Nomadic Diaries: Mastering Global Transitions

Doreen Cumberford
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Semiweekly

Where Global Living Transforms Lives    Imagine a life where every border crossed becomes a doorway to personal transformation!Welcome to Nomadic Diaries, the podcast that turns international adventures into extraordinary personal journeys. We're not just telling travel stories. We're uncovering the raw, unfiltered experiences of expats and global nomads who have transformed uncertainty into opportunity.  Each episode dives deep into the hearts and minds of extraordinary individuals who've turned geographical transitions into powerful paths of self-discovery. Are you an expat feeling lost between worlds? A digital nomad seeking more than just scenic backdrops? This podcast is your compass. We explore the real-life challenges and insights of international living, sharing genuine stories, practical strategies, and life-changing wisdom from those who've navigated the complex terrain of global mobility.  Nomadic Diaries is more than just a podcast – it's a platform for connection, understanding, and personal growth. We believe that living abroad isn't about collecting stamps in a passport, but about expanding the boundaries of who you can become. Join us as we explore how stepping outside your comfort zone can be the most profound journey of personal growth you'll ever undertake. Your global adventure starts here – where every mile traveled is a mile of transformation.

  1. 5d ago

    Kimchi, Culture & Connection: Living a Meaningful Life Across Borders

    In this insightful episode, Doreen Cumberford is joined by Saehee Chang, an intercultural trainer, engagement specialist, and founder of Korea Connect. Together, they explore the journey of navigating life across cultures as a Third Culture Kid (TCK), the challenges of repatriation, balancing success and happiness abroad, and the quest for belonging. Key Topics Covered Growing Up Global: Saehee shares her nomadic background across Korea, Vietnam, Kenya, the US, and Germany, and reflects on how these transitions shaped her curiosity and resilience as a TCK 00:01:16.Identity & Belonging: The discussion delves into the complexities of identity, feeling "different" even upon returning "home," and the continual process of self-discovery in international settings 00:08:11.The Challenge of Repatriation: Saehee discusses the emotional impact and unexpected difficulties of moving back to Korea and later to Germany as an adult, underlining the importance of patience and self-kindness 00:13:24, 00:43:01.Success vs. Happiness Abroad: Doreen Cumberford and Saehee explore the expat paradox—how outward success doesn’t always equate to inner happiness— and the essential role of mental, emotional, and professional balance 00:20:41.Strategies for Challenging Transitions: Saehee openly recounts her struggles with depression during the adjustment to Germany and the pivotal role of therapy, volunteering, and building community in regaining equilibrium 00:26:31.Professional Reinvention: The journey of reestablishing Korea Connect in Germany highlights perseverance, utilizing core skills, and finding the right niche across new cultural landscapes 00:32:02.Looking Ahead: Going “Home” Again: Saehee shares her evolving plans to return to the US to be closer to her aging parents, emphasizing the need for pre-planning and flexibility in future transitions 00:36:26.Advice for Expats & Global Nomads: Preparation, trusting the process, and practicing self-compassion emerge as top recommendations for anyone facing the challenges of life transitions abroad 00:43:01.Notable Quotes “You have to be very patient and kind to yourself…give it time. Let the process work, and it does work out.” “The grass is not always greener on the other side. That really is a huge lesson that I had to eventually learn and realize.” “Find your tribe, find your people, find your community that makes you feel like you can be who you are and seek those communities out.” Episode Takeaways Curiosity and Openness: Essential tools for adapting and making authentic connections across cultures.Balance: Success abroad doesn’t guarantee happiness – pursue holistic well-being.Support Matters: Therapy, volunteering, and community all make a difference in challenging adaptations.Preparation & Patience: Plan as much as you can, trust the unfolding journey, and be gentle with yourself during every transition.Home Is Fluid: For many, home is defined by belonging, comfort, and identity—not just geography. We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  2. Sep 11

    Transcontinentally Overloaded?

