Exlander

What was it like to meet and greet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. or shake hands with the Japanese emperor? And why do girls in Japan wear shoes two sizes bigger than their feet? And why is Switzerland a country she will always come back to even after leaving her diplomatic status? The journey of serving her homeland started as a pure coincidence a few decades ago in Cyprus when Czechoslovakia still existed as a repressive totalitarian state where freedom was forbidden. She decided to do a better job one day as a citizen and here she is today, an appointed ambassador of Czechia in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, in one of the highest diplomatic positions. Luckily, times change!

How does one become affected by the process of expatriation when the decision to migrate is made by the family? And what challenges does it pose for teenagers, respectively? Is going back to your heritage a different experience than any other form of emigration? Stephanie Meister came to Switzerland as a teenage child and has tried to find a suitable answer to the million-dollar question "where is home for you?" ever since. After navigating her career path as a psychologist with some initial hardships she had to overcome, she has been working as a career coach for stedtnitz. design your Life GmbH in Zurich. What a story! Find out more about what she does here: www.stedtnitz.ch https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-meister-694749106/

Moving abroad is a challenge in itself, yet giving up your career and leaving your comfort zone may feel even more challenging. Hanka Hurábová did exactly both. And it has not been an easy decision as she admits. Why did she decide to stay at home with her children and how did she end up cooperating with tourist agencies like Wandermagazin Schweiz or Ticino Turismo? Does she regret any of her decisions and what does she find peculiar about the Swiss way of life? If you are into hiking and travelling, find out more here: https://www.ourswissexperience.com/en/ Instagram & Facebook: our_swiss_experience

Isabelle Litzler is a career coach, solopreneur and a true business woman who knows everything about working with expats. She herself has been living the expat life since her late teenage years and has a good insight in all the Do's and Don'ts with regard to the whole expat experience package. An absolute must if you are thinking about moving to Switzerland or have just landed here, and-of course-if you want to hear another interesting life path all the way from France to California and back. Find out more about Isabelle here: https://www.isabellelitzler.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmhATYXSWGVB2c0C6mL3Iw?view_as=subscriber

This time a bit different: two ladies from the same region, yet from different countries, sharing their expat experiences from the perspective of a single relocating for a job and a better future to Belgium and Germany. Polyglots, language and translation professionals, expat souls and my friends whom I met on my internship in the EU Parliament in Luxembourg have been my dear guests on Exlander. Petra Mesić relocated to Germany from Croatia for a job at Electronic Arts and has pursued her career within a different company since then. She has shared some of the culture shocks she initially encountered, her single online dating expat experience (spoiler alert: not all Germans are polyamorous:-) and her realistic, yet emotional relationship to her homeland. During the covid pandemic she started a youtube channel called Piotra and as an avid trained choi singer she has released a song playing ukulele: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQRDG05uEIYMEA3X2aKYKPg Aleksandra Starčević is of Serbian origin and comes from Slovenia. She works at the European Network of Political Foundations in Brussels and has lived in Luxembourg, Iceland and Portugal before settling in Belgium. She has shared bits and pieces of what it is like to live in the EU bubble, her relationship towards the Balkans and what the expat single experience looks like. If you want to hear some tips on how to integrate as a single expat abroad and yet learn something new, this episode is an absolute must. *update: Germany is no longer in the harsh lockdown as it was when recording this episode. Let's celebrate!:-)

Ania Kolbuszewska is a top-class educational consultant, manager, language teacher, teacher trainer and a mediator who has agreed to share her experience of what it means to be an expat with an expiry date. She relocated from Poland to Switzerland and then back to Poland. And even though she was concious of the reversed culture shock, it hit her harder than expected. An absolute must listen for anyone who is relocating back home after several years abroad or who is craving some useful tips to overcome the initial culture shock both ways...and of course, many other interesting topics as usual:-) You can find out more about Ania here: https://pl.linkedin.com/in/ania-kolbuszewska https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy1P60_tgSbEsr9pBDMekHg

David Duc is a young entrepreneur and a founder of the company TikTokuj.cz. Although he has spent the majority of his life in Czechia, he would always claim he is Vietnamese first. We talked about what he misses about Vietnam, what some of the most common Asian stereotypes are and what motivated him to start an online business from scratch. And much more! An absolute must for anyone who is into online & social media marketing, cross-cultural experience and a good portion of subtle yet slightly politically incorrect fun:-) www.tiktokuj.cz /@dave.duc on Instagram

One doesn't have to agree with everything Juraj says to admit that he has some real balls. Leaving everything at the age of 34 to move to a foreign country with no knowledge of French and starting from scratch, that requires some portion of courage and perseverance which is not for everyone. This interview is full of motivation and inspiration, overcoming obstacles and brutal honesty about how you have to adapt your mindset if you want to achieve your biggest dream. He runs his own content creating business and in order to have a glimpse into what the final result of his creative process looks like you can visit his Instagram profile: nowornevervdo or find him under https://nowornevervdo.ch.

