Balancing Stories

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 39: Nordic Mum Down Under – Holding onto Scandinavian Culture in Australia

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What do you think of when I say Nordic? What about Scandinavian?

Susanna Heiskanen was born and raised in Finland before moving abroad. She’s always been Finnish as she’s lived around the world. But it was not until she became a parent that she really reflected on her Nordic culture, what it means to her and how she wants to embrace in her everyday life.

Even once she chose to embrace her roots, she says, it’s difficult to hold onto the language and culture while living in a different country. But She’s doing her best and podcasting along the way as The Nordic Mum.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 38: Inclusion in Media Matters – From Family Structures to Disabilities, The Power in Representation

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Beth Cox works with people across the board in the publishing industry but our conversation is about more than books. We expand on the topics of disabilities, family structure and diversity into discussions about representation in all media, including a very unfortunate example of what not to do.

This episode is for everyone, not just parents, not just people with kids in their lives. It is for everyone who consumes media (which I assume is everyone) because we all have the power to make choices that guide publishers and content creators.

This conversation is not about shaming. It’s about moving forward, educating ourselves, and knowing the importance of seeking out new perspectives.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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For the last year, as I reached out to guests or considered topics of conversation, One question that comes up is - Is This Balancing? Is this balancing CULTURES? I believe, how we approach everything, even the little things like, do you make your toothbrush wet before the toothpaste or do you sleep with socks on, is all linked to some type of influence. The question is – is it from culture?

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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They are not the countries we were born in, they are place we chose for ourselves.

In this episode we welcome back 2 Balancing Cultures Alumni: Lisa Davis (Ep. 26) and Ann Heiliger (Ep. 4), to reflect on the places they’ve called home. Both American born, and both chose to live abroad. First we hear from Lisa, currently living in Germany but missing The UK, Ireland and The USA. Then, to close this 3 part series, we hear from Ann who is living back in the place she grew up in Portland, OR, USA, but misses many things about life in Germany.

Part 3 Includes Perspectives From: USA, Germany, UK, Ireland

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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The place matters.

Sometimes we miss the food products and shopping from the places we’ve called home. But sometimes we just need the place itself. The feeling we get being there that cannot be packed into a suitcase: The weather, the sounds, the proximity to people we love. 

Part 2 Includes Perspectives From: Malaysia, Penang, India, New Delhi, USA, Germany.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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It has been 1 year since I was on an airplane.

We flew from Australia to our home in Germany on March 18th, 2020 and went into lockdown on March 21st, 2020.  Since then it has been a lot of what-ifs and definitely-nots around travel. For our family and many people I know, It meant no international travel since that day. Although I’ve grown up away from family my whole life, the last year felt different. I miss things. For Episode 36 parts 1 and 2, six of us will share the things we miss, especially in the last year, from the places we’ve called home. People, places, food and more.

Part 1 Includes Perspectives From: USA, Germany, England, Poland, Philippines.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 35: Resilience in Translation - From Idioms & Italics to Connect for Culture: The Woes & Wonders of Translating

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Resilience in Translating…

I didn’t truly understand the reliance needed for translating until this interview. I knew translation was not a word for word process, but the challenges are much more complex than untranslatable idioms. Translation contains culture and context and layers that do not easily shift between languages. But my guest says, the exchange of texts between cultures is worth any headaches and potential ‘lost in translation’ moments.

In this interview, you will meet Lawrence Schimel: Author, Translator, and Duende Seeker. A New Yorker living in Spain and working with people from around the world.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 34: Silver Haired Curve Model – Body Confidence Activist & Out of the Bubble after 40

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Not just a New Career After 40...⁠ a New Perspective.

This silver haired curve model spent years saying no to opportunities and letting self-consciousness guide her decision making. At 39 years old, Rachel Peru took inventory of her life and stepped out of her bubble because it is never too late to say yes, take risks, and believe in yourself. But What sparked this awakening and what steps were on her way to genuine confidence… Listen to Episode 34 to hear her story.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 33: Growing Up Diplomatic – Indian Roots, International Upbringing, American Life, & Bookstagram for Balancing

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Heritage, Roots, Culture… What’s the word I’m looking for?

My guest was born to Indian parents, but not in India. She grew up around the world as a diplomat’s daughter. Although her parents have since retired back in India, she has found home in Chicago, USA.

Saranya is Indian. But as you will hear as she shares her story, it has been a lifetime of discovery, finding which parts of Indian culture feel most authentic to who she is. Especially now that she is a parent and deciding what values and traditions they will embrace as a family. Even if she needs to google all the recipes.

Once we get to know Saranya, we will dig into her public life as a content creator, promoting social awareness with a side of kid’s books @Toddlers.Who.Read

Because to understand what she does now, it’s best to know where she has been.

FULL SHOW NOTES with links on Balancingstories.com

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Episode 32 Part 2: The Expat Who Stayed - A Brit Balancing in Belgium for Over 50 Years

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Sue Baudoux was born in 1945 in London.Part one explored her post war childhood with rations, rubble, a love of languages and failure in math to find she's not so average after all.

In this episode, we follow her as she moves across the Channel for love and life. She has been “abroad” for over 50 years. Two thirds of her life in a country she was not born in. Sue is not an expat, not an immigrant, not a local. She is a lifer.

What is that like? To be married and have kids and manage friendships and work in a place you call home but not a part of your upbringing. From table manners to politics, Let's go ahead and start the conversation.