The Expat Cast

Season 3, Episode 1. We kick off season 3 with expat YouTuber Aspen, from AspenAbroad, in which we get a little deeper into Aspen's decision to move to Europe after growing up in Hawaii - and how she settled on Munich, Germany, as her new home. Released just in time to celebrate Aspen's 5th Gedeutschtag (Alles gute zum Gedeutschtag, Aspen!), we take a stroll down memory lane to look at the traumas and challenges that inspired Aspen to leave the US, followed by a discussion of how she's feeling now. Check out the blog about this episode. FIND ASPEN On YouTube AspenAbroad On Instagram @Aspen.Abroad Her video about our weekend in Freiburg,American girls podcast in Germany On her blog CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 25. Welcome to the Season 2 finale episode! To celebrate 50 episodes, 10,000 downloads, and 1 year of podcasting, we've called up a good friend to answer listener questions and quandaries in a brand new format called Ask the Expat. We give our best go at answering questions sent to us from expats all over. For a full list of questions and resources mentioned in the episode, click here. We'll be back with season 3 soon. Keep your eyes on social media and stay subscribed to get updated about when the next season will hit your feeds. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 24. For many, one of the toughest things about living abroad is being far away from friends and family. It can feel like you're missing out on all the important moments, big and small - and sometimes, that's true. But sometimes, it's possible to move heaven and earth to be there, in person, for a big event. When that does happen, the moment becomes that much more important because of how far out of your way you went to be there. Showing up in those moments is, as Sundae explains in her podcast Expat Happy Hour, a grand gesture. Check out the blog post about this episode. FIND SUNDAE Her podcast, Expat Happy Hour especially the episodes Grand Gestures and Love Your Friends and Family While They're Alive On her website Join her Facebook group, Expats on Purpose CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 23. Gyo moved from southern California to Nuremberg, Germany 9 months ago to close the distance on her relationship. Although she's always struggled with anxiety, Gyo has found ways to continue challenging herself as she adjusts to the new culture. Gyo and Nicole chat about the stresses of language learning, friend making, wellness and nutrition, and home building in Germany. Above all, the two share the belief that it is vital to celebrate your little wins along the way, like a trip to a grocery store or going to the gym on a cold winter evening. FIND GYO On her website On Instagram @gyomonreal On YouTube @GyovannaMonreal CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 22. Many people move abroad for love, but what happens when that relationship doesn't work out? Germany wasn't anywhere on Jessica's radar when she started dating her German girlfriend. But eventually, she moved to her girlfriend's hometown of Erfurt, Germany. Jessica immersed herself in the German language and culture. Two years into life in Erfurt, the relationship ended, but Jessica stayed. Even when she later moved away to England, her heart stayed in Germany. FIND JESSICA On her website Check out her book, How To Move Abroad (And Why It’s the Best Thing You’ll Do) Learn about her life coach services Jessica's German podcast recommendation: Ostwärts - Eine Ode an den Osten CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 21. Tatjana is a Berliner who chose a profession in tourism in order to enable her to live all over the world - which she has, with stints in The Netherlands, England, The United Arab Emirates, and India. Tatjana discusses what stereotypes and misconceptions she has encountered in her various experiences as an expat, including both ones that have been directed towards her as an expat and ones that have been directed toward the country she calls home. She also shares how she's incorporated her German culture into her life in India with her Chinese-Indian husband and their young daughter. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 20. Today's guest is celebrating three decades of life abroad! Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Mark Baker's studies in journalism and Eastern European international relations took him to Vienna, Austria in the late 1980s. Little did he know that the Iron Curtain would fall just as he was settling in, changing his life - and the world - forever. Mark's writing career took him to Prague, Czech Republic, and now, he's an accomplished travel writer. Mark's got years of hard-earned wisdom, and I'm glad he's shared them with us. Read them here. FIND MARK On his website, Mark Baker Prague Check out his article about Youngstown that caught Lonely Planet's eye Check out his 3-part article about the early days in Vienna On Twitter @MarkBakerPrague CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 19. Riana spoke to us when she had one month left in Canada before she, her partner, and their dog moved to Prague. As a Canadian under the age of 30, Riana was able to take advantage of the Youth Mobility Visa, which allows Canadians to life and work in 35 countries for one year. She talks us through how she decided that life abroad in Prague was the right choice for her. Riana shares what kind of preparation she's been able to do pre-move abroad, as well as what it's been like emotionally preparing for her year in Europe. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 18. Have you ever had a macaroon moment? As a kid, Ara dreamed of eating a macaroon in Paris while gazing out on the Eifel Tower. But growing up in her hometown in Mexico, any kind of experience abroad seemed like an impossibly far away notion. Then: life and love happened, and before she knew it, there she was - eating a macaroon in Paris while gazing out on the Eifel Tower. For Ara, that's what life abroad is all about. Although her weekdays are filled with working from home in her small town in Bavaria, her weekends are filled with travel, adventure, and macaroon moments. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 17. Four years is Sixtina's magical number. After growing up in Germany, she moved to the Netherlands for 4 years, followed by Ireland for 4 years. She's also lived in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. Mere days before she left Ireland to embark on her dream-turned-reality world trip, Sixtina told us what it's been like working for a big international company, learning just how German she is, and - of course! - that good ol' Irish pub culture. RESOURCES Expat Focus's guide to taxes in Ireland Volunteer while you travel at Workaway.com FIND SIXTINA On her website On Instagram, @sixmilesaway CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 16. Guess who this week's guests are? My parents! I power my Brene Brown and get vulnerable by asking my parents how they feel about my choice to live abroad. When my dad was a young adult and moved into an apartment 20 minutes from his childhood home, his mom was outraged he'd move so far away. My mom's extended family numbers around 40 people - of whom, only a handful live more than a 2 hour drive away. So what do they REALLY think about the fact that their daughter lives thousands of miles and several time zones away? CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 15. You last heard from friend of the show, Ashley, when she was pregnant with her son, and now she's back to share what it's like with her young son. Ashley is now 7 months into motherhood, and she shares with us what it's been like adjusting to her new role. What was it like for her to give birth in Germany? How has she handled being an ocean apart from her family in the US? And how is she planning on keeping her American identity alive with her son? Ashley's go-to book recommendation for new parents-to-be is: The Shit No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby's First Year by Don Dais CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 14. Initially, moving abroad is insanely exciting. New scenery! New people! New language! New groceries! New new new! Wow wow wow! And thennnnn reality comes crashing down, in the form of paperwork, financial pressure, a language barrier, or social isolation. While some part of you might still be excited about the newness, another part of you starts to wonder how the heck this will all work out. Was this whole move the right choice? This week's guest is fresh out of that challenging phase, and she sits down with your host to chat about what it felt like, what pressures got to her, and what helped her keep going. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 13. Expats don't always stay expats forever. We sit down with Aurora, a Mexican-American living in Germany, to hear what made her decide to move back to the States. Aurora will move back to the US this summer, but where exactly will she move? Cue: A Very Well Built Excel Spreadsheet! DUNCAN & AURORA'S DECISION MAKING SPREADSHEET Aurora and Duncan's formula as a Google Spreadsheet is here Listen to Duncan talk about voting rights CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 12. When Nic moved to Germany from England to be with his girlfriend, he committed himself mentally to the move. It would have taken something really huge and dramatic to make him consider moving back. But how does he manage keeping in touch with family, especially negotiating visits? And how does he still show up for his partner's family? We use the topic of family as a launching point for a fun conversation about British Christmas, cultural judgement, and way more. FIND NIC Twitter @40PercentGerman Blog 40% German CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 11. In this episode, we learn what it's been like for our guest, Jeremy, to be unemployed in Germany. Jeremy moved here for a two- to three-year work contract that recently ended. He tells us how he's been navigating the immigration and unemployment offices. Plus, we discuss how the social support he's been given in Germany has altered his approach to the job hunt in general. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 10. When you moved abroad, did you find yourself suddenly caring an awful lot about dumb things from your home culture you never bothered with before? Likkkeeeee, I don't know, say, ABC's The Bachelor? In fact, getting way too into the latest season of The Bachelor is what inspired this week's episode. It got us thinking about all the weird things we find ourselves interested in, especially those things we previously wanted nothing to do with, like football, touristy clothing, and chain restaurants. