Travel Wisdom Podcast -travel and learn languages for success and money

After almost 2 years in the making, I was finally able to arrange a time with Benny, one of the most famous polyglots of Fluent in 3 Months. He knows 11 languages and speaks about 6 of them fluently. His big thing is to get started speaking from day 1.

Michael and I met in Ukraine last year and really hit it off. We had so much in common but one of our common interests was learning dating skills (interpersonal skills). He actually used to run boot camps to nerds and other technical people on how to be able to talk to girls. In just a few days awkward men can go from never having touched a girl to getting their phone number or even getting a girlfriend! Michael wrote a book, Fundamentals of Female Dynamics where he talks about how to improve your social skills with anyone, not just girls! Being outcome independent, not being needy with things going a certain way is one of the key tips.

Robin Farmanfarmain wrote the book The Patient as CEO, and since then has been booked on 50 conferences to talk about the future of medical technology. She was hospitalized for most of her childhood as well as having 3 organs removed. Since then she was determined to get medical breakthroughs, such as the one that eventually let her have a normal life. This interview was edited so that it fits with the Travel Wisdom theme but we also talked about Brain Implants in my other show, Neural Implant podcast

Anybody who learned the Slovak language is fine by me! I was shocked when I heard Richard DeLong on another show, Actual Fluency, because nobody learns Slovak! A hard language with a small population. I had Richard DeLong on because he had interesting ways to learn a language. He talks about focusing on the small wins and get those to perfection. So instead of always learning new things get the things you mostly know up to fluency. That is the best way to get to fluency.

Nick Tasler moved to Mexico and saw his creative output increase! He was able to triple the rate he wrote his book, Ricochet, because he also saw so many new things around him. This novelty triggered his creativity and he was able to do more! In this episode, we talk about how to draw inspiration from the new place you might find yourself.

Robert Frank almost died on a racquetball court when his heart stopped beating. 99% of people die from this particular disease. Robert was almost a part of that were it not for the ambulance a few hundred meters away which had been called to this rural location on a false call. In his excellent book, Sucess and Luck, Robert talks about how we perceive these two things. Most successful people have a hard time acknowledging the role of luck in their success but it most definitely is there. He explains it with the metaphor of a headwind and a tailwind. When you are going against a headwind you know it and think about it often. However, if you experience a tailwind you quickly forget that you have something helping you. I really enjoyed this interview because I have had many lucky/unlucky breaks as well. It's important to recognise this and to just try as hard as you can knowing luck may be working against you. So just keep trying! Get better! And eventually, luck may be on your side!

When Gret asked to come on the show to talk about his charity I warned him that it was not going to be a pleasant interview! After travelling across 17 countries in Africa in 2010 I personally saw the damage that well-intentioned charities had. Rich white people would simply get an idea like: 'I'm going to bring a million T-shirts to Africa' without having any thoughts about what damage that might cause. Imagine what would happen to your city if all the clothing stores suddenly had to shut down because the value of what you sold was gone. Bureaucracy kills the actual implementation of charities which means that somewhere in Africa there is a warehouse full of Tom's shoes just sitting there. Not to mention the corruption that millions of dollars inevitably brings. However, Gret Glyer's DonorSee seems to be a good solution. He adequately addressed all my concerns with charities with this peer to peer donation platform. Aid workers who are already in the country post on the site so people can donate. If the goal is reached then the money is sent to the aid worker to give to the cause. All the aid workers watch each other so that no funny business goes on and the crowd decides what to fund. So, pretty good solution! They're on the right track to fixing charities. Remember, just because your mission statement involves saving lives doesn't mean you can then run your organization however you want!!

Austin was very methodical in his job search, he interviewed at 100 companies of which 40 called him back. But he wanted to the best job possible and was clear on his values and his role. So it took him a year to find the best job but in the end he had many companies like Google, Uber, Facebook and other tech companies fighting for him until he finally got hired at Microsoft. He did this by finding the role that he wanted within the company and contacting the supervisor for that role in the target company. Then he would have an informational interview with them before coming back and providing value in the form of problems he could solve for them. The people were usually blown away by his effort and would call him in for an interview or try to hire him right there!! So if you're looking for the perfect job, listen to this episode and find out how Austin did it! https://cultivatedculture.com/

Olly runs the I will teach you a language podcast where he gives tips and answers questions for those who are learning a language. Olly himself speaks many languages and recently learned Thai to a decent level in only a few weeks.