    This episode explores the layers of identity, privilege, and adaptation in expat experiences through a conversation with author Stephanie Cook. Topics range from cultural healing, maintaining authenticity, and the paradoxes of belonging, to practical and emotional strategies for global nomads and expat families. Key Discussion Points 1. The Russian Dolls of Identity Both speakers discuss how multiple cultural experiences accumulate like Russian nesting dolls. Stephanie Cook emphasizes embracing every version of oneself: “My little 4-year-old German girl is still there, and so is the 25-year-old British girl. And it's all— they're all here” 00:00:57. 2. Pride, Privilege, and Sharing Roots Acknowledgement of privilege in being allowed to celebrate one’s heritage, and the responsibility and difference this creates compared to immigrants from other backgrounds 00:01:56. The American preference for celebrating heritage and cultural differences, demonstrated during national events 00:02:27. 3. Hidden Immigrants and Authenticity Doreen Cumberford reflects on being a “hidden immigrant” and the challenge of feeling authentic in a new country while appearing to fit in 00:04:09. 4. Transitions Across States & Cultures The soft landing in multicultural California contrasted with culture shock in Texas 00:06:28; the importance of local context in expat adaptation. Community differences between international enclaves and more locally rooted environments 00:10:38. 5. Community Spirit and “Big-Hearted” Texas Despite challenges, Stephanie Cook describes Texas and experiences there as marked by “big-heartedness” and deep community spirit that transcends differences 00:15:47. 6. The Third Culture Human Exploration of identity labels: expat, immigrant, migrant, and the concept of being a “third culture human” as a broader, more inclusive term 00:25:55. 7. Open-mindedness & Self-care for Expats Advice on adaptability: “The most important and also the simplest thing you need to be is open-minded… and make sure that you do say yes to all the things that happen. But make sure that you have time to process a move” 00:29:17. Importance of creating balance between engaging and finding solitude and restoration 00:30:12. 8. Family & Mental Health Support Discussion on the inadequacy of self-care expectations put on accompanying spouses and need for true mental health support for all family members during global moves 00:35:18. 9. Repatriation and the Future Contemplating moves back to Europe—recognizing that life stages and global family contexts make plans fluid and non-linear 00:26:39. 10. Embracing Paradox & Wholeness On the paradox of feeling more fragmented yet whole as a nomad: “You become more fragmented, and yet at the same time you become more whole” 00:20:42. Resources & Mentions Book: Transcontinental OverloadWebsite: transcontinentaloverload.comInstagram: Overloaded StephMemorable Quotes “Be prepared to deal with yourself.” “I am the home.” “Say yes to everything at first, but make sure that you have time to process a move.”We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  3. Jul 30

    Sarah Rapp

    Sarah Rapp: From How to Be Global to 1 Million Humans Sarah Rapp is Director of Youth Advocacy and People at Junior Achievement Worldwide, and a nomad who has worked internationally for nearly a decade. Born in Germany, she moved abroad as an expat to Malta before building a fully nomadic life shaped by people and purpose rather than beaches. She previously hosted the podcast How to Be Global, closing it after 126 episodes once she felt she had "become global" herself, and has now launched a new movement, 1 Million Humans, drawing on her own experience of burnout and hard-won belonging. What You'll Walk Away With Doreen and Sarah trace her path from a shy, unbelonging childhood in Germany to a life spread across countries, friendships and time zones. Sarah speaks candidly about the real costs of nomadic living, from friendships and relationships to relentless jet lag, and why the trade-offs still feel worth it. The conversation turns to 1 Million Humans, born from watching high achievers run on empty, and why human skills matter more than ever in an AI-saturated world. Sarah also reflects on privilege, advocacy and a formative encounter with poverty in Accra, Ghana, that shaped how she shows up for others. Connect with Sarah Rapp Find Sarah on Instagram at @SarapGlobal or on YouTube for behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life. Join the movement at 1millionhumans.com, where the first thousand members become founding members of the Good Human Club. Share this episode with someone who's standing at one of those thresholds — a new country, a return home, or simply a life that's asking them to become someone they haven't quite met yet. We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  4. May 19

