The Expat Cast

This is a rebroadcast of an episode of "The Germany Experience," hosted by Shaun near Nuremberg. I call in from Freiburg to chat with Shaun and Steph Fuccio in Berlin of Geopats about our experiences with the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany.

Find The Germany Experience here, and on Instagram and Twitter.

Discuss your opinions on this episode in the The Germany Experience Facebook group!

Find Steph here, on Instagram and on Twitter. 

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Season 3, Episode 25. It's the season 3 finale!!!

Thanks to everyone who has made this season of The Expat Cast a smashing success. To celebrate the season wrapping up, I've invited guests from the last 3 seasons to give us an update on where they are now, how things have changed since they last were on the podcast, and what decisions they've been making lately about their expat life.

We'll be back with season 4 at some point in the near(ish) future! Bis dann!

FIND THE GUESTS

1. James, from LiveWorkGermany, was on the episode "A Plethora of Resources for Living in Germany"

2. Sixtina, from Six Miles Away, was on the episode "From Pils to Pints to Passport Stamps"

3. Aurora was on the episode "Choosing to Move Back"

4. Riana, from Teaspoon of Adventure, was on the episode "Preparing to Move Abroad"

5. Meg was on the episode "Long-Distance Relationships"

6. Samar was on the episode "The First Few Months"

7. Gyo, from Gyo Monreal, was on the episode "Celebrate Every Little Win"

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Season 3, Episode 24. Natalie left her home country of the UK and was backpacking in Australia when a handsome German man caught her eye in a hostel. Cue a whirlwind year of traveling together throughout Australia and Asia before moving together to Freiburg, Germany.

When the two got engaged, Natalie had plenty of big dreams for how she wanted her wedding. But quickly, it became apparent that putting on her dream English wedding in Germany wasn't going to so easy. On top of that, a surprise cancer diagnoses landed Natalie in chemo around the time of the wedding, leading to additional complications, both logistically and emotionally.

Natalie is a force of nature, though, and she didn't let any of this keep her from putting on a unique wedding that had her fingerprints all over it. We discuss how she settled on her wedding venue in the Black Forest, the challenge of finding a wedding videographer, and the different wedding formats offered in Germany.

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Season 3, Episode 23. After I had Katie on as a guest for the episode called Intercultural Relationships, I knew I had to have her on again to talk about her day job. Katie spends her days deciphering and translating old German handwriting from different genealogical documents. 

Individuals researching their German ancestry - or individuals who just stumble across their great-great-grandma's diary - come to Katie to bring these original documents back to life. With her fluency in German, her knowledge of old German terms, and her specialization in reading the old handwriting, Katie's job lets her dive into the colorful personal histories of people who lived years, decades, and even centuries ago.

In the episode, Katie and I geek out about two TV shows: Outlander (available on Netflix) and Finding Your Roots (from PBS).

FIND KATIE

Online at SK Translations

Take her course on German handwriting

Read her book, Tips and Tricks of Deciphering German Handwriting

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Season 3, Episode 22. There are an estimated 9 million Americans living abroad. If you asked each one of them how they feel about being American, you'd probably get 9 million unique answers. While we can't ask every single person how they feel, we can - and have! - asked two, and this week, we talk to Zoe, a native Philadelphian who returned to the city after various experiences living and traveling abroad.

After her second year abroad in France, Zoe decided to move back to the US - not just temporarily, but permanently. She comes on the show to explain how confronting opinions about American culture around the globe made her more proud to be an American.

This is the second part in a two-part series about American expats reflecting on their American identity. Last week, we talked about American Shame with Gabe.

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Season 3, Episode 21. There are an estimated 9 million Americans living abroad. If you asked each one of them how they feel about being American, you'd probably get 9 million unique answers. While we can't ask every single person how they feel, we can - and have! - asked two, and this week, we talk to Gabe, a native South Carolinian living in Amsterdam.

Gabe feels a deep sense of shame about being an American. Since moving to Europe, he's become disillusioned about numerous aspects of American history, culture, and identity. Gabe shares with us what his journey of moving abroad was like, and how he got to this place of shame about his heritage.

Next week, we'll hear someone who feels the exact opposite in an episode called American Pride.

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FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words?

Nein!

It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off.

The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both!

MORE INFORMATION

thegermanyexperience.de/charity

The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc

Expat Life Germany's charity of Choice: Lebenshilfe

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Season 3, Episode 20. Nicole grew up in the US and moved to Germany in her mid-20s, and Christin grew up in Germany and moved to the US in her mid-20s. They both pull from their childhood as well as their years in their new home countries to swap stories about how the holidays are in both countries.

Do you know about the Christmas Pickle? Have you ever accidentally set an advent wreath on fire? When you think about a nice hot, alcoholic beverage, do you think about eggnog or about Gluehwein? We discuss and giggle about all this and more!

FIND CHRISTIN

On Instagram @thisgermanamericanlife

Her bread company's Instagram @littlebreadfactory

Her bread company's website littlebreadfactory.com

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FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words?

Nein!

It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off.

The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both!

MORE INFORMATION

thegermanyexperience.de/charity

The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc

Expat Life Germany's charity of Choice: Lebenshilfe

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Season 3, Episode 19. This is a rebroadcast from March 2019. It’s being re-released in honor of FEGEPADFO, or the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The guest on the episode is Berly, one of the founders of Women’s Worth Inc., which is my charity of choice for FEGEPADFO.

Listen to hear how Berly’s came to the idea to found Women’s Worth, as well as stories of who the people are that this charity helps. I hope that after listening, you’ll be inspired to take a couple minutes to donate to Women’s Worth in celebration of FEGEPADFO. They are an incredible organization that give such vital help to local communities in Nicaragua.

Donations are accepted in US Dollars via Pay Pal, so it’s super easy to donate, no matter where you are in the world or what currency you use.

FIND BERLY & WOMEN'S WORTH, INC.

Women's Worth, Inc.'s website

Facebook @womensworthinc

Instagram @womensworthinc

YouTube @womensworthinc

Twitter @womensworthinc

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