In this episode, I am excited to have on Andrew Miles. We had a great conversation and since have subscribed to his podcast, Botanical Biohacking. I have also listened to all of their episodes as well as recommended it to a number of friends! You may have heard about gut bacteria and its role in human health, but have you heard about communication using gasses in the body? These gases are vital to maintaining a healthy body and getting them out of balance will lead to many diseases. By listening to this podcast you will learn about medicine which the medical community will only discover 10 years from now!!

Diego Saez Gil talks about his suitcase company, Bluesmart, which makes the perfect luggage for the airport. If you are not sure if you locked your suitcase, you can do so with the help of an app. If your luggage is lost, no worries, you can use the GPS to help the airlines find it much faster! And of course, it has a charger to charge all your electronics. We talk about this 'Internet of Things' product and how we might all have these kinds of things in the future! We also talk about entrepreneurship and how it was to start a company like this originally having come from South America.

In this second round with one of my favorite guests, Hunter Maats, we talk about his trips to the United Arab Emirates and how their culture affects the way they think. We then talk about Hunter's experience on the Joe Rogan show and how that changed his focus for the following weeks. Otherwise, we talk about some of the big questions of how culture is one of the most important things in life. This is essentially the programming of the way you act and will determine your success. Follow him on Mixed Mental Arts. The music at the end of the episode is from a spontaneous wine night with my girlfriend and her Spanish friends singing some nice songs in the kitchen.

Richard Nisbett is the author of 3 books which deal with the psychology of thought. His first book was about the differences between Eastern and Western ways of thinking. Eastern is more holistic and Western is more atomistic meaning that the ways they perceive things are completely different as well. His second book was about the different culture in the North versus the Southern United States and what that meant for outcomes. Finally, his last book is about we can learn better

Nasos is the host of the MetaLearn podcast all about how to become the most effective learner. When we met at the Polyglot conference in October 2016 we really hit it off and knew he would be a great guest! I love learning especially as it relates to languages. I also think that learning is enhanced while in a new environment like travelling. We talk about these things in this episode

Kris Broholm is the host of the Actual Fluency podcast where he interviews language learners and polyglots on how they got to where they are. I can credit him to getting into the polyglot community which I have grown to love! However, in this episode, we don't talk much about language learning but rather how we are sick of being nomads and always travelling around. Also, we talk about the direction of both our podcasts and what our audiences want from us (hint: tell us both what you want!!!)

My buddy and former guest, Jason Moore is launching the Paradise Pack for one week only starting May 30th! There are some really cool deals in there on how to be location independent, learn languages quickly, and of course travel for much less! This is their 4th year offering this pack of 19 courses valued at $2600! But these deals are only valid for 1 week! From May 30th to June 5th during which they will be hosting live events with some of the creators of the products! Check it out! So check out this sponsorship message and if you like Travel Wisdom, consider supporting the show by buying this great bundle! Also, today, May 29th, is my 28th birthday, woohoo!!!

Britany is the host of the Living Unconventionally podcast where she talks to people living in an unconventional way. She recently took a many month road trip after she and her husband sold all of their possessions as well as their house. However, a little bit into it, the husband didn't like it nearly as much as she did. We talk about relationships and travel as well as what to do when you partner isn't too crazy about travel. Since it was only a few weeks before the interview it was still fresh in her mind but it as still interesting to hear about the solutions.

I am a huge fan of Duolingo and credit it with me learning 3 of my extra languages. Because its like a game and you get the immediate feedback you can learn very effectively and much faster than in a course. Gina is the Vice President of Growth and Marketing we talk about what is coming up in Duolingo pipeline including downloadable courses. We also talk about her experience presenting at the White House including to former President Obama. Although this was a short interview I found it informative

Jon Levy is the author of the 2am principle all about how you can have the best adventures. He says that the most interesting adventures are the ones that make the best stories. If it stands out in people's minds it will become more memorable. Therefore to live an engaged life you should always seek out something novel. After doing this for some time one would think you would get bored of it but he also recommends taking an adventure fast to reset your limits so you don't go crazy.

