Episodes
Carnival/Fasching in Germany: "pomp and splendor" (Nina from Germany)
Feb. 17, 2020
It's the middle of Carnival (also known as Fasching or Fastnacht, depending on where in Germany you are). I am not a big fan of it, and so I got a real live German who IS a fan of it to come on the show and explain to me why…
A serial expat in Germany (Amy from Canada)
Feb. 9, 2020
Amy is the host of The Expat Experience podcast. She has landed up in Germany after spending time in Vietnam and China, and in our interview she discusses how she's learning German, what it's like making German friends, and …
Motivated to adapt by painful social moments (Sindy from Hong Kong)
Feb. 2, 2020
(This is the podcast previously known as Expat Life Germany. In the first few years in Germany, things weren't always easy for Sindy from Hong Kong. As is the experience of many foreigners living abroad, she faced painful an…
Announcement: Renaming the show to The Germany Experience from 1 February 2020
Jan. 27, 2020
The podcast will have a new name from 1 February 2020! Not much is going to change other than the name, so it'll still be the same show you subscribed to. Here's the announcement about why I'm renaming, and what the show wil…
Classic German movies: Loriot's Pappa Ante Portas
Jan. 20, 2020
You can learn a lot about a culture by watching its movies, which is why I've decided to start watching some classic German movies. I'll discuss why the movie I have chosen is important to German culture, whether it's a good…
SOFA status, growing a thicker skin, and tracking a stolen phone with the Polizei (Audrey & Zach from USA)
Jan. 12, 2020
Audrey and Zach met while in the USA. When Zach, a cartographer, moved to Germany on a SOFA status ( Status of Forces Agreement ), they first attempted a long-distance relationship before Audrey joined him later in Germany. …
Making German candy, learning German history, and growing up as a third culture kid in Bavaria (Travis J. Dow)
Jan. 4, 2020
Travis J. Dow is a host of the History of Germany podcast (and several other podcasts, too). Originally from Oregon, USA, he spent his formative years in Bavaria, Germany. Later he moved to Prague, Czech Republic for 10 year…
FEGEPADFO Charity Challenge - Final Wrap-Up
Jan. 3, 2020
Nicole from The Expat Cast and I went head-to-head in December 2019 to see who could raise the most donations for our chosen charities. Together we raised 350 euros...140 euros went to Nicole's charity of choice, Women's Wor…
Missing holiday traditions from home, making new traditions, and fireworks on New Year's Eve
Dec. 23, 2019
For foreigners living in Germany, the holidays are a time that we recreate traditions from our home countries, adopt German traditions, and start new ones. I take a look at how my Christmas experience in Germany has been, an…
Unhappy in Germany (S from India)
Dec. 15, 2019
Donate to my cause in the expat podcasters charity challenge (aka #FEGEPADFO): Donate to Lebenshilfe Bad Windsheim Germany offers a lot of opportunities, but it's also known as a difficult country to integrate into. What hap…
The German Freelance Visa (James from LiveWorkGermany.com)
Dec. 7, 2019
Donate to my cause in the expat podcasters charity challenge (aka #FEGEPADFO): Donate to Lebenshilfe Bad Windsheim For many people who are planning to come to Germany, the Freelance Visa might be the way to go. It allows you…
How Germany changed us (Jibran from Pakistan)
Dec. 2, 2019
Jibran runs the Desi in Wonderland YouTube channel. He's originally from Pakistan and has been living in Germany for 5 years, so we decided to discuss how Germany has changed us. In the process, I learned a lot more than I e…
A Berliner, a Hamburger, a Neapolitan, and a world citizen (Liliana from Italy)
Nov. 19, 2019
Liliana is from Naples, Italy, and has lived in Germany for 7 years. She recently got her citizenship, and discusses how that happened. We also cover her reason for choosing Germany, why she'd struggle to return to Italy, an…
Being far from family when losing someone, making friends through team sports, and security in Germany (Rafael from Brazil)
Nov. 3, 2019
One of my best friends in Germany, Rafael from Brazil, experienced loss when his father passed away, and talks about how he coped dealing with that being far from his family. He's also a handball player, and he had the chanc…
Discussing German stereotypes with Nicole from The Expat Cast
Oct. 20, 2019
Are Germans really efficient? Do they like order? Are they as punctual as everyone says they are? Nicole Palazzo, a US expat living in Germany and the host of The Expat Cast , helps me confirm or bust common stereotypes and …
Being an English-Speaking Writer in Germany, Bringing a Pet to Germany, and "The God Queen" (Mari from USA)
Oct. 12, 2019
Mari is a US expat living in Germany. She's also a writer and an avid pug fan. She discusses what it's like being an English-speaking writer in Germany, her book " The God Queen ", and how to bring a dog from USA into German…
The "Why" Has to be Right (Vlad from Romania)
Oct. 6, 2019
Discuss this episode in the Expat Life Germany Facebook group ! Vlad from Romania was tired of the political situation in Romania, and made the choice to move to Germany. But, unlike many Romanians who emigrate to western Eu…
Article 116 (Michael from USA)
Sept. 29, 2019
Michael Silberman lives in the USA, but Germany is certainly intertwined with his life over there. His parents left Nazi Germany (and were stripped of their German citizenship) to start a new life in the States, and this her…
parkrun Germany
Sept. 22, 2019
The parkrun concept is simple: you turn up on a Saturday morning and you walk, jog, or run 5km. The best thing? It's free. Since it started in 2004, it has become a global phenomenon. And it's a great thing for expats, too: …
Defining "Expat"
Sept. 15, 2019
What exactly is an "expat"? Turns out this question is not as straight forward as Shaun used to think. He goes into some of the problems surrounding the terminology, and also defines his interpretation of it for the podcast.…
BONUS: Social Media and Expats, Charity Work as an Expat, and Friends Moving On
Sept. 11, 2019
In the last episode , Anna Noakes Schulze dropped so many insights about expat life that I had to edit some of it out. Since it'd be a shame for it to go to waste, I decided to put it in a bonus episode. Here is more Anna, a…
Living Abroad Teaches Us the Power of Connections (Anna from Canada)
Sept. 4, 2019
Anna Noakes Schulze from Canada presented a TEDx talk called “ Living Abroad Teaches Us the Power of Connections ”, and in it she tells her own expat story to demonstrate how those that we make connections with shape our liv…
Finding and Getting a Job In Germany
Aug. 27, 2019
For all the links mentioned in the episode (there are a few!), go to the Finding and Getting a Job in Germany blog post . I go through some of the ins and outs of getting a job in Germany. To help me, I got Cheryl Howard of …
Through the Eyes of a Newly-Arrived Expat (Sarah From Syria, Canada, et al)
Aug. 12, 2019
I first interviewed Sarah back in July for a bonus episode , because she'd almost been caught by a scam. We had such a great discussion that I wanted to have her back on the show, and here she is. Although Sarah is new in Be…