Balancing Stories

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 59: Choosing to Stay Abroad – Life with a Blend of Cultures, Outsider Benefits & Creative Pursuits

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked: Why did you leave California?

California is great. I will always be Californian. When people ask where I’m from, I still say California. But I did not leave my heart in San Francisco. I packed it up, brought it to Europe and now it belongs to Munich.

And I’m not the only one.

Eleanor Mayrhofer is here to chat about her Californian upbringing with a blend of cultures that showed her the benefits of being an outsider and opened her up to international life. Despite the headaches of expat life: From visas and taxes to quitting corporate life and starting a business. Eleanor is still choosing to stay abroad.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 58: Interview Extras – Umlauts, Inspiration, Education & An Airlift

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Welcome to interview extras and behind the scenes of Balancing Cultures. I like to have fun with my guests, which means we warm up with chit chat, sometimes take a quick break in the middle, go off on fun conversational detours and check in after the questions.

I’ve saved clips from 4 recent interviews to share with you from:

Episode 50 Clarity with Keltie, Episode 51 Laxmi’s Mooch with Shelly, Episode 56 An American in Finland with Jade, and Episode 57 Parenting Non-Binary with Callie.

But as I said, these are the extras, so the topics are: Changing our names, Book title inspiration, Finnish education, The Afghan Airlift, and Living in Germany.

Check the show notes for more about the guests and their other episodes.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 57: Parenting Non-Binary – Balancing Religious Upbringing, Feminist Values, Military Family & Being an LGBT Ally

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Parenting is hard work. It’s not just the endless to do lists; It’s the exhausting confrontation of who we are, how we grew up, and what controls our decision making. It’s also the concerns we have about the world and how we prepare our kids to be a part of it.

Callie knows these challenges very well. She is the mom of a non-binary child but her story does not start there. In this episode, we talk about the evangelical culture she grew up in, how she confronted her upbringing by embracing feminism, how feminism fits into her life as a military spouse and how she channels her mix of midwestern values and feminism into parenting a non-binary child (yeah – it’s a good story).

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 56: An American in Finland – From the Pursuit of Happiness to the Happiest Country in the World

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It’s the classic story of an American girl meets a Finnish guy.

Well, at least there are two of us.

They met in the USA but basketball took them abroad and back to his home country.

Jade is here to talk about her side of the love story as an American in Finland:

From learning the language, to finding a job, adjusting to the communication style and the weather. Jade tells us all about her Nordic adjustment and answers the ultimate question: Is Finland really the happiest country in the world?

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 55: How We Talk About Eating Disorders – How Conversations Have Changed & Should Change

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Conversations matter.

In the last 50 years, the conversations around eating disorders have drastically changed

From the conversations in medical education, to the inclusion of conversations as a part of diagnostics and treatment, and our awareness around the conversations we have about our own bodies.

In this episode, I invited my godmother Eileen, who is a dietician working in the field of eating disorders for 40ish years, to talk about the truths and assumptions around eating disorders and more.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 54: Balancing in the Playroom – Empowering Identity & Nurturing Empathy Through Play

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How do we share our culture? Whether it’s between generations or with friends along the way, how do we have conversations about what makes us different with confidence in who we are and with openness to other cultures?

It starts in the playroom! Representation of culture in books and toys helps children develop and take pride in their identity. Talking through our similarities and difference in a fun way helps nurture empathy.

The founders of Indigrow Kids are here to talk about their hopes for early childhood cultural exploration which is inspired by their own experiences.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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We need to talk about periods. As a follow up to Ep. 43, We need to Talk about the Uterus, and Ep. 46, I’m Ready to Talk About My Uterus, here is a conversation with my mom about periods. All the things that were never said to us, the things my mom wished she would have said to me, and how we want the conversation to change for my daughter.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Location, Location, Relocation!

In this episode, I speak with Madalina who is a relocation consultant and cross boarder recruiter. For me, the best part of the interview was learning about her personal experience as an expat that has given her an empathy superpower when supporting clients.

When jobs were scarce in her home country of Romania, she looked abroad and found work in Munich, Germany. Through the process of moving between countries and supporting others in her HR role, she found a passion for helping non-German speakers and non-EU citizens jump through hoops of finding home.

We recorded our interview in June, but needed to jump back on the mics in August for an update because some amazing things happened. We had a great chat about personal development, being the outlier in a group (by gender, age, nationality, etc.) and how we can learn from each other’s differences.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 51: Author Interview Laxmi’s Mooch – A Conversation about Books, Balancing and Body Hair

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Author Shelly Anand is here to discuss her debut children’s book that reflects her own upbringing as an Indian-American. This became an episode about a kid’s book that is about so much more than kid’s books; A conversation for everyone, not just those with kids in their lives.

Laxmi’s Mooch is the story of a young Indian girl in a diverse classroom who becomes self-conscious about her differences – specifically her mustache – and how her questions help everyone around her understand more about themselves. 

The more we balance and interact with other cultures, the more we see our differences. Shelly says, “with diversity comes curiosity.” It’s only natural to compare and contrast our behaviors, bodies and beliefs with others. But how can we move forward with understanding and acceptance rather than judgement?

In this episode, we hear about: Shelly’s Story as the child of Indian immigrants growing up in the southern United States. A Behind the scenes look at the writing of Laxmi’s Mooch. And a deep dive into why these conversations are so important for every member of the family.

*Shelly also gives us some fresh announcements about upcoming books!

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 50: Cultivate Life with Clarity – Celebrating 50 Episodes with Stories of Getting Unstuck and In Motion

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Keltie Maguire is here to talk about Clarity. What it is, why she sought it for herself, how she helped me, and where we go from here. Because clarity is not just knowing what we want, need and value… it’s taking action! Getting Unstuck and In Motion!