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 9. Gordon is half-German, half-American and grew up moving back and forth between both countries. He never stayed anywhere longer than 2 years since he was a little kid. Now, as an adult who is putting down roots of his own, Gordon shares with us how his bi-cultural identity as well has his frequent moving shaped him as a person. He tells us the good, the bad, and the ugly about being that weird German kid whenever he was in America and being that weird American kid whenever he was in Germany. Note: In the introduction, Nicole mentions "the concept of the third-world kid." She meant to say "third culture kid." More information about what third culture kid means can be found on Wikipedia. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 8. Today's guest turned an existential crisis in Boston into a thriving non-profit in Nicaragua. How the heck did that happen? Welcome to the fascinating life of Berly. Now living in Freiburg, Germany while she completes her Masters degree in Global Studies, Berly has traveled the globe and lived in a variety of countries. Through her personal experience as well as her experience in her non-profit, Berly has learned that the most important thing is community. It was only after being inspired by people she'd met that Berly considered traveling the world, and it was thanks to a group of encouraging, like-minded friends that Berly took the leap & started her non-profit, Women's Worth Inc - which hosts soft and hard skill seminars for women in the informal economy in Nicaragua, which, in turn, has inspired a strong community among the women involved in the Women's Worth trainings and programs. As her story beautifully exemplifies, community can become circular in nature, and it sometimes takes a single person's example to start a wonderful cycle of giving and receiving help and support. FIND BERLY & WOMEN'S WORTH, INC. Women's Worth, Inc.'s website Facebook @womensworthinc Instagram @womensworthinc YouTube @womensworthinc Twitter @womensworthinc FOLLOW THE EXPAT CAST Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast COMMUNICATE Got questions, comments, topic ideas, funny anecdotes? Email us at [email protected]

Season 2, Episode 7. Iceland skyrocketed to the top of the Must Visit list of many eager travelers over the last 5 years, but what's it like to actually live there? We chat with American expat Alex Illes about how she ended up with Iceland, how she managed to move her cats with her, and what it's taken to make life there work. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 6. When one moves abroad, a lot gets left behind. Most importantly: people. Managing relationships with loved ones back home can be one of the hardest parts of the expat life. So today, two expats with totally different experiences sit down to chat about how they’ve managed. FIND SUMMER Blog at Eat Something Go Somewhere Twitter @Summer Outside Instagram @Summer Outside CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 5. By coincidence, Chad and Jared signed up for the same college study abroad program in Vienna, Austria. Although they knew each other from around campus back in Michigan, it wasn't until they were tossed together into an unfamiliar place that they became close friends. Now, 7 years later, Chad lives in the Czech Republic and Jared lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and they keep their long-distance friendship alive as co-hosts of the Untranslatable Podcast, where they discuss an array of fascinating linguistic topics. The two come onto The Expat Cast to chat about how their experience in Austria drew them together, what they've done to maintain their German language skills, and why they started their podcast. FIND CHAD & JARED Untranslatable Podcast Instagram @UntranslatablePodcast Twitter @Untranslatable1 CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 4. It's Valentine's Day! We're celebrating with an episode about long-distance love. Host Nicole dated her boyfriend Gordon for 2 years, while she lived in Chicago and he lived in southern Germany. Guest Meg dated her boyfriend Lucas for 3.5 years, while she lived in Philadelphia and he lived in Zurich. The gals are old friends from theater camp who bonded over their long-distance relationships with German men, thus prompting a long-distance friendship. Now, the women are living two hours apart from one another with their partners. Reunited after 4 years, the two dish over how they survived long distance, why they stuck it out, and what benefits they found long distance had to offer. Any Newsies or Lady Gaga fans out there? Check out the mash-up video Nicole and Meg made nearly 10 years ago, that randomly went viral. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 3. Your host Nicole is, as Leslie Knope so eloquently put it, a "punk ass book jockey" aka a librarian. Now having experienced librarianship in a handful of libraries across America and Germany, she's got a unique perspective on how different communities' reading habits look. Plus, she's a huge book worm herself! (Duh, you get rejected from library school if you aren't) (Just kidding) (But am I?) So it was great fun to have fellow expat book worm Steph Fuccio on the podcast to geek out over reading. The discussion explores our journey as readers and as expats, and we try to figure out how and why our reading habits have changed over time, location, and financial status. