manuscripts using the English original as a guide.

How Chinese Dictionaries Worked Before Pleco

Looking up a Chinese character once meant identifying its radical, counting strokes, finding the correct dictionary section, and searching the entries. Moser remembers spending several minutes on a single word and calls dictionary lookup almost “a whole course in itself.”

While reading Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged, he penciled definitions onto nearly every page so he wouldn’t have to search for the same words again. He jokingly calls the annotated book his “non-computer Pleco.”

Modern learners can now touch a character and get its pronunciation and meaning instantly. Radicals, handwriting, and character history can still matter, but beginners no longer need to master them before using Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Speaking and Listening Should Come Before Chinese Handwriting

Moser sees a problem when Chinese teaching treats characters as if they are the language itself. He considers speaking and listening the core language skills and points out that people can speak excellent Mandarin without writing it well.

Once learners know a word’s sound, meaning, and use, they can attach the written form to knowledge they already have. Digital tools let learners spend more time communicating instead of fighting with dictionary mechanics.

How Mandarin Chinese Grammar Uses Context Instead of English-Style Verb Tense

Chinese doesn’t mark tense on verbs in the same way English does, relying more on aspect and context. Learners often add information Mandarin doesn’t require because English has trained them to expect it.

That can make Chinese sentences feel incomplete to English speakers even when native speakers already have the information they need from context.

How Mandarin Chinese Pronouns Differ From English

Spoken tā can mean he, she, or it. Moser remembers conversations about an incoming professor where people discussed when tā would arrive and who would meet tā at the airport without specifying gender.

Mandarin distinguishes 哥哥, older brother, from 弟弟, younger brother, while English usually says only brother. Each language trains speakers to expect different information.

For Moser, that was part of Mandarin’s appeal from the beginning. He didn’t just want to use Chinese. He wanted to understand what it might be like to “think in Chinese.”

Original publication date: October 4, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ddc5df81-1323-4b17-99ad-6b59c6115d93 Thu, 07 Feb 2019 05:00:00 +0100 2569 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning, Linguist David Moser full true Learning Mandarin Chinese: How ThomReads Uses Instagram to Stay Consistent: S2E9 Learning Mandarin Chinese: How ThomReads Uses Instagram to Stay Consistent: S2E9 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese takes more than memorizing vocabulary: sentences, Chinese characters, immersion, HSK preparation, and changing study methods all shape practical fluency. After years of studying Mandarin in France and Taiwan, Tom discovered something unexpected: Chinese was easier for him than the European languages he'd studied.

His experience shows what HSK scores miss about real-world ability and why study methods need to change as Mandarin advances.

ThomReads on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thomreads/?hl=en

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, HSK, and Chinese Characters

  • Why Mandarin Chinese can feel easier than European languages
  • Why learning Mandarin sentences matters more than vocabulary alone
  • How simplified and traditional Chinese affect learners
  • What studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan teaches you
  • What HSK tests measure about Mandarin fluency
  • How to stay motivated learning Mandarin long term

Why Mandarin Chinese Can Feel Easier Than European Languages

Tom started learning Mandarin at 15 after wanting to study Japanese. Within about two weeks, he was hooked by how different Chinese looked and sounded from the European languages he knew.

He eventually decided Mandarin was easier for him than French. Chinese removed grammatical gender and much of the verb conjugation he associated with French, while characters, tones, and pronunciation gave him different challenges.

How Studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan Changes the Way You Learn

Tom arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, knowing about 400 Chinese words and having studied simplified characters. Shortly before leaving France, he discovered Taiwan used traditional Chinese.

He later switched back to simplified Chinese for university, then encountered traditional characters again through classical Chinese. Taiwan also showed him that Mandarin expressions and pronunciation change depending on where you are.

Why Learning Mandarin Sentences Matters More Than Vocabulary Alone

Knowing hundreds of Chinese words didn't mean Tom knew how to use them. In Taiwan, he sometimes found himself saying individual words and hoping people understood.

He now believes beginners should learn useful sentences earlier instead of focusing too heavily on isolated vocabulary. Short examples helped him understand how Chinese words function together.

How Visual Learners Can Remember Chinese Characters

Tom remembers colorful vocabulary covering his elementary-school classroom walls and believes those experiences shaped his visual memory.

That memory suited Chinese characters. He wrote them repeatedly and sometimes found that looking at a new word for a couple of minutes was enough to remember it.

What HSK Tests Measure About Mandarin Chinese Fluency

Tom passed the paper version of HSK 4 and was later encouraged to prepare for HSK 6. He became skeptical that an HSK score alone reflects real-world Mandarin ability.

He described parts of the exam as a “guessing game” because vocabulary and test strategy can help eliminate answers. HSK measures reading, listening, and writing, while speaking is assessed separately through HSKK.

How Advanced Mandarin Learners Change Their Study Methods

After seven or eight years of Chinese, Tom needed new ways to keep difficult material enjoyable. Although he hadn't used flashcards much before, he started using Anki while completing a master’s degree in Chinese studies.

He also used other languages and Chinese TV as breaks from formal Mandarin study. As his Chinese became more advanced, his learning methods changed too.

How to Stay Motivated When Learning Mandarin Chinese Long Term

Tom returns to his Studygram posts when he feels unmotivated or procrastinates.

Seeing weeks of completed work gives him evidence of his progress and motivates him to continue. His experience shows that long-term Mandarin learning isn't about finding one perfect method, but changing your approach as your skills and challenges change.

Original publication date: August 8, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese takes more than memorizing vocabulary: sentences, Chinese characters, immersion, HSK preparation, and changing study methods all shape practical fluency. After years of studying Mandarin in France and Taiwan, Tom discovered something unexpected: Chinese was easier for him than the European languages he'd studied.

His experience shows what HSK scores miss about real-world ability and why study methods need to change as Mandarin advances.

ThomReads on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thomreads/?hl=en

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese, HSK, and Chinese Characters

  • Why Mandarin Chinese can feel easier than European languages
  • Why learning Mandarin sentences matters more than vocabulary alone
  • How simplified and traditional Chinese affect learners
  • What studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan teaches you
  • What HSK tests measure about Mandarin fluency
  • How to stay motivated learning Mandarin long term

Why Mandarin Chinese Can Feel Easier Than European Languages

Tom started learning Mandarin at 15 after wanting to study Japanese. Within about two weeks, he was hooked by how different Chinese looked and sounded from the European languages he knew.

He eventually decided Mandarin was easier for him than French. Chinese removed grammatical gender and much of the verb conjugation he associated with French, while characters, tones, and pronunciation gave him different challenges.

How Studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan Changes the Way You Learn

Tom arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, knowing about 400 Chinese words and having studied simplified characters. Shortly before leaving France, he discovered Taiwan used traditional Chinese.

He later switched back to simplified Chinese for university, then encountered traditional characters again through classical Chinese. Taiwan also showed him that Mandarin expressions and pronunciation change depending on where you are.

Why Learning Mandarin Sentences Matters More Than Vocabulary Alone

Knowing hundreds of Chinese words didn't mean Tom knew how to use them. In Taiwan, he sometimes found himself saying individual words and hoping people understood.

He now believes beginners should learn useful sentences earlier instead of focusing too heavily on isolated vocabulary. Short examples helped him understand how Chinese words function together.

How Visual Learners Can Remember Chinese Characters

Tom remembers colorful vocabulary covering his elementary-school classroom walls and believes those experiences shaped his visual memory.

That memory suited Chinese characters. He wrote them repeatedly and sometimes found that looking at a new word for a couple of minutes was enough to remember it.

What HSK Tests Measure About Mandarin Chinese Fluency

Tom passed the paper version of HSK 4 and was later encouraged to prepare for HSK 6. He became skeptical that an HSK score alone reflects real-world Mandarin ability.

He described parts of the exam as a “guessing game” because vocabulary and test strategy can help eliminate answers. HSK measures reading, listening, and writing, while speaking is assessed separately through HSKK.

How Advanced Mandarin Learners Change Their Study Methods

After seven or eight years of Chinese, Tom needed new ways to keep difficult material enjoyable. Although he hadn't used flashcards much before, he started using Anki while completing a master’s degree in Chinese studies.

He also used other languages and Chinese TV as breaks from formal Mandarin study. As his Chinese became more advanced, his learning methods changed too.

How to Stay Motivated When Learning Mandarin Chinese Long Term

Tom returns to his Studygram posts when he feels unmotivated or procrastinates.

Seeing weeks of completed work gives him evidence of his progress and motivates him to continue. His experience shows that long-term Mandarin learning isn't about finding one perfect method, but changing your approach as your skills and challenges change.

Original publication date: August 8, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 59363699-e2c2-4d74-8570-ef20dabc66c8 Thu, 24 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0100 3825 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full false From Canada to China and Back: Learning Mandarin and Raising a Bilingual Baby: S2E8 From Canada to China and Back: Learning Mandarin and Raising a Bilingual Baby: S2E8 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through immersion can improve speaking, listening, pronunciation, and real-world fluency even when Chinese reading and Hanzi develop more slowly. Educator Angela explains how Pinyin, taxi conversations, ChinesePod, shadowing, and daily communication helped her build practical Mandarin in China without formal classes.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Immersion

  • How Mandarin immersion improves speaking and listening
  • Why speaking can develop faster than Chinese reading
  • How Pinyin helps pronunciation but can delay Hanzi
  • How ChinesePod and shadowing build listening skills
  • How to maintain Mandarin after leaving China
  • How bilingual families support Mandarin and English

How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Through Immersion and Daily Conversation

Angela arrived in China with almost no Mandarin after originally planning to teach English in Brazil. Promised weekly lessons never developed into much, so daily life became her classroom.

Taxi drivers kept asking similar questions, so Angela had someone write likely questions and answers in Pinyin with English underneath. She carried the sheet with her and used those repeated conversations to build survival Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Speaking Can Develop Faster Than Chinese Reading

Angela relied on Pinyin and conversation while largely bypassing Chinese characters. Even after becoming comfortable speaking, she described herself as almost functionally illiterate in Mandarin.

Before smartphones, unfamiliar characters were hard to look up because she couldn’t reliably identify the strokes or components a dictionary required. Pinyin solved the immediate communication problem but reduced the pressure to learn Hanzi.

How ChinesePod and Shadowing Improve Mandarin Listening

After returning to Canada, Angela listened to ChinesePod during her university commute and repeated the Mandarin aloud while walking, a technique now commonly called shadowing.

In the evenings, she asked her Chinese partner whether the expressions she had learned were actually used in everyday conversation, combining structured listening with real-world feedback.

How to Maintain Mandarin Chinese Outside China

Angela used a university language partner program to meet Chinese speakers and audited Mandarin practice labs for two semesters.

When she later returned to China, a bilingual workplace helped her improve again. She could speak Mandarin, insert an English word when needed, and use context from familiar people and situations to understand more.

How Real-World Mandarin Immersion Builds Speaking Confidence

Angela once hesitated to speak unless she could say something correctly. That changed when she lived with her Chinese partner’s parents, who didn’t speak English.

Her imperfect Mandarin was still their strongest shared language. Conversations took time, but they found ways to understand one another, shifting her focus from accuracy to communication.

How to Raise a Bilingual Child With Mandarin and English

Angela and her husband hope their son will grow up with both languages in Canada. A two-month visit from his Chinese grandparents strengthened his Mandarin exposure because they don’t speak English.

At 19 months, he was already responding to vocabulary in both languages and using Mandarin alongside English.

How Mandarin and Multilingual Learning Shape Teaching

Angela now supports international students at an all-girls boarding school in Winnipeg and teaches microeconomics.

She sometimes uses Mandarin with Chinese students to confirm that they understand academic concepts before explaining them in English. Her experience shows that speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, and confidence don’t have to develop at the same speed.

Original publication date: June 10, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through immersion can improve speaking, listening, pronunciation, and real-world fluency even when Chinese reading and Hanzi develop more slowly. Educator Angela explains how Pinyin, taxi conversations, ChinesePod, shadowing, and daily communication helped her build practical Mandarin in China without formal classes.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Immersion

  • How Mandarin immersion improves speaking and listening
  • Why speaking can develop faster than Chinese reading
  • How Pinyin helps pronunciation but can delay Hanzi
  • How ChinesePod and shadowing build listening skills
  • How to maintain Mandarin after leaving China
  • How bilingual families support Mandarin and English

How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Through Immersion and Daily Conversation

Angela arrived in China with almost no Mandarin after originally planning to teach English in Brazil. Promised weekly lessons never developed into much, so daily life became her classroom.

Taxi drivers kept asking similar questions, so Angela had someone write likely questions and answers in Pinyin with English underneath. She carried the sheet with her and used those repeated conversations to build survival Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Speaking Can Develop Faster Than Chinese Reading

Angela relied on Pinyin and conversation while largely bypassing Chinese characters. Even after becoming comfortable speaking, she described herself as almost functionally illiterate in Mandarin.

Before smartphones, unfamiliar characters were hard to look up because she couldn’t reliably identify the strokes or components a dictionary required. Pinyin solved the immediate communication problem but reduced the pressure to learn Hanzi.

How ChinesePod and Shadowing Improve Mandarin Listening

After returning to Canada, Angela listened to ChinesePod during her university commute and repeated the Mandarin aloud while walking, a technique now commonly called shadowing.

In the evenings, she asked her Chinese partner whether the expressions she had learned were actually used in everyday conversation, combining structured listening with real-world feedback.

How to Maintain Mandarin Chinese Outside China

Angela used a university language partner program to meet Chinese speakers and audited Mandarin practice labs for two semesters.

When she later returned to China, a bilingual workplace helped her improve again. She could speak Mandarin, insert an English word when needed, and use context from familiar people and situations to understand more.

How Real-World Mandarin Immersion Builds Speaking Confidence

Angela once hesitated to speak unless she could say something correctly. That changed when she lived with her Chinese partner’s parents, who didn’t speak English.

Her imperfect Mandarin was still their strongest shared language. Conversations took time, but they found ways to understand one another, shifting her focus from accuracy to communication.

How to Raise a Bilingual Child With Mandarin and English

Angela and her husband hope their son will grow up with both languages in Canada. A two-month visit from his Chinese grandparents strengthened his Mandarin exposure because they don’t speak English.

At 19 months, he was already responding to vocabulary in both languages and using Mandarin alongside English.

How Mandarin and Multilingual Learning Shape Teaching

Angela now supports international students at an all-girls boarding school in Winnipeg and teaches microeconomics.

She sometimes uses Mandarin with Chinese students to confirm that they understand academic concepts before explaining them in English. Her experience shows that speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, and confidence don’t have to develop at the same speed.

Original publication date: June 10, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 8c166dfa-6460-4129-850d-5ec7153620e6 Thu, 10 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0100 3726 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true Texas and China: How Learning Mandarin Differently Changed His Expat Life: S2E7 Texas and China: How Learning Mandarin Differently Changed His Expat Life: S2E7 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study and immersion can build real-world fluency, but those skills don’t always develop the way textbooks or HSK levels suggest. After moving to China in 2010 with no Mandarin, Joshua Ogden Davis used workplace immersion and daily communication to become a professional translator.

Mandarin Slang Guide: Josh's Chinese language podcast

https://www.himalaya.com/album/mandarin-slang-guide-1461088

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Self-Study and Immersion

  • How self-study and immersion build Mandarin fluency
  • Why necessity accelerates Mandarin speaking and listening
  • How writing Chinese characters improves vocabulary retention
  • Why fluency can develop before grammar accuracy
  • Why Beijing Mandarin can be harder to understand
  • How HSK tests compare with real-world Mandarin

How Self-Study and Immersion Build Mandarin Chinese Fluency

Josh moved from Texas to Guangzhou in 2010 after leaving graduate school. He took only around 12 or 13 informal Mandarin lessons, then relied heavily on self-study and everyday use.

Some days he taught six English classes, then copied Chinese characters until the last subway home. His biggest breakthroughs came when Mandarin became something he needed to use.

Why Necessity Accelerates Mandarin Speaking and Listening

After moving to Haikou, Josh took a job at a Chinese wedding company that had him doing telemarketing in Mandarin. He could barely handle some everyday conversations, yet he was suddenly calling Chinese business owners.

Haikou became his Mandarin sink-or-swim moment. In Guangzhou, he could retreat into English; in Haikou, he had to keep communicating with the Mandarin he had.

How Real-World Mandarin Skills Created Career Opportunities

Josh’s employer pushed him to appear on the Chinese dating show Fei Cheng Wu Rao. A Beijing marketing company saw him and recruited him.

There, long HR emails became language-learning material. During one client meeting, he knew 签到台 in Chinese but temporarily couldn’t remember “sign-in counter” in English because he had only used the term professionally in Chinese.

Why Mandarin Fluency Can Develop Before Grammar Accuracy

Josh says his Mandarin became fluent before it became correct. He compares language learning to riding a bicycle: if you stop every time you wobble, you’ll never learn to ride anywhere.

Real conversation lets learners make mistakes, clarify, and keep moving. For Josh, communication came first and accuracy improved through use.

How Writing Chinese Characters Improves Mandarin Vocabulary Retention

Josh spent hours writing Hanzi by hand and believes stroke order helped him remember vocabulary. Today he can type long passages using Pinyin but may struggle to reproduce the same characters with a pen.

