Exchange Me Denys Andrushchenko

How was it to be an exchange student before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall?
How was it to come to Moscow during the transition of the USSR to a market economy?
How was it to meet Gorbachov in person at Stanford and witness the dissolution of the Soviet Union?

Denys, the co-host of this show, spoke with Jeff Gospe* about these and many other stories to feed your curiosity and listen to four decades of exchanges and wisdom. There was so much information that the ExchangeMe team decided to split it into two episodes, the second fitting into a Global Response series.



What's inside this episode:

1:00 – meet Jeff!

5:30 – why taking tourism tours in 2-3 different languages;

09:30 – on national stereotypes before going to another country;

12:00 –  the US/USSR: on political systems comparison;

17:45 – Hoover Institute, meeting Gorbachov in Stanford and being interviewed by Ernst & Young (EY); going to Moscow eventually;

36:20 – youth exchange is even better education than Stanford because... 



*Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Stanford University. Since November 2005, he has been working as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley. He is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa, California, and a person with vast experience in exchange programs, including the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE).



Denys Andrushchenko is a FLEX 🇺🇸 alumnus, Future Leaders Connect 🇬🇧 member, EaP 🇪🇺 Civic Digital Fellow, past-president of the Rotary Club Cherkasy-Centre 🕊, and co-founder of the SUN Leaders Program 🇺🇦.



Listen to this and other episodes of #ExchangeMe at https://anchor.fm/xmepod [Spotify for Podcasters]



Share with friends and see the ways to help Ukraine today: https://supportukrainenow.org/

Want to unlock more value? Visit https://exchangemepodcast.com or send us a message at exchangemepodcast@gmail.com 

In another episode of the Global Response (GR) series, we travel to Auckland, New Zealand, to talk with Leo, a South Korean by descent and with Ukraine in his heart.



He was in Ukraine one time but for 3 months while on AIESEC program. Since then, he well in love with Ukrainian culture and made lots of friends. And as we know well, friends are known in trouble.



What's inside:


Fertile soil!
Orange Revolution, sparking the first interest
Euromaidan creating more sympathy
Resisting the Russian full-scale invasion as the final step in escaping Russian imperialism
on AIESEC voice (its absence) during the war
on (winter) experience in Ukraine (between -15 and -30 Celsius)
not (only) Ukrainian issue

Want to unlock more value? Visit: https://exchangemepodcast.com

But it is still war in Ukraine. Please see the ways to help Ukraine today: https://supportukrainenow.org/

Hi, Listener. This is Denys from Ukraine, your co-host of the Exchange Me Podcast.

My guest for the third episode of the Global Response series has a background in literature and visual culture and is based in Pakistan🇵🇰, where she's working as freelance development writer and researcher for local and international grassroots organizations.

Saadia's previous work has put her at the intersection of teaching, creative practice and interaction–where she has witnessed the benefits of a people-first and co-creative approach towards community engagement and education.

Saadia believes that respect, communication and an understanding that every person has the capacity to create change will lead us to a better and kinder world and is working towards a career in education that engenders this.

What's inside:

00:01 – Meet Saadia! And why this episode;

06:40 – “I want big cars and easy money!” – meeting a 12-year-old boy in a village and why he wanted to become a politician;

08:55 – Pakistani perspective on the war in Ukraine;

12:00 – on 3 Pakistans;

23:30 – powerless/powerful?

29:30 – “Why are you still here? Get out of Pakistan!”;

35:00 – on responsibility to stay.

Recorded on 08.01.2023 (it was also a death anniversary of her grandfather – a figure she admires a lot).

Want to unlock more value? Visit: https://exchangemepodcast.com

But it is still war in Ukraine. Please see the ways to help Ukraine today: https://supportukrainenow.org/

We recorded this episode over a year ago! The full-scale invasion in Ukraine switched our priorities. 

But more than ever, English is vital to millions of Ukrainians who were forced to flee abroad, including many children and teenagers.

In #XME15, you will learn from Anna how she encountered #FLEXprogram, became a FLEX alumna, and got inspired to plant a seed of learning into other minds. Our guest also shares a difference she noticed between Ukraine in 2013 when she left for the US and in 2014 after her return.



Share with friends and see the ways to help Ukraine today: https://supportukrainenow.org/



Co-host Tetyana Kondrya🇺🇦 recorded this conversation.

Want to unlock more value? Visit: https://exchangemepodcast.com

Listen to this and other episode of #ExchangeMe at https://anchor.fm/xmepod



#podcast #studyabroad #ukraine

Merry Christmas, the world!

Wow, we recorded this episode a year ago... But it is still war in Ukraine. Please see the ways to help Ukraine today: 

https://supportukrainenow.org/

Especially, we encourage you to donate to the SUN Leaders Program which provides scholarship to young leaders of Ukraine who address specific social issues helping this fearless country to win in the mid- to long-term.

What's inside this episode:

- one family, different arrival stories; one context, different perception;

- good relationships with family vs. good relationships with friends theory;

- when Tetyana went to the US, her host family's daughter was only 10; instead, Anastasia had to deal with a teenager as her sibling during the exchange year;

- Anastasia: a hilarious story of cooking mushrooms for her host family;

- Tetyana: on meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger.



After FLEX, Anastasia Prokhorenko🇺🇦 took place in the Ukraine Got Talent show (https://youtu.be/ESZtHR3JVtE). She also had to deal with her real mom's expectations. Currently, she lives in the US🇺🇸 covering her life on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClP647HvI5vezA_IsvmbTYA



After her year abroad, Tetyana Kondrya🇺🇦 found FLEX across all her life activities; it helped her to:

- obtain the first job;

- get an apartment in Kyiv via a trusted contact; 

- become a teacher assistant;

- join an IT company (now for 8 years!);

- and eventually move to the UK🇬🇧.



Your other co-host Denys Andrushchenko🇺🇦 is also a FLEX program alumnus of 2012, member of a Rotary Club Cherkasy-Centre, and a founder of the Leaders Fund. He stayed in Cherkasy, Ukraine, throughout the war.



Send us a screen of donation to exchangemepodcast@gmail.com to receive access to the full episode.

Also, don't forget to leave your feedback about our show on the platform where you are listening. Or send it to us directly via email!



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Tom Giuretis 🇦🇺 is a self-made data journalist from Melbourne, Australia, who has been reporting on the war since 2014. He's in favor of heavy arms for Ukraine. Simone Pote 🇮🇹 is a youth worker from Turin, Italy, who's taking a more neutral position and has lots of friends who were in favor of peaceful negotiations since the beginning of the war. In this conversation, my friends and I are finding common ground and discovering unconventional viewpoints.

Global Response (GR) series is a spin-off of ExchangeMe Podcast that provides a local context on the war in Ukraine🇺🇦 started by the Russian Federation🇷🇺.

This episode was recorded on August 25th, 2022, marking 6 months and 1 day of the invasion.

What's inside:

- intro & reflections on the war: the first days;

- an argument to arm Ukraine as the only way to end the war with least casualties;

- some of the observations.

It was your host, Denys Andrushchenko: a FLEX program alumnus of 2012, member of a Rotary Club Cherkasy-Centre, and a founder of the Leaders Fund.

Want to unlock more value? Visit: https://exchangemepodcast.com

Donate to support Ukrainians via PayPal: exchangemepodcast@gmail.com