Geopats Abroad : Chats with expats, immigrants, and locals

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Can social media ground us and make us feel more at peace in this crazy world? 

This conversation with Tania from Swahili Secrets will present an answer to this question that is not common but very refreshing. Tania was born in Kenya and moved around a lot. Her geographical footprint includes 4 other African countries, Thailand, Austria and Germany. Although she calls Germany home, her heart and her projects revolve around Kenya. In this conversation we follow her online journey from her first chat room all the way through to her current day Instagram world. This IG space includes the travel services of Swahili Secrets, the African inspired merchandise of Bantu Sisters, and the community oriented The Kenyan Kind. 

 In this conversation we chat about:

• her amazing geographical trajectory
• her first experiences online & her current onlineness
• private and public social media choices
• how her online posting habits have changed
• the online lessons she’s learned over time 

Original publication date: April 2, 2021

 🌍 Tools & resources for living, traveling, and working abroad: https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/living-abroad-resources

🛍️ Geopats Abroad Stationary Store: https://geopatsabroad-shop.fourthwall.com/en-eur?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=geopats_shop&utm_content=episode_description

🛠️ Podcast & creator tools I use: https://podcaststeph.substack.com/p/podcast-tools-i-use

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

Kevin Mwachiro of Nipe Story Podcast is a powerful storyteller. Listening to his audio stories is akin to listening to a captivating audio dance. His 18+ years of broadcasting experience have undoubtedly fine tuned his technical abilities but in my opinion it is the fire from his soul that makes his stories so strong yet so gentle. In 2017 he launched Nipe Story, a story-telling podcast which produces audio versions of short-story fiction from the African continent. He is also queer rights activist.

Kevin Mwachiro of Nipe Story Podcast is a powerful storyteller. Listening to his audio stories is akin to listening to a captivating audio dance. His 18+ years of broadcasting experience have undoubtedly fine tuned his technical abilities but in my opinion it is the fire from his soul that makes his stories so strong yet so gentle. In 2017 he launched Nipe Story, a story-telling podcast which produces audio versions of short-story fiction from the African continent. He is also queer rights activist.

Kevin's Information:

-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevmwachiro/?hl=en

-Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevmwachiro

and https://twitter.com/nipe_story

​Links: 

-Kevin's TED Talk, For the Love Of Stories, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4tEIZ_Hfp0

-Afro podfest: https://www.africapodcastfestival.com/festival-overview

-Show Your Worok (book) byAustin Kleon

Kevin's Podcast Recommendations: 

-Afropop Worldwide: https://afropop.org/

-The Spread (sex): https://soundcloud.com/karenkazlucas/sets/the-spread-a-sex-positive 

-Padded Room (mental health): https://paddedroom.podbean.com/

-Bench Warmerz Kenya: https://podcasts.apple.com/ke/podcast/benchwarmerzke/id1166445400

.The song in this episode is “Sometime Guy" from the "Mess Of Me"

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo (earlier episodes): https://www.damoncastillo.com/
and
Key Frame Audio (more recent eps) :https://keyframeaudio.com/

Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries (mostly for Americans): Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

🔥 Traveling Mailbox: scan/forward postal service for Americans. It's saved me time, money and headaches.
https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19Q/MDNYO68N38

🔥 Stackry: Shop in the U.S. and have the items shipped internationally.
https://www.stackry.com/register?referral=7118738

What do you do when you love podcasts, work in technology, and have a desire to make podcasting easier for more people to participate in? Mateusz Sójka instinct was to co-found the German Podcast Host and & Analytics Company, Podigee. That was 7 years ago and he has amassed a great deal of knowledge about the podcasting scene in Germany and Europe during this time. In this episode, we tap into his podcasting knowledge, Spotify's role in the German podcasting scene, and the possible future of podcasting. 

Mateusz's & Podigee's Information:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matisojka/

https://www.podigee.com 

Links: 

-His blog post on the European podcasting scene: https://www.mateuszsojka.com/post/what-s-up-in-european-podcasting-a-status-assessment

-Accidental Tech: ​https://atp.fm/

-Duck in Games: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/duck-in-games-805309 

• ​Music courtesy of ​Damon Castillo.The song in this episode is “Saint Cecilia" from the "Mess Of Me" album. http://www.damoncastillo.com/

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo (earlier episodes): https://www.damoncastillo.com/
and
Key Frame Audio (more recent eps) :https://keyframeaudio.com/

Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries (mostly for Americans): Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

🔥 Traveling Mailbox: scan/forward postal service for Americans. It's saved me time, money and headaches.
https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19Q/MDNYO68N38

🔥 Stackry: Shop in the U.S. and have the items shipped internationally.
https://www.stackry.com/register?referral=7118738

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Before social media became nonstop political warfare, moving abroad often meant building creative communities online from scratch. James spent 14 years outside the UK, first in the Czech Republic and later in China, where blogs, expat forums, mixtapes, and early music podcasts helped him stay connected across cultures. Now back in England, he reflects on how dramatically online life changed between 2002 and 2016. We talk about Prague’s early expat blogging scene, podcasting before it went mainstream, China’s surprisingly open early internet years, the rise of the Great Firewall, reverse culture shock, Brexit-era social media tension, and the story behind Centuries of Sound, his podcast creating mixtapes for every year of recorded sound history.

