Four Seas One Family

In this episode we have a fellow podcaster from Kansas City who is now living as an expat in Belize on the island of Caye Caulker. A person of action, Robert Harper, explains how he has changed his philosophy about life and managed to arrange a lifestyle that allows him to work remotely and experience living abroad with his extended family which includes two wonderful young grandchildren. Robert shares why he feels supplying his grandchildren with supplementary remote educational resources will help them develop a more overall competitive educational advantage.

He also explains what he doesn't miss about life in the U.S. and why he doesn't think he will own land to live on again. This maybe because of how his nomadic lifestyle suits the life he and his family have chosen to enjoy.

He also points out, that as an expat, it is important to get out and learn about the surroundings and it's people. Listen to what Robert learnt from a local Belizean businesswoman about the connection Belize once had with the slave trade in the U.S.. Most importantly, Robert also explains why people in his home nation have to stop being afraid and explore the outside world.

**Some of Robert's quotes**:

7:50 mins.

"There is a saying on Caye Caulker. You're on Belizean time. Mañana doesn't mean tomorrow. It could mean next week."

9:56 mins.

"I don't know if we'll ever again own a place in any country"

16:20 mins.

"After the Civil War in the US, a number of plantation owners moved to South Belize and stopped growing cotton and started growing sugarcane and transfer their slaves."

20:20 mins.

"Our experience is the first question asked by anybody in the State is: Aren't you afraid?"

21:10 mins.

"Yes, we are going to be safe but we're not going to be in a bubble."

23:35 mins.

"In today's world, you should live where you're treated well."

35:00 mins.

About thinking about living life abroad: "Take action. Stop thinking about doing this because no matter where you are in your life you'll never have as much money as you think you should (have) to be able to do this."

35:47 mins.

"Just because you (have) decided to do this doesn't mean you'll have to do this forever."

Click here for Robert's Belize hospital experience. Robert get's a lot of questions from family and friends back home. He is trying to get them to explore the world and see what it has to offer. He often gets asked questions like:

Another, and more serious, question Robert often gets is:

"What will you do if you get sick?"

Life abroad isn't always as cool as it looks like in the movies. Normal things happen while living abroad. Robert writes about what he went through to get medical care for his wife in Belize in a blog post. He notes that it's affordable to get sick in Belize. Medical care in the US can carry a heavy cost and place a burden on people and their families. Other countries have health care is just as good or better than the health care in the U.S. and that shouldn't be a surprise.

One mind blowing thing Robert said during the interview was that in Belize, AFTER seeking medical care, he is able to sit down and chat with his doctor for forty-five minutes just to talk about general things. What! Forty-five minutes on the doctors time! Unlike in the US where, if you're lucky, 15 minutes maximum is the norm.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

As mentioned, Robert is also a podcaster. Robert co-host the podcast Roaming Start Up. Roaming Start Up in the past focused on crowd funding. In the future, the show will refocus an cover digital nomadic lifestyles.

Robert's podcast Roaming Start Up can be found HERE!

Click here for Robert's Belize hospital experience.

Click here to learn about Belize's connection to the slave trade (Global Black History).

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Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

Many people find their life path at unexpected times and in bewildering situations. Sometimes, people find themselves "evacuating" a certain life situation to search for another purpose. In this episode we are happy to sit down for a chat with American expat Andrea Whitaker. Andrea is very energetic so she doesn't just sit around waiting for adventure to somehow find her. She bravely goes out on her scooter and not only looks for adventure, but hunts for it. Andrea has left over 25 years in the world of aviation and has been all over the globe learning about different cultures and lifestyles.

Today, Andrea is an English teacher in Taiwan's technology center, Hsinchu, which is a little over 40 minutes south of the capital, Taipei. Also, she's an affluent blogger. On her blog, she writes about her expat adventures and breathtaking discoveries.

In this episode, Andrea talks about how she is extracting quality out of her expat experiences. She mentions how her relationships with her adult students are helping her get an even deeper knowledge of Taiwan and its people. All in all, while moving at the speed of light, she keeps a positive outlook on living life abroad.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Andrea Whitaker's blog: Andi on Adventure

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Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

Join us this episode as our host, James Thomas, sits down for a chat with Zambian-Canadian expat-entrepreneur Mr. Rico Ngoma. Tune in and listen to what lead Mr. Ngoma to learn more about China and what gave him the spark to finally move to China and start a business in the southern ever-moving Chinese city of Guangzhou. As Rico's parents are also deeply involved in business, it maybe fair to say that doing business is in Rico's DNA.

