Get the Boots

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I'm so happy to kick off my new podcast direction with a guest who knows all about transformation. Originally from Russia, Inga Knysh is a personal transformation coach based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 

After her own experiences living abroad, repatriating to Moscow and then moving twice more, Inga learned to listen to her body and intuition and decided to make a complete career change. 

To find out more about Inga's work, visit her website and follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, and please reach out if you want to be a guest or have a story you'd like to share with me.

My book, "Transcontinental Overload - a Memoir of Movement, Meltdowns & Making a Life In Between" is for sale at all major booksellers. 

You can find a list of merchants here:

Direct warehouse links: US customers, UK customers  

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Welcome y'all!

It was time for a change. My book, "Transcontinental Overload - a Memoir of Movement, Meltdowns & Making a Life In Between" is coming out this Thursday, 23 October 2025, and the title will be reserved for all things book-related.

So why "Get the Boots"? Well.... dive into this episode and find out!

I'm excited to start something new and look forward to talking with all my new guests and listeners.

"Get the Boots" goes hand in hand with my Substack publication, Steph Gets the Boots.

You can still find me on my old website, as well as on Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Buy my book here (US) or here (UK), or find it globally (ebook and paperback) at your favourite book sellers.

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Here's the latest episode - it is the last episode of Transcontinental Overload the Podcast. But fear not: I will continue in a different format with a fresh focus and a new name very soon.

Today's episode is all about what it's like to be a TCK - a third culture kid. My guest is Tanya Crossman, a cross-cultural coach, mentor and researcher, who is supporting families in their global journeys.

This episode is first and foremost for parents, all parents, not just those of TCKs, and above all, parents of teenagers. Please listen, share and talk about this episode - there is so much wisdom in it.

Find out more about Tanya on her website, follow her on Instagram and on LinkedIn, and read her books, Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century, and Thongs or Flip Flops: Australian kids overseas and what comes next. 

Tanya is writing her third book and is gathering input! Make sure you check out her Instagram.

You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Substack.

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This is the penultimate episode of Transcontinental Overload - the Podcast. One more after this, and then it's off to new adventures. I'll keep you posted! Don't forget to subscribe so you automatically get the new episodes.

Today's episode is about being a TCK - the next one is about being a TCK and working with TCKs. 

My guest today is Urmi - Italian by birth, Bengali by blood, Canadian by law. She tells her story of being a brown girl in Sicily, brought up by Bengali parents who immigrated to Italy and assumed they were raising a Bengali child. 

Urmi's book, Discovering Your Identity: A Rebirth From Interracial Struggle, is available on Amazon.

Urmi's activities and achievements are too many to list – you can find them all on her Linktree.

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Heute gibt's eine Folge mit ganz viel Herz!

Frank nimmt uns mit in seine Herzensstadt San Francisco, wo er seit mehreren Jahren lebt und als Tourguide arbeitet.

Unser Gespräch fängt mit Franks spannender Geschichte an und schlängelt sich durch Themen wie Mut, Freundschaft und den Unterschied zwischen deutschen und amerikanischen Beziehungen, die derzeitige politische Lage, Minderheiten, den Blick von außen, Nationalgefühl, und die Liebe zu anderen Menschen und Orten. 

Weitere Infos zu Frank findet ihr auf seiner Website, auf Facebook und auf Instagram, und für weitere Einblicke gibt es diese ARD- oder ZDF-Reportagen.

Mich findet ihr weiterhin auf Instagram, und seit neuestem auch auf Substack! 

Habt einen schönen Sommer.

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As promised, here's part 2 of my conversation with Christina, a German expat here in New Jersey. Christina is a certified Embodicode® Mentor & Human Design Coach. She offers sessions both in German and English.

What is Human Design?

To sum it up, Human Design is a comprehensive and integrative system that combines elements from various ancient and modern disciplines to help individuals understand their unique personality, decision-making process, and life purpose.

The Human Design System synthesizes aspects of two types of science: the ancient observational systems of Astrology, the Chinese I’Ching, the Hindu-Brhmin Chakras and The Tree of Life from Kabbala; and the contemporary disciplines of Quantum Mechanics, Astronomy, Genetics, and Biochemistry - this is according to its founder, Ra Uru Hu, in 1987. 

Human Design centers around the division of human beings into 5 "energy types": Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors. Each type has its corresponding "strategy," a mode of behavior that is natural to the functioning of that particular type’s aura or energy system. Human Design focuses specifically on these aura dynamics, using this information to prescribe "self" and "not self" themes that are then used to evaluate how one should best live according to one’s type.