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 2. Does your identity as an introvert or an extrovert impact your experience as an expat? Can America be understood as a more extroverted culture and Germany a more introverted one? And if so, what does that mean for foreigners? This episode, we sit down with Joe, a fellow American in Germany, to discuss how his extroverted, outgoing friendliness has impacted his long-term happiness in Germany. Now in his seventh year living in Germany, Joe is slowly started to experience frustration when trying to interact with Germans, especially strangers in casual social situation. Check out the Season 4 episode, The Introverted Expat, for the sister episode to this one. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 2, Episode 1. It's 2019! Is one of your goals for the new year to learn German? Super, then buckle up and brace yourself for some German-learning resources, tips, & venting. Of course, to learn German, or any language, a course is a great idea. But if you can't take a class due to money, access, or whatever, no fear. Our discussion focuses on free methods that are available to everyone. We explain why Tandem partnerships are so effective, advocate for labeling everything in your room/apartment/home/office/life auf Deutsch, vent about akkusative and dativ, and swap our favorite German-language TV shows, podcasts, books, and more. For a full list of resources mentioned in the episode, click here. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

We're BAAAAACK. Almost. Starting in one week, on January 25, The Expat Cast will be back in your feeds every Thursday. We'll be bringing you new interviews with expats all over the globe, with a special focus on expats in or from Germany and the German-speaking world. You can look forward to more laughs, more resources, more commiseration, and more verbal eye rolling at whatever cultural difference I find annoying that day. Prost to Season 2! CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 25. "The things that I'm worried about now are more future tense." Floridian Kris enrolled in the US Army in part because he was eager to travel, and he was happy to find himself stationed in Germany between missions. After two years of getting to know the German culture, Kris decided to learn the language, too, and shortly after his time in the military ended, Kris decided to call Germany his home forever. He shares with us how he came to that decision and what it is about Germany that he loves so much. FIND KRIS Youtube Soldier of Life Instagram @soldier.of.life Twitter @soldier_oflife CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 24. Some people move abroad for a big, fancy job with an incredible relocation package. But many of us move abroad on our own, for love or in pursuit of a better life or whatever it may be. And for the DIY expats, there's no relocation package. There's sometimes even no job lined up and only limited savings. Jenny and Nicole both moved abroad for love, on tight, tight budgets. They share the life hacks they've learned, like where to get the cheapest but yummiest groceries, what kind of adventures might be possible on your local public transit, and how shopping for new clothes and furniture from other people's trash can be fun and effective. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 23. When host Nicole was preparing to move to Germany, one of the websites she frequented was Live Work Germany. It seems like they've got a resource guide for every bump in the road of moving to Germany, from registering your address to navigating a foreign qualification recognition process - all up-to-date, all in English. As a librarian who loves a good resource, Nicole has long been a huge fan. So it was an honor to sit down with the man behind it all, James! James moved to Germany from England 12 years ago for a job after studying the language in university. He didn't expect to find a new home to the extent that he did. Lucky for us all, his career evolution led him to launch a website and blog to help other expats and want-to-be expats figure out the practicalities of moving to Germany. He also chats with us about his new service, where users can send in their German correspondence and get, in English, a short run-down of what they need to do. LIVE WORK GERMANY Check out all of James' incredibly helpful resources at Live Work Germany Sign up for James' new German Correspondence service WEAREXPATS TWITTER Nicole will be tweeting @wearexpats from December 10-17. FOLLOW THE EXPAT CAST Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast INTERESTED IN STARTING YOUR OWN PODCAST? Host your podcast on PodBean. Go to podbean.com/expat to get your first month with PodBean for free. SUBSCRIBE TO THE EXPAT CAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Podbean Podknife COMMUNICATE Got questions, comments, topic ideas, funny anecdotes? Email us at [email protected]

