The Germany Experience

Mari is a US expat living in Germany. She's also a writer and an avid pug fan. She discusses what it's like being an English-speaking writer in Germany, her book "The God Queen", and how to bring a dog from USA into Germany.

To win a signed copy of "The God Queen", find the episode post on one of the Expat Life Germany social media channels and follow the instructions:

Expat Life Germany Facebook (share the episode post and message the Expat Life Germany account to let me know)
Expat Life Germany Instragram (tag a friend or friends on the episode post)
Expat Life Germany Twitter (retweet the episode post)

Doing the above will enter you into the draw to win the book. You can be entered once for each platform, so that means you can be entered a maximum of three times. I'll do the draw on 22 October and announce the winner on the show on 28 October.

Find Mari: 

The Adventures of La Mari on YouTube
M.L Tishner blog (her writing site)
Advetures of La Mari blog (her travel adventures)
Mari on Instagram
Mari on Twitter

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

Discuss this episode in the Expat Life Germany Facebook group!

Vlad from Romania was tired of the political situation in Romania, and made the choice to move to Germany. But, unlike many Romanians who emigrate to western Europe, integration is easier for him since he's highly educated and already knows German. But is integration always a choice? We talk about why Romanians have a bad reputation in Germany and how Germany offers a better life for many eastern Europeans.

We also look into the latest Internations Expat Insider Report and find that Germany is not in the Top 10 of the top expat destinations in 2019.

Listen to my guest appearance on the Geopats podcast with Steph Fuccio: Geopats #66

Visit expatlifegermany.de for more episodes and blog posts. 

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

Michael Silberman lives in the USA, but Germany is certainly intertwined with his life over there. His parents left Nazi Germany (and were stripped of their German citizenship) to start a new life in the States, and this heritage led to a fascination with Germany. Michael spent some time in Murnau am Staffelsee and Augsburg back in the 80s, when he studied German at the Goethe Institute. More recently, he became a German when he got his dual citizenship through Article 116, which restores German citizenship to families of those who had their citizenship revoked during the Third Reich.

Michael has also founded a few companies, was once a professional bepop jazz guitarist (he played with jazz legend Joe Pass), and gets tattoos with famous basketball players. In our interview we discuss what 80s Germany was like, the differences to modern Germany, and how making mistakes in German can lead to trouble.

Michael Silberman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldsilberman/
Michael's current business venture: GoDcoin

 

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

The parkrun concept is simple: you turn up on a Saturday morning and you walk, jog, or run 5km. The best thing? It's free. Since it started in 2004, it has become a global phenomenon. And it's a great thing for expats, too: get out and exercise, and meet new people!

In this episode, I talk to the organizers of the Wöhrder See parkrun in Nürnberg about the concept.

The parkrun website: https://www.parkrun.com/
The parkrun Germany website (in German): https://www.parkrun.com.de/
The Wöhrder See parkrun website (in German): https://www.parkrun.com.de/woehrdersee/

See the blog post and photos here: https://expatlifegermany.de/parkrun-germany

Listen to my guest appearance on The Expat Cast: https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-rx6y4-c004f8

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

What exactly is an "expat"? Turns out this question is not as straight forward as Shaun used to think. He goes into some of the problems surrounding the terminology, and also defines his interpretation of it for the podcast.

He also reads out Apple Podcast reviews for the show, talks about some blog posts on the Expat Life Germany website (5 Cultural Things to Expect in a German Workplace and Germans Are Weird About Birthdays), and discusses the traditions around the first day of school in Germany.

The Schultüte: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schult%C3%BCte

Expatriate on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate

Steph Fuccio's article about Geopats: https://medium.com/@stephfuccio/geopat-not-expat-df5e229210b7
Steph Fuccio's website: https://www.stephfuccio.com/

The Settle In Berlin article: "Expat" or "Immigrant"?

Shaun will be appearing on The Expat Cast this week! 

Visit Expat Life Germany for more episodes and blog posts.

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

In the last episode, Anna Noakes Schulze dropped so many insights about expat life that I had to edit some of it out. Since it'd be a shame for it to go to waste, I decided to put it in a bonus episode.

Here is more Anna, and we go into detail about social media, how to help others by first taking care of yourself, and why she is not afraid to make connections with people who might be moving on in the future.

Visit Anna's website: https://www.sunflowerux.com/
Ask Anna questions in the Expat Life Germany Facebook group.

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

Anna Noakes Schulze from Canada presented a TEDx talk called “Living Abroad Teaches Us the Power of Connections”, and in it she tells her own expat story to demonstrate how those that we make connections with shape our lives and who we are, even if we don't live near them. This will resonate with many expats, and so I invited her to come on the show.

In this interview, she expands on the TEDx talk to reveal her wisdom and insights that describe the expat experience. She discusses the question of identity, learning German too fast, raising special needs children in Germany, and of course, the talk itself.

Anna Noakes Schulz is in the Expat Life Germany Facebook group, so if you have questions about her TEDx talk or her interview on the podcast, you can ask her there!

Anna’s Website: https://www.sunflowerux.com/

Anna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annanoakesschulze/

The Chrome plugin Anna mentioned for managing your social media feed: Social Fixer

Visit my website: https://expatlifegermany.de

Music used in this episode: Until the End by Ryan Anderson; the theme song is “Devil In My Head” by 10 Cent Janes. 

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

For all the links mentioned in the episode (there are a few!), go to the Finding and Getting a Job in Germany blog post.

I go through some of the ins and outs of getting a job in Germany. To help me, I got Cheryl Howard of cherylhoward.com to discuss her experiences as a job seeker in Berlin (she's interviewed for dozens of jobs). Then Abi from IamExpat.de joins me to discuss what goes in a German Curriculum Vitae, as well as some general tips for writing the document.

I also give you some advice from my own experiences looking for jobs in Germany. And I go through some questions and advice from listeners of the show.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the Facebook Group to discuss the episode. Visit expatlifegermany.de for other episodes.

Music used in this episode: Until the End by Ryan Anderson, Laid Back Fuzz by Podington Bear, Daybreak by Chad Crouch, and the theme song is “Devil In My Head” by 10 Cent Janes. 

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

I first interviewed Sarah back in July for a bonus episode, because she'd almost been caught by a scam. We had such a great discussion that I wanted to have her back on the show, and here she is.

Although Sarah is new in Berlin, she is by no means new to the expat way of life: she has lived in Syria, Canada, Dubai, Malaysia, Japan, and now, Germany. She discusses how her international background has made adapting to new cultures easier, and how she views her identity.

She also gives her initial feelings on Berlin, Germany, Germans, and contrasts life here to life in Japan.

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @slikko

For the blog post about the episode: https://expatlifegermany.de/12

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran

Tim Bourguignon is a French citizen who moved to Germany to be with his wife. He describes himself as coming in four flavors: Agile Coach, Chief Learning Officer, Mentoring Advocate, and Public Speaker. He also hosts a podcast called Software Developer’s Journey. 

After bad experiences learning German in school, Tim picked up German again years later when he actually moved to the country. In our interview, we discuss how his learning was aided by his colleagues, the Volkshochschule (adult education centers in Germany), and...the Wise Guys. We also cover how he handles three languages at home, some advice for making friends (care of the Holstee manifesto), and keeping in touch with friends and family back home.

Tim's Website: https://www.timbourguignon.fr/
Tim's Podcast (Software Developer's Journey): http://podcast.devjourney.info/

Instagram: the.germany.experience
Official podcast website: https://thegermanyexperience.de
YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/thegermanyexperience
Contact me: [email protected]

Podcast Intro Music by: Adrian Bran