Rico followed the road many expats take while living abroad and draws some interesting comparisons between doing business and living a normal life in China that may sound confusing to anyone upon their first encounter. Rico is and open-minded individual and shows how understanding the history of a people can help an expat except, survive and understand their life in their overseas location.

Rico's direct comments offers valuable insights into the life of an expat businessman navigating the bumpy business roads in China.

Rico explains: "…China is not a big Walmart where you can go to an aisle and get want you want…"

and

On his Made in China Podcast, Rico explains what is a "China Day".

His experiences in China have also become valuable assets in the creation of his podcast that you can find in iTunes: Made in China Podcast.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

www.sourcefindasia.com - Source Find Asia is my product manufacturing consulting company based in Guangzhou. We source high quality suppliers for clients, manage mass production orders, QC, shipping & logistics etc. Our clients range from e-commerce like Amazon FBA sellers or large software companies transitioning into physical products.

www.enterchina.co - Is a private (paid) online mastermind community with 150 members. We focus on manufacturing in China; our members have raised over $2 million from crowd funding campaigns using the methods developed in the community.

Additional links of interest:

4S1F34 Ian Mote: From Chicken Feet to Crystal Baths

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Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

Today, I am happy to have new dad, podcaster and entrepreneur Mr. Michael Michelini on the show. Michael is not only a new dad of two wonderful children; he is also a podcaster with two shows to look after! A top of all of this, Michael is also a business consultant for overseas companies looking to manufacture products in China. Michael's consulting business, along with its website and other businesses, specializes in helping individuals and overseas companies understand how to do business in China. Michael has a long list of people and companies he has helped over the years to solve business issues related to China's complex business maze.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Websites and Podcasts

Website and Podcast: Global From Asia

Website and Podcast: China Business Cast

Website: Mike's Personal Blog

On-line Entrepreneur Community

Website: Enter China

Book

Website: The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE!

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this podcast.

If you have any feedback, please leave a note in the comments section below or leave a voice message via our SpeakPipe voice message page. We would love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

It is no secret that taking a leap of faith of any kind can lead to many important transitions in anyone's life, which can help a person further develop him or herself as a part of the human race. In this episode, James is joined in his downtown office studio in Taipei with Mr. Johnny Fountain who currently works for a major global computer manufacturer with offices in Asia. Johnny is now based in Taipei, Taiwan and he joins us in this episode to talk about his experiences that lead to his life abroad. He talks about how he took a leap of faith and looks forward to life beyond the safety net he had at home.

Johnny, from a little town in Georgia, mentions some similarities he has discovered between food and culture. Most importantly, Johnny shares how he learned to get involved with the local culture, which opened a gateway for him to make friends and take part in many local events. His experiences have offered him a better understanding of the local people within his environment. Join us as we take a look from a different perspective from someone who eagerly looks forward to his life abroad.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Taipei, Taiwan

Georgia Tech

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE!

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this podcast.

If you have any feedback, please leave a note in the comments section below or leave a voice message via our SpeakPipe voice message page. We would love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

Teaching is a tool to help make this world a better place for everyone and today I am very lucky to have Mr. Barry Mernin on the show this episode. Mr. Mernin is a lifelong elementary educator. Before teaching overseas, Mr. Mernin spent 12 years teaching in the US. Now, at the time of this episode, Mr. Mernin has spent the past fifteen years teaching in Singapore, Japan, Jordan and Hong Kong. He is currently a teaching administrator at Hokkaido International School- Niseko, Japan.

Mr. Mernin's professional mission statement is: " I will provide a wholesome and upbeat environment for any and all students to succeed. I will teach students to learn to be content. I will demand that students care for the world around them as well as themselves. I will remember what it is like to be a child."

Mr. Mernin has a master's degree in Mathematics and has attended summer workshops with Columbia University's Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, directed by Lucy Calkins. Mr. Mernin has also obtained a leadership certificate from the Principal's Training Center for International Educators. This interview touched me and I see why Mr. Mernin is really a professional educator who values lifelong learning and is constantly enhancing his craft.

ABOUT GUEST::

Name: Barry Mernin

Home nation: USA

Current location: Niseko, Japan

Mr. Mernin's personal were he writes about teaching and living overseas:

Expat Teacher Man : https://expatteacherman.com

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Hokkaido International School: http://home.his.ac.jp/niseko/

Hokkaido International School NISEKO12 Aza Fujimi

Niseko-cho, Abuta-gun

Japan 048-1501

How To Contact Us

Email: [email protected]

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE!

