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If your picture of German culture still comes mostly from stereotypes about coldness, efficiency, or bluntness, Rebecca Schuman offers a much more human way in. In this warm, funny conversation, the author of Schadenfreude, A Love Story and former Fulbright scholar uses her years in Germany and Austria to explore German hospitality, language, family life, academia, and belonging, showing how much more complicated a place becomes once you live inside it.

READ HER BOOK: REBECCA SCHUMAN

Schadenfreude, A Love Story 

Original publication date: July 27, 2020

Listen for:

•  How German hospitality differs from American friendliness 
•  How expat life in Germany changes everyday habits and culture shock 
•  Why expats leave Germany even when they prefer life abroad 
•  How family life in Germany and Austria differs from the United States 
•  How Schadenfreude, A Love Story explores German culture, Kafka, and belonging 

How Does German Hospitality Differ From American Friendliness?

German hospitality can be far warmer than German small talk suggests. Rebecca Schuman jokes that you might barely know a German beyond one heated argument about politics or soccer, yet mention visiting their town and they may insist you stay for two weeks. Years in Germany changed Schuman too: after returning to the United States, she kept the instinct to offer visitors a place to stay. For expats in Germany, reserve doesn’t necessarily mean rejection.

How Does Expat Life in Germany Change Everyday Habits and Culture Shock?

Living in Germany can permanently change what an expat considers normal, especially around transportation. Rebecca Schuman first studied German in Münster, later lived in Berlin for roughly eight or nine months, and eventually spent a year in Vienna as a Fulbright scholar. One habit stuck: if somewhere is less than about 10 kilometers away, Schuman would rather bike than get into a car “for no reason.” Returning home can create its own culture shock when old habits no longer make sense.

Why Do Expats Leave Germany Even When They Prefer Life Abroad?

Some expats leave Germany because family and career realities outweigh preference. Rebecca Schuman believed being a non-native German speaker made teaching German literature at a German university an unlikely career path. Family mattered even more: Schuman wanted her daughter near her grandparents, and after her father died, staying close to her mother in Oregon became important. Germany and Austria still remained part of her future.

How Does Family Life in Germany and Austria Differ From the United States?

Family life in Austria felt more integrated into public life for Rebecca Schuman. While living in Vienna with her husband and young daughter, she remembers what felt like a playground on every block, free activities for children, and public spaces where bringing a child seemed normal. The experience made Schuman question the gap between how strongly American culture celebrates children and how difficult daily life can be for parents.

How Does Schadenfreude, A Love Story Explore German Culture, Kafka, and Belonging?

Schadenfreude, A Love Story connects Rebecca Schuman’s fascination with German culture and her difficult relationship with academia through Franz Kafka. Schuman describes her relationship with Kafka as moving from schoolgirl infatuation to codependent misery and finally to peace. Kafka wrote in German without being German, echoing Schuman’s own connection to German language and culture while remaining partly outside it. Academia created a similar tension, giving the memoir’s two stories a shared theme of belonging.

READ HER BOOK: REBECCA SCHUMAN

Schadenfreude, A Love Story 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Schadenfreude, A Love Story | Rebecca Schuman | German culture | expat life in Germany | Berlin | Münster | Vienna | Austria | German hospitality | German language | Franz Kafka | academia | Fulbright | culture shock | parenting abroad

 🌍 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

It makes my heart soar when someone I am interviewing quotes a previous guest. This is what happened with then Mandarin Chinese language learner Von and his "brain burn" description on Geopats Language podcast back in 2018. So even though Von had a lot more reflections that he sent me for this episode, I am sharing his brain burn in this episode. It. is. fascinating. In January 2021, I will have the other 40 minutes of Von's reflections for you. 

🤸🏽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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If your understanding of Japan still comes mostly from travel imagery, pop culture, or Haruki Murakami, Yuki Tejima offers a faster way to widen that picture. Born in Japan, raised in Los Angeles, and later returning to Tokyo, the creator of Book Nerd Tokyo uses Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen to explore Japanese literature, grief, food, identity, and everyday communication, showing why the 1988 novel still feels relevant now.