He credits handwriting with building the recognition skills he still uses.

Why Beijing Mandarin Can Be Harder to Understand

People warned Josh that learning Mandarin in Guangzhou would expose him to Cantonese-influenced accents. Yet Beijing Mandarin sometimes proved harder.

On his first Beijing taxi ride, he carefully pronounced Bālǐzhuāng in standard Mandarin and struggled to understand the driver’s local response. Josh found that Cantonese speakers often adjusted their Mandarin for outsiders, while Beijing speakers were less likely to do so.

How HSK Tests Compare With Real-World Mandarin Ability

Despite working as a translator, Josh doubts he could take the higher HSK levels without preparation. HSK 5 would challenge him because of its reading speed, vocabulary, and idioms.

Professional Mandarin and test-specific Mandarin aren’t always the same.

How English and Mandarin Mix in Bilingual Communication

Years of moving between both languages changed Josh’s English too. In Chinese marketing meetings, words such as “align” and “circle back” could appear inside otherwise Chinese sentences.

Josh jokes that he speaks English, Chinese, Chinese-style English, and English-style Chinese. Stephanie calls the overlap a possible “third culture language.”

Original publication: May 22, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study and immersion can build real-world fluency, but those skills don’t always develop the way textbooks or HSK levels suggest. After moving to China in 2010 with no Mandarin, Joshua Ogden Davis used workplace immersion and daily communication to become a professional translator.

Mandarin Slang Guide: Josh's Chinese language podcast

https://www.himalaya.com/album/mandarin-slang-guide-1461088

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Self-Study and Immersion

  • How self-study and immersion build Mandarin fluency
  • Why necessity accelerates Mandarin speaking and listening
  • How writing Chinese characters improves vocabulary retention
  • Why fluency can develop before grammar accuracy
  • Why Beijing Mandarin can be harder to understand
  • How HSK tests compare with real-world Mandarin

How Self-Study and Immersion Build Mandarin Chinese Fluency

Josh moved from Texas to Guangzhou in 2010 after leaving graduate school. He took only around 12 or 13 informal Mandarin lessons, then relied heavily on self-study and everyday use.

Some days he taught six English classes, then copied Chinese characters until the last subway home. His biggest breakthroughs came when Mandarin became something he needed to use.

Why Necessity Accelerates Mandarin Speaking and Listening

After moving to Haikou, Josh took a job at a Chinese wedding company that had him doing telemarketing in Mandarin. He could barely handle some everyday conversations, yet he was suddenly calling Chinese business owners.

Haikou became his Mandarin sink-or-swim moment. In Guangzhou, he could retreat into English; in Haikou, he had to keep communicating with the Mandarin he had.

How Real-World Mandarin Skills Created Career Opportunities

Josh’s employer pushed him to appear on the Chinese dating show Fei Cheng Wu Rao. A Beijing marketing company saw him and recruited him.

There, long HR emails became language-learning material. During one client meeting, he knew 签到台 in Chinese but temporarily couldn’t remember “sign-in counter” in English because he had only used the term professionally in Chinese.

Why Mandarin Fluency Can Develop Before Grammar Accuracy

Josh says his Mandarin became fluent before it became correct. He compares language learning to riding a bicycle: if you stop every time you wobble, you’ll never learn to ride anywhere.

Real conversation lets learners make mistakes, clarify, and keep moving. For Josh, communication came first and accuracy improved through use.

How Writing Chinese Characters Improves Mandarin Vocabulary Retention

Josh spent hours writing Hanzi by hand and believes stroke order helped him remember vocabulary. Today he can type long passages using Pinyin but may struggle to reproduce the same characters with a pen.

He credits handwriting with building the recognition skills he still uses.

Why Beijing Mandarin Can Be Harder to Understand

People warned Josh that learning Mandarin in Guangzhou would expose him to Cantonese-influenced accents. Yet Beijing Mandarin sometimes proved harder.

On his first Beijing taxi ride, he carefully pronounced Bālǐzhuāng in standard Mandarin and struggled to understand the driver’s local response. Josh found that Cantonese speakers often adjusted their Mandarin for outsiders, while Beijing speakers were less likely to do so.

How HSK Tests Compare With Real-World Mandarin Ability

Despite working as a translator, Josh doubts he could take the higher HSK levels without preparation. HSK 5 would challenge him because of its reading speed, vocabulary, and idioms.

Professional Mandarin and test-specific Mandarin aren’t always the same.

How English and Mandarin Mix in Bilingual Communication

Years of moving between both languages changed Josh’s English too. In Chinese marketing meetings, words such as “align” and “circle back” could appear inside otherwise Chinese sentences.

Josh jokes that he speaks English, Chinese, Chinese-style English, and English-style Chinese. Stephanie calls the overlap a possible “third culture language.”

Original publication: May 22, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio abf13a97-e61c-4cfa-91f9-450a5c4edbeb Thu, 27 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0100 7245 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true Eric Olander Returns: What 33 Years of Mandarin Chinese Taught Him About Culture and Fluency: S2E6 Eric Olander Returns: What 33 Years of Mandarin Chinese Taught Him About Culture and Fluency: S2E6 Send us Fan Mail

After 33 years of studying Mandarin across China, Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project and a longtime China-focused journalist, explains how regional Mandarin accents, chengyu, 了 (le), face, conflict, and cultural fluency shape real Chinese communication and change the way native speakers respond to you as your Mandarin improves.

China Global South Project:https://chinaglobalsouth.com/author/eric/

What You’ll Learn About Advanced Mandarin Chinese, Fluency, and Chinese Culture

  • Why regional Mandarin Chinese can be easier to understand than Beijing Mandarin
  • How Chinese accents, speaking speed, and vocabulary vary across China
  • How chengyu and four-character Chinese idioms improve Mandarin fluency
  • How to know when native Chinese speakers see you as fluent in Mandarin
  • Whether Mandarin learners should study Cantonese and other Chinese dialects
  • How Mandarin Chinese expresses past, present, and future without verb tenses
  • How 了 (le) works in Mandarin Chinese grammar
  • What face means in Chinese culture, business, and conflict
  • Why cultural fluency matters as much as Mandarin vocabulary and grammar
  • How advanced Mandarin changes the way Chinese speakers communicate with foreigners

Why Regional Mandarin Chinese Can Be Easier to Understand Than Beijing Mandarin

Eric has travelled through more than 15 Chinese provinces, including Xinjiang, Gansu, Guizhou, and Shanghai. In 1993, he spent about nine months travelling by train through China while reporting for the BBC World Service.

In places such as Kashgar, he heard Mandarin spoken as a second language. Regional accents could be difficult, but slower speech and simpler vocabulary sometimes made these conversations easier than fast native Mandarin in Beijing.

How Chinese Chengyu and Four-Character Idioms Improve Mandarin Fluency

Eric sees chengyu, commonly four-character Chinese idioms, as an important part of advanced Mandarin.

Knowing the characters isn’t enough. Learners also need to understand the larger meaning and know when an expression fits socially and culturally.

Eric keeps a list of chengyu in Evernote and wants to use more idiomatic Chinese as his Mandarin continues to develop.

How to Know When Native Chinese Speakers See You as Fluent in Mandarin

Eric values conversations where nobody comments on his Mandarin.

People stop slowing down, stop switching into English, and stop congratulating him. They simply talk to him normally.

That also changes expectations. Once people believe your Mandarin is strong enough, they may stop giving you the extra latitude they’d give a foreign language learner.

Should Mandarin Learners Study Cantonese and Other Chinese Dialects?

Despite living in Hong Kong, Eric chose not to pursue Cantonese or other Chinese varieties.

Mandarin was already difficult enough. While living in Vietnam, studying Vietnamese began interfering with his Chinese, so he decided to focus on going deeper into Mandarin instead.

How Mandarin Chinese Expresses Past, Present, and Future Without Verb Tenses

Mandarin doesn’t use English-style verb tense changes.

Eric describes 了 (le) through an image of water flowing beneath a bridge. The water on one side isn’t the same water moving beyond it, so something has changed.

That helped him understand 了 as connected to transformation or change of state rather than simply as a past-tense marker.

How 了 (Le) Works in Mandarin Chinese Grammar

For Eric, 了 became easier to understand once he stopped treating it like an English past-tense ending.

The bridge image helped him see it as a marker of change. Mandarin often expresses time through context, particles, and changes of state rather than verb conjugations.

What Face Means in Chinese Culture, Business, and Conflict

Much of Eric’s Mandarin has been used in business, where face, hierarchy, and emotional context matter.

At one VIP meeting, he crossed his legs so the sole of his shoe faced the other person. A protocol officer later told him the gesture had been disrespectful.

The mistake showed that even decades of language learning don’t automatically teach every cultural signal.

Why Cultural Fluency Matters for Advanced Mandarin Chinese

Around 2005, someone aggressively swore at Eric in Chinese. He understood everything and went home angry and upset.

A Chinese friend later pointed out that the woman clearly expected him to understand and was treating him more like another Chinese speaker than a foreigner requiring special handling.

Eric began to see the experience as a strange sign of progress.

How Advanced Mandarin Fluency Changes the Way Chinese Speakers Treat Foreigners

After 33 years of Mandarin learning, Eric’s biggest fluency milestones aren’t only vocabulary or grammar.

They’re whether people can joke, argue, negotiate, use idioms, and speak naturally without adjusting their language because he’s foreign.

Original publication date: march 12, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

After 33 years of studying Mandarin across China, Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Global South Project and a longtime China-focused journalist, explains how regional Mandarin accents, chengyu, 了 (le), face, conflict, and cultural fluency shape real Chinese communication and change the way native speakers respond to you as your Mandarin improves.

China Global South Project:https://chinaglobalsouth.com/author/eric/

What You’ll Learn About Advanced Mandarin Chinese, Fluency, and Chinese Culture

  • Why regional Mandarin Chinese can be easier to understand than Beijing Mandarin
  • How Chinese accents, speaking speed, and vocabulary vary across China
  • How chengyu and four-character Chinese idioms improve Mandarin fluency
  • How to know when native Chinese speakers see you as fluent in Mandarin
  • Whether Mandarin learners should study Cantonese and other Chinese dialects
  • How Mandarin Chinese expresses past, present, and future without verb tenses
  • How 了 (le) works in Mandarin Chinese grammar
  • What face means in Chinese culture, business, and conflict
  • Why cultural fluency matters as much as Mandarin vocabulary and grammar
  • How advanced Mandarin changes the way Chinese speakers communicate with foreigners

Why Regional Mandarin Chinese Can Be Easier to Understand Than Beijing Mandarin

Eric has travelled through more than 15 Chinese provinces, including Xinjiang, Gansu, Guizhou, and Shanghai. In 1993, he spent about nine months travelling by train through China while reporting for the BBC World Service.

In places such as Kashgar, he heard Mandarin spoken as a second language. Regional accents could be difficult, but slower speech and simpler vocabulary sometimes made these conversations easier than fast native Mandarin in Beijing.

How Chinese Chengyu and Four-Character Idioms Improve Mandarin Fluency

Eric sees chengyu, commonly four-character Chinese idioms, as an important part of advanced Mandarin.

Knowing the characters isn’t enough. Learners also need to understand the larger meaning and know when an expression fits socially and culturally.

Eric keeps a list of chengyu in Evernote and wants to use more idiomatic Chinese as his Mandarin continues to develop.

How to Know When Native Chinese Speakers See You as Fluent in Mandarin

Eric values conversations where nobody comments on his Mandarin.

People stop slowing down, stop switching into English, and stop congratulating him. They simply talk to him normally.

That also changes expectations. Once people believe your Mandarin is strong enough, they may stop giving you the extra latitude they’d give a foreign language learner.

Should Mandarin Learners Study Cantonese and Other Chinese Dialects?

Despite living in Hong Kong, Eric chose not to pursue Cantonese or other Chinese varieties.

Mandarin was already difficult enough. While living in Vietnam, studying Vietnamese began interfering with his Chinese, so he decided to focus on going deeper into Mandarin instead.

How Mandarin Chinese Expresses Past, Present, and Future Without Verb Tenses

Mandarin doesn’t use English-style verb tense changes.

Eric describes 了 (le) through an image of water flowing beneath a bridge. The water on one side isn’t the same water moving beyond it, so something has changed.

That helped him understand 了 as connected to transformation or change of state rather than simply as a past-tense marker.

How 了 (Le) Works in Mandarin Chinese Grammar

For Eric, 了 became easier to understand once he stopped treating it like an English past-tense ending.

The bridge image helped him see it as a marker of change. Mandarin often expresses time through context, particles, and changes of state rather than verb conjugations.

What Face Means in Chinese Culture, Business, and Conflict

Much of Eric’s Mandarin has been used in business, where face, hierarchy, and emotional context matter.

At one VIP meeting, he crossed his legs so the sole of his shoe faced the other person. A protocol officer later told him the gesture had been disrespectful.

The mistake showed that even decades of language learning don’t automatically teach every cultural signal.

Why Cultural Fluency Matters for Advanced Mandarin Chinese

Around 2005, someone aggressively swore at Eric in Chinese. He understood everything and went home angry and upset.

A Chinese friend later pointed out that the woman clearly expected him to understand and was treating him more like another Chinese speaker than a foreigner requiring special handling.

Eric began to see the experience as a strange sign of progress.

How Advanced Mandarin Fluency Changes the Way Chinese Speakers Treat Foreigners

After 33 years of Mandarin learning, Eric’s biggest fluency milestones aren’t only vocabulary or grammar.

They’re whether people can joke, argue, negotiate, use idioms, and speak naturally without adjusting their language because he’s foreign.

Original publication date: march 12, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ab6301f0-7a56-4e6d-bea9-22d10088c032 Thu, 13 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0100 3233 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full false A Californian Learner’s Five-Year Journey with Mandarin Chinese: S2E5 A Californian Learner’s Five-Year Journey with Mandarin Chinese: S2E5 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study can take years, especially for English speakers learning Chinese characters, Pinyin, reading, vocabulary, and listening at the same time. After five years of Mandarin study, Von explains how intensive reading, Pleco, daily Chinese exposure, and strategic breaks helped him move from spending three hours on five sentences to understanding the gist of Chinese news articles and books.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Self-Study

  • Why Mandarin can take years for English speakers
  • How intensive Chinese reading builds vocabulary
  • When Mandarin learners should move beyond Pinyin
  • How Pleco helps with Chinese character lookups
  • Why Chinese characters and words aren’t the same
  • How to manage Mandarin study burnout
  • How changing your phone to Chinese creates immersion
  • Why learning Mandarin still matters with AI translation

Why Mandarin Self-Study Can Work Differently From Language Classes

Von studied Spanish for about four years in high school and continued in college but never felt able to use it comfortably.

Mandarin became different. Years of teaching himself tricking, a mix of martial arts, gymnastics, and acrobatics, had already shown him that difficult skills could improve through independent practice.

Why Intensive Chinese Reading Builds Mandarin Vocabulary

Reading became Von’s main Mandarin study method. His first serious attempt took about three hours to work through roughly five sentences, leaving his brain feeling “on fire.”

Five years later, he can open a Chinese book or news article and understand the general direction, although serious reading still involves many dictionary lookups.

When Mandarin Learners Should Move Beyond Pinyin

Von began with audio lessons, native-speaker recordings, repetition, and Pinyin. After several months, homophones and similar-sounding terms began blending into what he calls a “muddy soup.”

Chinese characters supplied information sound alone couldn’t. He started with simplified characters and later explored traditional ones.

How to Use Pleco for Chinese Character Lookups

Von first used DimSum on his computer but found it cumbersome for constant searches. Pleco made reading faster, especially when he could draw an unfamiliar character instead of needing to know its pronunciation first.

Why Mandarin Can Take Longer Than Spanish for English Speakers

At times, Von studied Mandarin around six hours a day and still struggled to read, listen, and understand how characters combined into words.

He describes Mandarin as an exercise in diligence and patience. After roughly five years, enough pieces had accumulated for reading to become much more usable.

How to Manage Burnout While Learning Mandarin

Von sometimes studies intensely for about two weeks before reaching a point where even thinking about Mandarin feels exhausting.

He takes a break until curiosity returns. Seeing Chinese he doesn’t understand often pulls him back into another study cycle.

How Changing Your Phone to Chinese Creates Daily Immersion

Around six to eight months after starting, Von switched his phone and computer browsers to Chinese and subscribed to Chinese-language channels.

Mandarin stayed visible even during study breaks, making it easier for curiosity to pull him back.

Why Learning Mandarin Still Matters in the Age of AI Translation

Von works in IT and asks whether learning languages still matters if AI can translate and hold conversations for us.

His answer is yes. The challenge itself has value, while Steph adds that learning Mandarin provides cultural perspectives that translation alone can’t fully reproduce.

Von’s experience offers a realistic model for long-term Mandarin learning: study, take breaks when necessary, keep Chinese around you, and follow curiosity when it brings you back.

