Migratory Patterns

My guest this week, Christiana Zhu, is a "returning foreigner." These are people who are first-generation nationals in one country who have migrated to the country that their parents originally left. Christiana's parents emigrated from China and raised their kids in New Zealand, and now she finds herself living in Beijing, starting a business and embracing her role as a "bridge person-' someone who can operate across cultures, helping each side understand the other. Lots of migrants feel like fish out of water. Or, at least, they're people who struggle mightily with their identity. But not Christiana. She's self-assured, goal-oriented, and knows exactly who she is and how she can use the skills that her origin story has given her to bring value to every situation that she finds herself in. I think that she's pretty bad-ass. I think that you will, too.

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Bahamian Jared Dillet traded a life on the water for a life in the sand when he relocated from his native Nassau to Beijing, on the edge of China's Gobi Desert, 4 years ago. You can't really ask for a more radical geographic change than what he and is wife have gone through, but as he says, they've been pleasantly surprised at how quickly they've taken to the expat life. Having made the conscious decision move to overseas when they did, essentially as part of a career change after at least a decade of working on or in the ocean in some capacity, is proof that it's never "too late" to become an expat. And, as happened with him, once you take the leap, you may be surprised at just how much your life experience may have prepared you for all of the changes that come your way once you land in your new "home."

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Twitter: @MigrationMedia_

Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web: www.migrationmedia.net 

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Kerry Lin is a case study in how migration screws with traditional notions of "home" and identity. Born in France to an ethnic Chinese Cambodian and an Englishwoman, she doesn't claim to have "French blood," has almost no connection to Cambodia, and would never be accepted as Chinese. She tailors her response to the question "Where are you from?" to the person asking (she will tell a French person something different than a Chinese person, for example). Listening to Kerry talk about her journey, how it has shaped her, and what kind of a future she envisions for herself gives us a glimpse into how an ever-growing slice of humanity is thinking about themselves.

Gung Ho Pizza: http://gunghopizza.com/en/

Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:

Twitter: @MigrationMedia_

Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web: www.migrationmedia.net

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Russians are some of the most interesting expats around. With a reputation for being ultra nationalistic, it's amazing that 9-10 million Russians, out of a total population of just under 145 million, have chosen to live overseas. This week I talk with Marina Barayeva, a marketing consultant from Yekaterinburg who, after years of traveling around the world, has found a home in Beijing. Her experiences, and the evolution of her concept of "home," are a testament to the power of migration to reshape people's lives, no matter what context they come from.

Listen to Marina's podcast, "Marketing for Creatives," here: http://intnetworkplus.com/category/marketing-for-creatives

Follow her on Twitter: @MarinaBarayeva

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Twitter: @MigrationMedia_

Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web: www.migrationmedia.net 

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This week's interview was a complete surprise. When Nancy Zhou came over to my place for lunch, the plan was to hang out and catch up, but as we started to tell our respective Beijing arrival stories, I simply had to turn on the microphone and capture hers! Nancy was born in Beijing, but moved to Sacramento when she was 11, switched to Los Angeles for college, and stayed there for several years afterwards. Then, a family illness brought her back to Beijing for a visit- but the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 kept her here, and even forced a career change. Nancy shares what it was like to go from living in China, to growing up American, then to coming back as an adult. It's a complex story that challenges typical notions of identity and definitions of "home."

Get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:

Twitter: @MigrationMedia_

Check out all of the shows in the Migration Media network on the web: www.migrationmedia.net

Please take a moment to "Like" us and leave a review on iTunes... and subscribe!