Original publication date: July 18, 2020

 🌍 Tools & resources for living, traveling, and working abroad: https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/living-abroad-resources

🛍️ Geopats Abroad Stationary Store: https://geopatsabroad-shop.fourthwall.com/en-eur?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=geopats_shop&utm_content=episode_description

🛠️ Podcast & creator tools I use: https://podcaststeph.substack.com/p/podcast-tools-i-use

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

Many people say that working on your creative project every day is the only way to achieve success, whatever that is (well, that is an entirely other episode topic, that’s what that is). But is it realistic for us to write every day (Summer) or produce podcasting content every day (Steph)? In this episode we grapple with the scheduling aspects of our creative process: is consistency the thing that makes or breaks creative success? What we have done before, what worked before and what we might try in the future are some of the things we cover. But at the heart of it all is a disease in our creative comfort zone.

To be honest, I (Steph) have been working on my podcasts nearly every day for over two years. This consistency is fueled by 1. an annoyance of gatekeepers in other media not “letting” me publish these ideas before now and 2. a huge desire to make sense of my very messy and un(financially)successful life. But 2 years and 4 podcasts in and I am, in a word, tired. On the other side of the consistent fence is Summer. She wants some of Steph’s consistency in her own writing endeavors but is struggling with deciding what to write about. Steph wants to relax and slow down and Summer wants more writing consistency and gain creative and output momentum. So basically, the creative grass is always greener.

Rabbit Holes:

Summer: hotels in France

Steph: GTD: Get Things Done system

Helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCswMsONkwY&t=88s

Creative terminology/ideas to emerge from this episode:

(none in this episode)

Links:

-The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett, https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37509591

-Bullet journals: https://www.google.com/search?q=bullet+journal&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiajbStuZ3jAhUE_GEKHbt9C0EQsAR6BAgCEAE&biw=1242&bih=582

Quotes:

“When is your inner passion not enough to keep going with it?” -Summer

“I got much more careful when it was other people’s souls that I was playing with in audio form.” -Steph

And a big thank you to Alex of Kwick Lights (https://kwick-lights.de/de) for recording our snazzy new intro/outro jingles! Thanks also to Lena of Lena On The Move (https://lenaonthemove.c

www.stephfuccio.com

Producer, Host, Editor: Stephanie Fuccio: https://www.stephfuccio.com/contact.html

questions for audio creatives newsletter: https://stephfuccio.ghost.io/

Geopats YouTube channel: under construction

This podcast was created with (affiliate links):

• Streamyard for recording, going live, and distributing FULL videos to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube: https://streamyard.com?pal=5673660346007552
• Buzzsprout for podcast hosting: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1907332
• Acon Digital's DeVerberate to reduce echo: https://a.paddle.com/v2/click/11427/147398?link=3691
• Tube Buddy to optimize YouTube: https://www.tubebuddy.com/globalpodcasteditors

This is our first Podcasters roundup episode. The question was:

" What dream podcasting tool that does NOT exist do you want to exist?"

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo (earlier episodes): https://www.damoncastillo.com/
and
Key Frame Audio (more recent eps) :https://keyframeaudio.com/

Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries (mostly for Americans): Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

🔥 Traveling Mailbox: scan/forward postal service for Americans. It's saved me time, money and headaches.
https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19Q/MDNYO68N38

🔥 Stackry: Shop in the U.S. and have the items shipped internationally.
https://www.stackry.com/register?referral=7118738

Send us Fan Mail

Podcasting in Germany can give immigrants and long-term international residents a way to reconnect with the curiosity and identity that can fade once life abroad becomes ordinary. After 12 years in Germany, Shaun Behrens found that creating an English-language podcast about expat life didn’t just connect him with listeners, it pulled him back into conversations about movement, belonging, and international life that he was starting to miss.

Shaun is originally from South Africa and had become a German citizen after more than a decade in Germany. He started Expat Life Germany partly because he missed the “expat spirit” of people willing to pack everything up and build a life somewhere new. With two children, a third on the way, and a settled life in Germany, moving again wasn’t realistic, so interviewing people still navigating international life became another way to stay connected to that part of himself.