Original publication date: December 27, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study can take years, especially for English speakers learning Chinese characters, Pinyin, reading, vocabulary, and listening at the same time. After five years of Mandarin study, Von explains how intensive reading, Pleco, daily Chinese exposure, and strategic breaks helped him move from spending three hours on five sentences to understanding the gist of Chinese news articles and books.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese Through Self-Study

  • Why Mandarin can take years for English speakers
  • How intensive Chinese reading builds vocabulary
  • When Mandarin learners should move beyond Pinyin
  • How Pleco helps with Chinese character lookups
  • Why Chinese characters and words aren’t the same
  • How to manage Mandarin study burnout
  • How changing your phone to Chinese creates immersion
  • Why learning Mandarin still matters with AI translation

Why Mandarin Self-Study Can Work Differently From Language Classes

Von studied Spanish for about four years in high school and continued in college but never felt able to use it comfortably.

Mandarin became different. Years of teaching himself tricking, a mix of martial arts, gymnastics, and acrobatics, had already shown him that difficult skills could improve through independent practice.

Why Intensive Chinese Reading Builds Mandarin Vocabulary

Reading became Von’s main Mandarin study method. His first serious attempt took about three hours to work through roughly five sentences, leaving his brain feeling “on fire.”

Five years later, he can open a Chinese book or news article and understand the general direction, although serious reading still involves many dictionary lookups.

When Mandarin Learners Should Move Beyond Pinyin

Von began with audio lessons, native-speaker recordings, repetition, and Pinyin. After several months, homophones and similar-sounding terms began blending into what he calls a “muddy soup.”

Chinese characters supplied information sound alone couldn’t. He started with simplified characters and later explored traditional ones.

How to Use Pleco for Chinese Character Lookups

Von first used DimSum on his computer but found it cumbersome for constant searches. Pleco made reading faster, especially when he could draw an unfamiliar character instead of needing to know its pronunciation first.

Why Mandarin Can Take Longer Than Spanish for English Speakers

At times, Von studied Mandarin around six hours a day and still struggled to read, listen, and understand how characters combined into words.

He describes Mandarin as an exercise in diligence and patience. After roughly five years, enough pieces had accumulated for reading to become much more usable.

How to Manage Burnout While Learning Mandarin

Von sometimes studies intensely for about two weeks before reaching a point where even thinking about Mandarin feels exhausting.

He takes a break until curiosity returns. Seeing Chinese he doesn’t understand often pulls him back into another study cycle.

How Changing Your Phone to Chinese Creates Daily Immersion

Around six to eight months after starting, Von switched his phone and computer browsers to Chinese and subscribed to Chinese-language channels.

Mandarin stayed visible even during study breaks, making it easier for curiosity to pull him back.

Why Learning Mandarin Still Matters in the Age of AI Translation

Von works in IT and asks whether learning languages still matters if AI can translate and hold conversations for us.

His answer is yes. The challenge itself has value, while Steph adds that learning Mandarin provides cultural perspectives that translation alone can’t fully reproduce.

Von’s experience offers a realistic model for long-term Mandarin learning: study, take breaks when necessary, keep Chinese around you, and follow curiosity when it brings you back.

Original publication date: December 27, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 65dcec2c-d874-4012-a616-d0f498537c29 Thu, 29 Nov 2018 05:00:00 +0100 2616 Chinese, learn Chinese, study Chinese, how to learn Chinese language, language learning full true An American Expat Learns Mandarin Through Tea Shops and Real Conversations: S2E4 An American Expat Learns Mandarin Through Tea Shops and Real Conversations: S2E4 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese in China requires more than textbook vocabulary. Matthew Boyle shows how practical phrases, repeat conversations, regional Chinese accents, private tutoring, bilingual children’s books, and language games can improve Mandarin speaking, listening, reading, and long-term motivation.

Matthew’s interest in China began with a book of Zen parables that came with a miniature Zen garden given to his father. He later studied Mandarin for one year at university, moved to Guilin in 2011, and discovered that the Chinese he needed for daily life looked very different from the language in his textbook.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese in China

  • How real-life Mandarin differs from textbook Chinese
  • Which Mandarin phrases help with shopping, water, and vegetarian food
  • How repeat conversations with local people improve Chinese speaking
  • How to practice Mandarin tones through listening and imitation
  • Why regional Chinese accents improve Mandarin comprehension
  • How private Mandarin tutoring can follow your interests
  • Why forgetting Chinese vocabulary is part of language learning
  • How bilingual children’s books help adults read Chinese
  • How learning Mandarin can make Cantonese easier to approach
  • How language-learning games support intermediate Chinese learners

Why Textbook Mandarin Doesn’t Prepare Learners for Daily Life in China

Matthew’s university classes focused on vocabulary, pronunciation, speaking, and textbook dialogues. After moving to Guilin, he needed Chinese for refusing persistent sellers, buying bottled water, explaining that he was vegetarian, and ordering food without hidden meat.

He recorded these needs in a small notebook. Daily life created a personal Mandarin curriculum that no first textbook chapter had provided.

Which Practical Mandarin Phrases Help After Moving to China

One of Matthew’s first phrases was 不要，谢谢, meaning “I don’t want it, thank you.” As a vegetarian, he also learned 一点肉也不要 and 一点点肉也不要 to stress that he didn’t want even a small amount of meat.

As he learned which dishes and restaurants were reliable, ordering became easier.

How Repeat Conversations With Local People Improve Mandarin Speaking

Matthew’s favorite practice is drinking tea and talking in local tea shops. He recommends returning to the same dumpling shop, baozi shop, or small business so each conversation can build on the last.

Once people know you’re learning, they may slow down, choose simpler words, or continue an earlier topic. The exchange becomes a relationship rather than a language test.

How to Practise Mandarin Tones Through Listening and Imitation

Tones intimidated Matthew because every word seemed to require another detail to memorise. His method is to repeat a word using the tone the speaker just used.

Instead of searching for a tone number, he copies the sound he has just heard. Steph describes this as listening for the “music” in someone’s speech.

Why Regional Chinese Accents Improve Mandarin Listening Comprehension

The Mandarin Matthew heard in Guilin differed from textbook recordings. Local speakers blended sounds, reduced the northern R sound, and sometimes shifted F and H sounds.

Some students told him to ignore Guilinhua and focus only on Putonghua. Matthew stayed open to regional speech and sometimes understood local speakers better than people who had decided not to listen.

How Interest-Led Private Tutoring Makes Mandarin Lessons More Effective

Matthew bought about 50 or 60 private lessons after arriving in China. He brought books, songs, music, and poetry to his tutor, Mu Peijun.

They used a textbook but often went “off the trail and into the woods.” Because the material interested him, the lessons stayed useful and memorable.

Why Forgetting Chinese Vocabulary Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing

Matthew says he’s now “playing with Chinese” rather than following a strict study plan. He explores tea, poetry, philosophy, songs, and stories.

When he finds a word or sentence he loves, he saves it on his phone or writes it down. He lets less important language go and trusts useful expressions to return.

How Bilingual Children’s Books Help Adults Learn to Read Chinese

Matthew found children’s books at an outdoor market where he normally bought vegetables. They cost about five yuan each, so he returned daily and collected close to 100.

Many were familiar English-language stories with Chinese replacing the original text. A known plot and familiar pictures made the Chinese easier to interpret.

How Learning Mandarin Creates a Foundation for Cantonese

After about six years of Mandarin, Matthew moved to Guangdong and found himself surrounded by Cantonese. Mandarin gave him a starting point because some sentence structures and characters overlap.

His goal is conversation, not perfect writing or an exam score, so listening and speaking come first.

How Language-Learning Games Help Intermediate Mandarin Learners

Matthew created Chinese Champions because he wanted something more complex than beginner flashcards. Chinese Champions 2 includes his travel photography, Chinese stories, and vocabulary drawn from different parts of China.

His experience shows that Mandarin doesn’t have to remain a school subject. It can become part of the people, books, games, places, and ideas we already care about.

Original publication date: December 6, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese in China requires more than textbook vocabulary. Matthew Boyle shows how practical phrases, repeat conversations, regional Chinese accents, private tutoring, bilingual children’s books, and language games can improve Mandarin speaking, listening, reading, and long-term motivation.

Matthew’s interest in China began with a book of Zen parables that came with a miniature Zen garden given to his father. He later studied Mandarin for one year at university, moved to Guilin in 2011, and discovered that the Chinese he needed for daily life looked very different from the language in his textbook.

What You’ll Learn About Learning Mandarin Chinese in China

  • How real-life Mandarin differs from textbook Chinese
  • Which Mandarin phrases help with shopping, water, and vegetarian food
  • How repeat conversations with local people improve Chinese speaking
  • How to practice Mandarin tones through listening and imitation
  • Why regional Chinese accents improve Mandarin comprehension
  • How private Mandarin tutoring can follow your interests
  • Why forgetting Chinese vocabulary is part of language learning
  • How bilingual children’s books help adults read Chinese
  • How learning Mandarin can make Cantonese easier to approach
  • How language-learning games support intermediate Chinese learners

Why Textbook Mandarin Doesn’t Prepare Learners for Daily Life in China

Matthew’s university classes focused on vocabulary, pronunciation, speaking, and textbook dialogues. After moving to Guilin, he needed Chinese for refusing persistent sellers, buying bottled water, explaining that he was vegetarian, and ordering food without hidden meat.

He recorded these needs in a small notebook. Daily life created a personal Mandarin curriculum that no first textbook chapter had provided.

Which Practical Mandarin Phrases Help After Moving to China

One of Matthew’s first phrases was 不要，谢谢, meaning “I don’t want it, thank you.” As a vegetarian, he also learned 一点肉也不要 and 一点点肉也不要 to stress that he didn’t want even a small amount of meat.

As he learned which dishes and restaurants were reliable, ordering became easier.

How Repeat Conversations With Local People Improve Mandarin Speaking

Matthew’s favorite practice is drinking tea and talking in local tea shops. He recommends returning to the same dumpling shop, baozi shop, or small business so each conversation can build on the last.

Once people know you’re learning, they may slow down, choose simpler words, or continue an earlier topic. The exchange becomes a relationship rather than a language test.

How to Practise Mandarin Tones Through Listening and Imitation

Tones intimidated Matthew because every word seemed to require another detail to memorise. His method is to repeat a word using the tone the speaker just used.

Instead of searching for a tone number, he copies the sound he has just heard. Steph describes this as listening for the “music” in someone’s speech.

Why Regional Chinese Accents Improve Mandarin Listening Comprehension

The Mandarin Matthew heard in Guilin differed from textbook recordings. Local speakers blended sounds, reduced the northern R sound, and sometimes shifted F and H sounds.

Some students told him to ignore Guilinhua and focus only on Putonghua. Matthew stayed open to regional speech and sometimes understood local speakers better than people who had decided not to listen.

How Interest-Led Private Tutoring Makes Mandarin Lessons More Effective

Matthew bought about 50 or 60 private lessons after arriving in China. He brought books, songs, music, and poetry to his tutor, Mu Peijun.

They used a textbook but often went “off the trail and into the woods.” Because the material interested him, the lessons stayed useful and memorable.

Why Forgetting Chinese Vocabulary Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing

Matthew says he’s now “playing with Chinese” rather than following a strict study plan. He explores tea, poetry, philosophy, songs, and stories.

When he finds a word or sentence he loves, he saves it on his phone or writes it down. He lets less important language go and trusts useful expressions to return.

How Bilingual Children’s Books Help Adults Learn to Read Chinese

Matthew found children’s books at an outdoor market where he normally bought vegetables. They cost about five yuan each, so he returned daily and collected close to 100.

Many were familiar English-language stories with Chinese replacing the original text. A known plot and familiar pictures made the Chinese easier to interpret.

How Learning Mandarin Creates a Foundation for Cantonese

After about six years of Mandarin, Matthew moved to Guangdong and found himself surrounded by Cantonese. Mandarin gave him a starting point because some sentence structures and characters overlap.

His goal is conversation, not perfect writing or an exam score, so listening and speaking come first.

How Language-Learning Games Help Intermediate Mandarin Learners

Matthew created Chinese Champions because he wanted something more complex than beginner flashcards. Chinese Champions 2 includes his travel photography, Chinese stories, and vocabulary drawn from different parts of China.

His experience shows that Mandarin doesn’t have to remain a school subject. It can become part of the people, books, games, places, and ideas we already care about.

Original publication date: December 6, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5558d21f-674b-4d6e-97ec-b57fc8fedf72 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 05:00:00 +0100 4664 Chinese, study Chinese, learn Chinese, literacy, how to learn Chinese full true How Language Opened Culture When He Moved From the UK to China: S2E3 How Language Opened Culture When He Moved From the UK to China: S2E3 Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study means balancing Chinese characters, Pinyin, reading, listening, speaking, handwriting, and regional accents that rarely improve together. Ian shows how flashcards, Pleco, graded readers, bilingual news, and living in China helped him reach approximately 3,000 characters, read Chinese newspapers, and keep progressing when familiar methods stopped working.

The first time I met Ian, we were walking around Shanghai during a work event and discussing the challenges of learning Mandarin. When he mentioned a Chinese cursive handwriting book he had to special order, I immediately made a mental note to invite him onto the podcast. Thankfully, he agreed.

What You’ll Learn About Self-Studying Mandarin Chinese

  • How to memorize Chinese characters without relying only on Pinyin
  • Why handwriting improves Chinese character recognition
  • Which Mandarin apps support reading and listening
  • Why Mandarin skills develop at different speeds
  • How bilingual news helps learners read Chinese newspapers
  • Why regional accents and cursive Hanzi create new challenges

Why Chinese Characters Motivate Learners to Study Mandarin

Ian became interested in hanzi characters during a 2003 trip to Hong Kong. Frustrated that he couldn’t read the signs, he bought all three volumes of Fun with Chinese Characters.

Back in the UK, he studied with a Colloquial Chinese textbook and listened to the dialogues during long drives. Mandarin’s writing system and internal logic felt completely different from French and German, which he already had experience learning.

How Flashcards and Handwriting Support Chinese Character Learning

Pinyin alone didn’t help Ian remember vocabulary. Hanzi gave each word a visual structure and helped him distinguish between homophones, words that sound the same but look different (in English "close" and "clothes" are an example) 

He first learned about 800 characters from one book and reached close to 1,000 before moving to China. He later used Tuttle’s Chinese in a Flash cards and created extra cards for missing HSK characters.

Over several years, Ian reached approximately 3,000 characters. When similar-looking Hanzi began blending together, handwriting practice helped him notice the components that made each character different.

Why Pinyin Can Make Chinese Reading Harder

In graded readers, Ian’s eyes were pulled toward familiar Roman letters instead of Chinese characters. He thinks of Pinyin as a voice whispering the meaning of a word. 

Pleco helped by letting him read Hanzi without visible Pinyin, tap unfamiliar characters for definitions, and use text-to-speech. He has also used ChinesePod, Skritter, Anki, Du Chinese, and The Chairman’s Bao.

Why Mandarin Skills Develop at Different Speeds

Ian describes reading, handwriting, listening, and speaking as partly separate systems. Focusing on one often means another receives less attention.

His learning moves in waves. He may focus on characters, return to grammar, or increase listening practice after a difficult conversation. Uneven progress can create study guilt, but it doesn’t mean the learner is failing.

How to Start Reading Chinese Newspapers

Chinese newspapers remained difficult because they use formal vocabulary, four-character idioms, cultural references, and structures connected to Classical Chinese.

Ian improved during 18 months back in the UK by reading BBC Chinese and bilingual New York Times articles. He read the Chinese first, checked the English, then returned to identify what he had missed.

Why Living in China Doesn’t Guarantee Mandarin Listening Fluency

Even after years in China, listening remained one of Ian’s weakest skills. Regional accents, tones, homophones, local vocabulary, and Shanghainese made everyday speech difficult to decode.

Taxi drivers in Changsha once laughed at the northern accent he’d picked up in Beijing. Later, native speakers said his pronunciation had shifted toward his girlfriend’s southern Mandarin.

Why Cursive Hanzi Is Difficult to Read

Printed Chinese didn’t prepare Ian for handwritten notes. Native speakers join strokes, reduce components, and use forms resembling shorthand.

He found an out-of-print book called Learning Chinese Script to understand recurring patterns. Before that, a barber in rural Hunan tried to say his haircut was finished using both a local dialect and a handwritten note. Ian couldn’t understand either one.

His journey shows that Mandarin progress doesn’t require one perfect method. It requires enough curiosity and persistence to return when the next plateau appears.

Original publication date: October 21, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Learning Mandarin Chinese through self-study means balancing Chinese characters, Pinyin, reading, listening, speaking, handwriting, and regional accents that rarely improve together. Ian shows how flashcards, Pleco, graded readers, bilingual news, and living in China helped him reach approximately 3,000 characters, read Chinese newspapers, and keep progressing when familiar methods stopped working.

The first time I met Ian, we were walking around Shanghai during a work event and discussing the challenges of learning Mandarin. When he mentioned a Chinese cursive handwriting book he had to special order, I immediately made a mental note to invite him onto the podcast. Thankfully, he agreed.

What You’ll Learn About Self-Studying Mandarin Chinese

  • How to memorize Chinese characters without relying only on Pinyin
  • Why handwriting improves Chinese character recognition
  • Which Mandarin apps support reading and listening
  • Why Mandarin skills develop at different speeds
  • How bilingual news helps learners read Chinese newspapers
  • Why regional accents and cursive Hanzi create new challenges

Why Chinese Characters Motivate Learners to Study Mandarin

Ian became interested in hanzi characters during a 2003 trip to Hong Kong. Frustrated that he couldn’t read the signs, he bought all three volumes of Fun with Chinese Characters.