    Debriefing Your Expat Life: Intercultural Transitions and Going Deeper

    Daniel Yalowitz  Daniel Yalowitz psychologist, professor and intercultural mentor came to talk to Nomadic Diaries about his story as a cornerstone of the intercultural field for nearly four decades. Daniel brought to this episode the generosity and warmth that have made him a mentor to so many of us who have navigated life across cultures. His favorite words all start with a C. Curiosity. Creativity. Collaboration. Communication. Collectivity. When your values and your work align this completely, you stop compartmentalising. That is what living an intercultural life feels like from the inside. We explored the three-word question he carries into every training room and therapy session, Is there more?  It's an invitation to go deeper rather than simply moving on as we are beckoned to do nowadays.  We talked about debriefing as a daily practice for anyone moving through big transitions, and about what living across cultures teaches us about our complicated relationship with time. And then there is the rencently published book. Co-edited with Sandy Fowler, Creating the Intercultural Field: Legacies from the Pioneers gathers twelve of the founding voices of interculturalism, all scholars now in their mid-eighties to mid-nineties, and asked them to reflect on how building this field shaped their lives. It is a record told by the people who built it, while they are still here to tell it. It's not often that we get to hear the stories of how an entirely new social field is formed as told by the living authors. Resources & Links: Creating the Intercultural Field: Legacies from the Pioneers by Daniel Yalowitz and Sandy Fowler is available from Palgrave Macmillan, or on Amazon, or as a signed copy by contacting Daniel or Sandy directly. Find Daniel at danielyalowitz.com.  https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Intercultural-Field-Legacies-Pioneers/dp/3032013690/ Subscribe to Nomadic Diaries wherever you get your podcasts. Share this episode with someone who's standing at one of those thresholds. It could be either a new country, a return home, or simply a life that's asking them to become someone they haven't quite met yet.  We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  5. May 12

    You Can't Go Home - You Can Only Go Forward

    Nina Aziz Justin has lived in five countries, worked across forty-seven of them, and spent the better part of five decades asking the question that so many of us quietly carry: where on earth do I actually belong?  She is a serial entrepreneur, cultural chameleon, and self-described "rat in the lab" of her own life experiments, Nina has channelled all of that lived complexity into her memoir, The Home Within: A Nonlinear, Soulful Memoir About Belonging Across Cultures and Change. She sits down with us from France, which feels entirely appropriate for a woman who has never stayed in one room for too long. What You'll Walk Away With Nina has a gift for the kind of metaphor that lodges itself in your chest and stays there. Her image of becoming as a weaving, each country, each reinvention, each loss threaded permanently into the fabric of who you are, is one of the most beautiful ways I have ever heard repatriation and identity explained.  "Once you have moved away," she tells us, "when you reopen that door, it goes into a different room. It's no longer that same room." If you've ever stood on a doorstep wondering why home doesn't feel like home anymore, this conversation will feel like someone finally put words to it. We also talk about something Nina calls micro anchors, the small, portable rituals that calm the nervous system when everything around you is new and disorienting. For her it's rooibos tea. For a friend of hers who moved from Hong Kong to France, it was carrying her home scent in her suitcase. These are not quirks; they are wisdom. And Nina explains precisely why they work.  We explore what it means to be a cultural chameleon, not as a charming party trick, but as a survival skill forged in a turbulent childhood, and how, beneath all the reinventions, there is always a through-line. The curious, zestful, truth-seeking person who was always going to find their way home to themselves. Connect with Nina https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninaazizjustin/ https://theresiliencementor.com https://instagram.com/nina.aziz.justin https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Home-Within-Soulful-Self-Belonging-Cultures/dp/9090405801/ If this conversation stirred something in you, and I'd wager it will, Nina's book is waiting for you on Amazon and at most online bookstores. Simply search The Home Within, Nina Aziz Justin. Share this episode with someone who's standing at one of those thresholds — a new country, a return home, or simply a life that's asking them to become someone they haven't quite met yet.    We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  6. May 7