GUEST: YUKI TEJIMA

Book Nerd Tokyo:
https://www.booknerdtokyo.com

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

GUEST HOST: TATJANA CHEN

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

Original publication date: May 29, 2020

Listen for:

• Why Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto became a modern Japanese classic
• How Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature and culture
• How food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan
• How Japanese literature helps explain unspoken communication
• What Japanese authors to read beyond Haruki Murakami

Why Did Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto Become a Modern Japanese Classic?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen became a modern Japanese classic by turning grief into a story about recovery, food, and chosen family. After Mikage loses the grandmother who raised her, she moves in with Yuichi and his mother, Eriko, and begins rebuilding her life. Mikage sleeps beside the refrigerator because the kitchen is the only place where she can rest, and cooking later gives her direction. Yoshimoto said she wrote for people who felt things deeply or found everyday life intensely lonely, yet Kitchen became a phenomenon while she was only 24.

How Does Kitchen Challenge Stereotypes About Japanese Literature and Culture?

Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen challenges stereotypes about Japanese literature by focusing on ordinary emotions and people who don’t fit neatly into social expectations rather than familiar images of Japan. Yuki points to references to Bewitched, Helen Keller, the Brothers Grimm, and Linus and his blanket instead of Mount Fuji or shrines. Kitchen also introduces Eriko, Yuichi’s transgender mother, without making her identity the central conflict. Yuki says Japanese readers could recognize characters who mourned differently, had unusual families, or didn’t know what they wanted from life.

How Do Food and Seasonal Eating Shape Everyday Life in Japan?

Food and seasonal eating shape everyday life in Japan through regional specialties, changing ingredients, and close attention to preparation. Yuki says Japanese television features food constantly, from restaurants to regional dishes. At an inn in Kyoto, she once ate roughly 20 different tofu dishes and learned to notice differences in texture, preparation, and presentation. Seasonal food became part of that education too: winter cabbage tastes especially sweet, while tomatoes and cucumbers belong to summer.

How Can Japanese Literature Help Explain Communication and Culture in Japan?

Japanese literature helped Yuki understand unspoken communication in Japan by showing the thoughts and emotions behind behavior people didn’t always express directly. Raised in the United States, Yuki describes herself as more American in her communication style. In Tokyo, she found more emphasis on reading the room and noticing nonverbal cues, so modern Japanese novels became a kind of textbook. Yuki also recommends Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor, Hiromi Kawakami, and Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman for readers exploring Japanese literature beyond Haruki Murakami.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Kitchen | Banana Yoshimoto | Japanese literature | modern Japanese culture | Book Nerd Tokyo | Tokyo | Japanese food culture | seasonal eating | Japanese communication | The Housekeeper and the Professor | Yoko Ogawa | Hiromi Kawakami | Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata | Haruki Murakami

 🌍 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

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Our first guest on Geopats Online (then called Virtual Expats) in September 2018 was Joanna Czutkowna, Founder of Life in Breaths & I went shopping today. When we first met back then she was very passionate about sustainability within the fashion industry and also about redefining how we view age, beauty and the ability in how we design. Even though we have both moved from China to other places, it's been a joy to watch her projects grow and inspire people online. In today's episode you get to hear from Jo again but recently. She took the time to relisten to our 2 hour and 4 minute episode from 2018 and reflect back on it. What transpires is, yet again, more wisdom and calm that we can all use right about.....now.  

Traveling Mailbox: https://travelingmailbox.com/?ref=3422

Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries: 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/?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

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

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/

and

Key Frame Audio , https://keyframeaudio.com/

Doing a live show while talking about doing a live show is something that Nicole of The Expat Cast podcast and I did last year on Geopats Podcasting (episode 1!). This episode is her reflection about episode 1 and what has changed in her podcasting life since that conversation last year.

SEGEPADFO info:

theexpatcast.podbean.com/e/announcing-segepadfo-with-shaun-from-the-germany-experience/

This is a replay from our Geopats NaPodPoMo, National Podcast Posting Month, from November 2020. You can listen to all of the episodes from last month here: https://www.stephfuccio.com/napodpomo OR by searching for "Geopats NaPodPoMo" on your podcast app.

Nicole's original episode on Geopats Language:

www.stephfuccio.com/geopatspodcasting/1

Nicole’s Info:

-Expat Cast, Nicole’s Podcast: https://theexpatcast.podbean.com/

-Instagram: www.instagram.com/theexpatcast/

-Twitter: twitter.com/TheExpatCast

-Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheExpatCast

Would love to hear from you! Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn & you can even leave a voice message on Speakpipe.