Back in the UK, he studied with a Colloquial Chinese textbook and listened to the dialogues during long drives. Mandarin’s writing system and internal logic felt completely different from French and German, which he already had experience learning.

How Flashcards and Handwriting Support Chinese Character Learning

Pinyin alone didn’t help Ian remember vocabulary. Hanzi gave each word a visual structure and helped him distinguish between homophones, words that sound the same but look different (in English "close" and "clothes" are an example) 

He first learned about 800 characters from one book and reached close to 1,000 before moving to China. He later used Tuttle’s Chinese in a Flash cards and created extra cards for missing HSK characters.

Over several years, Ian reached approximately 3,000 characters. When similar-looking Hanzi began blending together, handwriting practice helped him notice the components that made each character different.

Why Pinyin Can Make Chinese Reading Harder

In graded readers, Ian’s eyes were pulled toward familiar Roman letters instead of Chinese characters. He thinks of Pinyin as a voice whispering the meaning of a word. 

Pleco helped by letting him read Hanzi without visible Pinyin, tap unfamiliar characters for definitions, and use text-to-speech. He has also used ChinesePod, Skritter, Anki, Du Chinese, and The Chairman’s Bao.

Why Mandarin Skills Develop at Different Speeds

Ian describes reading, handwriting, listening, and speaking as partly separate systems. Focusing on one often means another receives less attention.

His learning moves in waves. He may focus on characters, return to grammar, or increase listening practice after a difficult conversation. Uneven progress can create study guilt, but it doesn’t mean the learner is failing.

How to Start Reading Chinese Newspapers

Chinese newspapers remained difficult because they use formal vocabulary, four-character idioms, cultural references, and structures connected to Classical Chinese.

Ian improved during 18 months back in the UK by reading BBC Chinese and bilingual New York Times articles. He read the Chinese first, checked the English, then returned to identify what he had missed.

Why Living in China Doesn’t Guarantee Mandarin Listening Fluency

Even after years in China, listening remained one of Ian’s weakest skills. Regional accents, tones, homophones, local vocabulary, and Shanghainese made everyday speech difficult to decode.

Taxi drivers in Changsha once laughed at the northern accent he’d picked up in Beijing. Later, native speakers said his pronunciation had shifted toward his girlfriend’s southern Mandarin.

Why Cursive Hanzi Is Difficult to Read

Printed Chinese didn’t prepare Ian for handwritten notes. Native speakers join strokes, reduce components, and use forms resembling shorthand.

He found an out-of-print book called Learning Chinese Script to understand recurring patterns. Before that, a barber in rural Hunan tried to say his haircut was finished using both a local dialect and a handwritten note. Ian couldn’t understand either one.

His journey shows that Mandarin progress doesn’t require one perfect method. It requires enough curiosity and persistence to return when the next plateau appears.

Original publication date: October 21, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 02e4fde4-260d-48bb-85c3-de19c29c822e Sun, 21 Oct 2018 09:00:00 +0200 6149 Chinese, learning Chinese, study Chinese, reading Chinese, language learning, literacy full true Eric Olander on Mandarin, Weibo, and a Lifetime of Studying Chinese: S2E2 Eric Olander on Mandarin, Weibo, and a Lifetime of Studying Chinese: S2E2 Send us Fan Mail

Foreigners who plan to live or work in China can’t afford to postpone learning Mandarin. After more than 30 years of Chinese language study, Eric Olander explains why English-only professionals are increasingly being excluded from meetings, emails, and workplace decisions, and what serious Mandarin learners need to do now.

What Eric Olander Shares About Learning Mandarin and Working in China

  • How studying Mandarin in Taipei connected textbooks with real life
  • Why traditional Chinese characters can help beginners
  • How Bopomofo improves Mandarin pronunciation
  • Why long breaks can erase years of progress
  • How private tutors and online lessons support advanced learners
  • Why Chinese textbooks often fail Western adults
  • How Weibo became a practical Mandarin learning tool
  • Why apps can’t replace memorising Chinese characters
  • How Mandarin affects jobs, meetings, and visas in China
  • Why internet slang and chengyu still challenge advanced learners

How Studying Mandarin in Taiwan Made the Language Click

Eric began studying Chinese in 1985 after his boarding school encouraged students to choose Russian, Japanese, or Chinese as a “strategic language.” He originally wanted Spanish and didn’t immediately enjoy Mandarin.

The language finally became real when he moved to Taipei for a gap year in 1989. At the Mandarin Training Center at Taiwan Normal University, he used Chinese while taking buses, shopping, renting housing, and managing daily life.

Eric preferred Taiwan’s practical lessons to the political textbook dialogues available elsewhere. Learning how to mail a letter or rent an apartment helped him connect classroom language with the world around him.

Why Traditional Characters and Bopomofo Help Beginners

Eric started with traditional Chinese characters because their additional visual components helped him understand how characters developed. He later switched to simplified characters for work and typing, but his foundation allowed him to read writing used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

He also learned Zhuyin Fuhao, commonly called Bopomofo. Because Pinyin uses Roman letters, Western learners may pronounce Mandarin through familiar English sounds.

Bopomofo forced Eric to learn each sound without relying on English spelling habits. He no longer uses it regularly, but credits it with strengthening his early pronunciation.

Why Learning Mandarin Requires Lifelong Consistency

Across roughly 32 years, Eric’s longest break from Chinese was about three months. He continued studying while living in cities including Chicago, Paris, Kinshasa, Saigon, and Shanghai.

Wherever he moved, he found a tutor and studied two or three times a week. He warns that a learner can fall from around HSK 3 to HSK 1 after only six or seven weeks without practice.

Eric’s advice is direct: Mandarin isn’t a course that becomes permanently complete. Learners must decide whether they’re prepared to keep going for years.

How Private Tutors and Weibo Supported Long-Term Progress

Eric left formal Chinese classes after his first year at UC Berkeley because he disliked the dated Practical Chinese Reader textbook. He hired a teaching assistant privately and began studying news, newspapers, and practical vocabulary.

He later moved his lessons online and scheduled Skype sessions at 6 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. This made consistent study easier to maintain before work.

For approximately eight years, Eric also used Weibo as a learning tool. He worked with his tutor on posts about family, travel, and everyday life, then replied to comments from Chinese followers.

His account reached around 1,200 followers. The value wasn’t influence. It gave him real readers, practical feedback, and a reason to communicate beyond classroom exercises.

Why Mandarin Apps Can’t Replace Character Practice

Eric rejects the idea that one app or online course can create professional fluency. Digital tools can support repetition, but they can’t remove the need to memorise characters.

Survival Chinese may be enough to order jianbing or handle simple transactions. Business meetings, internal emails, and complex conversations require years of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Why Mandarin Is Becoming Essential for Working in China

Eric’s view changed when meetings at his international company increasingly shifted from English into Chinese. Colleagues who couldn’t follow Mandarin began missing emails, information, meetings, and decisions.

His human resources director warned that foreigners without Chinese would find it increasingly difficult to work in China. Mandarin ability could also influence visa assessments alongside education, experience, and specialised skills.

Even after more than 30 years, Eric still studies internet slang, coded expressions, and chengyu. For anyone serious about living or working in China, his message is clear: start now, expect the process to take years, and don’t stop.

Original publication date: September 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Foreigners who plan to live or work in China can’t afford to postpone learning Mandarin. After more than 30 years of Chinese language study, Eric Olander explains why English-only professionals are increasingly being excluded from meetings, emails, and workplace decisions, and what serious Mandarin learners need to do now.

What Eric Olander Shares About Learning Mandarin and Working in China

  • How studying Mandarin in Taipei connected textbooks with real life
  • Why traditional Chinese characters can help beginners
  • How Bopomofo improves Mandarin pronunciation
  • Why long breaks can erase years of progress
  • How private tutors and online lessons support advanced learners
  • Why Chinese textbooks often fail Western adults
  • How Weibo became a practical Mandarin learning tool
  • Why apps can’t replace memorising Chinese characters
  • How Mandarin affects jobs, meetings, and visas in China
  • Why internet slang and chengyu still challenge advanced learners

How Studying Mandarin in Taiwan Made the Language Click

Eric began studying Chinese in 1985 after his boarding school encouraged students to choose Russian, Japanese, or Chinese as a “strategic language.” He originally wanted Spanish and didn’t immediately enjoy Mandarin.

The language finally became real when he moved to Taipei for a gap year in 1989. At the Mandarin Training Center at Taiwan Normal University, he used Chinese while taking buses, shopping, renting housing, and managing daily life.

Eric preferred Taiwan’s practical lessons to the political textbook dialogues available elsewhere. Learning how to mail a letter or rent an apartment helped him connect classroom language with the world around him.

Why Traditional Characters and Bopomofo Help Beginners

Eric started with traditional Chinese characters because their additional visual components helped him understand how characters developed. He later switched to simplified characters for work and typing, but his foundation allowed him to read writing used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

He also learned Zhuyin Fuhao, commonly called Bopomofo. Because Pinyin uses Roman letters, Western learners may pronounce Mandarin through familiar English sounds.

Bopomofo forced Eric to learn each sound without relying on English spelling habits. He no longer uses it regularly, but credits it with strengthening his early pronunciation.

Why Learning Mandarin Requires Lifelong Consistency

Across roughly 32 years, Eric’s longest break from Chinese was about three months. He continued studying while living in cities including Chicago, Paris, Kinshasa, Saigon, and Shanghai.

Wherever he moved, he found a tutor and studied two or three times a week. He warns that a learner can fall from around HSK 3 to HSK 1 after only six or seven weeks without practice.

Eric’s advice is direct: Mandarin isn’t a course that becomes permanently complete. Learners must decide whether they’re prepared to keep going for years.

How Private Tutors and Weibo Supported Long-Term Progress

Eric left formal Chinese classes after his first year at UC Berkeley because he disliked the dated Practical Chinese Reader textbook. He hired a teaching assistant privately and began studying news, newspapers, and practical vocabulary.

He later moved his lessons online and scheduled Skype sessions at 6 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. This made consistent study easier to maintain before work.

For approximately eight years, Eric also used Weibo as a learning tool. He worked with his tutor on posts about family, travel, and everyday life, then replied to comments from Chinese followers.

His account reached around 1,200 followers. The value wasn’t influence. It gave him real readers, practical feedback, and a reason to communicate beyond classroom exercises.

Why Mandarin Apps Can’t Replace Character Practice

Eric rejects the idea that one app or online course can create professional fluency. Digital tools can support repetition, but they can’t remove the need to memorise characters.

Survival Chinese may be enough to order jianbing or handle simple transactions. Business meetings, internal emails, and complex conversations require years of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Why Mandarin Is Becoming Essential for Working in China

Eric’s view changed when meetings at his international company increasingly shifted from English into Chinese. Colleagues who couldn’t follow Mandarin began missing emails, information, meetings, and decisions.

His human resources director warned that foreigners without Chinese would find it increasingly difficult to work in China. Mandarin ability could also influence visa assessments alongside education, experience, and specialised skills.

Even after more than 30 years, Eric still studies internet slang, coded expressions, and chengyu. For anyone serious about living or working in China, his message is clear: start now, expect the process to take years, and don’t stop.

Original publication date: September 18, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio fc21ffd3-3ae2-48b3-940d-2ca5faf3a3a7 Thu, 18 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0200 2742 Mandarin Chinese, study Chinese, learn Chinese, Eric Olander, China in Africa full true A German Abroad: The Challenge of Learning Chinese in Shanghai: S2E1 A German Abroad: The Challenge of Learning Chinese in Shanghai: S2E1 Send us Fan Mail

 After ten months of full-time Mandarin classes in Shanghai, German language learner Angie could decode “sparkling wine” from a Chinese menu, speak with Didi drivers, and understand why “Have you eaten?” can express care rather than hunger. Listen to hear what those breakthroughs reveal about Chinese listening, Hanzi, grammar, confidence, humour, and daily life in China. 

What Angie Shares About Learning Mandarin in Shanghai

  • How full-time Mandarin classes in China work
  • Why Chinese listening was harder than reading or speaking
  • Why Chinese characters became essential after Pinyin
  • How speaking practice built confidence in daily life
  • Why European languages didn’t make Mandarin easier
  • Why Chinese grammar isn’t as simple as people claim
  • How measure words improve everyday communication
  • Why handwritten flashcards worked better than apps
  • How Mandarin revealed Chinese culture and humour

What Full-Time Mandarin Study Requires

Angie attended four 45-minute university lessons each day and spent around two more hours reviewing vocabulary and preparing for class. Her programme included reading and writing, speaking, and listening.

Listening was the hardest subject for Angie and many of her classmates. One male voice in their recordings was especially difficult, so her most helpful teacher paused the audio and asked students exactly what they had heard.

Why Chinese Characters Become Essential

Pinyin gradually disappeared from Angie’s textbooks, forcing students to rely more heavily on Chinese characters. She sometimes recognised a character’s meaning without remembering how to pronounce it.

Writing was also difficult because some characters looked almost identical. Angie found that connecting them to complete words and personal memory cues made them easier to separate.

How Speaking Practice Builds Confidence

Speaking was Angie’s favourite class because students acted out situations instead of only translating texts. Saying jìn lái, or “come in,” while someone entered the room helped connect the words to movement and meaning.

As an introvert, Angie valued having a safe place to make mistakes before speaking with strangers. She gradually became more comfortable using Mandarin with restaurant staff, shop employees, and Didi drivers.

How Everyday Conversations Show Progress

One breakthrough happened when Angie examined the characters for sparkling wine on a menu. She interpreted the term as something close to “air bubble alcohol” and confirmed the Mandarin word with the waiter.

At a beauty shop, employees later used a translation app to tell her, “Your pronunciation is very standard.” Their smiles showed her that it was a compliment.

How Mandarin Reveals Chinese Culture

Learning Mandarin helped Angie understand expressions that can confuse foreigners. “Have you eaten?” may communicate care or function as a greeting rather than introduce a literal conversation about food.

She also became more aware of the short sounds Chinese speakers use to agree, react, or show understanding. Meaning often came through tone, rhythm, and context rather than vocabulary alone.

Angie’s long-term goal became more specific than fluency. She wanted to understand cultural references well enough to make jokes in Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Grammar Isn’t Actually Simple

People often told Angie that Chinese grammar was easy because verbs don’t conjugate like German or English verbs. She found that Mandarin replaced those challenges with particles, time words, sentence structures, and specialised vocabulary.

Even the English word “full” requires different Mandarin words depending on whether a bag has no more space or a person has eaten enough.

Why Handwritten Flashcards Worked Better Than Apps

Angie preferred small ring-bound flashcards with Hanzi on one side and Pinyin and the translation on the other. Writing the characters helped her remember them more effectively than vocabulary apps.

She also recommended finding a language partner and speaking before feeling fully prepared. These exchanges exposed learners to natural speed, humour, and vocabulary that didn’t always appear in textbooks.

For Angie, Mandarin became more than a university subject. Each character, conversation, misunderstanding, and successful exchange helped her understand Chinese culture while learning more about how she herself learns.

Angie's YouTube channel, T(h)ree of books, about books and bookstores: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6LBSm1HZjecZt7EVnyUImw

Original publication date: June 23, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

 After ten months of full-time Mandarin classes in Shanghai, German language learner Angie could decode “sparkling wine” from a Chinese menu, speak with Didi drivers, and understand why “Have you eaten?” can express care rather than hunger. Listen to hear what those breakthroughs reveal about Chinese listening, Hanzi, grammar, confidence, humour, and daily life in China. 

What Angie Shares About Learning Mandarin in Shanghai

  • How full-time Mandarin classes in China work
  • Why Chinese listening was harder than reading or speaking
  • Why Chinese characters became essential after Pinyin
  • How speaking practice built confidence in daily life
  • Why European languages didn’t make Mandarin easier
  • Why Chinese grammar isn’t as simple as people claim
  • How measure words improve everyday communication
  • Why handwritten flashcards worked better than apps
  • How Mandarin revealed Chinese culture and humour

What Full-Time Mandarin Study Requires

Angie attended four 45-minute university lessons each day and spent around two more hours reviewing vocabulary and preparing for class. Her programme included reading and writing, speaking, and listening.

Listening was the hardest subject for Angie and many of her classmates. One male voice in their recordings was especially difficult, so her most helpful teacher paused the audio and asked students exactly what they had heard.

Why Chinese Characters Become Essential

Pinyin gradually disappeared from Angie’s textbooks, forcing students to rely more heavily on Chinese characters. She sometimes recognised a character’s meaning without remembering how to pronounce it.

Writing was also difficult because some characters looked almost identical. Angie found that connecting them to complete words and personal memory cues made them easier to separate.

How Speaking Practice Builds Confidence

Speaking was Angie’s favourite class because students acted out situations instead of only translating texts. Saying jìn lái, or “come in,” while someone entered the room helped connect the words to movement and meaning.

As an introvert, Angie valued having a safe place to make mistakes before speaking with strangers. She gradually became more comfortable using Mandarin with restaurant staff, shop employees, and Didi drivers.

How Everyday Conversations Show Progress

One breakthrough happened when Angie examined the characters for sparkling wine on a menu. She interpreted the term as something close to “air bubble alcohol” and confirmed the Mandarin word with the waiter.

At a beauty shop, employees later used a translation app to tell her, “Your pronunciation is very standard.” Their smiles showed her that it was a compliment.