Human Design maps 9 energy centers in the body. An individual's bodygraph reveals which of these centers are "defined", meaning that they are consistent and reliable in their functioning, and which ones are “undefined”, meaning the energy is more fluid and less consistent. These centers are connected by Channels and form Gates at the connecting points.

There are also 7 Authorities, including splenic, emotional, sacral, or lunar, amongst others, and 12 different Profiles.

And all of it can be calculated based on the date, time and location of birth.

We mention the Gene Keys, a big component or rather complementary system, but we don't go into this during our conversation due to time constraints.

Time stamps: 24:42 Manifestor, 31:55 Projector, 33:04 Generator, 38:09 Manifesting Generator, 42:33 Reflector.

Here are some resources on Human Design, some of which are mentioned in the episode:

Christina's website (in German, AI is your friend for translation)

Jovian Archive

https://humandesign.net/

https://human.design/

https://www.mybodygraph.com/

Gene Keys (Richard Rudd)

Interesting podcast episode: Rick Rubin (Tetragrammaton podcast) interviewing Richard Rudd

Contact Christina via her website or on Instagram.

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Here's part 1 of two conversations I had with my friend Christina!

Christina is originally from Germany, and is currently an almost neighbour of mine here in New Jersey. Although by the time these episodes are released, she might be about to get on a plane, as her time in the US has come to an end and her family is relocating to Germany.

We talk about the crazy beginnings of her story here in the US, and what it's like to live in a very highly pressurised part of this country, the commuter belt around NYC. We compare notes - Christina has three children ranging from 9 to 14 years old - and so obviously school is a big subject, and we cover everything from competitiveness, anxiety, keeping up the perfect facade, perfectionism and overscheduling. 

We also talk about friendships, some big differences between making friends here as opposed to Germany, and how important it is to keep an open mind.

Christina mentions the Harkness method - if you're interested, here's more information. 

The second part of our conversation takes us to Christina's business and passion project: Human Design. Make sure you stick around if you're curious or in the mood for something a bit more spiritual. I strongly recommend that you do - Human Design is fascinating!

Get in touch with Christina on Instagram or through her website. 

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My guest today is another mountain girl who moved to Texas (I know I'm not there anymore but of course I loved the parallels)!

Originally from Austria, Claudia lives in Austin with her American husband and their baby son. She is a professional pastry chef and culinary expert, and the founder of Alpin Delights, where she brings a taste of Austria to the US through live online baking classes, pre-recorded cooking and baking lessons, as well as a selection of authentic Austrian baked goods available to order locally in Austin.

Grab your popcorn (or cake!) and sit down for this special treat of a story, as you listen to Claudia's amazing and dramatic love story that brought her to Texas, just ten months ago. No spoilers allowed here! 

Of course we discuss the difficulties and joys (!) of dating long-distance, how life never goes according to plan, the power of connection and the importance of family, food and friendship. 

Books we mention: 

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, by Tembi Locke

My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story, by Luisa Weiss

Find out more about Claudia and her business on her website, and follow her on Instagram.

If you're interested in booking a lesson, drop Claudia a note and mention Transcontinental Overload for a special listener discount! 

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Today's little progress report is all about my book, my podcast and why I do things the way I do. 

The German version begins at 19 minutes.

Wenn ihr mich lieber auf Deutsch hört, spult zur 19. Minute vor. 

You can find me on my website (excuse the mess while it's being updated), on Instagram, and on LinkedIn. Substack coming soon!

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Und schon wieder sind wir auf Deutsch unterwegs - heute ist Janine von "Ich Hier Du Dort" bei mir, vielleicht kennt ihr ihren Instagram-Account, bei dem Paare davon erzählen, wie sie der Lieben wegen ausgewandert sind. 

Natürlich geht es bei unserem Gespräch auch um die Liebe, denn -  ihr ahnt es bereits - Janine ist selbst aus Liebesgründen ausgewandert, und zwar nach San Diego in Kalifornien wo sie mit ihrem Mann und drei Kindern lebt. 

Unser Gespräch dreht sich vorwiegend um Freundschaft, und wie wichtig es gerade für Auswanderer ist, sich alte Freundschaften zu erhalten und gleichzeitig eine neue Community aufzubauen. Dabei reden wir auch über die vielen kulturellen Unterschiede bei diesem Thema.

Janine erzählt davon, wie sie ihr Business Ich Hier Du Dort gegründet hat, und was sie sonst noch so auf die Beine stellt.

Bei Fragen zur Einreise in die USA hilft das Auswärtige Amt.

Wir erwähnen die Nappifam, einen weiteren Instagram- Account, bei dem es um US-deutsches Alltagleben geht - schaut mal rein!

If you haven't yet, please subscribe to Transcontinental Overload, so you don't miss any updates.