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Musical tones, grammar traps, aha moments.  Chinese sounds simple—until it isn't. From tone tricks to missing tenses, Steph and Angie chat about  the unexpected complexity of learning Mandarin, especially for speakers of English and German. Their conversation unpacks how tonal cues, filler sounds like “ma” and “ah,” and even body language all shape meaning, while verbs and grammar markers leave learners scratching their heads. Hear what surprised them most and what finally clicked in this honest, funny, and relatable episode on navigating a famously “easy” language—until you try speaking it.

Full conversation:

https://geopatsabroad.buzzsprout.com/2039972/episodes/11201561-german-chinese-languages-in-shanghai-with-bookish-youtuber-angie-dumas

Angie's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6LBSm1HZjecZt7EVnyUImw

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Imagine realizing that everything you were taught about politeness, personal space, and even shopping no longer applies. In this conversation with Shannon, we talk about how living abroad—especially in China and Spain—has completely reshaped our habits and expectations. From using QR codes to give money to street performers, to feeling awkward saying “please” and “thank you” too much, to the never-ending tug-of-war between needing personal space and learning to let it go, it’s a real look at how cultural norms can clash, evolve, and even make you laugh at yourself.

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

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Evan was expecting cultural differences when he first moved to China in the early 2000's but he wasn't ready for the nuances of dog culture. Here's a clip from our conversation about pet adoptions, status pets and more from 2018, when we both lived in Shanghai, China. 

Full episode: 

https://geopatsabroad.buzzsprout.com/2039972/episodes/13164575-what-was-dog-culture-shock-like-for-this-american-in-china

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🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
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Key Frame Audio , https://keyframeaudio.com/

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Culture shock both positive and negative can feel odd, disorienting. Xing, an international student who studied in Edinburgh, Scotland more than a decade ago, described his experience as a "Game of Edinburgh" with different seasons. Here's a clip from the full conversation I had with Xing in 2018 about that game. 

Full episode: 

https://geopats.buzzsprout.com/2039972/episodes/11201564-what-was-it-like-to-move-from-china-to-scotland-for-this-writer

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.

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

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Here's a clip from Evan's experience teaching English in Korea in the early 2000's. 

Full episode: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2039972/episodes/11201567

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

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It's time to switch places. Yifei, a Chinese college student in Shanghai and Phil, a Brit living in China, who was doing a Master's program at the time of recording, are swapping stories of learning their two mother tongues.  What a pleasure it was to pick their brans on learning their first and all other languages after that. Get ready for some surprises and laughter.  

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

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🤸🏽 Need help with your podcast: https://www.saneandsimplepodcasting.com

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So much country to country movement is speeding up in 2025 so it feels like a good time to bring back the podcast. First, we're going to replay episodes and listen to your reaction. What should be next for Geopats? What do you need to hear? And then, we'll see what happens. Enjoy!

🔥 Grab some Geopats merchandise: https://geopats.tpopsite.com/

🤸🏽Music from
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🤸🏽 Need help with your podcast: https://www.saneandsimplepodcasting.com

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

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Can you imagine taking 35,000 photos in one year? Photographer Thomas Sandfield did this his first year in Hong Kong. Join us on this Expat Rewind show for a flashback to this first year as an expat for Thomas and all the flicker fun he had.

Thomas Sandfield: 

https://www.instagram.com/thomassandfield/?hl=en

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🔥 Grab some Geopats merchandise: https://geopats.tpopsite.com/

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/ and Key Frame Audio , https://keyframeaudio.com/

🤸🏽 Need help with your podcast: https://www.saneandsimplepodcasting.com

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.
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Love, loss,new beginnings, it's what we think of when we dream of moving abroad. But what about expat circle gossip or food culture shock moments. We rarely talk about those moments. Author Antonella does though, in her touching book, Parsley & coriander: Life in China with Italian flavor, which is set in Suzhou, China. Join us for the wild ride. 

Antonella's website: https://www.mimicostalunga.it/

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

Support the show

🔥 Grab some Geopats merchandise: https://geopats.tpopsite.com/

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/ and Key Frame Audio , https://keyframeaudio.com/

🤸🏽 Need help with your podcast: https://www.saneandsimplepodcasting.com

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.
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🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
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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 

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

Support the show

🔥 Grab some Geopats merchandise: https://geopats.tpopsite.com/

🤸🏽Music from
Damon Castillo: https://www.damoncastillo.com/ and Key Frame Audio , https://keyframeaudio.com/

🤸🏽 Need help with your podcast: https://www.saneandsimplepodcasting.com

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.
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🔥Chase Sapphire Credit Card: annual fee, NO currency conversion fee. Used this in many countries globally.
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