hanna_worldwide&friends

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Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Nico Schueler from Germany. Niko is a travel enthusiast and has done many great adventures. He loves to explore new countries by bike and is equipped with his tent and minimal luggage. 

In this episode, Nico shares how a simple conversation sparked a life of adventure, leading him to walk the Camino de Santiago not once, but twice, and explore the Appalachian Trail in the US. With curiosity, a positive mindset, and minimal preparation, Nico shows that anyone can embrace big journeys.

He reflects on the people he met, the lessons learned, and how his travels even inspired him to become self-employed, now celebrating ten years of running his own business.

But not everything goes according to plan. Nico’s epic biking journey across New Zealand was interrupted by illness, forcing him to rethink his route. Instead of giving up, he adapted, exploring the country by bus, car, and Uber—discovering new places and proving that flexibility and optimism can turn setbacks into memorable experiences.

This episode is a celebration of adventure, resilience, and the unexpected turns that make life—and travel—truly unforgettable.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

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Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Ellie Jerram from the UK. Ellie is a great travel lover and has been living abroad a few times as an au pair in Spain and Australia. She is now living in New Zealand and is telling us her story.

In this episode, I sit down with Ellie, to unpack the journey that took her across the world — and the emotional layers behind it.

Ellie shares how her parents’ separation and the feeling of being split between different households left her with a quiet but persistent sense of not fully belonging anywhere. While her mum, dad, and sister all moved forward in their own directions, she felt stuck — carrying anger she didn’t quite know how to process. So at 19, she did what she thought is best: she moved abroad.

With little money but a deep love for children and a desire to see the world, she became an au pair in a small town in Spain. What started as an escape quickly turned into expansion — new friendships, independence, and the realization that the world was far bigger than she had imagined. Spain was just the beginning. Soon after, she packed her bags again for Melbourne, Australia.

There, she fell in love — and with love came visa complications. Facing the limitations of a working holiday visa, she and her partner made the decision to move to New Zealand to buy more time. What followed was a raw and eye-opening experience navigating the partnership visa process: proving the legitimacy of their relationship through shared bank accounts, photos, messages, letters of support, and deeply personal documentation. Ellie reflects on how invasive and emotionally taxing it felt — and how a partnership visa inherently ties your independence to the stability of your relationship.

Though she was granted both a partnership work visa and eventually residency, the underlying pressure of being dependent on a partner for legal status quietly shaped their dynamic. Looking back now at 30, she says she would never again rely on a relationship for the right to stay in a country.

When the relationship eventually ended, it was devastating. Moving abroad had meant her partner became her entire support system — losing him felt like losing everything at once. With no family and limited support nearby, she had to rebuild from scratch. It was one of the hardest chapters of her life — but also the most empowering.

Today, Ellie speaks with strength and clarity. She’s proud of the woman who navigated heartbreak, immigration systems, and identity shifts in a foreign country. She believes nothing can truly shake her now, because she knows she can survive the pain and come out stronger on the other side.

Now settled in New Zealand, she loves the life she has created independently. Yet she candidly shares the ongoing paradox of living abroad — missing home and family, feeling guilt for not being there, while also knowing she’s exactly where she’s meant to be.

This is a conversation about belonging, independence, love, resilience, and the courage to build a life far from where you started.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Cate Prestidge from New Zealand. Cate is a lecturer at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) where she teaches communication and media.

In this episode, the focus is on The New Wave — a powerful storytelling project led by Cate.

Originally created as a book sharing immigrant stories from Kirikiriroa, The New Wave is now being reimagined as a podcast — a format that makes the project more accessible, easier to archive, and less resource-intensive, while expanding its reach and impact. But at its heart, the mission remains the same: raising awareness about migration, encouraging compassion, and creating meaningful conversations across cultures.

Cate explains how The New Wave is not just about teaching students media production, communication skills, or technology. It’s about equipping them with the human skills our world so desperately needs — the confidence to connect with people from different backgrounds, the curiosity to listen, and the ability to find similarities while respecting differences. The message is simple yet powerful: we are all human.

Along the way, Cate shares parts of her own migration story — from her first childhood trip to Australia (which unexpectedly turned into a red-light district adventure!) to later moving there with her family after her husband received a great job offer. She speaks openly about the challenges of starting over in a new country, while acknowledging the privilege of moving between New Zealand and Australia — countries that share language and cultural similarities — and how much more complex migration can be for others.