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this podcast.

If you have any feedback, please leave a note in the comments section below or leave a voice message via our SpeakPipe voice message page. We would love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

In this episode James and Jon Dunning sit down for a chat about the different types of expats that adventure beyond their nations borders to experience life and for what reasons. Expats view their overseas life experience in many ways and in this podcast learn about the make up of a few of them.

The expat's approach to assimilation and humility in learning about a host country's culture, balancing birth/host country cultures, are we conquerors, escapees or explorers?

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

CONQUEROR, EXPLORER, ESCAPEE, NOMAD (BY-LIFESTYLE)

Other possible types of expats:

Student / Ex-student

Job /Career recruit

Traveling spouse

Idealist or Romantic

New Lifestyle

Backpacker

As of 2015: Examples of global migration:

Source: International Organization for Migration

United States

Outward migration from United States of America: 2,994,925.

In 2015, 0.92% of all citizens of United States of America lived outside their country of origin.

Inward migration to United States of America: 46,627,102.

In 2015, the immigrant population of United States of America was 14.49% of total resident population.

United Kingdom

Outward migration from United Kingdom: 4,911,334.

In 2015, 7.05% of all citizens of United Kingdom lived outside their country of origin.

UK: Inward migration to United Kingdom: 8,543,120.

In 2015, the immigrant population of United Kingdom was 13.20% of total resident population.

Five Countries that have the highest percentage of expats

Website: (2015) Going Global

Expat populations follows the money:

- Some with very high turnover rates

- Expat population is higher than the local population

Examples of countries that have the highest percentage of expats

Qatar Over 70% of Qatar's population is expat. In 2014, out of Qatar's 1.8 million, only 278,000 are locals. That means about 1.5 million were expats.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE has a population of 9.2 million but only about 1.4 million are locals. The rest are expats which number nearly 8 million. Meaning over 80% of the population are expats.

Kuwait: Kuwait has a total population of 4.1 million, of which only 1.2 million are Kuwaiti nationals. The remaining 2.8 million, who make up 70% of the population, are expats.

Singapore

Singapore has a population of around five and a half (5.5) million people. About 40% are long-term permanent or expat residents

About: Jon Dunning

Host of NewZealand Pocket Radio NewZealand Pocket Radio NewZealand Pocket Radio

Website: NewZealand Pocket Radio

Hear Jon's Four Seas One Family interview.

Over the years, Jon has worked as an actor - and a lifeguard and bike messenger in the long gaps between acting jobs. After starting and growing a small business, he has spent most of his career improving service delivery, customer experience and staff development for organizations on three continents.

Working in local government in New Zealand, he blends his leadership, facilitation and coaching skills with design thinking, process improvement and capability-building to create engaged teams, better services and happier customers.

As a coach, Jon combines his passion for helping other grow with his experience in business and community work to coach those who seek to explore their full potential.

Away from work, Jon enjoys reading, writing and podcasting on a quiet rural smallholding in New Zealand's South Kaipara.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE!

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this podcast.

If you have any feedback, please leave a note in the comments section below or leave a voice message via our SpeakPipe voice message page. We would love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

We have expat author Ian Mote on the show to share his expat experience and how and why he decided to write a memoir of his life in China in his comically titled book "From Chicken Feet to Crystal Baths". As a youngster from London and while traveling from country to country with his parents, Ian may have picked up an expat gene along the way.

As of this podcast, Ian has lived as a expat for over 14 years. He has lived 4 years in Hong Kong, 3 years in Dubai and over 7 years in Shanghai, China. Ian chats about how he got hooked on being an expat. However, in this interview, we centre on the making of his unique book that encircles his interactions as a commercial banker and communications with people in China.

Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 472 pages | ISBN 9781504903950

Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 472 pages | ISBN 9781504903943

E-Book | 472 pages | ISBN 9781504903967

Available at Amazon

Website: From Chicken Feet to Crystals Baths

From the Author: Ian Mote:

I have always loved to travel. Right from the time I went around the world as a baby in my parents' arms, travelling has been in my blood.

Growing up in London, as I grew older I started looking at longer-term trips away from the UK. Aged eighteen, I took the obligatory gap year, when I spent six months on a school exchange program in rural Kansas, experiencing American life that I had only before seen on television or in films. It made me realise that maybe there was more out there in the world to understand, see, and experience.