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

Are you bold in your language learning? Matthew Boyle, guest from episode 11, is here to convince you that you should be. More info: https://www.stephfuccio.com/geopatslanguage/34 (https://www.stephfuccio.com/geopatslanguage/34 ) Ways to Support Geopats Language: Geopats Language is hosted on Captivate FM: An insanely Creator oriented hosting service with personality, marketing know how and more. So yea, I highly recommend them. https://my.captivate.fm/signup?ref=geopats (https://my.captivate.fm/signup?ref=geopats) Feel free to buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/geopats (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/geopats) Review this podcast on Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/geopats-language-1323254 (www.podchaser.com/podcasts/geopats-language-1323254) Spread the word about our podcast services, including but not limited to podcast editing and podcasting workshops. https://www.stephfuccio.com/podservices.html (https://www.stephfuccio.com/podservices.html) Would love to hear from you! https://twitter.com/stephfuccio (Twitter), https://www.instagram.com/stephfuccio (Instagram), http://www.linkedin.com/in/dstephfuccio/ (LinkedIn) & you can even leave a voice message on https://stephfuccio.weebly.com/contact.html (Speakpipe). Support this podcast

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

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The strongest connection between books and place isn’t always where a story is set. Sometimes it’s the bookstore you discover in Prague, the novel someone gives you before you fall in love, or the children’s book you can’t finish reading at your own wedding. Melissa and Dave, creators of Strong Sense of Place, explore how literary travel, books with vivid settings, and local bookstores can deepen the way travelers and armchair travelers understand a destination and remember it long after the trip ends.

Strong Sense of Place: https://strongsenseofplace.com/

Original publication date: February 21, 2020

Listen for:

• What literary travel is and how it helps travelers
• How reading books before a trip can improve the travel experience
• Why books with vivid settings help readers understand a destination
• How to find English-language bookstores in Prague
• Why local bookstores matter for expats and international travelers
• How travel changes the way readers experience books
• How books become connected to places, memories, and relationships
• Why books can become meaningful parts of major life moments

How Literary Travel Helps You Understand a Destination Before You Visit

Reading books set in a destination before a trip can give travelers cultural and emotional context before they arrive. Melissa’s habit of doing this became part of the foundation for Strong Sense of Place, especially after she found that online searches often returned giant algorithm-generated lists instead of thoughtful recommendations. The podcast now helps travelers and armchair travelers explore places through books with vivid settings.

Where to Find English-Language Bookstores in Prague

Prague has several English-language bookstores that give travelers and expats different ways to connect with the city. Neoluxor on Wenceslas Square has a large English-language section in its basement, Shakespeare and Sons near Prague Castle has a used-book basement overlooking a canal, and The Globe combines English books, newspapers, Czech literature in translation, and a café.

Why Local Bookstores Matter for Expats and International Travelers

Local bookstores can help expats and international travelers build a stronger connection with the place where they’re living or visiting. Melissa and Dave use Prague bookstores for different needs, from browsing UK editions to finding Czech books in English translation or sitting with coffee and an English-language newspaper.

How Travel Changes the Way You Experience Books

Travel can make books feel more vivid because places that once existed only on the page become part of your own memory. Once you’ve walked the streets, seen the architecture, and learned the shape of a neighborhood, fictional settings can feel more concrete when you return to them in a book.

How Books Become Connected to Places, Memories, and Relationships

Books can become permanently tied to the places and people around us, even when the story itself has nothing to do with that setting. Before Melissa and Dave started dating, Dave gave Melissa a hardcover copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray during one of their walks in Sausalito, California. Years later, Melissa chose I Like You for their wedding reading, became too emotional to finish it, and handed it to Dave, who completed the reading while the room cried.

CONNECT WITH GUESTS: MELISSA AND DAVE

Website: Strong Sense of Place
https://strongsenseofplace.com

CONNECT WITH HOST STEPHANIE FUCCIO

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

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Strong Sense of Place | literary travel | Prague | Neoluxor | Shakespeare and Sons | The Globe | English-language bookstores | Czech literature in translation | The Picture of Dorian Gray | I Like You | Sausalito

Music by Damon Castillo, featuring “Sometime Guy.”

 🌍 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