Balancing Stories

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 77: Parenting with an Accent with Author Masha Rumer

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I am parenting with an accent. My Finnish husband and American me are attempting to raise multilingual kids in Germany. And… well… it’s not great and there is a lot of guilt around our lack of success. Then I received Parenting with an Accent and realized, I am not alone.

Author Masha Rumer was born in the former Soviet Union. As a teenager in the 90’s, her family sold everything, and sought refuge in the United States. Her immigrant experience, becoming a parent and the stories in between led her to research how language and culture is passed between generations after immigration.

Now for a disclaimer:

In this interview, we talk about Russian language, literature and food. This interview was recorded on February 21st, the Monday before Russia invaded Ukraine. Masha wants you to know she is horrified by the war, in no way supports it, and is worried about her relatives in Ukraine.

In an interview for KQED, Masha said: “Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again… It’s a very complicated relationship. Many of us speak the Russian language, which was forced upon people from across the former Soviet Republics. But at the same time, it’s the language we grew up with, and now we’re finding ourselves in a difficult time where we’re ashamed of what the government is doing.”

In her book she explores the relationship we have with the languages we inherit and how that impacts our willingness to speak “other” languages in a new host country. because of the impression it would give. So, along with a collective stance against the war and a united support for Ukraine, I’d like to put out a friendly reminder that not all Russian speakers agree with the politics their language is associated with, especially right now. Let’s be kind to one another.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 76: Finding Love Again, From Widow to Wife with Jane Kitchen

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It’s a story of my mom finding love again, going from widow to wife. By the end of the episode, we are ready to celebrate and look forward to her wedding, but first, some thoughts.

We start with a look at love itself and how society can make us feel about it. Including what it’s like when the love you have doesn’t line up with the rules of life you were raised with. Then we hear about my mom’s new love, and her feelings around a new marriage, followed by thoughts on identity, acceptance, and how we are raising the next generation.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 75: Body Acceptance and Dressing Authentically with Dacy of Mindful Closet

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Dacy of Mindful Closet is here to chat about all the layers of how we curate our wardrobes. From social expectations to personal motivation, from fear and grief to body acceptance, dressing ourselves can be a difficult balance. Whether it be a balance in our lives or in ourselves, the goal is to find and wear our authentic personal style.

With this conversation which focuses on dressing authentically, Dacy and I would like to acknowledge that not everyone has the freedom and safety to wear what is authentic for them. We hope we can get to a place where everyone can walk through life expressing themselves without fear or consequence.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 74: From Expat to Repat – Who Am I Now? With Brandi Lunn

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From Expat to Repat… Brandi and her husband spent over 10 years abroad, living in France and Germany, continuing to renew contracts and extend their adventure… But life became heavy and the pandemic put pressure where resilience once thrived. It left them asking if this was the life they still wanted.

We look back at her expat life, the person she became while living abroad, and the challenge of moving back home to a life that doesn’t quite fit anymore, making her look back to her European life with rose colored glasses.

While mourning the place she left behind, there is a silver lining. Moving home has given her a new, or should I say renewed, sense of identity. For the first time in a long time, she feels like a daughter and a sister. Our conversation rounds out with Brandi balancing all the feelings, accepting that grief and joy can co-exist.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 73: What Can We Do About Food Waste? With Mei Li of Food Waste Feast

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Food Waste Happens. It is a big picture thing with a lot of moving parts and waste at every turn. So, what can we do about food waste? What difference can I make?

Cook book author and former Mei Mei restaurateur, Mei Li, is here to motivate us at the household level with Food Waste Feast. Home cooks can make a difference because so much food waste happens after we buy our groceries: The forgotten salad, half a lemon the recipe didn’t call for, it all adds up.

Making little changes with not just how we cook and but how we think about food can make big differences to our wallets and bonus points! the environment too. We can save money, create delicious food and make the world a better place… It’s oh so satisfying.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 72: The Making of a Digital Nomad Life with Anne Claessen

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Remote working is on the rise and many are asking, where can I take this?

In this episode, I speak with Anne of Digital Nomad Stories and The Podcast Babes about her balance between who she was, with law school and an MBA to the life she tried out with less plans, more travel but more instability, to where she is now, finding a middle ground.

And that middle ground is being her version of a Digital Nomad. But what does it take to have this type of life? We chat about the lessons from Anne’s life as well as the many digital nomads she has interviewed for her podcast.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 71: International Perinatal Support with Johanna of Afloat

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You deserve support.

In this episode, we hear from Johanna who works with the growing initiative of Afloat to support people in their perinatal time. From fertility to parenting and the path in between, Afloat was born out of a need in the international community to find support. We hope this conversation can motivate listeners to seek support or help build these initiatives to support others.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 70: Balancing Chapters in Life and Writing with Laura Tremaine

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Laura Tremaine is a writer and podcaster balancing between her Oklahoma roots and her Los Angeles, California wings. Along the way, she met her husband, Jeff Tremaine of Jackass and Ridiculousness, had two wonderful kids, became a podcaster three times over, and wrote her first book (Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First). Now, in early 2022, as she focuses on her next book, she is balancing her creative life along with family, mental health, cooking dinner and this little thing called a global pandemic. Between sips of Dr. Pepper we chatted about it all, including her refreshing 40-something awakening of not caring what others think. Listen to it all in episode 70 of Balancing Stories.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 69: Opening 2022 – Mini Mantras to Start a Year

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In Episode 68 and 69, over the changing of the year, I am sharing my mini mantras.

The question is, why do I need these? Why do I need to tell myself (often literally out loud) to take these tiny actions, to consciously make an effort to make my life better?

Wait for it… Culture.

With each of these simple tasks, that may be reflexes for others, I need to convince myself to change my behavior because I was raised (in my family, in my community or by society) in many cases to do the opposite.

In this episode, I share mini mantras about being open for the new year and creating space: in your place, in your mind and on your calendar. With bonus unofficial mantra for 2022 – What about me?

I’m Meghan Kitchen and this is Balancing Stories

Today is the day Balancing Cultures becomes Balancing Stories.

I am so happy I started my podcast life with Balancing Cultures. It was the title and direction I needed at the time but the conversations have grown beyond the lanes of that name. I found myself either forcing culture into the conversation or not having guests on if I couldn’t link it back to the title. I have been limiting the conversations we could be having because of a single word in the title.

Although I have felt this for a while, it wasn’t until I recorded my mini mantra episodes (episodes 68 and 69) about making small changes that I decided it was time assess the friction in my podcasting. So, I spent the last few weeks brainstorming names, creating new cover art, rewriting taglines to create an open door to more stories. You could say I’m un-niching myself. Rather than focusing on the balancing of cultures, conversations will open up to explore how we balance in life with culture, expectations, identity, and more.

This small change will make a big difference for me as a host and podcast creator. So sit back, relax, subscribe and follow so episodes come to you. Balancing Stories are on their way, I can’t wait to share them with you!