Episodes

Feb. 15, 2021

The job application process in Germany: Misconceptions, insights and tips (Ivan from Bulgaria)

What are common misconceptions that foreigners have about the job application process in Germany? What makes a good CV? What are assessment centers? We try to answer some of these questions in this episode. To do it, I'm joi…

Feb. 8, 2021

The gender expatriation gap, trailing spouses, and the expat skill pool in Germany (Amaia from Spain)

Amaia, originally from Spain but now living in Düsseldorf, Germany, started the Expats and Spouses Monitor with Dr. Carlos Morales. Their goal: it is a research project that aims to understand the living and working conditio…

Feb. 1, 2021

Cost of living in Germany in 2021 (Jen from Simple Germany)

What are the standard costs of living you can expect in Germany? Do you really need so much insurance in Germany? And why pay the Rundfunkbeitrag if you don't watch German TV? Jen is from Guatemala and is the co-founder of S…

Dec. 28, 2020

SEGEPADFO charity challenge wrap-up, and when The Germany Experience will be back

The SEGEPADFO charity challenge, where I went up against Nicole of The Expat Cast to see who could raise the most money for a project by Über den Tellerrand, is over. Who won the challenge, and how much we raised, is all in…

Dec. 14, 2020

Learning assertiveness from Germans, and growing to love a city (Jenna from Canada)

Jenna is from Canada who is living in Düsseldorf. She is the creator of Life in Duesseldorf , has just started the Life in Germany YouTube channel . We discuss why she moved to Germany, her recent bout of COVID-19, and why s…

Dec. 7, 2020

Coming to Germany during a pandemic (Cassie from Australia)

Cassie from Australia wanted to continue her music studies in Germany, and her plans were already underway when the pandemic struck. It put her plans on hold, but Cassie was still able to push through and move to Weimar. I d…

Nov. 30, 2020

Singing soul in Germany, and BLM from a distance (Alicia from the USA)

Alicia is a soul and blues singer currently living in Germany. She moved from Texas, USA to Germany complete her studies just over a year ago. I discuss with Alicia what her mindset is after moving countries in such a turbul…

Nov. 29, 2020

Advent Charity Challenge Announcement - SEGEPADFO

Visit the official SEGEPADFO page for more information! As we did last year, Nicole of The Expat Cast (my sworn rival) and I will be facing off to see who can raise the most money for charity this Advent. SEGEPADFO stands fo…

Nov. 23, 2020

Antoinette Emily from New Zealand

You probably know Antoinette Emily from her YouTube channel. Originally from New Zealand, she moved to Germany to be with her then-boyfriend (now-husband) over 10 years ago. We discuss the story of how she came to Germany, t…

Nov. 16, 2020

"Germany chose me" (Sneha from India)

Sneha from India moved to Germany in 2011. A professional Indian classical dancer, she was expecting something similar to New York, where people knew about the artform of Indian classical dance. Instead, she found herself co…

Nov. 9, 2020

Teenagers' perspective: Life in Germany & traveling with family (Anna & Alex from the USA)

Back in May 2020, I had Linda of the Travelteening blog on the podcast to talk about moving to Germany and traveling around with teenagers . Now, I have the teenagers on! Anna and Alex talk about their move to Germany, their…

Nov. 2, 2020

Ask a German: Bureaucracy, German pillows, standing in line, and recruitment through fruit (Dominik, Jürgen & Philipp from Ach?)

You sent in your questions, and I put them to Germans to get the answers. It's Ask A German time! The three German guests are the always funny and entertaining hosts of the German podcast, Ach ! They answer the questions tha…

Oct. 26, 2020

Learning about "Mittagsruhe", integrating through a "Kinderladen", and the impact of Brexit (Fiona from the UK)

Fiona and her husband are opera singers from the UK who moved to Germany for work. I first met her when she appeared on the episode about Parkrun in Germany, and I wanted to find out more about her path to journey and experi…

Oct. 19, 2020

Wurst/arsch/schwein idioms, why “Der/Die/Das” is weird, and sitting down to pee in Germany (Ricardo from Brazil & Ivan from Bulgaria)

Ricardo from Brazil and Ivan from Bulgaria are the people behind the Can You German? Instagram account. They met by chance in Germany, where they became friends. Later, when Ivan was stuck in Brazil due to COVID-19, they spe…

Oct. 12, 2020

Things to know before learning German (Elysse from Elysse Speaks)

Elysse is the host of Elysse Speaks, a YouTube channel about her experiences learning multiple languages (including sign language). One of the languages she speaks is German, and I invited her on the podcast to talk about Ge…

Oct. 5, 2020

The attraction of Munich, the versatility of “Doch!”, and environmentalism in Germany (Sarah from Canada)

Sarah from Canada came to Munich 4 years ago to get her Masters degree. At first the plan was to stay two years (which at the time she felt was too long). But soon she fell in love with Munich and found many reasons to stay.…

Sept. 28, 2020

German youth words of 2020 (Nina from Germany)

Every year, the Langenscheidt publishing house searches for the youth word of that year. It's happening again, and Nina from Germany (who previously appeared in the Fasching episode back in February) helps me explain the wor…

Guest: Nina

Sept. 21, 2020

Germany and climate change (Patrick Niedermayer from Germany)

For foreigners living in Germany, you might be thinking that you live in a country that is doing a lot to combat global warming. After all, Germany signed the Paris Agreement, and it put together the Klimapaket (climate pack…

Guest: Patrick Niedermayer

BONUS - Recent German history, and escaping East Berlin by pretending to be a swan (Emma from the USA)

Sept. 18, 2020