I recently stumbled upon JP's funny sarcastic videos and love them because they uncover our sometimes silly beliefs in a funny way. The newest one is on the value of a University education. He starts out with "I know the best way to start my career is with $100k of debt." Definitely check this out Here is what his assistant wrote me in terms of using this clip Hi Ladan, Thanks for reaching out to JP and also for your consideration in requesting to use the audio portion of JP's college video. You have a green light to use the audio portion during your podcast, as long as you give appropriate credit to the following social media links: www.AwakenWithJP.com http://www.facebook.com/AwakenWithJP http://www.youtube.com/AwakenWithJP If you're good with that, then off you go :-)

Ray Blakney is a former Peace Corps volunteer and the founder of Live Lingua which helps language learners find tutors through Skype. The advantage of their service is that they have a curator who finds what you needs and brings any and all tutors up to speed with your course material. In this way it is more like a course rather than a random person on the internet who thinks they can help

Idahosa Ness has an amazing video where he raps in 8 different languages in 4 different cameras. He had to time each part of the song perfectly all in different languages. Really cool stuff! We talk about how he uses his Mimic method to be able to get the right accent and be understood right away. He says that with a better accent people are happier to talk to you and your interactions can be much more pleasant. Also, you are perceived as more fluent and smarter. The way to do it is to think of the language as music and to learn the muscle movements behind the way that they sing it.

After talking with one of my listeners, Carolien Caspers, I realized that some of you may be interested in the other podcast I've launched, the Neural Implant podcast. Although it is more science and technology related, a good portion of you might be interested! I talk to the leaders and innovators in the field of Neural Implants and break everything down in an understandable way. So check it out! Either search for it in your favorite podcast app (I recommend Podcast Addict for Android) or listen on the website

I share my experience over the last month doing Work Away in Southern France. I talk about how it was a great experience to work hard for 3 hours per day and then to have time for my own projects. I highly recommend this for those people on a tighter budget but still want to experience a place for a longer period of time.

Richard is amazing! He is definitely in the top 10% of episodes and guests. He is back on the show after a few years and many times that we had met in person. He runs the Polyglot conferences where language nerds can get together and speak the languages they have learned. The last one was in Greece in October 2016 and the next one will be in Iceland in 2017. In this episode, we talk less about learning the languages and talk more about the philosophy behind it. We also discuss why it is that we learn languages and useful versus ornamental skills. We then talk about travel and what we can learn from it.

This was one of my favorite interviews because Patrick is a mix of traveller, financial consultant, author and entrepreneur. Unlike other guests I have talked to on the show he does consulting but not in diet, life coaching, or anything else you don't need much experience in. He does financial consulting because he used to work for AIG! He then slowly transitioned out of that and was able to start his own consulting business just like he suggests we should. See, we sometimes hear about how we need to "burn the ships" and there's no turning back when you decide to See, we sometimes hear about how we need to "burn the ships" and there's no turning back when you decide to start a new business. He says that we should actually do as much as we can while we are still in relative safety. Only when you have done as much as you can do should you jump into the business fully. I think this resonates with me so much because I think that we should never do anything permanent. Always try to make your decisions and actions temporary unless you are absolutely convinced that it is the right thing to do. Only then should you do it, otherwise you might end up with debt, lost time, or stuck with someone you don't like!

AJ has figured out how to travel for nothing! He found the code on how to get around the world to different locations for up to 100x less than what the airlines are asking! The secret is frequent flyer miles and finding the 'sweet spot' as well as some good deals to pay much less! He had one customer who would have paid $20k for a group of flights but they were able to get it down to under $200!!! AJ helps run Abroaders podcast and a company which shows people how to save lots of money on flights. They help you get the right signup bonuses to get you on 4 free flights per year! If you can spend $1000 per month on the right credit card you can be on a flight in 3 months! We also talk a bit about the future as well as the incentives of the credit card companies. I have heard frequent flyer miles stuff before but this part was absolutely new to me! The song at the end is a Ukrainian folk band I encountered in the underground Metro in Paris. You can hear me finding out they are Ukrainian and yelling over the music in a bit of Russian....but they didn't want to talk much

Lydia says that learning with a teacher is not the only way to learn a language! She actually says that learning yourself is the best way and then the teacher or tutor can be used as a guide. You have the power to learn what you want! That's why I love Lydia so much! You don't have to wait for the right class to come along, you can do what you want right away! In her Language Mentoring site (as well as her Slovak version of this site) she teaches how to go through and learn a language to a high level by yourself. That's how she learned 7 additional languages, no teacher required! She is also the head organizer of the upcoming Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava May 31st to June 4th. I will also be volunteering so can't wait to see you there! The music at the end of the show was from Fastnacht in the village of Elzach outside of Freiburg, Germany. People dress up in scary costumes and hit the ground (and people) with sheep bladders filled with air. It's lots of fun with marching bands and kids running away from these 'monsters.'