    We Call It Capacity: International Women's Nonlinear Careers

    Flor Bretón García was born in Venezuela and left her homeland at 22 — which means she's now lived outside her home country longer than she lived in it. Lawyer. Educator. Cross-cultural consultant. Mother of three adult TCKs. President of FIGT. And a woman who, after receiving her 598th job rejection, sat down on a Friday night and wrote an article that stopped LinkedIn in its tracks. In this conversation, Flor and Doreen unpack what happens when globally complex women hit systems built for linear lives — and why that's not a talent problem. It's a design problem. Flor opens with the moment she was quietly advised to take an accent-removal class, so as not to distract her students. It was the first time she felt the world asking her to become smaller — and she traces her journey from that moment of self-consciousness to her current view of her accent as an open door, an invitation for people to learn her story. That story took a sharp turn on one particular Friday evening, when she sat down and really looked at those 598 rejection emails. What she noticed changed everything. Many had arrived within 30 minutes of her hitting "apply." Others cited a search for a better "cultural fit." No human being, she realized, was reading her resume at midnight on a Saturday. The systems were doing it for them — and those systems are built to reward one thing above all else: predictability. The very quality that globally complex women are not. This is what Flor calls the great gap — the distance between what organizations say they want and how they actually hire. They talk about agility, resilience, adaptability, the ability to navigate ambiguity. But their applicant tracking systems, their recruiters, their hiring managers are all scanning for familiarity and linearity. A nonlinear resume looks like uncertainty. And uncertainty, to a system, looks like a no. What makes this conversation so compelling is Flor's refusal to let that be the final word. She invites hiring managers to ask a different question entirely — not "why doesn't this resume fit our template?" but "what capabilities is this career showing me?" Because there is intention behind every pivot a global woman makes. The move that looks like confusion from the outside is almost always a decision made in the middle of uncertainty, following a vocation, pulling a common thread. For Flor, that thread runs through everything she's done as a lawyer, educator, and consultant: redesigning systems that truly honour humans with dignity. She also gives us one of the episode's most memorable frameworks — the difference between a Forest Gump resume and a Michelangelo resume. Both are nonlinear. But one looks like things just happened to you, and the other reveals that everything was intentional, even when the path was uncertain. The difference, she says, is entirely in how you tell the story. And telling the story, it turns out, is everything. Not listing countries. Not cataloguing credentials. But pulling the thread, naming the vocation, and being clear about what you want the listener to do with what you've shared. Flor's closing message is one worth sitting with: globally complex professionals have long been treated as outliers, as anomalies in the data. But the world is growing more complex by the day. We are not outliers anymore. We are data — and we are exactly what organizations need to thrive in the future. Connect with Flor on LinkedIn as Flor Bretón García, where she posts weekly articles with practical tools for navigating global complexity. We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  7. May 2

    A TCK Raising Thriving World-Wise TCKs!

    Adrienne Belaire grew up on Aramco compounds in Saudi Arabia from first grade through high school, a world full of sunshine, small communities, and the particular freedom of a life lived between cultures. She is a wife, mother, potter, and artist who, after navigating her own sometimes turbulent repatriation to the United States, made a quietly remarkable decision: to go back again. She returned to Saudi Arabia as an adult gave birth to and has raised her three children there, giving them the same roots she had always missed. She is one of those rare people who has lived the TCK experience from both sides,  as a child, a daughter, a sibling and now as the parent holding the map. What You'll Walk Away With This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt like a marble thrown across a floor, feeling scattered, disconnected, not quite sure where they landed. Adrienne talks with extraordinary candor about the sudden closure of her compound in 1986, the grief of losing a community with no internet to hold it together, and what it felt like to fly into Denver knowing she was landing somewhere that was supposed to be home but felt nothing like it.  What makes this episode particularly powerful is her hard-won perspective on what she wishes someone had told her then, that your kids need to know you are their safe place, especially when the world outside doesn't understand them yet. There is also a genuinely moving moment when she describes reading the Pollock TCK book for the first time as an adult and simply thinking: that is me. That is my sister. That is my brother. Recognition, it turns out, is its own special way a kind of homecoming. A Gentle Nudge Whether you are raising children overseas, or if you were once a child raised overseas this episode could be for you. Please share it with an expat parent who is navigating a transition right now, they will thank you for it. Please share this podcast with someone, we work hard to produce content that makes a real difference.  In the catalog there are 30 episodes on coming home (the Re-Entry Series) and also on the topic of belonging,  (the Belonging Project). Or browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated. We would love to get to know you and what you might like to hear.  Here is a simple form, only three very short questions.   https://form.typeform.com/to/xV0rKTBD  We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