Another interview is a portion of brutal honesty about life in general, particularly then about coping with the midlife corporate crisis, the privilege he experienced as a Brit coming to Prague in the 90s, the challenges of bilingualism and about finding his home in Czechia.  Roderick Lambert is a life coach who exited the C-suite corporate life to find peace and time for things he really loves.  https://cz.linkedin.com/in/rodericklambert

In this interview I was talking to Sebestian who relocated from the Switzerland in Asia to real Switzerland in Zurich. An episode full of brutal honesty, challenging topics and lots of fun, what a ride!

I had the honour to interview Vladimir Dzuro, an investigator, second highest Czech official in the UN, author of the book "The Investigator: Demons of the Balkan War" about his love for New York, roots back in Czechia, the challenges one faces when mindset has to adapt and what it feels like to be invited to the White House.  Find out more on: https://warcrimeinvestigator.com "Views expressed in this podcast by Vladimir Dzuro are solely of his own and they do not reflect the official policy or position of the United Nations."

What was it like to meet and greet Ronald Reagan, why Czechs keep using sauce when speaking in shops and how did the journey of CareerNerds begin?  My guest was Tom Kent, Texas expatriate in Prague. What a story!

What is the expat life in Singapore all about and how can a mohawk shape your personal brand? An absolute must listen for anyone who is into online marketing, personal branding, expat life in Asia and lots of epic fun!!!    What a start ride into 2021!!!

Have you ever hiked across Madagascar? And what is it like to grow up with three cultures and languages? In this online interview I was talking to Francis Tapon, the author of Hike Your Own Hike and The Hidden Europe. He has walked across America 4 times, Spain twice, and Madagascar once. From 2013-2018, he travelled overland nonstop to all 54 African countries. In 2019, he was inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame. Find out more here: https://francistapon.com What an inspiration!

Have you ever been to Greenland? Or perhaps starred on national TV as a child?  In this interview I was talking to Wani who relocated to Switzerland from Malaysia, pursuing a goal of establishing her own business, backed up with a scheduled travel plan to visit all the countries in the world. On her amazing travels she is often accompanied by her husband and three kids. Oh, and she also bloggs about it here: http://travelmusefamily.com/about If you have asked yourself how she manages to find time for simple things like meals or sleep while listening to this amazing interview, no worries, you are not the only one. I haven't figured that out either, but what a story and inspiration!

Hi, I am Iva, your Exlander podcast host.

Why was it close to impossible to leave Czechoslovakia before 1989 and what motivated him to start his own business recently? In this episode I was talking to an Honorary Consul of Czechia in Switzerland, Mr. Václav J. Šulista who not only likes to talk about his life but loves beer, ice hockey and good humour. He also seems to have a rather peculiar connection to the canton of Wallis. Find out more about what he does at: www.sulista.ch  What an honor, I really enjoyed this interview!

Why did she choose Prague over any other city in Europe? In this online interview I was talking to Jennifer who relocated from Los Angeles to Prague and doesn't seem to be moving anywhere for the moment. She shares her love for the city and the country on her youtube channel DreamPrague: https://www.dreamprague.com/videos    A unique experience to see my homeland from an American perspective!

What is it like to follow your heart all the way Down Under? In this online interview I was talking to a truly international expat Sara who first relocated from Czechia to the UK and then followed her heart all the way to Australia. You absolutely gotta listen to her amazing story and not only because of that awesome Aussie accent and her lovely voice! Check out her beautiful drawings on Instagram under @s_ariela

What is it like to relocate to the Middle East for a job? In this very first online interview I was talking to Stefan, an English teacher from Serbia who relocated to the Middle East with his wife. You can also listen to him yelling at other drivers and ranting about contemporary issues going on in the world in his podcast called Blinkertalks on Spotify, which he records during his morning rides to work.

Travelling home in Corona timesDon't lose hope and listen to a few practical tips to overcome the coming weeks full of uncertainty, imposed quarantine rules and partial lockdownsStay tuned, stay healthy, stay safe!

An expat or an immigrant? What are the most common stereotypes you have encountered about your place of origin?Positive, negative, neutral stereotypes Stereotypes-free...until something bad happensWhat you need to know

Home has changed, you have changedLife back home goes on without you About reverse culture shocks...Can locals relate to your experience?Holidays back home: set some rules

Pointless complaints about the weather and how things are run Nobody wants to be around this nagging foreignerDo you have any power whatsoever to change certain things?How much criticism is okay and welcome?

Check out all episodes on Spotify and follow the Exlander podcast on Instagram...Leaving your comfort zone changes youAlways appreciate those little thingsAppreciate what you have learned on the expat path

Losing friends is inevitableFriends and blogs...Can some friendships last when you move abroad?And how to cope with letting certain people go?

How hard is it really to be away from your family and your loved ones? And what about the corona lockdown?Language barrier in your life as a foreigner and that ONE word!!!Can locals relate to certain aspects of our expat lives? Once a foreigner, always a foreigner

You have two homes but just one heart. What home does it then beat for? And how do you deal with all the challenges of living abroad? I discuss that and many more in the very first episode called simply: Home.