Shaun's podcast: https://pod.link/1464633448

Listen for:

• How a long-term immigrant in Germany stayed connected to international life
• Why settling in Germany changed Shaun’s relationship with expat identity
• How an English-language podcast helped him reconnect with the “expat spirit”
• Why Germans listened to an expat podcast for an outsider’s view of Germany
• How life in Germany shaped the direction of Expat Life Germany
• Why speaking fluent German didn’t mean hosting a podcast in German felt right
• How conversations with expats and immigrants changed Shaun’s view of Germany
• Why an expat podcast started expanding into immigration, identity, and belonging
• How building an audience made Shaun reconsider the podcast’s original focus

How Immigrants Stay Connected to International Life After Settling in Germany

After 12 years in Germany, Shaun no longer considered himself an expat. He’d become a German citizen and described himself more as an immigrant, but he still missed the curiosity and movement of international life. Expat Life Germany gave him regular contact with people who were still experiencing the process of moving somewhere new.

Why Germans Listen to English-Language Podcasts About Germany

Shaun expected an English-language podcast about Germany to attract foreigners, but Germans started listening too. They told him they enjoyed hearing their country through “outsiders’ eyes.” That unexpected audience made him reconsider whether the podcast was really just about expat life.

How Expat Podcasts Expand Into Immigration, Identity, and Belonging

Shaun originally planned to interview people currently living in Germany as expats, but the stories he wanted to tell soon became broader. One upcoming guest had German grandparents who left during the Holocaust, later studied German at university, and spent several months living in Germany. Shaun began thinking less about “expat life” and more about the wider “Germany experience” created through immigration, travel, language, history, and family.

The show was also growing faster than Shaun expected. Just 13 episodes in, his Facebook group had around 40 members and his downloads were strong enough that changing the concept no longer felt invisible. He was considering a rebrand, even if it meant losing some listeners, because making a show he wanted to keep producing mattered more than protecting the original idea.

CONNECT WITH GUEST: SHAUN BEHRENS

Podcast: The Germany Experience (the new name): https://pod.link/1464633448

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/contact-stephanie

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Expat Life Germany | Podstock | Podcastnik | The Expat Cast | Buzzsprout | Zencastr

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

Original publication date: September 30, 2019

 🌍 Tools & resources for living, traveling, and working abroad: https://geopatsabroad.substack.com/p/living-abroad-resources

🛍️ Geopats Abroad Stationary Store: https://geopatsabroad-shop.fourthwall.com/en-eur?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=geopats_shop&utm_content=episode_description

🛠️ Podcast & creator tools I use: https://podcaststeph.substack.com/p/podcast-tools-i-use

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew

Eric started lifting weights 15 years ago and it is now an essential part of his life and the main topic of his and his girlfriend's podcast “Planet Powerlifting”. In their podcast, they hope to make powerlifting more accessible to outsiders and shed light on as many aspects of the sport as possible. Along with the basics of their podcasting life in Berlin, Germany we cover unique aspects of the podcasting scene in Germany as a whole as well. 

---------------------------------------------

Eric Hinzpeter:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planet_powerlifting 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/planetpowerlift
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Planet-Powerlifting-106093897799455
• Website: https://www.planetpowerlifting.de

​Links: ​​

• Podstock, the podcast conference in the woods, looks like they are doing a remote version in 2020: https://www.podstock.de/cfp_2020.html
• The IG famous German Powerlifter Eric talked about is  Julie Klenker, also known as “Bundesbizepsministerin,”which translates to “Federal Biceps Ministry: https://www.instagram.com/bundesbizepsministerin/
• Norm of PodLovers Asia episode on Geopats Podcasting: https://www.stephfuccio.com/geopatspodcastingshow/122-are-you-sick-of-american-podcasts-discover-the-asian-podcasting-scene-with-normal-chella-of-podlovers-asia-podcast
• Digital Kompakt example (German no spaces podcast type): https://www.digitalkompakt.de/podcast/achtsamkeit-sinn-arbeit/
• ​Music courtesy of ​Damon Castillo.The song in this episode is “California Minute" from t

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo (earlier episodes): https://www.damoncastillo.com/
and
Key Frame Audio (more recent eps) :https://keyframeaudio.com/

Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries (mostly for Americans): Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

🔥 Traveling Mailbox: scan/forward postal service for Americans. It's saved me time, money and headaches.
https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422

🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19Q/MDNYO68N38

🔥 Stackry: Shop in the U.S. and have the items shipped internationally.
https://www.stackry.com/register?referral=7118738