How Mandarin Reveals Chinese Culture

Learning Mandarin helped Angie understand expressions that can confuse foreigners. “Have you eaten?” may communicate care or function as a greeting rather than introduce a literal conversation about food.

She also became more aware of the short sounds Chinese speakers use to agree, react, or show understanding. Meaning often came through tone, rhythm, and context rather than vocabulary alone.

Angie’s long-term goal became more specific than fluency. She wanted to understand cultural references well enough to make jokes in Mandarin.

Why Mandarin Grammar Isn’t Actually Simple

People often told Angie that Chinese grammar was easy because verbs don’t conjugate like German or English verbs. She found that Mandarin replaced those challenges with particles, time words, sentence structures, and specialised vocabulary.

Even the English word “full” requires different Mandarin words depending on whether a bag has no more space or a person has eaten enough.

Why Handwritten Flashcards Worked Better Than Apps

Angie preferred small ring-bound flashcards with Hanzi on one side and Pinyin and the translation on the other. Writing the characters helped her remember them more effectively than vocabulary apps.

She also recommended finding a language partner and speaking before feeling fully prepared. These exchanges exposed learners to natural speed, humour, and vocabulary that didn’t always appear in textbooks.

For Angie, Mandarin became more than a university subject. Each character, conversation, misunderstanding, and successful exchange helped her understand Chinese culture while learning more about how she herself learns.

Angie's YouTube channel, T(h)ree of books, about books and bookstores: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6LBSm1HZjecZt7EVnyUImw

Original publication date: June 23, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 158f040f-3671-45e0-95bd-e88255d5b991 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0200 4524 full true Italian Expat in China: Writing About Life And Love in Suzhou: S1E10 Italian Expat in China: Writing About Life And Love in Suzhou: S1E10 Send us Fan Mail

Seven years of living in Suzhou, China pushed Italian author Antonella Moretti to confront cultural stereotypes, rebuild her identity, and turn the lives of expat women into a book called Parsley and Coriander. This conversation gives you a direct look at culture shock, marriage abroad, writing across languages, and the costly mistake expats make when they try to recreate home instead of learning how to live where they are.

What Antonella Moretti Reveals About Expat Life in China

  • How moving from Italy to Suzhou gave Antonella time to become a writer
  • Why books about China helped her understand her host country
  • How the Inspector Chen novels portray social change in Shanghai
  • Why Kindle and English-language books became essential abroad
  • How expat women inspired Parsley and Coriander
  • Why Antonella chose fiction instead of memoir
  • How coriander became a metaphor for culture shock
  • Why living abroad challenged her cultural stereotypes
  • How expats can build a new life instead of recreating home

How Moving to China Changed Antonella’s Reading Life

Antonella hadn’t read books about China before moving there. Once she arrived, she became fascinated by the country’s history, society, and cultural complexity.

She recommends Qiu Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen crime novels, which portray Shanghai during the rapid changes of the early 1990s. She also began reading complete books in English, something she had found too difficult in Italy.

Kindle made reading easier because she couldn’t carry a large collection of Italian books between countries. She read almost anywhere, including while stirring risotto, and broke two devices through constant use.

How Expat Life Inspired the book Parsley and Coriander

Antonella began writing soon after arriving in China, when Suzhou still felt unfamiliar, exciting, and sometimes frightening.

She met expat women who responded to China differently. Some adapted and found new opportunities, while others remained isolated or angry.

The novel follows Luisella, Astrid, and Emma over one year. Their stories explore marriage, motherhood, loneliness, friendship, new careers, and living far from family.

Why Antonella Chose Fiction Instead of Memoir for Her Living In China Book

Fiction allowed Antonella to combine details from many women without making anyone directly recognizable. 

The original draft consisted of emails between several characters. After an Italian publisher warned that the structure would confuse readers, Antonella rewrote the book around three central perspectives.

How Culture Shock Can Change Over Time

During her first weeks in China, Antonella bought what she believed was parsley for an Italian dish. It was coriander, and she initially hated the smell.

She gradually became accustomed to it and eventually used it in Chinese-style dishes. The experience became a metaphor for how unfamiliar parts of life abroad can move from discomfort to affection.

How Living Abroad Challenges Cultural Stereotypes

Before leaving Italy, Antonella criticized Chinese immigrants in her hometown for staying together and eating Chinese food.

In Suzhou, she saw Italians doing the same thing. They socialized with Italians, searched for familiar ingredients, and preserved their routines.

The comparison forced her to reconsider her assumptions and focus on individual people instead of treating “the Chinese” as one group.

Why Expats Struggle to Recreate Home Abroad

Antonella believes expats become frustrated when they try to transfer their old life directly into a new country.

In China, she drank hot water and tea. In Italy, she drank more coffee and followed a different rhythm.

Adaptation didn’t mean rejecting Italy. It meant allowing China to become its own life rather than an incomplete copy of home.

Who Is Antonella Moretti?

Antonella Moretti is an Italian author who lived in Suzhou with her husband and three children. She wrote Parsley and Coriander, a novel about Italian expat women navigating culture, marriage, identity, friendship, and daily life in China.

Antonella’s book page: https://www.facebook.com/parsleyandcoriander

Original publication date: June 28, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Seven years of living in Suzhou, China pushed Italian author Antonella Moretti to confront cultural stereotypes, rebuild her identity, and turn the lives of expat women into a book called Parsley and Coriander. This conversation gives you a direct look at culture shock, marriage abroad, writing across languages, and the costly mistake expats make when they try to recreate home instead of learning how to live where they are.

What Antonella Moretti Reveals About Expat Life in China

  • How moving from Italy to Suzhou gave Antonella time to become a writer
  • Why books about China helped her understand her host country
  • How the Inspector Chen novels portray social change in Shanghai
  • Why Kindle and English-language books became essential abroad
  • How expat women inspired Parsley and Coriander
  • Why Antonella chose fiction instead of memoir
  • How coriander became a metaphor for culture shock
  • Why living abroad challenged her cultural stereotypes
  • How expats can build a new life instead of recreating home

How Moving to China Changed Antonella’s Reading Life

Antonella hadn’t read books about China before moving there. Once she arrived, she became fascinated by the country’s history, society, and cultural complexity.

She recommends Qiu Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen crime novels, which portray Shanghai during the rapid changes of the early 1990s. She also began reading complete books in English, something she had found too difficult in Italy.

Kindle made reading easier because she couldn’t carry a large collection of Italian books between countries. She read almost anywhere, including while stirring risotto, and broke two devices through constant use.

How Expat Life Inspired the book Parsley and Coriander

Antonella began writing soon after arriving in China, when Suzhou still felt unfamiliar, exciting, and sometimes frightening.

She met expat women who responded to China differently. Some adapted and found new opportunities, while others remained isolated or angry.

The novel follows Luisella, Astrid, and Emma over one year. Their stories explore marriage, motherhood, loneliness, friendship, new careers, and living far from family.

Why Antonella Chose Fiction Instead of Memoir for Her Living In China Book

Fiction allowed Antonella to combine details from many women without making anyone directly recognizable. 

The original draft consisted of emails between several characters. After an Italian publisher warned that the structure would confuse readers, Antonella rewrote the book around three central perspectives.

How Culture Shock Can Change Over Time

During her first weeks in China, Antonella bought what she believed was parsley for an Italian dish. It was coriander, and she initially hated the smell.

She gradually became accustomed to it and eventually used it in Chinese-style dishes. The experience became a metaphor for how unfamiliar parts of life abroad can move from discomfort to affection.

How Living Abroad Challenges Cultural Stereotypes

Before leaving Italy, Antonella criticized Chinese immigrants in her hometown for staying together and eating Chinese food.

In Suzhou, she saw Italians doing the same thing. They socialized with Italians, searched for familiar ingredients, and preserved their routines.

The comparison forced her to reconsider her assumptions and focus on individual people instead of treating “the Chinese” as one group.

Why Expats Struggle to Recreate Home Abroad

Antonella believes expats become frustrated when they try to transfer their old life directly into a new country.

In China, she drank hot water and tea. In Italy, she drank more coffee and followed a different rhythm.

Adaptation didn’t mean rejecting Italy. It meant allowing China to become its own life rather than an incomplete copy of home.

Who Is Antonella Moretti?

Antonella Moretti is an Italian author who lived in Suzhou with her husband and three children. She wrote Parsley and Coriander, a novel about Italian expat women navigating culture, marriage, identity, friendship, and daily life in China.

Antonella’s book page: https://www.facebook.com/parsleyandcoriander

Original publication date: June 28, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 71253e97-2d96-46fe-94b1-99d23b78edf3 Thu, 06 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0200 4888 full false Moving to Germany as an American: How Expat Life Changed My Online World: S1E9 Moving to Germany as an American: How Expat Life Changed My Online World: S1E9 Send us Fan Mail

American writer Summer shares how online communities helped her build connection, protect her privacy, and create a stronger sense of home after moving from the United States to Nuremberg, Germany. We explore how expats can use social media more intentionally, find community abroad, navigate culture shock, and document their lives without turning every ordinary moment into a performance.

What Summer Shares About Moving to Germany and Using Social Media Abroad

  • How early internet chat rooms helped Summer build online communities
  • Meeting her first boyfriend through a Ford Probe car forum
  • How Facebook groups support writers, freelancers, digital nomads, and expats
  • Why WhatsApp is essential for everyday communication in Germany
  • Using Twitter to connect with English-speaking expats in Germany
  • Why moving to Nuremberg felt more like finding home than starting over
  • Moving from the United States to Germany without major culture shock
  • Starting a food and travel blog while living abroad
  • Why expats feel pressure to make life abroad look exciting online
  • How Instagram Stories make ordinary moments easier to share
  • Whether social media posts create a form of digital autobiography
  • How curiosity shaped Summer’s internet use, travel, and expat life

How Early Internet Communities Shaped Summer’s Life Before Moving Abroad

Summer began using the internet at eleven or twelve, first researching goldfish even though she didn’t own one. She later joined an mIRC chat room for people who showed dogs.

After becoming interested in her first car, a 1993 Ford Probe GT, she found ProbeTalk.com. She met her first boyfriend through the forum while living in Oregon and later moved with him to South Carolina.

Summer eventually met her Swedish husband through their work in sign manufacturing. After travelling regularly between South Carolina, Nuremberg, and Stockholm, she moved to Germany in 2015.

How Moving to Germany Changed the Way Summer Used Social Media

WhatsApp quickly became essential because asking for someone’s number in Germany often meant asking for their WhatsApp contact.

Summer also began using Facebook mainly for writing, freelance, digital nomad, and expat groups. Twitter helped her connect with English-speaking expats, including people she later met at a gathering in Germany.

As an introvert, she wasn’t urgently searching for friends. She valued access to people who understood life outside their passport country.

Why Moving to Nuremberg Felt More Like Finding Home Than Starting Over

Summer didn’t experience the move as a major cultural disruption. Nuremberg already felt more comfortable than the United States, and returning to the US after European trips often left her waiting for the next one.

She had planned to blog about culture shock, but the move felt too natural for that story. By the interview, she and her husband had bought an apartment in Nuremberg, and Summer hoped to hold an EU passport one day.

How Food and Travel Blogging Helped Summer Document Her Life Abroad

Summer created Eat Something, Go Somewhere to write about food, travel, and personal reflections. She hoped it could lead to paid work and press trips, but her creative energy came in cycles.

She uses her permanent Instagram feed for photographs she wants to preserve and Stories for ordinary moments that disappear after twenty-four hours.

Why Social Media Makes Ordinary Expat Life Difficult to Share

Stephanie and Summer discuss how social media rewards beautiful travel photographs, dramatic experiences, sadness, mess, and vulnerability.

Ordinary days are harder to post because “everything is fine” rarely feels valuable enough to share. Instagram Stories gave Summer a lower-pressure place for photographs and moments that didn’t need to remain on her permanent feed.

Can Social Media Posts Become a Form of Digital Autobiography?

Stephanie and Summer ask whether years of tweets, photographs, and updates eventually become a kind of autobiography.

Social posts lack the distance and reflection of memoir, but jokes, meals, travel photographs, and small observations still create a record of a life.

For Summer, the internet and moving abroad are connected by curiosity. They didn’t create it, but they gave it more communities and places to explore.

Who Is Summer, the American Writer Living in Nuremberg, Germany?

Summer is an American writer originally from Oregon who lived in South Carolina before moving to Nuremberg, Germany, in 2015.

Summer’s blog: https://eatsomethinggosomewhere.com/

Original publication date: June 4, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

American writer Summer shares how online communities helped her build connection, protect her privacy, and create a stronger sense of home after moving from the United States to Nuremberg, Germany. We explore how expats can use social media more intentionally, find community abroad, navigate culture shock, and document their lives without turning every ordinary moment into a performance.

What Summer Shares About Moving to Germany and Using Social Media Abroad

  • How early internet chat rooms helped Summer build online communities
  • Meeting her first boyfriend through a Ford Probe car forum
  • How Facebook groups support writers, freelancers, digital nomads, and expats
  • Why WhatsApp is essential for everyday communication in Germany
  • Using Twitter to connect with English-speaking expats in Germany
  • Why moving to Nuremberg felt more like finding home than starting over
  • Moving from the United States to Germany without major culture shock
  • Starting a food and travel blog while living abroad
  • Why expats feel pressure to make life abroad look exciting online
  • How Instagram Stories make ordinary moments easier to share
  • Whether social media posts create a form of digital autobiography
  • How curiosity shaped Summer’s internet use, travel, and expat life

How Early Internet Communities Shaped Summer’s Life Before Moving Abroad

Summer began using the internet at eleven or twelve, first researching goldfish even though she didn’t own one. She later joined an mIRC chat room for people who showed dogs.

After becoming interested in her first car, a 1993 Ford Probe GT, she found ProbeTalk.com. She met her first boyfriend through the forum while living in Oregon and later moved with him to South Carolina.

Summer eventually met her Swedish husband through their work in sign manufacturing. After travelling regularly between South Carolina, Nuremberg, and Stockholm, she moved to Germany in 2015.

How Moving to Germany Changed the Way Summer Used Social Media

WhatsApp quickly became essential because asking for someone’s number in Germany often meant asking for their WhatsApp contact.

Summer also began using Facebook mainly for writing, freelance, digital nomad, and expat groups. Twitter helped her connect with English-speaking expats, including people she later met at a gathering in Germany.

As an introvert, she wasn’t urgently searching for friends. She valued access to people who understood life outside their passport country.

Why Moving to Nuremberg Felt More Like Finding Home Than Starting Over

Summer didn’t experience the move as a major cultural disruption. Nuremberg already felt more comfortable than the United States, and returning to the US after European trips often left her waiting for the next one.

She had planned to blog about culture shock, but the move felt too natural for that story. By the interview, she and her husband had bought an apartment in Nuremberg, and Summer hoped to hold an EU passport one day.

How Food and Travel Blogging Helped Summer Document Her Life Abroad

Summer created Eat Something, Go Somewhere to write about food, travel, and personal reflections. She hoped it could lead to paid work and press trips, but her creative energy came in cycles.

She uses her permanent Instagram feed for photographs she wants to preserve and Stories for ordinary moments that disappear after twenty-four hours.

Why Social Media Makes Ordinary Expat Life Difficult to Share

Stephanie and Summer discuss how social media rewards beautiful travel photographs, dramatic experiences, sadness, mess, and vulnerability.

Ordinary days are harder to post because “everything is fine” rarely feels valuable enough to share. Instagram Stories gave Summer a lower-pressure place for photographs and moments that didn’t need to remain on her permanent feed.

Can Social Media Posts Become a Form of Digital Autobiography?

Stephanie and Summer ask whether years of tweets, photographs, and updates eventually become a kind of autobiography.

Social posts lack the distance and reflection of memoir, but jokes, meals, travel photographs, and small observations still create a record of a life.

For Summer, the internet and moving abroad are connected by curiosity. They didn’t create it, but they gave it more communities and places to explore.

Who Is Summer, the American Writer Living in Nuremberg, Germany?

Summer is an American writer originally from Oregon who lived in South Carolina before moving to Nuremberg, Germany, in 2015.

Summer’s blog: https://eatsomethinggosomewhere.com/

Original publication date: June 4, 2019

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 22da64b4-1991-49c1-8fff-fd5a52589707 Thu, 23 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0200 4067 Germany, American expat, United States, Sweden, Swedish cheese, freelance writing full false Moving From Nigeria to the US: Culture, Curiosity, and Starting Over With Mo Sibyl: S1E8 Moving From Nigeria to the US: Culture, Curiosity, and Starting Over With Mo Sibyl: S1E8 Send us Fan Mail

Mo Sibyl, a Nigerian-born podcaster, pharmacist, researcher, and cultural commentator revisits Facebook posts and quotations from her first years abroad. Together, Mo and Stephanie explore language assumptions, homesickness, graduate school, friendship, boundaries, organ donation, mathematics, and the emotional work of rebuilding a life in another country.