In this interview, Derek first talks about his 7-week old child and how it is actually easier than people say in order to raise it. If you have your own business and can change yours sleep schedule as well. With the help of grandparents and a support group, it makes things even easier. He then talks about how he has leveraged his successful Art of Adventure podcast in order to get free hotel accommodation in exchange for marketing. He gives some tips on this as I would be interested in this as well. He also talked about his experience making charity birthday parties and raising a few hundred euros for charity while having a party at the same time! If you can convince them to bring an awesome friend you can also use it to meet very interesting people. Finally, he says that travel allows you to get more confidence in a more general way rather than a domain specific way.

In this episode, Kallen Diggs talks about how he started out helping people in his community get back to work. He has written a book Reaching the Finish Line for those that are looking for jobs or are not too enthusiastic about the traditional model of going to University before getting a job. He says that you do not need a college degree to have a good life. You can still earn $50k a year being an electrician or a carpenter and not be in debt or losing a few years of wages. Life is significantly better abroad and if you can combine your studies, work, and fun. You can end up learning better if you simply do the thing you want to learn instead of going to school for it. All his success as well has nothing to do with his college degree. Everything he has done was self-taught and he simply jumped into it to get started. We were only able to cover a fraction of what's in the book. This is a topic I am very passionate about and am glad that I had such an authority to talk about it as well.

Jonny and Elsie got married a few years ago and instead of having a normal wedding they decided to use their experience with events in Belize to put together an amazing wedding! Their wedding ended up being a week with their 75 guests with many cool activities such as cooking classes, chocolate making, and of course trips to a private island. They asked their guests to pay the costs and in this way they were able to have amazing offers for the wedding which lasted a whole week! They also talk about how some of the guests had to get passports for their first trip out of the US. However, in the end, they absolutely loved the time in a foreign country. They are putting together a course and a book about this topic so be sure to check it out at No More Boring Weddings if you are interested! I then talk about my idea for a wedding: a kind of music festival in Prague where it is all you can eat and all you can drink with many cool bands for 100 euros for the weekend. You're invited!

Hayden Lee is the creator of the popular Travel Stories Podcast which takes some of the best stories from popular travellers and sets these short stories to an orchestral score and sound effects. The concept is really cool and it must be incredibly time-consuming! We also find out that we are pretty much the same person: looking very similar, born in the same month of the same year, language lovers, and of course hosts of travel podcasts!

Jellis reached out to me some time back but only now were able to talk. After a bit of research, I realized we were completely kindred spirits! He also thinks that a formal education is not nearly as useful as life experiences. Because of this he has started Inner Picture Stories which talks about how to gain wisdom through travel...sound familiar? We also talk about his experience with his travel photography and the crazy stuff that it got him into.

On my second trip to Georgia I met with what ended up being an incredibly interesting couchsurfer, Guram! He turned out to be a kind of minor celebrity in Georgia with a very popular blog and he used to be on many morning TV programs. During an interesting night I decided to interview him and learn more about him and how he got to the place where he is. He talks about how he juggles and prioritizes all of his projects. He has his work, his university teaching, TV interviews, and his blogging. To be able to handle of this at once is quite interesting! We also talk about how someone else could become famous like him, not for taking your clothes off, but for your ideas and contribution.

In this episode I talk about how I went to the country of Georgia to kill some time before a conference I was going to. Georgia is my favorite country out of the 90+ that I have travelled to! The combination of alcohol that flows like water, beautiful scenery, great food, great people, cheap prices, great hospitality, unique language, unique culture and many more things make it amazing! I was a bit nervous to go back and possibly to discover it wasn't so great but that wasn't the case! I checked out other areas and it was even more spectacular than I remember! In the end I also had a reunion with a random guy I met 7 years ago! I found him in a city of about 100k residence and we were able to eat, drink and reminisce about that time and the 7 years since then. I highly recommend travelling to Georgia!

In this episode I talk to Sue Bedford who is the author of Its Only the Himalayas: And Other Tales of Miscalculation from an Overconfident Backpacker. This is the book that I should have written or, more correctly, that I no longer have to write since this exists! In this interview, we talk about Sue's year-long adventure around the world. She talks about the less glamorous side of backpacking that all those Instagram photos don't show! She also mentioned a few other stories that have happened since she wrote the book, obviously the travel hasn't ended! Filled with personal stories of triumph, sickness, sex and disappointment, this is the travel book which I think best represents the reality of long-term travel (granted, I don't read many travel books). Presented in a hilarious way that actually makes you laugh out loud, this is the book I will recommend to anyone thinking about making that first trips around the world.