This conversation centers on empathy, awareness, and connection — and on how storytelling through The New Wave can help bridge divides, build understanding, and remind us of our shared humanity.

If you want to share your story of migrating to New Zealand and living in Hamilton and you want to be part of "the new wave", please get in contact with Cate under:

[email protected]

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

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Hi everyone,

Please welcome back with me Ashley Russell from New Zealand.

In this third conversation with my friend Ashley, we come full circle on her journey of living abroad. We briefly reflect back on Part 1 and 2, where Ashley shared the emotional rollercoaster of preparing to move from New Zealand to the UK, her expectations, and the challenges of starting from scratch — especially when it came to making friends, fitting in, and finding a sense of home.

Now, Ashley is back in New Zealand (for good… or at least for now). A phone call from her sister — announcing a baby and an upcoming wedding — changed everything. For Ashley, the decision was instant. Family has always been her biggest value, and being present for the first baby of this generation mattered more than anything else.

She also reflects on what finally shifted for her in the UK before moving back: changing jobs, finding her people, and realising that much of the anxiety she experienced wasn’t about her social life after all, but about staying in a job that wasn’t right for her. Through consistency, staying open, and not giving up too soon, she eventually built a community — without doing anything drastically different.

Ashley also opens up about her relationship with music. What once felt like pressure and expectation slowly turned back into joy through open mics, friendships, and creating without needing it to “become” anything.

This episode is a honest reflection on choosing family, trusting your values, and understanding that no experience abroad is ever wasted — even when the path takes an unexpected turn. And who knows… this might not be the last chapter of Ashley’s life overseas.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Will Duncan from the US. Will has dedicated his life to explore the world. One big experience was living in Uganda for a few months as a volunteer at an orphanage which also inspired him to write a book.

Join me in conversation with Will, whose journey of exploring the world began with a family trip to the Galapagos Islands—a trip that sparked a lifelong passion for travel. Growing up in a family with a global footprint—his grandfather a navy chaplain and his father often living abroad—Will’s path was already intertwined with the wider world.

From studying economics, Chinese, and art history to traveling through the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, England, Iceland, Chile, India, Japan, and beyond, Will has embraced countless opportunities to live and learn abroad. Along the way, travel shaped him profoundly, cultivating empathy, adaptability, and resilience in uncomfortable situations.

One of the most transformative experiences came when Will spent several months volunteering at an orphanage in Uganda. He shares a vivid account of daily life there, the challenges faced by the children and volunteers, and the ways he contributed—from helping with the finances to helping wherever needed.

Will also opens up about the emotional impact of these experiences and how they inspired him to write Specks of Dust, a book inspired by a true story of a boy from the orphanage who sought a better life in the US. Through imagination and lived experience, Will brings the story to life, reflecting the lessons and growth that travel and service have given him.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

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Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Hannah Elam from Alaska, USA. Hannah went on a student exchange to Costa Rica when she was sixteen, and today she’s taking us down memory lane. 

In this episode, Hannah shares how her dream of doing an exchange year began after a family trip to Mexico, where she met an exchange student from Chile — a conversation that sparked her curiosity about life beyond the US. 

Determined to make it happen, Hannah researched programs, fundraised through garage sales, and had the full support of her family — including her dad, who even worked extra to help her dream come true. She talks about her experiences with her host family, including changing families midway through the year, and reflects on moments of challenge, like navigating cultural differences, language barriers, and getting constant attention for being foreign.

Hannah shares valuable advice for future exchange students: be open to new experiences, embrace the culture, and don’t let fear stop you from speaking a new language — mistakes are part of learning. She also highlights the friendships she built with other students from around the world, and how the experience taught her independence, resilience, and courage.

The episode also touches on her perspective of having a dad living abroad in New Zealand, exploring the beauty and challenges of long-distance family life and reconnecting after years apart. 

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Michele Taleetha from Singapore. Michele left home to live in New Zealand for 7 years before she decided that it was time for her to go back home. And here is her story.

In this episode, I chat with Michele, who was born in Singapore but carries Indian roots through her ancestors. We start our conversation by talking about identity and the assumptions people often make based on appearances — and how those moments can be turned into opportunities to educate and connect.