What Mo Sibyl Shares About Moving From Nigeria to the United States

  • Why strangers’ questions about her accent, clothing, and English became frustrating
  • How she learned to separate genuine cultural curiosity from judgment
  • Moving from a successful pharmacy career in Nigeria to a US graduate student stipend
  • The loneliness of leaving friends behind and starting over socially
  • Why relationships often change after migration
  • English, Yoruba identity, and the linguistic diversity of Nigeria
  • How the right teacher transformed her relationship with mathematics
  • Why an organ donation question raised deeper questions about immigration and belonging
  • Learning to set boundaries without becoming distrustful
  • Why intention matters more than finding the perfect question to ask an immigrant

Why Nigerians Speak English and How Language Assumptions Affect Immigrants

Soon after arriving in the US, Mo noticed that strangers often expressed surprise that she and her husband spoke English. At the time, she responded with sarcasm. Looking back, she sees that some people were likely curious about the Nigerian clothing she wore and wanted to know more.

Today, she focuses on the intention behind the question. She doesn’t believe immigrants should accept every intrusive comment, but she also doesn’t want fear of saying the wrong thing to stop people from learning about one another.

The Financial and Emotional Reality of Starting Over Abroad

Before leaving Nigeria, Mo worked as a pharmacist and was financially established. Graduate school in the US meant living on a stipend, relying on buses, and adjusting to a lower standard of living. She also struggled with homesickness. At first, friends called regularly. Over time, time differences, work, and changing lives created distance.

Mo describes leaving Nigeria and rebuilding her life in her twenties as one of the bravest things she has done. Language, Education, and Identity Mo is Yoruba and explains that English is Nigeria’s official language, while Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo are among the country’s major Indigenous languages.

Although she later built a career around statistics and research, she was once afraid of mathematics. The right tutor helped her understand the logic behind it, changing both her confidence and academic path.

Immigration, Organ Donation, and Belonging

When Mo applied for a US driver’s license, she was unexpectedly asked whether she wanted to become an organ donor. The question made her think about belonging. She could be excluded from legal status and other parts of American life while still being asked to donate her organs.

She initially declined because she wanted more time to think. Her views have since changed, but she still believes the decision deserves more context than a checkbox at the DMV.

Friendship, Boundaries, and Cultural Curiosity

A painful betrayal taught Mo that kindness doesn’t require giving everyone unlimited access to her life. She now approaches both relationships and cultural questions with more patience and discernment.

There’s no perfect alternative to “Where are you from?” What matters is whether the question is asked with genuine interest, respect, and a willingness to listen.

About Mo Sibyl

Mo Sibyl is a Nigerian-born, US-educated, Korean-speaking pharmacist, researcher, podcaster, and cultural commentator.

Her work explores culture, identity, migration, and the lives of people who move between communities and countries.

Mo's podcast: https://www.mosibyl.com/

Original publication date: March 19, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Mo Sibyl, a Nigerian-born podcaster, pharmacist, researcher, and cultural commentator revisits Facebook posts and quotations from her first years abroad. Together, Mo and Stephanie explore language assumptions, homesickness, graduate school, friendship, boundaries, organ donation, mathematics, and the emotional work of rebuilding a life in another country.

What Mo Sibyl Shares About Moving From Nigeria to the United States

  • Why strangers’ questions about her accent, clothing, and English became frustrating
  • How she learned to separate genuine cultural curiosity from judgment
  • Moving from a successful pharmacy career in Nigeria to a US graduate student stipend
  • The loneliness of leaving friends behind and starting over socially
  • Why relationships often change after migration
  • English, Yoruba identity, and the linguistic diversity of Nigeria
  • How the right teacher transformed her relationship with mathematics
  • Why an organ donation question raised deeper questions about immigration and belonging
  • Learning to set boundaries without becoming distrustful
  • Why intention matters more than finding the perfect question to ask an immigrant

Why Nigerians Speak English and How Language Assumptions Affect Immigrants

Soon after arriving in the US, Mo noticed that strangers often expressed surprise that she and her husband spoke English. At the time, she responded with sarcasm. Looking back, she sees that some people were likely curious about the Nigerian clothing she wore and wanted to know more.

Today, she focuses on the intention behind the question. She doesn’t believe immigrants should accept every intrusive comment, but she also doesn’t want fear of saying the wrong thing to stop people from learning about one another.

The Financial and Emotional Reality of Starting Over Abroad

Before leaving Nigeria, Mo worked as a pharmacist and was financially established. Graduate school in the US meant living on a stipend, relying on buses, and adjusting to a lower standard of living. She also struggled with homesickness. At first, friends called regularly. Over time, time differences, work, and changing lives created distance.

Mo describes leaving Nigeria and rebuilding her life in her twenties as one of the bravest things she has done. Language, Education, and Identity Mo is Yoruba and explains that English is Nigeria’s official language, while Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo are among the country’s major Indigenous languages.

Although she later built a career around statistics and research, she was once afraid of mathematics. The right tutor helped her understand the logic behind it, changing both her confidence and academic path.

Immigration, Organ Donation, and Belonging

When Mo applied for a US driver’s license, she was unexpectedly asked whether she wanted to become an organ donor. The question made her think about belonging. She could be excluded from legal status and other parts of American life while still being asked to donate her organs.

She initially declined because she wanted more time to think. Her views have since changed, but she still believes the decision deserves more context than a checkbox at the DMV.

Friendship, Boundaries, and Cultural Curiosity

A painful betrayal taught Mo that kindness doesn’t require giving everyone unlimited access to her life. She now approaches both relationships and cultural questions with more patience and discernment.

There’s no perfect alternative to “Where are you from?” What matters is whether the question is asked with genuine interest, respect, and a willingness to listen.

About Mo Sibyl

Mo Sibyl is a Nigerian-born, US-educated, Korean-speaking pharmacist, researcher, podcaster, and cultural commentator.

Her work explores culture, identity, migration, and the lives of people who move between communities and countries.

Mo's podcast: https://www.mosibyl.com/

Original publication date: March 19, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 2466e693-2fd2-4755-b5cd-d36b37e66cfe Thu, 09 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0200 5193 expat, immigrant, Nigeria, Korean language, Korea, United States, Mo Sibyl full false How Living in Hangzhou Transformed Hannah: Chinese Mythology, Culture Shock, and Finding Herself Abroad: S1E7 How Living in Hangzhou Transformed Hannah: Chinese Mythology, Culture Shock, and Finding Herself Abroad: S1E7 Send us Fan Mail

Hannah came to Hangzhou because of a snake. While researching Chinese ghost stories for her college thesis in Iowa, she discovered the legend of Madam White Snake, a shape-shifting spirit whose story is tied to Hangzhou’s West Lake, Broken Bridge, and Leifeng Pagoda.

The legend helped draw Hannah to China after graduation. But when she arrived at 22, she found a modern city filled with factories, high-rise apartments, crowded buses, concrete walkways, shopping centres, escalators, and millions of people.

Years later, Hannah wrote In Search of White Snake, a creative nonfiction essay about Chinese mythology, culture shock, disillusionment, vulnerability, and the gap between the life we imagine abroad and the one we actually find.

What happens when the place that inspired your move doesn’t look anything like the story that brought you there?

Original publication date: November 26, 2018

Links:

Hannah: https://hannahlund.com/

In Search of White Snake https://www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-collection/2018/12/31/in-search-of-white-snake

In this episode

  • Hannah reads In Search of White Snake and explains how Chinese mythology drew her to Hangzhou
  • Moving from Minnesota to China at 22 and discovering a modern city instead of the mystical place she imagined
  • Visiting West Lake, Broken Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, and Hangzhou Zoo in search of traces of Madam White Snake
  • The gap between romanticizing a place and learning to live with its everyday reality
  • How culture shock, mistakes, and asking for help changed Hannah’s idea of independence
  • Learning Mandarin, misunderstanding strangers, and becoming more comfortable with embarrassment
  • The pressure to “live the dream” abroad while friends built careers back home
  • Recognizing Orientalist assumptions and the problem with treating China as one uniform culture
  • How editing revealed the deeper coming-of-age story inside Hannah’s essay
  • Moving from Hangzhou to Shanghai and building a life around writing, editing, translation, and literary community
  • Chinese ghost stories, strange spirits, haunted writers, and the stories that still shape Hannah’s imagination

About Hannah

Hannah is originally from Minnesota in the United States. She studied at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she researched Chinese mythology and ghost stories.

After graduating, she moved to Hangzhou in September 2012. She taught English and later completed graduate study at Zhejiang University in Chinese.

Hannah lived in Hangzhou on and off for approximately six years before moving to Shanghai, where she studied comparative literature, worked as an editor at Sixth Tone, and became involved in literary, poetry, writing, and translation communities.

Her essay In Search of White Snake was published in the Shanghai Literary Review’s special edition, Concrete.

From Mythical Hangzhou to Modern China

Before arriving, Hannah imagined Hangzhou as ancient, poetic, quiet, and mysterious. She pictured willow trees, pagodas, spirits, and traces of mythology around West Lake.

Instead, she moved to Xiasha, an industrial area filled with factories, apartment towers, shopping centres, and crowded streets.

Her visits to West Lake and Leifeng Pagoda challenged the version of Hangzhou she had created. The pagoda connected with Madam White Snake’s imprisonment had escalators, tourist displays, and reconstructed foundations beneath glass.

From a distance, it looked like part of a legend. Up close, it felt like a memorial.

Learning to Work With Failure

Hannah arrived in China seeing herself as fiercely independent. She believed she should solve problems alone, remain in control, and avoid appearing vulnerable.

Living abroad gradually changed that.

She got lost, misunderstood strangers, struggled through classes, and discovered that her Mandarin listening skills weren’t as strong as she believed.

In one memorable moment, a man tried to warn her about a crack in the pavement. Hannah assumed he was asking where she came from, answered “I’m American,” and then tripped over it.

She eventually began using the phrase “work with the failure.”

Instead of treating every mistake as evidence that she was incapable, she learned to laugh, ask for help, and accept that not every difficult experience needed to become a triumph or poetic lesson.

Writing, Transformation, and Madam White Snake

Hannah came to see a connection between herself and Madam White Snake.

Both left a familiar world, entered a place with different rules, and changed through the experience.

The transformation Hannah experienced wasn’t the glamorous adventure she had imagined at 22. It happened through buses, classrooms, mistakes, friendships, language learning, writing, and ordinary daily life.

The essay’s discarded snakeskin became a metaphor for the identity she had outgrown.

Hannah never found Madam White Snake in the form she expected. Instead, she found her throughout Hangzhou in stories, performances, postcards, tourism, public memory, and her own transformation.

The legend didn’t lead Hannah to the city she imagined.

It led her to the life she needed to live.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Hannah came to Hangzhou because of a snake. While researching Chinese ghost stories for her college thesis in Iowa, she discovered the legend of Madam White Snake, a shape-shifting spirit whose story is tied to Hangzhou’s West Lake, Broken Bridge, and Leifeng Pagoda.

The legend helped draw Hannah to China after graduation. But when she arrived at 22, she found a modern city filled with factories, high-rise apartments, crowded buses, concrete walkways, shopping centres, escalators, and millions of people.

Years later, Hannah wrote In Search of White Snake, a creative nonfiction essay about Chinese mythology, culture shock, disillusionment, vulnerability, and the gap between the life we imagine abroad and the one we actually find.

What happens when the place that inspired your move doesn’t look anything like the story that brought you there?

Original publication date: November 26, 2018

Links:

Hannah: https://hannahlund.com/

In Search of White Snake https://www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-collection/2018/12/31/in-search-of-white-snake

In this episode

  • Hannah reads In Search of White Snake and explains how Chinese mythology drew her to Hangzhou
  • Moving from Minnesota to China at 22 and discovering a modern city instead of the mystical place she imagined
  • Visiting West Lake, Broken Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, and Hangzhou Zoo in search of traces of Madam White Snake
  • The gap between romanticizing a place and learning to live with its everyday reality
  • How culture shock, mistakes, and asking for help changed Hannah’s idea of independence
  • Learning Mandarin, misunderstanding strangers, and becoming more comfortable with embarrassment
  • The pressure to “live the dream” abroad while friends built careers back home
  • Recognizing Orientalist assumptions and the problem with treating China as one uniform culture
  • How editing revealed the deeper coming-of-age story inside Hannah’s essay
  • Moving from Hangzhou to Shanghai and building a life around writing, editing, translation, and literary community
  • Chinese ghost stories, strange spirits, haunted writers, and the stories that still shape Hannah’s imagination

About Hannah

Hannah is originally from Minnesota in the United States. She studied at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she researched Chinese mythology and ghost stories.

After graduating, she moved to Hangzhou in September 2012. She taught English and later completed graduate study at Zhejiang University in Chinese.

Hannah lived in Hangzhou on and off for approximately six years before moving to Shanghai, where she studied comparative literature, worked as an editor at Sixth Tone, and became involved in literary, poetry, writing, and translation communities.

Her essay In Search of White Snake was published in the Shanghai Literary Review’s special edition, Concrete.

From Mythical Hangzhou to Modern China

Before arriving, Hannah imagined Hangzhou as ancient, poetic, quiet, and mysterious. She pictured willow trees, pagodas, spirits, and traces of mythology around West Lake.

Instead, she moved to Xiasha, an industrial area filled with factories, apartment towers, shopping centres, and crowded streets.

Her visits to West Lake and Leifeng Pagoda challenged the version of Hangzhou she had created. The pagoda connected with Madam White Snake’s imprisonment had escalators, tourist displays, and reconstructed foundations beneath glass.

From a distance, it looked like part of a legend. Up close, it felt like a memorial.

Learning to Work With Failure

Hannah arrived in China seeing herself as fiercely independent. She believed she should solve problems alone, remain in control, and avoid appearing vulnerable.

Living abroad gradually changed that.

She got lost, misunderstood strangers, struggled through classes, and discovered that her Mandarin listening skills weren’t as strong as she believed.

In one memorable moment, a man tried to warn her about a crack in the pavement. Hannah assumed he was asking where she came from, answered “I’m American,” and then tripped over it.

She eventually began using the phrase “work with the failure.”

Instead of treating every mistake as evidence that she was incapable, she learned to laugh, ask for help, and accept that not every difficult experience needed to become a triumph or poetic lesson.

Writing, Transformation, and Madam White Snake

Hannah came to see a connection between herself and Madam White Snake.

Both left a familiar world, entered a place with different rules, and changed through the experience.

The transformation Hannah experienced wasn’t the glamorous adventure she had imagined at 22. It happened through buses, classrooms, mistakes, friendships, language learning, writing, and ordinary daily life.

The essay’s discarded snakeskin became a metaphor for the identity she had outgrown.

Hannah never found Madam White Snake in the form she expected. Instead, she found her throughout Hangzhou in stories, performances, postcards, tourism, public memory, and her own transformation.

The legend didn’t lead Hannah to the city she imagined.

It led her to the life she needed to live.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio ff34e758-9e78-4701-83c1-b88e3f3af6d1 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0200 6013 full false Moving a Family to China from Finland: Culture, Community, and Expat Life in Shanghai: S1E6 Moving a Family to China from Finland: Culture, Community, and Expat Life in Shanghai: S1E6 Send us Fan Mail

When Pia moved from Finland to Shanghai with her husband and two daughters, she started a blog to document the family’s life abroad. In this episode, she reads a 2016 post in Finnish and English and looks back at the busy early months of learning Mandarin, exploring Shanghai, visiting Tongli water town, finding familiar food, and building a new life in China.

Pia also reflects on what the public blog left out, including loneliness and homesickness, why her honeymoon period in China lasted for her entire stay, and what surprised her about Shanghai’s safety, infrastructure, and optimism. She explains how living in North Carolina prepared her for China, why broad statements about Chinese culture can be misleading, and how living abroad changed her view of Europe, America, and the world.

In this episode

  • Reading an expat blog post in Finnish and English
  • Moving from Finland to Shanghai with children
  • Learning Mandarin and adapting to daily life in China
  • The private experiences left out of a public blog
  • Why Pia’s honeymoon period in China lasted two years
  • What surprised her about Shanghai’s safety and infrastructure
  • The friends, culture, and optimism she missed after leaving
  • How living in China changed her worldview

Pia's blog: https://pianshanghai.blogspot.com/

Original publication date: October 30, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

When Pia moved from Finland to Shanghai with her husband and two daughters, she started a blog to document the family’s life abroad. In this episode, she reads a 2016 post in Finnish and English and looks back at the busy early months of learning Mandarin, exploring Shanghai, visiting Tongli water town, finding familiar food, and building a new life in China.

Pia also reflects on what the public blog left out, including loneliness and homesickness, why her honeymoon period in China lasted for her entire stay, and what surprised her about Shanghai’s safety, infrastructure, and optimism. She explains how living in North Carolina prepared her for China, why broad statements about Chinese culture can be misleading, and how living abroad changed her view of Europe, America, and the world.

In this episode

  • Reading an expat blog post in Finnish and English
  • Moving from Finland to Shanghai with children
  • Learning Mandarin and adapting to daily life in China
  • The private experiences left out of a public blog
  • Why Pia’s honeymoon period in China lasted two years
  • What surprised her about Shanghai’s safety and infrastructure
  • The friends, culture, and optimism she missed after leaving
  • How living in China changed her worldview

Pia's blog: https://pianshanghai.blogspot.com/

Original publication date: October 30, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 3f3fcc90-87a8-4d21-a05b-bb8f35d2c234 Thu, 12 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0200 3786 Finland, living abroad, expat, geopat, life abroad, China, Shanghai full false Living Abroad as an American: Identity, Expat Guilt, and Leaving the US: S1E5 Living Abroad as an American: Identity, Expat Guilt, and Leaving the US: S1E5 Send us Fan Mail

When Jennifer left the United States, she didn’t expect living abroad to change her political beliefs, religious identity, family relationships, and sense of home so completely.

