Tales from the Departure Lounge

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Buy-a-donkey or more accurately "Baie Dankie" is the Afrikaans for thank you - a gratitude we owe the lovely Lesinda Leightly (PSI) for the sensory overload that is this episode. She takes the TFTDL flight crew on a road trip along the Garden Route to Cape Town. We stop to ride an ostrich, swim with sharks, ride a foofy slide and drink buckets of wine (sensibly). 

In the words of Shakira - Tsamina eh, eh / Waka waka, eh, eh / It's time for [South] Africa. So break out your baby wipes, wipe away your prejudices and live life like a millionaire on the Rand. 

Final boarding call: Cape Town, South Africa 

This episode is sponsored by The PIE Live leadership conferences taking place in Mumbai, Gold Coast, London and Boston in 2024. Find out more about tickets and sponsorship opportunities at www.thepielive.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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Recorded on Australia Day, Nik Higgin's (The Ambassador Platform) beams us in to Sydney, a harbour view and the smell of eucalyptus. Drink it in... and then blackout at a 7-Eleven. A loveable character with his own unique style, Nik's life view is to live and let live, including his desire to take off his shoes. He has some excellent travel hacks for frugal entrepreneurs doing business travel that are essential listening. 

It was always going to work. And with Nik championing TAP around the world, how could it not? Special thanks to the Melbourne family who looked after our man in his hour of need.

Final boarding call: Sydney, Australia 

This episode is sponsored by The PIE Live leadership conferences taking place in Mumbai, Gold Coast, London and Boston in 2024. Find out more about tickets and sponsorship opportunities at www.thepielive.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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At the age of 48, James Rice (IBT College) weighed 300 pounds (135kg/21.5 stone) was pre-diabetic, with high blood pressure and arthritis and could barely fit into XXXL shirts. Then one day a former student who he had supported to study in Canada, opened a gym, and James began a total life transformation. This episode is so surreal you couldn't make it up. From finding the Ark of the Covenant to becoming friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger, get ready to feel motivated for miracles.

'Put the cookie down' is reference to the line in Arnie film Jingle All The Way and James is the best-selling author of his body transformation memoirs in the The 100 Pound War. James encourages anyone to reach out for advice on health and weight loss inspired by this episode. www.100poundwar.com/

Final boarding call: Tigray, Ethiopia. 

This episode is sponsored by The PIE Live leadership conferences taking place in Mumbai, Gold Coast, London and Boston in 2024. Find out more about tickets and sponsorship opportunities at www.thepielive.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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In this short interlude episode we get to know Nat Cole, director of operations at The Ambassador Platform who have been sponsoring the podcast. We discuss the incredible student stories that have featured in recent episodes and Nat's own adventures learning to drive in India. 

Your stories, features the winners of our 'Road Warriors' photo competition on LinkedIn. Thank you all for your entries! We've loved your over-sharing and confessions. Until next time, safe travels everyone. 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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Life is full of risks - including starting your own business, having a picnic in the Maasai Mara or saying way too much on a podcast.  In this episode we take listeners on an audio safari with Jeff Williams (CEO and founder of Enroly). He tells us about his close encounters with a Dik-Dik, surviving the mean streets of London and quitting his job. Aged 14 he was a partner in A&J Mulberry Fresh, aged 19 he co-founded a successful TV production company, and aged 24 he was the Head of International at the University of Bolton. Too much, too young? He's built another successful business since and is feeling his age. 

Cheap therapy for industry leaders and even cheaper promotion for BagBuddy, take a walk on the wildside with TFTDL. This ain't no zoo. 

Final destination: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

This episode is brought to you in partnership with The Ambassador Platform, a leading peer-to-peer marketing and recruitment platform that connects your current students to prospective students for honest advice. Check out www.theambassadorplatform.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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Nothing ventured, nothing gained for our tiger queen, Ula Tang-Plowman (University of Central Lancashire). Forged in the steel city of Wuhan, she came to the UK as a student with a pocket full of cash and a taste for the hottest chillies on earth. Little did she know how much her inner strength would be tested in life and how she would need her global network of friends and colleagues in the saddest of circumstances. Vulnerable, honest and inspiring - prepare to be amazed and moved in equal measure.

不入虎穴，焉得虎子 Chinese proverb:  If you don't enter the tiger's den, how will you catch the tiger's cubs?  aka it is impossible to achieve success without experiencing danger.

Final boarding call: Wuhan, China

This episode is brought to you in partnership with The Ambassador Platform, a leading peer-to-peer marketing and recruitment platform that connects your current students to prospective students for honest advice. Check out www.theambassadorplatform.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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Is there a party at mother's? You bet there is. Life is just one big playground for Adam Pettit (AECC Global) who joins the TFTDL crew to discuss being a player in a global game of ‘tag’. After reading about a group of players in the New York Times, Adam and his friends decided to play the game themselves. A decade later, with players spread all over the world, the stakes are high and the tagging scenarios are extreme! 
 
This is a chatty episode that explores singing R Kelly songs in a Ugandan church to cycling to international education conferences. Adam is the Intled Forrest Gump and you never know what you're going to get! What we do know, is an adventure is about to happen. 

Final destination: Lincoln, United Kingdom 

This episode is brought to you in partnership with The Ambassador Platform, a leading peer-to-peer marketing and recruitment platform that connects your current students to prospective students for honest advice. Check out www.theambassadorplatform.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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London calling! Andy and Nick took to the stage at The PIE Live Europe '24 to record a live episode with Mark Pettitt, founder of Edified. Mark takes us on a magical mystery tour of his life adventures starting in 1970's New Zealand via Russia, Colombia and his home in Australia. 

Expect strong language (so much so we had to get the bleep machine out), hotel-based nudity, double entendre and straight up - no dickheads allowed! What's Mot go? Mot's got the lot! And so has this special episode of TFTDL Live. 

Final boarding call: Motueka, New Zealand

The PIE Live Europe will return in 2025! Check out www.thepielive.com for details including dates, speakers and sponsorship opportunities. 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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The University of Oxford is consistently ranked as the best university in the world, yet it is often accused of elitism and archaic traditions. The TFTDL crew speak to international graduate Anvee Bhutani, a journalist at The Telegraph, about her time at Oxford and she doesn't hold back! From celebrity classmates to abhorrent behaviour we discuss entitlement, invite-only clubs and bomb threats with the former Students' Union president. 

Is an Oxford degree a golden ticket to life? What's wrong with politics in the UK? And what does Anvee think of Saltburn? Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey. 

Final destination: Oxford, United Kingdom 

Not to be missed! This inspirational student story is brought to you in partnership with The Ambassador Platform, a leading peer-to-peer marketing and recruitment platform that connects your current students to prospective students for honest advice. Check out www.theambassadorplatform.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com

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Dev Desai is part of the 'studytuber' phenomenon of student influencers. He generated millions of views on social media by documented his study abroad experience in Australia and answering questions from other students online. Fast-forward five years since his graduation and he has turned that online community into a successful media company and peer-support service - Internash and Studynash. This is the GenZ dream.

Awarded the IEAA Rising Star Award in 2023, he talks to the TFTDL crew about the real India, student 'screw-up' stories, getting fit (and filming it) and why you should never rely on getting a visa on arrival! 

Final boarding call: Ahmedabad, India 

Not to be missed! This inspirational graduate story is brought to you in partnership with The Ambassador Platform, a leading peer-to-peer marketing and recruitment platform that connects your current students to prospective students for honest advice. Check out www.theambassadorplatform.com 

Tales from the Departure Lounge is a Type Nine production for The PIE www.thepienews.com