The Bittersweet Life

If you live abroad, sometimes you have to stay up all night in order to keep an eye on the fate of your home country. And then there are the rare occasions when you have to stay up all night even if you are in the states. No one said 2020 was going to be an easy year.

On this week's mini-episode, Tiffany and Katy comunicate with each other via voice memo as the results of the 2020 US election come in. For Tiffany, this happened beginning at one in the morning, for Katy, the more reasonable hour of 4pm. But it would turn out to be anything but a straight-forward election night. Listen in as we react live to the results of the most crucial and tumultuous election of our lives.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Their newest release is Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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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!

It's the eve of the US presidential election, what the vast majority of Americans consider to be the most important election of their lifetimes. But what happens when you're an expat, living across the world while something so important is happening?

Even if you exercise your right to vote from abroad, it can still be challenging for expats to be so far away when something enormously consequential is going on at home.

On this episode, Tiffany explains what it feels like to be so far from home at a time like this, and Katy can relate: she recalls watching her hometown team win the Super Bowl while she was living in Rome: by herself in a pub in the middle of the night—while she knew her entire city was celebrating back home.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Today Katy reads an excerpt from their newest release Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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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!

It's almost Halloween, and to assuage the fears of anyone who is afraid of rats (like Tiffany, see previous episode!) Katy shares a fascinating and little-known recording of rat laughter (yes, you read that right).

On this mini-episode, she also shares a touching piece of short fiction she wrote during lockdown that most likely many of our listeners can relate to in some way.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Today Katy reads an excerpt from their newest release Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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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!

Are you afraid of the dark? Spider or rats? Being buried alive or drowning? Encountering a wild ferocious beast? Are you afraid of ghosts? Someone lurking in the shadows who is about to jump out and attack?

In honor of Halloween week, this episode is all about our fears, whether they be rational or irrational. And if they are rational, can they even be considered fears? Or is that just a natural form of self-protection? And speaking of irrational fears, why are we often scared of things that we know can't hurt us—or that maybe don't even exist?

And why do we enjoy being scared? Why do we seek out terror? We explore all these topics on our latest episode.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Today Katy reads an excerpt from their newest release Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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

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!

Considered for centuries to be the most mysterious sculpture in the world, The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino (1753) is an astoundingly realistically marble creation of the crucified Christ covered with a nearly transparent veil. The depiction is so uncannily real that for nearly 200 years, it was believed by many to have been created with the use of magical means.

On this Bittersweet Moment, Tiffany tells the history of this mystifying work, and the secret that was believed to be responsible for its seemingly impossible realism. You can find the work a the Cappella Sansevero Museum in Naples.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Today Katy reads an excerpt from their newest release Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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

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!

"All things cute and cuddly" was the surprising topic requested by listener Sara, who supports us at the $50 level on Patreon. Choosing the topic of an episode is just one of many bonuses we offer our Patreon supporters, and as this episode proves, we take that pledge seriously and hold no veto power. The sky is the limit!

In delving into this unexpected topic, we attempt to answer many questions: Why does Tiffany hate cuddly things—and the very word "cuddly" itself? What is the cutest thing Katy ever saw on a plane? And how did the word "cute" get redefined through the centuries? Listen in to find out.

**This episode was sponsored by Clyde Hill Publishing—partner and publisher for founders, innovators, thinkers, and tinkerers. Today Katy reads an excerpt from their newest release Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End by former guest Jim DeMaine. Katy will interview the author live at a virtual Town Hall Seattle event on Monday 16 November at 7:30pm PST and you are all invited. Get your tickets here! You can purchase the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop.org, or at your favorite local bookstore.**

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

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!

What are book tours like in the time of Covid? For this week's mini-episode, Katy sits down with bestselling author Jess Walter to discuss what it's like to do book events in his office while staring into a computer screen or to sign 6000 books in one go. They also consider that, even in a post-Covid world, true book tours might become a thing of the past, and why maybe that won't be such a bad thing.

Jess' latest book, The Cold Millions will be published on 27 October 2020. Pre-order your copy, or better yet, drop by your local bookstore and you might just find a signed copy.

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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!

This week we give all our listeners a peek into some of the extra bonus content that our Patreon donors are receiving. Every month we offer one or more bonus episodes exclusively for our Patreon supporters, and today we are sharing one of those with our entire audience.

Way back in 2015, we taped a final episode just before Tiffany took a break to have her baby and begin learning the ropes of motherhood. This week, we re-listen to that episode and offer real-time commentary on it. Did Tiffany have any idea what she was getting in to? How has motherhood changed her, and is it anything like what she expected?

Listen in, and if you like it, consider supporting the show on Patreon so you'll get extra content like this every month.

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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!

Moving abroad is already a daunting experience at the best of times. Imagine doing it during a deadly pandemic. For this mini-interview we are joined by listener Gabriela Proietti who took the leap and moved to Rome this past January, only to be forced back home to the States when Coronavirus exploded in Italy in early March. But was she daunted? No! Hear her tell her story in her own words of how she defied her nay-sayers to move back to Rome in the midst of the pandemic.

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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!

As devastating as this pandemic has been, to our lives, our loved ones, and our livelihoods, is there a silver lining? In the midst of the suffering and the uncertainty, sometimes you have to let yourself see the good too.

Regular listeners will know that Tiffany is an eternal optimist. Today, she and Katy discuss the positive changes they have noticed in the world and their own lives in the past six months, from big-picture things like environmental improvements, to things as small and personal as having more time to read.

We also hear from several listeners, both by letter and by voice memo, about the silver linings they have found during this trying time.

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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!