28 episodes
Exlander Iva Kabosch
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- Society & Culture
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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Your regular dose of expat stuff.
Instagram: _exlander_podcast
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"If you have a dream in your life, go for it" says Kateřina Fialková, Her Excellency ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein #27
What was it like to meet and greet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. or shake hands with the Japanese emperor? And why do girls in Japan wear shoes two sizes bigger than their feet? And why is Switzerland a country she will always come back to even after leaving her diplomatic status?
The journey of serving her homeland started as a pure coincidence a few decades ago in Cyprus when Czechoslovakia still existed as a repressive totalitarian state where freedom was forbidden. She decided to do a better job one day as a citizen and here she is today, an appointed ambassador of Czechia in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, in one of the highest diplomatic positions. Luckily, times change! -
Back to the roots: "As New Zealanders in rural Switzerland, we were so exotic that we even appeared in the local newspaper" #26
How does one become affected by the process of expatriation when the decision to migrate is made by the family? And what challenges does it pose for teenagers, respectively? Is going back to your heritage a different experience than any other form of emigration?
Stephanie Meister came to Switzerland as a teenage child and has tried to find a suitable answer to the million-dollar question "where is home for you?" ever since. After navigating her career path as a psychologist with some initial hardships she had to overcome, she has been working as a career coach for stedtnitz. design your Life GmbH in Zurich. What a story!
Find out more about what she does here:
www.stedtnitz.ch
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-meister-694749106/ -
"As a stay-at-home mum, I often felt the need to defend that decision" says Hana, an expat wife and blogger who followed her husband and their three children to Switzerland. #25
Moving abroad is a challenge in itself, yet giving up your career and leaving your comfort zone may feel even more challenging. Hanka Hurábová did exactly both. And it has not been an easy decision as she admits. Why did she decide to stay at home with her children and how did she end up cooperating with tourist agencies like Wandermagazin Schweiz or Ticino Turismo? Does she regret any of her decisions and what does she find peculiar about the Swiss way of life?
If you are into hiking and travelling, find out more here:
https://www.ourswissexperience.com/en/
Instagram & Facebook: our_swiss_experience -
"Being French has often been a door opener in my career abroad" says Isabelle, a successful entrepreneur based in Geneva about her journey to California and back #24
Isabelle Litzler is a career coach, solopreneur and a true business woman who knows everything about working with expats. She herself has been living the expat life since her late teenage years and has a good insight in all the Do's and Don'ts with regard to the whole expat experience package.
An absolute must if you are thinking about moving to Switzerland or have just landed here, and-of course-if you want to hear another interesting life path all the way from France to California and back.
Find out more about Isabelle here:
https://www.isabellelitzler.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmhATYXSWGVB2c0C6mL3Iw?view_as=subscriber -
"As an expat single stuck abroad, the times like the Covid pandemic may hit you even harder than imagined" say Aleksandra and Petra, two expats in Belgium and Germany #23
This time a bit different: two ladies from the same region, yet from different countries, sharing their expat experiences from the perspective of a single relocating for a job and a better future to Belgium and Germany. Polyglots, language and translation professionals, expat souls and my friends whom I met on my internship in the EU Parliament in Luxembourg have been my dear guests on Exlander.
Petra Mesić relocated to Germany from Croatia for a job at Electronic Arts and has pursued her career within a different company since then. She has shared some of the culture shocks she initially encountered, her single online dating expat experience (spoiler alert: not all Germans are polyamorous:-) and her realistic, yet emotional relationship to her homeland.
During the covid pandemic she started a youtube channel called Piotra and as an avid trained choi singer she has released a song playing ukulele:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQRDG05uEIYMEA3X2aKYKPg
Aleksandra Starčević is of Serbian origin and comes from Slovenia. She works at the European Network of Political Foundations in Brussels and has lived in Luxembourg, Iceland and Portugal before settling in Belgium. She has shared bits and pieces of what it is like to live in the EU bubble, her relationship towards the Balkans and what the expat single experience looks like.
If you want to hear some tips on how to integrate as a single expat abroad and yet learn something new, this episode is an absolute must.
*update: Germany is no longer in the harsh lockdown as it was when recording this episode. Let's celebrate!:-) -
"It took me 18 months to adjust back in my home country" says Ania, the expat with an expiry date, about her repatriation experience #22
Ania Kolbuszewska is a top-class educational consultant, manager, language teacher, teacher trainer and a mediator who has agreed to share her experience of what it means to be an expat with an expiry date. She relocated from Poland to Switzerland and then back to Poland. And even though she was concious of the reversed culture shock, it hit her harder than expected.
An absolute must listen for anyone who is relocating back home after several years abroad or who is craving some useful tips to overcome the initial culture shock both ways...and of course, many other interesting topics as usual:-)
You can find out more about Ania here:
https://pl.linkedin.com/in/ania-kolbuszewska
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy1P60_tgSbEsr9pBDMekHg