  8. Mar 31

    Dig Here: Story Archaeology and the Expat Life Well Lived

    About Lisa Liang Lisa Liang,  known formally as Elizabeth, with a Z - is an intercultural storytelling coach, solo performer, and TCK who grew up across Central America, Southeast Asia, and the United States.  She has spent decades helping globally mobile people do one of the hardest things there is: turn a life lived between worlds into a story that actually lands. She works with memoir writers, keynote speakers, and anyone who has ever felt that the people back home simply couldn't understand what their life abroad had been. Her warmth and precision in equal measure make her one of those rare guests you want to listen to twice. What You'll Walk Away With Lisa introduced me to a concept she calls story archaeology and I have been mulling this over since we recorded. The idea is that the emotional threads running through our expat lives are often traceable to a single moment in early childhood, sometimes as far back as age five. That moment of needing to feel seen, safe, or guided doesn't disappear, it simply resurfaces every time life gets big again. Like, say, when you move to a country where you don't speak the language and can't find a pharmacy. We also got into the storytelling mistake that almost every returning expat makes, and it's one I am guilty of myself. Lisa's reframe is so simple it's almost embarrassing, but it works. And if you've ever had someone's eyes glaze over mid-story, you'll want this one in your back pocket. There's a beautiful moment too where we talk about telling your story not just backward but forward, using hindsight to project foresight, and arriving, somehow, at present-moment insight. It's a idea that sits close to my heart, because it's one I've wrestled with in my own writing.  In Unsettled, my book on repatriation, I explore how the stories we carry from our global lives can actually become a compass for what comes next, not just a record of where we've been. Lisa brings that same thinking to her storytelling workshops, and hearing her articulate it so clearly reminded me why this matters. For those of us cooking up the next chapter of our nomadic lives, this conversation hits differently. Call to Action If this episode stirred something in you, I'd love to know — share it with someone whose story deserves to be heard. We would love to hear from you, send us a text please! Support the show You can map the move. You cannot map the metamorphosis. Nomadic Diaries explores the interior journey of expat life — the belonging, the identity shifts, the repatriation, and everything that travels with you that can't be packed in a suitcase. This episode may be part of our Re-Entry Series (30 episodes on coming home) or The Belonging Project (29 episodes on belonging across cultures). Browse the full catalog at nomadicdiariespodcast.com and please share or leave a review if this episode resonated.

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Where Global Living Transforms Lives    Imagine a life where every border crossed becomes a doorway to personal transformation!Welcome to Nomadic Diaries, the podcast that turns international adventures into extraordinary personal journeys. We're not just telling travel stories. We're uncovering the raw, unfiltered experiences of expats and global nomads who have transformed uncertainty into opportunity.  Each episode dives deep into the hearts and minds of extraordinary individuals who've turned geographical transitions into powerful paths of self-discovery. Are you an expat feeling lost between worlds? A digital nomad seeking more than just scenic backdrops? This podcast is your compass. We explore the real-life challenges and insights of international living, sharing genuine stories, practical strategies, and life-changing wisdom from those who've navigated the complex terrain of global mobility.  Nomadic Diaries is more than just a podcast – it's a platform for connection, understanding, and personal growth. We believe that living abroad isn't about collecting stamps in a passport, but about expanding the boundaries of who you can become. Join us as we explore how stepping outside your comfort zone can be the most profound journey of personal growth you'll ever undertake. Your global adventure starts here – where every mile traveled is a mile of transformation.

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