Migratory Patterns Migratory Patterns

Jen Knight says that she "won the in-laws lottery" when it comes to her Chinese husband's parents. But luck wasn't on her side this past January, when a day after she arrived in her husband's hometown just outside of Wuhan for a Spring Festival celebration, the Chinese government started shutting down all transit links into and out of the area, effectively trapping her at Ground Zero of what would soon come to be known as the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. She was, as she easily admits, "terrified" and felt isolated, but what helped her feel less alone was participating in a study that asked China-based expats how they were feeling during the crisis. And through 2 months of lockdown in Hubei + 2 weeks of self isolation in her apartment in Shenzhen, her notions of "home" have shifted- or maybe she was just being made aware of a shift that had already taken place.


If you missed it, be sure to go back one episode and listen to part 1 of this series where I speak with Chris Barnhart, who designed the survey that Jen assisted on. You can also read a summary of their findings on our blog here.
 
And scroll back one more episode, to #057, to hear my impromptu conversation with a group of China-based expats who found them themselves trapped in Bali just as the outbreak began spreading across China.
 
To learn more about Jen and her work as a life coach for women living abroad, check out her website,  https://www.jenknight.com, or follow her updates on Facebook and Instagram. 
 
Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 

Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net



 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net) and please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!

This week we're kicking off Season 4 with part 1 of a special 2-part series focusing on a pair of international migrants who have written a study on how the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in China effected foreign nationals living there. The lead researcher, Chris Barnhart, was a high school teacher in Florida who'd been laid off during a round of budget cuts and was as surprised as anyone to find himself heading to China months later to be the first foreign professor at a university in Guangdong province. His experience there has been a revelation to him, and his empathy and desire to check in on fellow foreigners during the initial stages of the outbreak led him to want to quantify the resilience that he saw in the people around him. When he couldn't find evidence of anyone else studying expats in China during this time he took it on himself to gather the data... and what he found was... well, let's let him explain how things went.


Read the summary of Chis and Jen's findings on our blog, here. You can contact him with questions about his study via e-mail at c.r.barnhart@outlook.com, or you can follow him on LinkedIn here.
 
Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 


Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net




 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net) and please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!

We're interrupting our inter-season interregnum to bring you a discussion with a group of expats who live in China but who have found themselves "stuck" in Bali after the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan shut down virtually all businesses and most travel into the country. It's estimated that there are close to 1 million foreigners living in China, and while those who have been evacuated from, or who are still in, Wuhan and the surrounding area rightly get lots of attention, there are hundreds of thousands more folks who are either stuck somewhere, or grappling with the decision to leave or return. We've gathered 3 of these expats to talk about what it feels like to be "between homes," neither able to be where they live, nor in their place of origin, in a time of crisis. How are they dealing with their isolation? Do they feel guilty about not being in their host cities? Are they glad to have escaped? There are lots of complex emotions to deal with and we're diving right in.



Learn more about Asher's groundbreaking business, Go Vegan, by visiting their website here, or by jumping over to their Instagram page.



Shawn is chronicling her time in Bali on Instagram. You can follow her here. 



You can see Chris' videos, where he's vlogging about his experiences as an expat both inside of and outside of China during the coronavirus outbreak, on his YouTube page here.



 
We'll be back in a few weeks with Season 4, so stay tuned! Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 

Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net



 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net) and please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!

It's part 2 of the two-part Season 3 finale, wherein Mike & Alisa take a look at the issues and problems that have come up for the in their move from Beijing to Bali with a professional. Dr. Sonia Jaeger is a clinical psychologist & psychotherapist who is one of the growing number of location independent professionals who choose to live and work from multiple places. In essence, she's always on the move. A speaker of German, French and English, she helps expats and migrants around the world with their mental health issues through remote sessions. She talks about the struggles of people who follow their partners overseas, so-called "trailing spouses," as well as the importance of finding and building community in your new home and even expat divorce! It's an eye-opening conversation that gives us lots to think about during our break until next season starts.


Be sure to listen to the previous episode to hear us break down the issues that we've faced during our move to Bali!
 
You can learn more about Dr. Jaeger and her work, or inquire about making an appointment with her by visiting her website, https://www.sonia-jaeger.com/. You can also follow her on social media here:
 

Facebook



Instagram



LinkedIn



 
Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 

Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net



 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net) and please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!

Season 3 is coming to a close, and in part 1 of the two-part season finale I'm joined by my wife, Alisa Rutherford-Fortunati, to talk about our move from Beijing to Bali, which is our first transition between locations as a couple. There have been lots of unexpected twists and turns, from trouble finding a house, to developing new routines, to just getting around without the benefit of plentiful public transit. Then throw in the curve ball of both of us missing Beijing much more than we thought we would and you've got a potent brew of angst, anxiety and heartache. Will our marriage survive?! (Spoiler: It does.)


To hear the interview that I did on The Bittersweet Life, click here or search for it in your favorite podcatcher. (It's episode #288.)
 
Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 

Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net



 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net). Please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!

Daniela Tomer, founder of Global Nomad's World, knows something about migration. Not only is she a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping families deal with the issues surrounding migration, but she's the product of migration herself. Born to parents who had fled from Eastern Europe to Argentina in the early days of WWII, Daniela migrated to Israel as a child and went through a profound identity evolution. Later in life, a move to Europe and then the US meant the loss of her professional credentials- a familiar roadblock for many who migrate. So she did the most "expat-y" thing next: Start a business to deal with the barrier. Today she is at the vanguard of a growing movement of mental health processionals who are working to create resources that will help people around the world to better deal with the complex issue that arise when they migrate.


Learn more about Global Nomad's World and Daniela's work with migrant families by visiting their website,  https://www.globalnomadsworld.com/.
 
Dive deeper into the issues that children & families face when living overseas by checking out our past interviews with people who have gone through the experience themselves:
 

Ep. #033: Coming of Age As A TCK… And Then What? | Mio Rudnicki



Ep. #030: A Grown-up TCK Raising TCKs & Searching for Community | Dr. Kate Bailey Gardner



Ep. #025: From Raising A TCK to Empty-Nesting Overseas | Amelie Mongrain



Ep. #019: Studying TCKs As A TCA | Tanya Crossman



Ep. #017: “This Wasn’t A Choice She Made”: Raising A Daughter Overseas | Sarah Peel



Ep. #014: Growing Up As A TCK & Developing ‘Bordered Dinners’ | Ragini Kashyap



Ep. #006: Forging Your Own Identity & Socially Responsible Pizza | Kerry Lin



 
Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:
 

Twitter: @zax2000



eMail: mike.shaw@migrationmedia.net



 
Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web (www.migrationmedia.net). Please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts... and subscribe!