In this episode, she reads her poem “Daddy, Do You Still Believe That?” publicly for the first time. Written to her father, the poem questions the patriotic, political, and religious beliefs she grew up with and explores what happens when the identity you inherit no longer fits the life you’ve lived.

Jennifer shares how travel and life in Spain, Latin America, South Korea, Mexico, and China changed the way she understood the United States. She talks about growing up in a conservative Republican and Catholic family, watching her family struggle after the 2008 housing crisis, and finding greater financial stability abroad.

We also discuss expat guilt, political divisions within families, the hidden relationship cost of living overseas, and why returning home can feel harder than leaving. Jennifer explains how living abroad forces you to question your values, routines, relationships, and assumptions, often before you even realize how much you’ve changed.

This conversation is for anyone interested in living abroad, leaving the United States, expat identity, reverse culture shock, religious deconstruction, political differences within families, and the emotional cost of building a life far from home.

In this episode:

  • Jennifer reads her poem publicly for the first time
  • How living abroad changed her political and religious beliefs
  • Why she addressed the poem directly to her father
  • Growing up in a conservative Republican and Catholic family
  • Adventure, economic opportunity, and leaving the United States
  • Expat guilt and the relationship cost of living overseas
  • Why people back home often misunderstand expat life
  • The difference between traveling and living in another country
  • Losing friendships after changing abroad
  • Why returning home can be harder than leaving
  • Finding identity, community, and love outside your home country
  • Why the challenges of living abroad were still worth it

Original publication date: October 15, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

When Jennifer left the United States, she didn’t expect living abroad to change her political beliefs, religious identity, family relationships, and sense of home so completely.

In this episode, she reads her poem “Daddy, Do You Still Believe That?” publicly for the first time. Written to her father, the poem questions the patriotic, political, and religious beliefs she grew up with and explores what happens when the identity you inherit no longer fits the life you’ve lived.

Jennifer shares how travel and life in Spain, Latin America, South Korea, Mexico, and China changed the way she understood the United States. She talks about growing up in a conservative Republican and Catholic family, watching her family struggle after the 2008 housing crisis, and finding greater financial stability abroad.

We also discuss expat guilt, political divisions within families, the hidden relationship cost of living overseas, and why returning home can feel harder than leaving. Jennifer explains how living abroad forces you to question your values, routines, relationships, and assumptions, often before you even realize how much you’ve changed.

This conversation is for anyone interested in living abroad, leaving the United States, expat identity, reverse culture shock, religious deconstruction, political differences within families, and the emotional cost of building a life far from home.

In this episode:

  • Jennifer reads her poem publicly for the first time
  • How living abroad changed her political and religious beliefs
  • Why she addressed the poem directly to her father
  • Growing up in a conservative Republican and Catholic family
  • Adventure, economic opportunity, and leaving the United States
  • Expat guilt and the relationship cost of living overseas
  • Why people back home often misunderstand expat life
  • The difference between traveling and living in another country
  • Losing friendships after changing abroad
  • Why returning home can be harder than leaving
  • Finding identity, community, and love outside your home country
  • Why the challenges of living abroad were still worth it

Original publication date: October 15, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio bdd1c21f-3708-4a6b-b705-351cd066b1a9 Thu, 28 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0200 4003 U.S. politics, poliitcs, family, expat, living abroad, emotional expat, mental health full false Expat Life in Shanghai: What Americans Get Wrong About Living in China: S1E4 Expat Life in Shanghai: What Americans Get Wrong About Living in China: S1E4 Send us Fan Mail

When Shannon Martin moved to Shanghai in 2012, everyday life in China immediately gave her a long list of things to notice: official red stamps, bicycles, relentless commerce, noise, laundry hanging everywhere, and an abundance of extremely cute things.

Nearly six years later, Shannon revisits one of the first blog posts she wrote about living in China and asks which of those early observations still hold up, what has changed, and what once felt strange but eventually became normal.

What happens to our observations about a place once we’ve lived there long enough?

Many of the things that caught Shannon’s attention during her first few months in Shanghai still existed six years later, but often in very different forms. Paperwork became more digital, private bicycles gave way to bike-sharing systems, mobile payments transformed shopping and bargaining, car horns became less common and laundry became less visible in some neighborhoods.

The culture hadn’t simply disappeared or stayed the same. It kept evolving around her.

In this episode

  • Shannon’s first impressions of living in Shanghai in 2012
  • Why official red stamps and paperwork were such a visible part of life in China
  • How digital payments and electronic receipts changed everyday bureaucracy
  • What happened to Shanghai’s bicycles after bike-sharing arrived
  • How electric scooters and delivery drivers changed the city’s streets
  • When Shanghai became noticeably quieter after restrictions on car horns
  • Bargaining, shopping, and the feeling of “winning” a negotiation
  • How mobile payments changed traditional bargaining strategies
  • Why laundry hanging outside became less visible in parts of Shanghai
  • Unexpected similarities Shannon noticed between Spain and China
  • Personal space and how ideas about politeness change across cultures
  • Why Shannon stopped blogging regularly even though she still valued long-form reflection
  • Downsizing, living abroad, and how our relationship with possessions changes
  • Books and travel writing that helped Shannon understand China
  • What outsiders often misunderstand about everyday life in modern China
  • How quickly Shanghai changed during Shannon’s six years there
  • Why she wishes she had studied more Chinese
  • The difference between experiencing Shanghai during the first year and after living there for years

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people interested in living in Shanghai, moving to China, culture shock, expat life, long-term travel, digital life in China, cultural differences, and how our understanding of a place changes after the novelty of the first year wears off.

About Shannon

Shannon Martin is originally from the United States and had been living in Shanghai for almost six years when we recorded this conversation. 

Before moving to China, Shannon and her husband left Florida and began traveling while she worked location independently. They spent time living in Spain before eventually deciding to move to Shanghai.

Shannon started her travel blog, Two Who Travel, as a way to document their travels, observations, and experiences for friends and family. One of her early Shanghai posts captured six things that seemed especially noticeable during her first months in China: official red stamps, bikes, commerce, noise, laundry, and cuteness.

In this episode, she revisits those observations years later.

What changed in Shanghai between 2012 and 2018?

One of the most interesting things about Shannon’s original post is that very little had completely disappeared. Instead, the form of everyday life had changed.

Official paperwork and red stamps still mattered, but more processes were becoming electronic. Receipts could be issued digitally. Payments increasingly happened through phones rather than cash or cards.

Bicycles were still everywhere, but bike-sharing companies had transformed what the streets looked like. Even noise changed. Shannon had once written that Shanghai’s constant car horns seemed impossible to control. Years later, regulations and significant fines had dramatically reduced them.

Looking back showed her how quickly a city can change while still remaining recognizably itself.

What happened to all the bikes in China?

In Shannon’s original 2012 post, bicycles and scooters were everywhere. She even considered buying a bike herself but never did. Within a few years, bike-sharing companies such as Mobike and Ofo appeared across Shanghai, making it possible to use shared bicycles instead of owning one.

At the same time, scooters became even more visible as food delivery services expanded. The quiet electric scooters created another challenge: pedestrians often couldn’t hear them approaching. Both Steph and Shannon remember having to develop a kind of instinct for scooters moving quickly along sidewalks.

Sometimes technological improvements solve one problem while creating another.

What do Spain and China have in common?

At first glance, Spain and China may seem like very different places. After living in both, Shannon noticed some surprising similarities. Family relationships can play a central role in both cultures. Group belonging and social relationships can also feel especially important.

She noticed similarities in outdoor public life too: walking, exercising outside, people gathering in parks, and outdoor exercise equipment used particularly by older residents. There were also similarities around laundry, noise, and personal space. Those comparisons are one of the recurring lessons of living in several countries.

Places that seem completely different from the outside can sometimes feel unexpectedly familiar once you live inside them.

What does living abroad do to our relationship with our material things?

Before moving abroad, Shannon and her husband gradually reduced the possessions they had left behind in the United States. Like many people who start living internationally, they discovered that objects that once seemed essential often became much less important after months without them.

Steph had experienced something similar when she moved across the United States years earlier. She shipped several large boxes of possessions to herself months after moving, only to discover that she barely wanted anything inside them anymore. Living abroad can create distance not only from a home country, but also from the possessions that once represented home.

For Shannon, photographs increasingly became enough to preserve many memories that she once kept through physical objects.

What books helped Shannon understand China?

Shannon has always used books as a way to understand the places where she lives and travels. She recommends Peter Hessler’s writing about China, including River Town and Country Driving, as useful ways to explore the country through long-form observation. She also mentions Stateless in Shanghai, a memoir that offered her an unusual perspective on Shanghai’s history and the experience of a person born in China to non-Chinese parents. 

When traveling somewhere new, Shannon often looks for books, memoirs, podcasts, and authors connected to that place. Reading while physically being somewhere creates a different relationship with the story.

You can look up from the page and realize that the history you’re reading happened in the place around you.

What do outsiders misunderstand about modern China?

When Steph asks what people who haven’t visited China misunderstand most, Shannon’s immediate answer is simple: Everything. She especially points to everyday safety and the gap between international perceptions of China and ordinary daily life.

Visitors often arrive with ideas shaped by political news, government coverage, and isolated headlines. Then they encounter a daily reality filled with mobile payments, delivery services, cafes, public transportation, busy neighborhoods, and ordinary human routines that don’t fit neatly into those expectations.

That doesn’t mean the political or social issues people hear about aren’t real. The problem is that they’re incomplete.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

When Shannon Martin moved to Shanghai in 2012, everyday life in China immediately gave her a long list of things to notice: official red stamps, bicycles, relentless commerce, noise, laundry hanging everywhere, and an abundance of extremely cute things.

Nearly six years later, Shannon revisits one of the first blog posts she wrote about living in China and asks which of those early observations still hold up, what has changed, and what once felt strange but eventually became normal.

What happens to our observations about a place once we’ve lived there long enough?

Many of the things that caught Shannon’s attention during her first few months in Shanghai still existed six years later, but often in very different forms. Paperwork became more digital, private bicycles gave way to bike-sharing systems, mobile payments transformed shopping and bargaining, car horns became less common and laundry became less visible in some neighborhoods.

The culture hadn’t simply disappeared or stayed the same. It kept evolving around her.

In this episode

  • Shannon’s first impressions of living in Shanghai in 2012
  • Why official red stamps and paperwork were such a visible part of life in China
  • How digital payments and electronic receipts changed everyday bureaucracy
  • What happened to Shanghai’s bicycles after bike-sharing arrived
  • How electric scooters and delivery drivers changed the city’s streets
  • When Shanghai became noticeably quieter after restrictions on car horns
  • Bargaining, shopping, and the feeling of “winning” a negotiation
  • How mobile payments changed traditional bargaining strategies
  • Why laundry hanging outside became less visible in parts of Shanghai
  • Unexpected similarities Shannon noticed between Spain and China
  • Personal space and how ideas about politeness change across cultures
  • Why Shannon stopped blogging regularly even though she still valued long-form reflection
  • Downsizing, living abroad, and how our relationship with possessions changes
  • Books and travel writing that helped Shannon understand China
  • What outsiders often misunderstand about everyday life in modern China
  • How quickly Shanghai changed during Shannon’s six years there
  • Why she wishes she had studied more Chinese
  • The difference between experiencing Shanghai during the first year and after living there for years

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people interested in living in Shanghai, moving to China, culture shock, expat life, long-term travel, digital life in China, cultural differences, and how our understanding of a place changes after the novelty of the first year wears off.

About Shannon

Shannon Martin is originally from the United States and had been living in Shanghai for almost six years when we recorded this conversation. 

Before moving to China, Shannon and her husband left Florida and began traveling while she worked location independently. They spent time living in Spain before eventually deciding to move to Shanghai.

Shannon started her travel blog, Two Who Travel, as a way to document their travels, observations, and experiences for friends and family. One of her early Shanghai posts captured six things that seemed especially noticeable during her first months in China: official red stamps, bikes, commerce, noise, laundry, and cuteness.

In this episode, she revisits those observations years later.

What changed in Shanghai between 2012 and 2018?

One of the most interesting things about Shannon’s original post is that very little had completely disappeared. Instead, the form of everyday life had changed.

Official paperwork and red stamps still mattered, but more processes were becoming electronic. Receipts could be issued digitally. Payments increasingly happened through phones rather than cash or cards.

Bicycles were still everywhere, but bike-sharing companies had transformed what the streets looked like. Even noise changed. Shannon had once written that Shanghai’s constant car horns seemed impossible to control. Years later, regulations and significant fines had dramatically reduced them.

Looking back showed her how quickly a city can change while still remaining recognizably itself.

What happened to all the bikes in China?

In Shannon’s original 2012 post, bicycles and scooters were everywhere. She even considered buying a bike herself but never did. Within a few years, bike-sharing companies such as Mobike and Ofo appeared across Shanghai, making it possible to use shared bicycles instead of owning one.

At the same time, scooters became even more visible as food delivery services expanded. The quiet electric scooters created another challenge: pedestrians often couldn’t hear them approaching. Both Steph and Shannon remember having to develop a kind of instinct for scooters moving quickly along sidewalks.

Sometimes technological improvements solve one problem while creating another.

What do Spain and China have in common?

At first glance, Spain and China may seem like very different places. After living in both, Shannon noticed some surprising similarities. Family relationships can play a central role in both cultures. Group belonging and social relationships can also feel especially important.

She noticed similarities in outdoor public life too: walking, exercising outside, people gathering in parks, and outdoor exercise equipment used particularly by older residents. There were also similarities around laundry, noise, and personal space. Those comparisons are one of the recurring lessons of living in several countries.

Places that seem completely different from the outside can sometimes feel unexpectedly familiar once you live inside them.

What does living abroad do to our relationship with our material things?

Before moving abroad, Shannon and her husband gradually reduced the possessions they had left behind in the United States. Like many people who start living internationally, they discovered that objects that once seemed essential often became much less important after months without them.

Steph had experienced something similar when she moved across the United States years earlier. She shipped several large boxes of possessions to herself months after moving, only to discover that she barely wanted anything inside them anymore. Living abroad can create distance not only from a home country, but also from the possessions that once represented home.

For Shannon, photographs increasingly became enough to preserve many memories that she once kept through physical objects.

What books helped Shannon understand China?

Shannon has always used books as a way to understand the places where she lives and travels. She recommends Peter Hessler’s writing about China, including River Town and Country Driving, as useful ways to explore the country through long-form observation. She also mentions Stateless in Shanghai, a memoir that offered her an unusual perspective on Shanghai’s history and the experience of a person born in China to non-Chinese parents. 

When traveling somewhere new, Shannon often looks for books, memoirs, podcasts, and authors connected to that place. Reading while physically being somewhere creates a different relationship with the story.

You can look up from the page and realize that the history you’re reading happened in the place around you.

What do outsiders misunderstand about modern China?

When Steph asks what people who haven’t visited China misunderstand most, Shannon’s immediate answer is simple: Everything. She especially points to everyday safety and the gap between international perceptions of China and ordinary daily life.

Visitors often arrive with ideas shaped by political news, government coverage, and isolated headlines. Then they encounter a daily reality filled with mobile payments, delivery services, cafes, public transportation, busy neighborhoods, and ordinary human routines that don’t fit neatly into those expectations.

That doesn’t mean the political or social issues people hear about aren’t real. The problem is that they’re incomplete.

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio bf33d09e-4fc7-4b0d-b092-5d107f5ddbd9 Thu, 14 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0200 3529 China, culture shock, Shanghai, culture shock, living abroad, move abroad, American expat full false Life overseas in China: Culture, Dogs, and Expat Life in Shanghai: S1E3 Life overseas in China: Culture, Dogs, and Expat Life in Shanghai: S1E3 Send us Fan Mail

When Evan moved from New York City to Jiaxing, China, in 2006, one of the cultural differences that caught his attention was dogs. He noticed street dogs in less wealthy areas, purebred dogs in richer cities, and very different attitudes toward pet ownership than the ones he knew from the United States.

More than a decade later, living in Shanghai with his own rescue dog, Evan revisits a blog post he wrote during his first months in China and reflects on how dog culture, rescue communities, and his own understanding of China have changed. As we’re having this conversation one of his dogs is in the room with us. It was super cute. 

What can dogs tell us about a culture?

The way people keep, value, rescue, and interact with dogs can reflect broader differences in wealth, lifestyle, urban development, and cultural attitudes toward animals. Are they a companion or a status symbol or a part of the family?

In 2006, Evan saw a sharp contrast between the street dogs he encountered in Jiaxing and the purebred pets he saw in wealthier Shenzhen. Years later, he says that picture became more complicated as dog rescue communities grew and pet ownership became increasingly visible in cities like Shanghai.