In this episode, I talk about my final leg of my 3 month trip after being deported from Germany. After finishing my meeting with my mom in Mongolia I went back to finish off the rest of Russia. Through Chita where I was on a TV news program, to the frozen swampland of Yakutsk, to the Alaskan-sister region of Kamchatka, and finally to Vladivostok. I also talk about my epic 164 hour (7 day) Trans-Siberian train ride all the way across Russia. It has been a good trip and although it might be too long for others to manage, I highly recommend it.

In this episode I am joined by my mom who I met in Mongolia and travelled together for 3 weeks. We talk about our experiences, our likes, our dislikes, and some of our takeaways from this trip. We talk about the Xhovsgul lake stay in the north, our trip to the Gobi desert, and of course our 3 day horse trip. We had a great time and it can easily rank as one of the most interesting and adventurous trips we have been on.

This is my report about my first half of my Russian travels. Coming into Sochi and working my way through Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Lake Baikal and finally off to Mongolia. This was an interesting trip full of 36 hour train rides, hiking, and almost watching somebody die. I finally put together my itinerary and was able to sacrifice spontaneity for a well organized plan. I saw some of the most interesting places including the paradise of Sochi, the incredible architecture of Kazan, the outdoor activities of Krasnoyarsk, and of course the spiritual Lake Baikal.

Prinestrovia / Transnistra is a weird little country that is unrecognized. Since it is officially part of Moldova but doesn't like Moldova's western attitudes, it has been its own Soviet-leaning country for over 20 years now. More or less it consists of the main city of Tiraspol and that's about it. It has issued its own money (some of which is plastic) and has its own border even though only 2 other countries in the world recognize it as autonomous. It was exactly my kind of place to celebrate my birthday! It is a very cool place although you can imagine it has some headaches associated with this status

This is a country that I didn't know existed a few years ago. Although I consider myself good at geography I could not have told you where it was! One of the coolest things in this country is that it is functionally bilingual. Both Russian and Moldovan / Romanian are languages you can converse in within the country. I had never really seen a place like this especially with such different languages. Otherwise I didn't really venture too much outside of the main city of Chisnau and didn't spend too much time in the country. But the impressions of the place are still interesting!

In this first country report I talk about the first country that I went to after being deported from Germany. I came into Ukraine about 2 years after the revolution that brought the country to its knees. However, you can hardly tell and it is very beautiful in many parts. Of course there are many areas that are still unsafe but generally these are hard to get to. This country is very nice and very cheap. Bad news for the country means good news for you and the result is one of the cheapest countries in the world! Also some of the stories of the war from some of the locals are some of the most interesting thing you will ever hear! I recommend checking out Ukraine!

I had the privilege of talking with the Socrates Philosophy club a few weeks ago. They are a group based in India who want to see personal growth among their members. They share inspirational stories, watch talks, play music and generally try to make their lives better. I play some of the amazing music they recorded for me and have been humming it all day! I also talk about the aspects of social life you need to be healthy: family, neighbors, friends for hobbies, friends for fitness, and friends for charity. Once you have friends in all of these areas you can be much more happy! Have you been inspired to do something to improve your life because of this podcast? Or was this podcast inspiring? Write to me at [email protected]

After being deported from Germany and then having computer issues I have finally resolved everything and can start recording again! I will be recording episodes weekly now about the countries I have been going through on my way to Siberia!

After coming back from India and successfully finishing my Masters degree, I found out that I had overstayed my visa. So I am being deported from the whole Schengen region of Europe for the next 3 months before I am able to come back. I was going to go travel in Russia and Siberia anyways so this may not be the worst thing. I guess it just forces me to do it a month earlier than I had expected. I will be talking more about an idea to make money while on the road...selling tacos in Siberia!! I will be talking a bit more about this later on. Lots of plans and lots of crazy things going on this month. How about you? Have you ever experienced anything like this?