Season 1, Episode 22. What is it like to be an Asian woman in Germany? This week, we hear one woman's perspective. April is from China, and she's lived in Canada, Austria, the United States, and now Germany. Through her time in North America, Europe, and Asia, April has been able to compare people's reactions to her across cultures. We discuss if/when it's acceptable to ask someone about their home country's politics, how to differentiate between a different cultural approach to getting to know someone and an offensive affront, and what to do when confronted by an act of racism or a micro-aggression. In our conversation, we share our own experiences, and we do not intend to speak for any group of people. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 21. What do you call someone who moves to a new country because the person they're in a relationship with got a job offer abroad? A trailing spouse? Bitte nicht! They're an expat partner. This nuance is vitally important, says our guest, Katharina, of the Share the Love blog. When Katharina agreed to move from Munich to Chicago for her husband's job, she was excited to continue her thriving career in a new country. She was shocked and devastated to realize that getting a job wasn't that easy. Worse still: she was hardly alone. She interviewed dozens of expat partners, read the research on the topic, and evaluated the statistic. She launched her website and blog to share what she found, and she became a life coach so that she could personally mentor others to regain their confidence in their new life abroad. FIND KATHARINA Online Instagram @sharethelove.blog Read her Expat Partner Career Workbook CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 20. It should be no surprise that our conversation with Friederike Schulte, the director of a German-American cultural institution, had us ping-ponging across the Atlantic. Pennsylvania Quakers! Stuttgart! Silicon Valley! Berlin in the '40s! The Midwest Goodbye! The trans-Atlantic dialogue doesn't hold back on geography. We chat over-assimilation, American heroism, and "that whole hanging out concept." (I'm still chuckling about that.) Plus, Friederike tells us what a German-American cultural center actually does, why these places exist, and where you can find them around Germany. GERMAN-AMERICAN CENTERS Carl-Schurz-Haus in Freiburg Amerika Zentrum in Hamburg American Space in Leipzig Amerika Haus Nordrhein-Westfalen in Köln Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Saarland in Saarbrücken Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut in Nürnberg Amerika Haus in München Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut in Heidelberg Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut in Tübingen Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum/James-F.-Byrnes-Institut in Stuttgart Atlantische Akademie Rheinland-Pfalz in Kaiserslautern Kennedy Infozentrum/Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 19. Have you ever felt completely fatigued, your energy fully spent, not because of anything in your personal life but rather because of the world at large? Welcome to the feeling of Weltschmerz, one of those wonderfully untranslatable German words, which combines the words Welt, or world, with schmerz, or pain, to create: worldpain. Many of us, expat or not, have felt this over the last couple of years, and in honor of recent violent attacks in America & the US Midterm Election 2018, The Expat Cast sits down with Tanya Dantus, fellow expat and therapist. We chat about how current events effect us as expats and how psychotherapy can be hugely helpful in dealing with tough situations, political or otherwise. Tanya has a ton of helpful tips for finding a therapist in Germany, which can be found here. FIND TANYA Online Instagram @TanyaDantus Facebook @TanyaDantus CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 18. Christin decided to take a break from her life in Germany to do a study abroad year in Charleston, South Carolina, in the hopes of improving her English. Little did she know, she'd meet the love of her life on her first day of classes, launching a whirlwind couple of years, including an engagement, a long-distance relationship, a wedding, and a permanent move to America. Now, she's settled into her life in US and runs the blog This German American Life. She joins host Nicole to swap impressions about her new home. The two share which aspects of daily life give them culture shock, from ice cubes to air conditioning to banking to garbage to cars. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 17. It's hard enough to find a job in Germany, but the process of getting all the paperwork needed to finalize a job offer can be an unexpected headache and financial strain. Nicole shares her experience with what paperwork she needed to get a full-time job in her field in Germany. For a full list of resources, check out the blog post here. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 16. Finding an apartment or house in Germany can feel impossible, and it can be incredibly confusing. Some homes are listed without kitchens. What Germany calls a 3-room house is called a 2-bedroom house in America. You might need a resume to apply for an apartment. What?! No fear! Shanon and Nicole break it all down. You can get a full list of resources they recommend here. Plus, Nicole shares how she ended up on House Hunters International! CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 15. Did you know that American citizens, no matter where they are in the world, are eligible to vote? With the upcoming November 6 election in the United States in mind, The Expat Cast sits down with Duncan, an American voting rights enthusiast in Freiburg, Germany. We learn how register to vote and how to vote from abroad. Starting at 22:20, Duncan talks about the non-profit Wahlkreis 100%, which advocates for non-EU citizens' right to vote in local elections in Germany. Duncan shares why he's involved with this group and believes in their mission, how others can get involved, and what impact a non-EU citizen vote would have on local matters. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 14. Five years ago, Rebecca decided to cut alcohol out of her life. Just weeks after embarking on a sober life, she and her husband moved to Germany, a country famous for their beer and drinking culture. Rebecca shares her experience as one of pleasant surprise, what with Germany's lesser-known strong love for non-alcoholic drinks and with the European cafe culture. The harder part of the move was dealing with the resurgence of her depression. Rebecca talks us through her process of admitting she needed help, realizing how common expat depression is, and navigating the therapy system in Germany. RESOURCES There's a Good Chance That Today Will Suck: Dealing with Depression Abroad The Mindful Expat podcast SharetheLove Blog CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 13. In the second half of our interview with Reggie, we dig deeper into how his background in rap and hip hop influenced his expectations for Germany. Why are there kids mindlessly dancing, backs to each other, to Usher in a Freiburg club, when Reggie knew from working with Usher that the whole point of his music was to bring people together? What's the point of going to a club if there's no chance that Destiny's Child might show up? And, in an Expat Cast first, Reggie helps us wrap up the episode with some original freestyle rapping! CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 12. Reggie was enjoying an exciting career in the music industry when Napster came along. Quickly, the industry as he knew it fell apart. So Reggie moved abroad. With minimal research or planning, he flew into Frankfurt, Germany and let the adventure begin. Reggie shares his story with listeners, including how American foreign policy influenced his decision, and what hanging out with Jehovah's Witness groups taught him about the German people. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 11. Anne Thompsen Lord, a mother of four, and her oldest son, Thompsen, sit down with The Expat Cast to share their experience with their family's year abroad. Anne and her husband Errol wanted to spend a year abroad so that their kids could have the gift of a second language, so when Errol's job as a professor of philosophy brought them the opportunity to live in Freiburg, Germany, they leapt on it. They packed up their things, rounded up their 10-year-old, 7-year-old, and 5-year-old twins and dove into the adventure. Anne and Thom share their perspectives on life in Germany as a mom and as a kid. RESOURCES Anne's blog about her life in Freiburg Freiburg Anglican Church Carl-Schurz-Haus, the German-American center in Freiburg List of German-American Cultural Institutions in Germany CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 10. Ashley, from Teaching English Abroad, is back on the show, this time with a special guest: her baby boy! Ashley is eight months pregnant when she sits down to tell The Expat Cast all about what it's like to be pregnant as an expat in Germany. Maternity leave, midwives, and Mutterpass - we touch on it all. We also learn that it's fruitless to search for a baby shower card in Germany, where people might envision infants raining down on you in a tub, and we examine how apartment living can force anyone to be a minimalist, even in preparation for big things like starting a family. RESOURCES Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children by Sara Zaske The Shit No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby's First Year by Don Dais Local.de's guide to parental leave in Germany How To Germany's guide to having a baby in Germany Berlin for All the Family's guide to the Mutterpass Handbook Germany's site on pregnancy The German Way's super detailed post on prenatal care CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 9. Bahar got a taste for the relaxed German lifestyle on a short visit to a village that left her hungry for more. She'd studied English language and literature in Istanbul, so when she heard of an English-language Masters in British and North American Studies in Freiburg, it was a no-brainer to apply. Bahar talks us through her experience getting a student visa in Germany as a Turkish citizen, including what bank account she needed and how a 2017 law introducing fees for international students impacted her program. Now approaching the end of her program, Bahar reflects on her experience throughout the program, discusses her research interest on immigrant identity, and shares her ideas about what she'll do after graduation. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 8. Part of the adventure of moving abroad is assimilating into the culture. But how do you assimilate without giving up too much of your own self identity? How much of who you are is tied to where you're from or where you live now? We sit down with friend of the show Jenny to talk about our own personal journeys to adapt to life in Germany while maintaining our sense of self. We chat clothing choices, minimalism, eating habits, vacation planning, and more. On the way, Nicole learns the term #nopoo, Jenny commends Americans on their great fork skills (though she concedes that we've got room for improvement in the knife department), Nicole admits to developing self-righteous recycling tendencies, and Jenny laments the lack of road trip culture in Germany compared to California. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 7. Instead of heading to college straight after high school, 19-year-old Izzy decided to take a gap year and head to Germany with the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), specifically the Vocational Youth Exchange. CBYX is a nearly fully-funded year-long program that brings American teens to Germany for a year of immersion into German culture and language. While staying with host families, teens work a variety of internships in fields that interest them so that they can learn more about what they want out of their upcoming college years and future career. Izzy has fully embraced this opportunity to learn about herself and the world. Her German has become flawless, she's made incredible contacts both socially and professionally, and she's taken on some tough life problems, like learning to choose what's best for yourself instead of what pleases those around you, deciding between country life and city life, and managing familial relationships as an adult, rather than a kid. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 6. In part 2 of a 2-part series, The Expat Cast sits down with wife-and-husband duo, Danielle Tirado Green and Alex Green Tirado. The couple moved to Germany just months after marrying. For Danielle, the move was inspired by her love for post-war French cinema. Her desire to complement her close relationship with French language and culture with knowledge of German language and culture led her to seek out work teaching English abroad in western Germany. Over the year the newlywed couple has spent in Germany, they've hopped from Air B&B to Air B&B and apartment to apartment, yet always landed with a sense of gratitude and optimism. Now as they prepare to move to England, Danielle reminisces on how the cost of living and strong social support systems in Germany have her thinking about returning in a few years. We reflect on what it is like to be an American living abroad in the Trump presidency, feminism abroad, and the need for community and togetherness in an increasingly tribalist time. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 5. In part 1 of a 2-part series, The Expat Cast sits down with wife-and-husband duo, Danielle Tirado Green and Alex Green Tirado. The couple moved to Germany just months after marrying. For Alex, Germany was country of residence number 5. When Danielle said she wanted to move to Europe after graduating, it was an easy thing for Alex's nomadic heart to say yes to. Their adventure kicked off with job hunting woes, language barriers, and, in Alex's case, a broken foot. Alex talks us through how they got through the tough first few months as a married couple abroad, their plans for graduate school in England, and what the future holds for the couple as they pursue a lifetime of expat adventures. CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 4. Fulbright Scholar Dane tells us all about his experience in the English Teaching Assistant program. Dane originally heard of Freiburg through friends in college who studied abroad via Academic Year Freiburg, and then again when he was living in Madison, Wisconsin, Freiburg's US sister city. When he applied to Fulbright, he hoped to be placed in the state of Baden-Württemburg, specifically in Freiburg. As luck would have it, his application was accepted and he was off to the Black Forest for a year of assistant teaching in middle school English classes. He talks us through what the application process was like, what preparations Fulbright provides ETA scholars, and what the job is like now that he's here and settled. RESOURCES Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program Academic Year Freiburg Madison Freiburg Sister City Committee Pädigogischer Austauschdienst (Site also available in English CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast

Season 1, Episode 3. We sit down with Ashley Matthäus, who moved to Germany without knowing German and without teaching experience. She was able to start her career as an English as a Foreign Language teacher at language schools that don't require previous experience, then work her way up to the higher paying language schools before becoming the head of the adult language courses at one of the schools. Ashley shares tips, tricks, and lessons learned along the way, and she also shares how she became fluent in German without formal language courses. RESOURCES Freiberufliche Visum, or Freelance Visa, info for Berlin (Requirements will be similar across Germany) InLingua and Berlitz, two nation-wide language schools who will hire native speaker teachers without previous experience Learning German online: Rosetta Stone, Busuu, Duo Lingo CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @theexpatcast