In this episode

  • Moving from New York City to Jiaxing, China, to teach English
  • What Evan noticed about dogs during his first months living in China
  • The differences he saw between pet ownership in Jiaxing and Shenzhen
  • How dog culture in Shanghai changed between 2006 and 2018
  • The growth of dog rescue and adoption communities in Shanghai
  • Why expat mobility can create challenges for pet adoption
  • How people in Shanghai react differently to dogs and dog owners
  • What living abroad taught Evan and Steph about cultural assumptions
  • Revisiting observations about wealth, status, and purebred dogs
  • How Evan’s own culture shock changed during his first year in China

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people interested in living in China, expat life in Shanghai, pet culture across countries, dog rescue and adoption, and the ways everyday observations can reveal deeper cultural differences.

About Evan

Evan Pinto moved from New York City to Jiaxing, China, in 2006 to teach English for a year after studying Asian Studies and Chinese as an undergraduate.

Soon after arriving, he started a blog called Pinto Bean and Rice about his experiences adjusting to life in China. One early post, “You Can Tell a Lot About a Place From Its Dogs,” compared the dogs he saw in Jiaxing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong and explored what those differences might say about wealth and urban life.

By the time of this conversation, Evan had spent years living in Shanghai and had become part of the local dog rescue community himself. His rescue dog Buddy even joins us for part of the conversation.

How has dog culture changed in Shanghai?

One of the biggest changes Evan noticed was the growth of dog rescue and adoption communities. He remembers seeing many more loose and homeless dogs during his earlier years in China. By the time of this conversation, he says street dogs had become far less common in Shanghai, while rescue organizations and adoption networks had grown significantly.

Evan also talks about the role Shanghai’s international community played in developing some of these rescue networks, as well as a recurring challenge in expat communities: people may adopt pets while living abroad, then struggle to take them along when jobs, visas, or international moves suddenly change.

Do wealth and dog ownership still connect?

In his original 2006 blog post, Evan argued that wealthier cities seemed to have more purebred dogs, while less affluent places had more mixed-breed and street dogs.

Looking back 12 years later, he says that observation still reflected something he had genuinely seen at the time, but the reality had become more complicated.

Rescue adoption had grown, especially within Shanghai’s expat community, while purebred dogs continued to be popular among some local pet owners. The shift reminded him that cultural observations can be true in a particular moment without remaining fixed forever.

What living abroad teaches us about assumptions

The conversation eventually moves beyond dogs into a broader question: what happens when living abroad exposes assumptions we didn’t know we had?

Both Evan and Steph reflect on moments when they interpreted something as uniquely Chinese, Taiwanese, or American, only to realize later that some behaviors were more universal than they first assumed.

Evan also describes becoming aware of assumptions he carried from growing up in New York, including how race, appearance, and occupation had become linked in ways he hadn’t consciously noticed before moving abroad.

Living in a different cultural environment forced him to see some of those patterns more clearly.

Evan’s first year of culture shock in China

Evan also looks back at the culture shock of moving from New York to Jiaxing.

His first month felt exciting and new, but the adjustment became harder as the year continued. He remembers struggling with language, food, isolation, holidays away from home, and the everyday exhaustion of trying to function in an unfamiliar environment.

Even simple interactions, like ordering spinach at a restaurant, could become frustrating when pronunciation and context didn’t work the way he expected.

Looking back, those experiences became part of a much longer process of learning how to live across cultures and questioning the assumptions he brought with him.

Original publication date: June 1, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

When Evan moved from New York City to Jiaxing, China, in 2006, one of the cultural differences that caught his attention was dogs. He noticed street dogs in less wealthy areas, purebred dogs in richer cities, and very different attitudes toward pet ownership than the ones he knew from the United States.

More than a decade later, living in Shanghai with his own rescue dog, Evan revisits a blog post he wrote during his first months in China and reflects on how dog culture, rescue communities, and his own understanding of China have changed. As we’re having this conversation one of his dogs is in the room with us. It was super cute. 

What can dogs tell us about a culture?

The way people keep, value, rescue, and interact with dogs can reflect broader differences in wealth, lifestyle, urban development, and cultural attitudes toward animals. Are they a companion or a status symbol or a part of the family?

In 2006, Evan saw a sharp contrast between the street dogs he encountered in Jiaxing and the purebred pets he saw in wealthier Shenzhen. Years later, he says that picture became more complicated as dog rescue communities grew and pet ownership became increasingly visible in cities like Shanghai.

In this episode

  • Moving from New York City to Jiaxing, China, to teach English
  • What Evan noticed about dogs during his first months living in China
  • The differences he saw between pet ownership in Jiaxing and Shenzhen
  • How dog culture in Shanghai changed between 2006 and 2018
  • The growth of dog rescue and adoption communities in Shanghai
  • Why expat mobility can create challenges for pet adoption
  • How people in Shanghai react differently to dogs and dog owners
  • What living abroad taught Evan and Steph about cultural assumptions
  • Revisiting observations about wealth, status, and purebred dogs
  • How Evan’s own culture shock changed during his first year in China

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people interested in living in China, expat life in Shanghai, pet culture across countries, dog rescue and adoption, and the ways everyday observations can reveal deeper cultural differences.

About Evan

Evan Pinto moved from New York City to Jiaxing, China, in 2006 to teach English for a year after studying Asian Studies and Chinese as an undergraduate.

Soon after arriving, he started a blog called Pinto Bean and Rice about his experiences adjusting to life in China. One early post, “You Can Tell a Lot About a Place From Its Dogs,” compared the dogs he saw in Jiaxing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong and explored what those differences might say about wealth and urban life.

By the time of this conversation, Evan had spent years living in Shanghai and had become part of the local dog rescue community himself. His rescue dog Buddy even joins us for part of the conversation.

How has dog culture changed in Shanghai?

One of the biggest changes Evan noticed was the growth of dog rescue and adoption communities. He remembers seeing many more loose and homeless dogs during his earlier years in China. By the time of this conversation, he says street dogs had become far less common in Shanghai, while rescue organizations and adoption networks had grown significantly.

Evan also talks about the role Shanghai’s international community played in developing some of these rescue networks, as well as a recurring challenge in expat communities: people may adopt pets while living abroad, then struggle to take them along when jobs, visas, or international moves suddenly change.

Do wealth and dog ownership still connect?

In his original 2006 blog post, Evan argued that wealthier cities seemed to have more purebred dogs, while less affluent places had more mixed-breed and street dogs.

Looking back 12 years later, he says that observation still reflected something he had genuinely seen at the time, but the reality had become more complicated.

Rescue adoption had grown, especially within Shanghai’s expat community, while purebred dogs continued to be popular among some local pet owners. The shift reminded him that cultural observations can be true in a particular moment without remaining fixed forever.

What living abroad teaches us about assumptions

The conversation eventually moves beyond dogs into a broader question: what happens when living abroad exposes assumptions we didn’t know we had?

Both Evan and Steph reflect on moments when they interpreted something as uniquely Chinese, Taiwanese, or American, only to realize later that some behaviors were more universal than they first assumed.

Evan also describes becoming aware of assumptions he carried from growing up in New York, including how race, appearance, and occupation had become linked in ways he hadn’t consciously noticed before moving abroad.

Living in a different cultural environment forced him to see some of those patterns more clearly.

Evan’s first year of culture shock in China

Evan also looks back at the culture shock of moving from New York to Jiaxing.

His first month felt exciting and new, but the adjustment became harder as the year continued. He remembers struggling with language, food, isolation, holidays away from home, and the everyday exhaustion of trying to function in an unfamiliar environment.

Even simple interactions, like ordering spinach at a restaurant, could become frustrating when pronunciation and context didn’t work the way he expected.

Looking back, those experiences became part of a much longer process of learning how to live across cultures and questioning the assumptions he brought with him.

Original publication date: June 1, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio Buzzsprout-13164575 Thu, 31 May 2018 05:00:00 +0200 2008 dogs, China, dog culture, culture shock, new york, expat, immigrant, international full false Evan Pinto Stephanie Fuccio Living Abroad in Europe: A Chinese International Student's Culture Shock and Growth in Edinburgh: S1E2 Living Abroad in Europe: A Chinese International Student's Culture Shock and Growth in Edinburgh: S1E2 Send us Fan Mail

Xing moved from China to Edinburgh, Scotland, for graduate school and initially experienced the city as a kind of wonderland, as he put it. Years later, he looks back at how studying abroad, culture shock, international friendships, and eventually leaving the international student bubble changed the way he understood Scotland and himself.

In this episode of Geopats Abroad, Xing revisits a story he wrote in 2005 about his first months living in Edinburgh and reflects on what that younger version of himself didn’t yet understand.

What is the international student bubble?

The international student bubble can make moving abroad feel exciting and culturally diverse while still keeping someone somewhat separated from the local culture around them. Xing describes how spending his first year mainly with international friends helped him adjust to Western culture broadly, but his deeper understanding of Scottish culture came later, when he began working and interacting more with locals. 

In this episode

  • Moving from China to Scotland as an international student
  • Experiencing Edinburgh as a cultural “wonderland”
  • How international friendships shaped Xing’s first year abroad
  • The difference between adapting to Western culture & adapting to Scottish culture
  • What happened when Xing’s international student bubble began to disappear
  • Writing about life abroad in both English and Chinese
  • How language can change the way we express different parts of ourselves
  • Looking back at studying abroad with more life experience
  • Xing’s advice for international students adjusting to life in another country
  • Why Edinburgh still feels like a spiritual home years later

Who this episode is for

This episode is for international students, people preparing to study abroad, expats adjusting to a new culture, and anyone interested in how our understanding of a place can change years after we leave it.

About Xing

Xing Zhao moved from China to Edinburgh, Scotland, to complete a postgraduate degree in cultural studies at the University of Edinburgh. During his time abroad, he wrote blogs in both Chinese and English about what he was seeing, learning, and experiencing. In this conversation, he revisits a piece he wrote during his first year in Edinburgh and reflects on the difference between the exciting international world he first entered and the more complicated reality of building a life there after graduation.

Years later, Edinburgh still holds a powerful place in his life. Looking back, he describes it as a place connected not only to studying abroad, but to becoming an adult, finding his place in the world, and developing a sense of home across cultures.

A different version of yourself abroad

One of the most interesting parts of Xing’s story is how differently he expressed himself depending on the language he was using. He describes his English writing as funnier and his Chinese writing as more sentimental. Writing two blogs allowed him to stay connected with people in China while also documenting the new English-speaking world he was living in.

His experience raises a bigger question many people who live across cultures recognize: does speaking or writing in another language bring out a different version of who we are?

Advice for international students living abroad

Looking back at his own experience, Xing shares advice that still applies to many people studying in another country: don’t stay only within your own cultural community, spend time with both international and local people, keep an open mind, travel when you can, and give yourself permission to experience the culture you actually moved there to experience.

He also reflects on the importance of becoming independent and accepting that studying abroad isn’t always the idealized experience people imagine before they arrive.

Original publication date

May 14, 2018


Xing’s website: https://kapazhao.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Xing moved from China to Edinburgh, Scotland, for graduate school and initially experienced the city as a kind of wonderland, as he put it. Years later, he looks back at how studying abroad, culture shock, international friendships, and eventually leaving the international student bubble changed the way he understood Scotland and himself.

In this episode of Geopats Abroad, Xing revisits a story he wrote in 2005 about his first months living in Edinburgh and reflects on what that younger version of himself didn’t yet understand.

What is the international student bubble?

The international student bubble can make moving abroad feel exciting and culturally diverse while still keeping someone somewhat separated from the local culture around them. Xing describes how spending his first year mainly with international friends helped him adjust to Western culture broadly, but his deeper understanding of Scottish culture came later, when he began working and interacting more with locals. 

In this episode

  • Moving from China to Scotland as an international student
  • Experiencing Edinburgh as a cultural “wonderland”
  • How international friendships shaped Xing’s first year abroad
  • The difference between adapting to Western culture & adapting to Scottish culture
  • What happened when Xing’s international student bubble began to disappear
  • Writing about life abroad in both English and Chinese
  • How language can change the way we express different parts of ourselves
  • Looking back at studying abroad with more life experience
  • Xing’s advice for international students adjusting to life in another country
  • Why Edinburgh still feels like a spiritual home years later

Who this episode is for

This episode is for international students, people preparing to study abroad, expats adjusting to a new culture, and anyone interested in how our understanding of a place can change years after we leave it.

About Xing

Xing Zhao moved from China to Edinburgh, Scotland, to complete a postgraduate degree in cultural studies at the University of Edinburgh. During his time abroad, he wrote blogs in both Chinese and English about what he was seeing, learning, and experiencing. In this conversation, he revisits a piece he wrote during his first year in Edinburgh and reflects on the difference between the exciting international world he first entered and the more complicated reality of building a life there after graduation.

Years later, Edinburgh still holds a powerful place in his life. Looking back, he describes it as a place connected not only to studying abroad, but to becoming an adult, finding his place in the world, and developing a sense of home across cultures.

A different version of yourself abroad

One of the most interesting parts of Xing’s story is how differently he expressed himself depending on the language he was using. He describes his English writing as funnier and his Chinese writing as more sentimental. Writing two blogs allowed him to stay connected with people in China while also documenting the new English-speaking world he was living in.

His experience raises a bigger question many people who live across cultures recognize: does speaking or writing in another language bring out a different version of who we are?

Advice for international students living abroad

Looking back at his own experience, Xing shares advice that still applies to many people studying in another country: don’t stay only within your own cultural community, spend time with both international and local people, keep an open mind, travel when you can, and give yourself permission to experience the culture you actually moved there to experience.

He also reflects on the importance of becoming independent and accepting that studying abroad isn’t always the idealized experience people imagine before they arrive.

Original publication date

May 14, 2018


Xing’s website: https://kapazhao.com/

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5eecd653-7f94-4a97-8eb1-d7455ce92482 Thu, 17 May 2018 20:00:00 +0200 1545 China, Scotland, Edinburgh, living abroad, expat, geopat, life abroad, Chinese expat, international student full true Teaching English in Korea: Expat Culture Shock and Learning to Let Go: S1E1 Teaching English in Korea: Expat Culture Shock and Learning to Let Go: S1E1 Send us Fan Mail

Have your expectations about a place ever gotten you into trouble?

In this first episode of Geopats Abroad, American expat Evan shares what culture shock looked like during his early years living abroad. We revisit a group email he originally sent to family and friends back home and talk about how his expectations shaped his experience of adapting to another culture.

What causes culture shock?

Culture shock often comes from the gap between what someone expects a place to be like and what daily life actually feels like. Expectations, assumptions, and comparisons to home can all shape how someone experiences living in another country.

In this episode

  • What culture shock can feel like when you first move abroad
  • How expectations affect the expat experience
  • Looking back at early impressions of life in another country
  • How your understanding of cultural differences changes over time
  • What 20 years of living abroad can teach you about your own culture

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people preparing to move abroad, adjusting to expat life, or trying to better understand culture shock and cultural differences.

About Evan

Evan is an American expat and Stephanie’s husband. He was the first guest on Geopats Abroad back in 2017, when he shared a group email he had written to family and friends about his experience living abroad.

More than 20 years after that original experience, he reflects on what he understands differently now about culture shock, expectations, and adapting to life in another country.

Original publication date: May 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Have your expectations about a place ever gotten you into trouble?

In this first episode of Geopats Abroad, American expat Evan shares what culture shock looked like during his early years living abroad. We revisit a group email he originally sent to family and friends back home and talk about how his expectations shaped his experience of adapting to another culture.

What causes culture shock?

Culture shock often comes from the gap between what someone expects a place to be like and what daily life actually feels like. Expectations, assumptions, and comparisons to home can all shape how someone experiences living in another country.

In this episode

  • What culture shock can feel like when you first move abroad
  • How expectations affect the expat experience
  • Looking back at early impressions of life in another country
  • How your understanding of cultural differences changes over time
  • What 20 years of living abroad can teach you about your own culture

Who this episode is for

This episode is for people preparing to move abroad, adjusting to expat life, or trying to better understand culture shock and cultural differences.

About Evan

Evan is an American expat and Stephanie’s husband. He was the first guest on Geopats Abroad back in 2017, when he shared a group email he had written to family and friends about his experience living abroad.

More than 20 years after that original experience, he reflects on what he understands differently now about culture shock, expectations, and adapting to life in another country.

Original publication date: May 7, 2018

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Stephanie Fuccio 5c37ff3a-023e-41f0-8783-d56b750f9937 Thu, 03 May 2018 11:00:00 +0200 2094 South Korea, expat, Evan Simpson, teaching English, live abroad, immigrant, expat life, teach English full false Living abroad can be challenging. This will help your overseas day to day life. Living abroad can be challenging. This will help your overseas day to day life. Send us Fan Mail

If you're thinking of living outside of your passport country OR like to learn more about different cultures around the world, welcome. These are conversations that I had with other long term expats about what grounded them in their other places in the world. 

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If you're thinking of living outside of your passport country OR like to learn more about different cultures around the world, welcome. These are conversations that I had with other long term expats about what grounded them in their other places in the world. 

 🛍️ Shop Life, Lived Here: https://life-lived-here-geopats-abroad-shop.fourthwall.com/

💰Best credit card for Americans living or traveling outside the U.S. Chase Sapphire: https://accounts.chase.com/raf/share/1805579379

📬 Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

💰Global bank account with multiple currencies: https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

🎙️Start your own podcast. Get a bonus when you upgrade with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201

📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/

]]> Buzzsprout-16983322 Tue, 01 May 2018 17:00:00 +0200 122 expat, geopat, live overseas, live abroad, international, move abroad trailer false