I went to Hong Kong for the first time in 1990 and then again in 1995. The 1995 trip also featured my first tentative steps onto mainland Chinese soil. Despite a chronic case of food poisoning spoiling my view somewhat, even then I found China fascinating. What a different world from suburban London.

In 2002 I moved permanently to Hong Kong and lived there for four frenetic years. That time included regular trips into all different parts of China, and from those trips, these stories started. I had an intermission from China when I moved to Dubai in 2006, but in late 2008 I took the opportunity to return to Asia to live in Shanghai, where I remain to this day.

I'm very happy to have Ms. Amanda Bate as my guest on the podcast. Amanda was born in the US to Cameroonian parents and grew up in Africa. Amanda is also the founder of The Black Expat website.

The Black Expat website spotlights collected black expat experiences that are directly related to a black expat's survival while living abroad. Also, parts of the website talks about issues that relate to raising children abroad and, in particular issues related to what Third Culture Kids (TCKs) face while living abroad and upon touching down in the nation of their parents birth.

Currently Amanda lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she works in educational consulting as a director of a college access program that assist low income and underrepresented minority students regarding their postsecondary education plans.

Amanda explains how she became an advocate of studying abroad and why she's working to make studying abroad more accessible to minority students who normally wouldn't even think about an educational experience beyond their nation's border.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Black Expat:

Website: http://www.theblackexpat.com

Twitter: @theblackexpat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblackexpat/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BlackExpat/

Read The Wall Street Journal's interview: A Voice For Global Nomads Of Color

Additional links of interest:

The Difference between Expats and Immigrants? It's Passports, Not Race

'Expat' Under Fire: The Word is Not Racist, Argues a Global Nomad

Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants?

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If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!

EPISODE OVERVIEW:

In this episode, I go into a direction that has been on my mind ever since I decided to live permanently outside my nation of birth. I often find it hard to explain to friends and family back in the South Bronx the reasons why I chose to live abroad and face the challenges of living away from familiar faces, places and customs. I didn't want to fall into the same, and often limited, life style most African-Americans with little or no financial backing often find themselves becoming a part of. Even with a college degree, I felt that I needed to obtain education from other sources to acquire full understanding of the world and, in turn, myself. I also wanted to cast-off the predicted social limits male African-Americans directly or indirectly become a participant of.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER:

I am a podcaster who does a podcast about the, mainly positive, aspects of living life abroad. I must say clearly that there are things that I see in my overseas environment that can upset me if I allow it. I understand that I'm really just a guest and I can't make my host nation appeal to my western values. I don't choose to carry negativity with me like a heavy bag of dirty laundry. So what gives?

For example, here in Asia, I've witnessed a level of cruelty to animals that burns my heart. In some nations, what I consider animal cruelty is just a means to make a living and feed people. Maybe, because of my western upbringing, I just have a super high level of affection for animals. On the other side of the coin, I have quality long-term friendships with people from very different cultures who frankly know little or nothing about me and don't require that I offer anything in return. I have never been able to foster these kinds of relationships in my home nation. Now, hold on! Before you jump on me, this could simply be a problem of my own making or my way of creating a feeling that I wasn't able to feel back home.

Maybe there's some truth in stating that it's just easier to accept the things you see as shameful in other countries and cultures than it is your own.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

I think an expat's viewpoint can offer insights from a cultural awareness angle to people who are of the same or similar background as the expat. I am not saying, nor am I implying, that an expat's point of view is superior to any other. Living within another culture isn't as romantic as it may sound and expats have plenty of issues to face that can make them question their reasons for living abroad and many of these issues can cause an expat to pack up, return home and list their overseas journey as a failure.

For a long-term expat, there really isn't an ending journey. People who are willing to fully engage in different ways of thinking and adjusting to new environments are in a constant state of transformation that brings with it a sense of accomplishment. This accomplishment shows that people have more in common with each other then they think. We just have to keep the doors open to share how similar we really are without overstating our differences.

TOPICS RELATED TO THE EPISODE:

This is how fascism comes to America

Why I'm Voting For Trump

China Points to Donald Trump to Prove Democracy Doesn't Work

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS EPISODE!

Thank you very much for taking the time this week to share.

If you have any feedback, please leave a note in the comments section below or leave a voice message via our SpeakPipe page. We would love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this please share it with your friends, family and co-workers by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates of our podcasts.

And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews.

Please help us spread the word and leave a review in iTunes by clicking here!

Thank you for listening to Four Seas One Family. We are all the same and at the same time uniquely different!