The Bittersweet Life

Bestselling author and friend of the show Jess Walter joins us for this mini-episode to talk about the reluctance so many people seem to have over getting the Covid vaccine.

Jess shares a great tip for convincing the vaccine-hesitant people in your life to get the vaccine.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Over in the US, Katy is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Hurrah! Tiffany in Italy, meanwhile, still has a long wait ahead of her. How long is anyone's guess.

Today they discuss how Katy's life will change now that she's vaccinated—perhaps a lot, perhaps not much, it's not easy to know just yet. As well as if she even wants to go back to life as it once was. And Tiffany shares her frustrations with Italy's dismal vaccine roll-out.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Want to write a 90k-word novel? If you've got 46 days (the length of Lent) Tiffany will tell you how to do it.

This year during the period of Lent, Tiffany came up with the crazy idea to draft her next novel by Easter. That meant writing nearly 2000 words per day and, if that weren't challenging enough, schools in Italy closed halfway through!

In this mini-episode, Tiffany shares her tips for completing such a massive project in such a short amount of time, as well as why you might want to attempt a project like this, because believe it or not, speed writing comes with a slew of unexpected benefits.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

One year ago, we asked our listeners, What does a day in the life of someone under lockdown look like? Listeners from around the world sent us a peek into their lives in the form of voice memos, and we included our own auditory snapshots as well. Today we replay that episode to see what has changed in one year—and what has stayed the same.

From Lynn in San Francisco as she studies Italian to Jill in Manhattan where the only sound on the city streets is the chirping of birds; from Karen, a US expat in the Dolomites, cycling home from work and hoping not to be stopped by the Carabinieri, to Jill in Oregon spotting a hummingbird and looking for the silver lining in the midst of chaos. And many more.

We're planning a "One Year Later" version of our Day in the Life episode, so send us audio snapshots of your life right now, and we may use them in that episode. Record a voice memo and email it to us.

Find the longer, two-part version of this episode here and here.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Want to move abroad but have no idea how to support yourself when you get there? For this mini-episode, we are joined by David McNeill, creator of Expat Empire, a consulting service for aspiring expats, and host of the Expat Empire podcast (check out this recent episode in which he interviews Tiffany).

From finding a local job in the country you are moving to, to getting a transfer through the company you already work for, from opening your own business to becoming a digital nomad, David shares all his tips on how to support yourself on your expat journey.

Find David on Instagram here and here, on Facebook here or here, and on Twitter.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Inspired by our conversation with Elizabeth Miki Brina, author of the new memoir Speak, Okinawa, we turn again to cross-cultural relationships and families, and the challenges that they bring up for those involved, many of them unexpected.

We also consider how much those problems can change and worsen, depending on which country the immigrant spouse is from, and how that country is perceived in their new country.

Be sure not to miss last week's episode, the interview with Elizabeth Miki Brina that sparked this conversation.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Inspired by last week's episode, an interview with Elizabeth Miki Brian, the author of the new memoir Speak, Okinawa, and the challenges she faced growing up the daughter of an American father and an Okinawan mother, Tiffany looks at pitfalls that can crop up in any cross-cultural relationship, particularly when one member of the couple leaves his or her home country to move (often permanently) the the country of the other, as well as a few ideas of how to avoid them.

Be sure to listen to Episode 363 Speak, Okinawa first.

**This episode was sponsored by Lingoda—the #1 trusted European language school with very affordable prices. The small online classes, available 24/7, are taught by native-speaking teachers with proven methods and expert-designed curriculums. Participate in a learning sprint to get up to 100% cash back! Use our code BITTERSWEET to get a discount on your deposit. Click here to find out more.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Elizabeth Miki Brina's new memoir Speak Okinawa is a "searing, deeply candid memoir about a young woman's journey to understanding her complicated parents—her mother, an Okinawan war bride, her father, a Vietnam veteran—and her own, fraught cultural heritage."

We sit down with the author for a probing interview that looks at the pitfalls of cross-cultural marriage, as well as Brina's own guilt and frequent embarrassment at being a mixed-race, mixed-heritage child. Her book seeks to uncover who her parents really are, to explore her own internalized racism, and to apologize for her inability to see how much her mother loved her, and how much she had lost in moving abroad.

Order your copy of Speak Okinawa here, or find it at your local bookstore.

**This episode was sponsored by Lingoda—the #1 trusted European language school with very affordable prices. The small online classes, available 24/7, are taught by native-speaking teachers with proven methods and expert-designed curriculums. Participate in a learning sprint to get up to 100% cash back! Use our code BITTERSWEET to get a discount on your deposit. Click here to find out more.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

As a follow-up to Monday's episode, What Do I Want to Do Today?, on this mini-episode, Katy presents a radio piece she produced several years ago, in which she is physically present—and recording in audio—the birth of a child.

First she chats with the parents-to-be about their decision to attempt a natural childbirth, as well as the doula who will be assisting the birth. Sometimes coming up with an idea for a story or a project can be as simple as asking yourself what you want to do that day. And on this day, Katy wanted to see new life begin.

**This episode was sponsored by Lingoda—the #1 trusted European language school with very affordable prices. The small online classes, available 24/7, are taught by native-speaking teachers with proven methods and expert-designed curriculums. Participate in a learning sprint to get up to 100% cash back! Use our code BITTERSWEET to get a discount on your deposit. Click here to find out more.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

When trying to come up with an idea, whether it's for an article you're trying to pitch, a school assignment, a book you want to write, or any creative endeavor, have you ever just asked yourself: What do I want to do today?

Today we talk about how this seemingly simple question can not only open up an opportunity to do something totally new to you and perhaps even out of your comfort zone, but it may also bring you an abundance of inspiration for a creative project.

We also chat about all the crazy things we've done in the pursuit of a story or an idea, and how some of those things have brought unexpected blessings into our lives.

**This episode was sponsored by Lingoda—the #1 trusted European language school with very affordable prices. The small online classes, available 24/7, are taught by native-speaking teachers with proven methods and expert-designed curriculums. Participate in a learning sprint to get up to 100% cash back! Use our code BITTERSWEET to get a discount on your deposit. Click here to find out more.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!