Michele shares fascinating insights about Singapore’s diverse history and her own reasons for leaving home to study marine biology in New Zealand — a path not available to her back in Singapore. She opens up about the challenges of starting over, finding real friendships by staying true to herself, and building a life from scratch in a new country.

One phrase that truly stood out was when Michele said, “In Singapore, a life was made for me — in New Zealand, I built a life for myself.”

After seven years abroad, Michele made the heartfelt decision to return home to Singapore — not out of necessity, but from a deep wish to be close to her family and make the most of their time together. She beautifully reminds us that everything in life is ever-changing, and sometimes we only realize it when the change is already happening.

From finding belonging abroad to rediscovering home, Michele’s story is a reminder that life is short, unpredictable, and always evolving — and that home can mean many things along the way.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna  🌏❤️ 

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

On the 17th of September, I celebrated seven years in New Zealand! Looking back to the day I left Germany and arrived here, so many memories and emotions come flooding back — the excitement, the happiness, the sense of freedom, and of course, the challenges along the way.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to call New Zealand my home now.

When I first set out on this journey, I had no idea what to expect. I left with an open heart, ready for an adventure — unsure whether I’d stay longer or return home after a year, depending on where life would take me.

Seven years later, I’m happily settled with a permanent job, a permanent visa, and wonderful people around me who have become like family.

This is just a little life update — a reflection on my seven years in New Zealand and what’s been happening in my world lately.

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

Please welcome with me Kane Power from New Zealand— award-winning podcast producer, editor, audio consultant, speaker, and founder of Precision Podcasting. But most importantly fellow travel enthusiast. 

Originally from Hamilton, New Zealand, Kane moved to London with his wife to pursue music and new opportunities, but soon discovered the challenges of making a living in a competitive city and finding a true sense of belonging. At work, his Kiwi roots often made him the subject of jokes, a daily reminder of feeling different, yet he and his wife eventually built a circle of friends where they felt at home.

Kane opens up about how travel shifted his perspective — from once being the kind of traveler who planned every detail in a spreadsheet to now embracing spontaneity and trusting in the opportunities that unfold along the way. For him, freedom is the perfect word to capture what travel means: the chance to experience places, food, and people in a way that broadens horizons and deepens compassion.

We also discuss safety and the role of intuition when traveling. While loved ones’ messages about global news can add stress, Kane emphasizes the importance of preparation, research, and above all, trusting your common sense — like taking the longer route instead of a dark alley or simply listening to your instincts. He believes that building this inner compass is one of the most valuable skills travel teaches.

From heartwarming Airbnb memories to reflections on belonging in New Zealand and London, this conversation captures Kane’s enduring love for travel, connection, freedom, and the unique moments that make the world feel both vast and familiar.

If you want to get in touch with Kane, you can check out his website:

https://precisionpodcasting.com/

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM

Click here to get in touch

Hi everyone,

Have you ever wondered if you should book the travel insurance or not? I most certainly have, every single time when I booked a trip. And I have to admit that I often did not book the insurance! But todays guest might change my view on it forever. And maybe yours, too. Please welcome with me SSSD from New Zealand.  

In this episode, Triple SD shares how his love for travel began as a child and grew through unique adventures abroad. From nearly being stranded in Samoa to meeting a partner online and flying to the US, his journeys have been full of unexpected twists. But nothing prepared him for breaking both legs just weeks into his trip overseas—an experience that put his travel insurance to the ultimate test.

He explains how having insurance not only saved him from massive medical bills (over $55,000 NZD!) but also allowed him to focus on healing, even when challenges felt overwhelming. Inspired by his grandmother’s advice to “always carry an umbrella because you never know when it will rain,” Tripple SD now encourages every traveler to consider the true value of being prepared.

This is a powerful story about resilience, cultural connection, and why travel insurance might be one of the most important tickets you ever book.

Find Triple SD and his show on FreeFM 89.0 or on Instagram under:

https://www.instagram.com/deep_insessionz/

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate every single one of you!

Love,
Hanna

 🌍 Enjoyed this conversation?
Don’t forget to follow the podcast, share it with a fellow adventurer, and leave a review — it helps others discover these inspiring stories from around the world. 

 ✨ Stay connected:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanna_worldwide_and_friends/

 website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2110137

 or on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Podcast Index, iHeartRadio,   Podchaser, Deezer and PlayerFM