Jan van der Aa is originally from the Netherlands and has been working location independently since his graduation from college in 2012. His work has allowed him to live on 4 different continents and to visit over 85 countries. Besides his native Dutch, Jan also speaks English, Mandarin, German, French, Portuguese, Cantonese and Spanish. This allowed him to help found Language Boost, a language learning method which helps learners get to an intermediate quickly. In this episode we talk about how he started his language translation company and how simply being bold allowed him to get together this group of people to translate documents. He then talks about what he learned by learning his own languages and finally realizing that he himself is a good language learner. From this he explains how he put together his startup as well as the struggles behind it.

Troy Erstling is the founder of Brain Gain which helps young professionals find employment and internships with startups in emerging economies. What started as a simple Facebook group led to questions flying in from all over the world. Questions like “How did you find a job in India?”, “How are you working for a start-up?”, “I hate my job and I want to travel, what should I do?!”. Seeing that there was a significant demand of people just like himself who want to travel and work abroad, he was inspired to start this service. In this episode we first talk about how amazing and serendipitous travel and living abroad can be. While talking to a friend at a cafe in Bangalore India, another local friend overhears them and hires them for sound recordings for cartoons in India. Then we talk about how he made his way from the US to teaching English in Korea when he noticed it was difficult to transition into a new career. He then applied for an internship in India and saw the value in this. So he has put together a company which helps young talented professionals get internships in the developing world. Although the pay may look lower, based on the local costs, it could actually give a better quality of life. Also, the responsibilities given can be much higher, essentially giving you the experience of someone 10 years your senior. I wish this had existed when I was young and I would highly recommend anyone looking to start their career to look into this.

CJ Hunt is an independent filmmaker who created his 2012 film entitled “In Search Of The Perfect Human Diet” that takes a look at what nutritional approach our bodies were made to run most efficiently on. He travels through time and around the world on an unprecedented global exploration to find a solution to the exploding epidemic of overweight, obesity and diet related disease. The Perfect Human Diet takes us on a 2-million year evolutionary journey to discover breakthrough scientific facts that could change the way we all think about food in the first ever 'Paleo Diet' documentary. In this episode we talk about what Paleo actually means and what the research from around the world shows. Scientists have shown that hunter-gatherer societies which were successful and survived subsisted mostly on animal foods and very little starches. He started out as a raw food vegan and eventually found that he wouldn't have the energy to manage the stresses that life requires. He then talks about how the foods we grew up with may not be the best foods for our bodies. They could be normal and good but they may not be optimal. Then we talk about how he made the movie and how he spent 10 years and $250k to create it. Finally we talk about how travelling allows you to have a deeper respect for lives around the world and their ways of life.

Connor Grooms is is location independent at only 20 years old, traveling and living around the world as he runs his business online, from Saigon to Barcelona to his new homebase in Medellín. In November 2014, he gained 26 pounds of muscle in a month after a lifetime of being skinny. This past June, he achieved conversational level of Spanish in a single month and self-produced the film, "Spanish in a Month: A Language Learning Documentary" about the experience, which has been featured in outlets like Forbes. Following the success of his Spanish in a Month documentary, Grooms founded BaseLang.com - unlimited Spanish tutoring for $99 a month, which follows the same principles he used to learn so quickly. In this episode we talk about how much easier it is to learn things when it is done all at once. Instead of doing a little bit of studying or work over a long period of time, we both find it is more efficient to learn it all at once. When you have this level of focus, it is possible to do things like learn Spanish in a month. He also talks about how much he learned through his experience of learning Spanish in a month and what he has applied to his new company to help new learners. Then we talk about how many things that are taught in school or are generally thought of as common knowledge is either wrong or not completely true. He suggests learning things yourself and to get many sources of information. The next thing he talks about is maybe one of the best tips for becoming location independent. His advice is to find a skill people will pay for whether it be design, writing, writing code and to become "really really really really good at that." So simple yet so profound.

Karen French is the founder of Karen French Floral Designs which provides floral arrangements and designs to boutique hotels and private homes. She makes weekly individual arrangements which she matches according to the environment and desires of the customers. In this episode we talk about how Karen was born abroad and lived in some places like Dubai, Bahrain, and Singapore many decades before they became big and popular. Then we talk about what her job as a floral designer means in relation to what a florist does. We talk about her designing process and what it means to work with a customer. We then talk about the 'Trailing Spouse' which often comes along when one person in a couple gets a job abroad. These people often are not allowed to work and can be bored staying at home all day. We talk about how this business has given her meaning in life while she had financial security. We then talk about the power of social media and how she was able to get to 30k follower within a year. She then talks about how travelling can be great and how languages can help you get into the local population better