Two Worlds, One Me

Very excited about today's guest Michel Benedict. Michel was born in Switzerland and his other worlds are France, England and Brazil. He is a truly international businessman who has founded a great number of businesses. He's passionate about resilience,  entrepreneurship and sustainability. He speaks five languages and is fascinated by foreign cultures. He loves good food, wine, travel,...

Today,  I invite you to listen to Lachmi Bose.  Lachmi's two worlds are India where she was born and grew up, and England, where has now lived for over 50 years.   Lachmi joins me to talk about her childhood and how she still remembers the best lesson that her grandfather ever taught her. We talk about the move to England, how the family settled and how she felt proud wearing saris. Along the...

What a truly lovely episode I have for you today! So delighted to welcome my first guest from the second generation, Sandrine Japhet-Sibboni. Sandrine was born in France and it is her grandparents, on her father's side, who immigrated from Egypt, bringing her father and his brother with them as young children. Sandrine's mother is French and has always lived in France. Sandrine works in...

My wonderful guest this week is Dora Poni Loro.  Dora's two worlds are South Sudan and Norway. She is a social worker with further studies in trauma-informed care, disclosure of sexual abuse in children and young people, and a master’s degree In child Welfare. She was born in South Sudan and has been living in Norway since 1999, so over 20 years. Dora is a mother of two. She is a passionate s...

What a truly lovely guest in this episode! I am delighted to welcome Tatiana Gibson onto the podcast. Tatiana joins me to talk about her three worlds - Russia, Scotland and Spain (Tenerife). Along the way we discuss her passion for travel & adventure, her love of hot summers and ocean views that she is so grateful for in Tenerife. Tatiana talks about her love of studying and always learning so...

My guest today is Rosa Bethell, a wonderfully charming education agent. She joins me to talk about her worlds - Kazakhstan, Russia and England. Along the way, we talk about her childhood in Kazakhstan, growing up "behind the iron curtain" at the time of the USSR, about the loss of her father at a young age, about  her life in Switzerland and why she did not enjoy it as much. Rosa talks a...

Today I welcome the inimitable Maureen Freely who introduces us to her three worlds - the USA, Turkey and England.  What a treat and privilege to have Maureen as my guest.   Maureen is a writer with seven novels to her name and many other strings to her bow. She is well-known as a translator of the Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk. She has also brought into English several classics as well as w...

I am very  excited about sharing this great conversation with you. My guest, Jonathan  Hedley,  joins me to discuss his many cultural worlds that include the UK, Italy,  the US and France. We touch on his childhood - his father was a professional musician. His parents divorced when he was only 6 years old, and he was brought up by his mum and his grandmother. Along the way  we talk about Newcastle...

Well, well - you are in for another treat here! My guest today is Ana Tajder, an extremely charming writer, blogger and podcaster.  She joins me to talk about her three worlds, Croatia, Austria and the US.  We talk about how she and her mum decided to leave what was then Yugoslavia, to find a refuge in Austria where her father already lived and where she joined an international school. We talk abo...

In this episode, I bring you Ruth Hughes. Ruth is a positive psychology expert and specialises in cultural shock. She has a particular interest in supporting resilience in those experiencing change, through facilitating a greater understanding of the emotional impact of culture shock on identity. Ruth has experienced cultural shock herself and she takes us through her very interesting experiences...

In this episode I bring you Din Ghani, an inspiring man whose two worlds take us to Malaysia in the 60s and England. Din is a wonderfully talented  man whose mantra in life is "never miss an opportunity to learn something new".  We talk about his childhood and how he was educated together with Brunei princes. We discuss  his love of Malaysian food,  his passion for  the lute playing, how...

This episode is a little different from my usual episodes - I am joined by my friend Jane who talks to me about my own two worlds. I decided to tell you about my two worlds as many of you have asked me "What about your story? " So here we go, specially for my listeners, I take you to my two worlds - Croatia, or really former Yugoslavia, and England. We talk about travel and how it broade...

In today's episode I talk to Ellie Hann. On her travels around the world, Ellie decided to stay in Hong Kong and teach English there. Ellie is a great teacher who enjoys a good challenge. In this episode we talk about how easy it is to find work in Hong Kong, about dragon boat racing, about Hong Kong as a place to live, with all its attractions and challenges. Ellie talks about her newly disc...

In this episode I bring you none other than Nikolay Bogatyrev - a very prolific scientist who, amongst many other very exciting projects,  researched the life of bumblebees, much-loved insects that pollinate our crops and wildflowers. We talk about his two worlds, Russia and the UK, about his creative writing and how different it is to write for science and to write creatively. We talk about how E...

Today I invite you to listen to Peter Hopwood. Peter was born in the UK and for the last 21 years has been living in Croatia. He is a great speaker, brilliant story-teller and a very inspiring and positive person. He coaches people to deliver stories with stronger impact. Along the way we talk about how he travelled the world then settled in Croatia, how he learnt the very complex Croatian languag...

I am very excited while writing this - in this episode I bring you Kae Bahar. Kae is an award winning film producer and a a great story-teller. He takes us on a journey through Kurdistan, from his childhood to now.  He takes us through his amazingly challenging but very inspiring life. We talk about Kurdistan and what it means to be Kurdish, about how he got into films and film making. We  talk ab...

In this episode I introduce you to Anatolie Cantir and his two worlds - Moldova and Denmark. Anatolie is extremely witty and speaks with wonderful charm, enthusiasm and energy. Along the way we talk about his culture shock, his "lost in translation" moments, the key differences between his two cultures and how he feels happiest amongst his international friends. Anatolie is an associate...

In this episode my guest Mat Terrett joins me to talk about his two worlds - China and the UK. Mat takes us on his journey from backpacking adventures around the world to an academic teaching career in China. We talk about unusual food textures and smells, about raising a family in China and much more. Being primarily an artist, Mat approaches life with curiosity, imagination and insatiable love o...

My guest today is Elena Thomas (Ellie). She joins me to talk about her two worlds - Bulgaria and England. Ellie is an amazing, vibrant and warm-hearted soul who remains very connected to the country of her birth. We talk about growing up in a communist country, about the meaning of community, about children, parents and some amazing Bulgarian food. You will find this episode very interesting and I...

In this podcast Wenkai takes us to Suzhou, China, where she was born. We talk about her two worlds, about what it is like to be different, about her harrowing and difficult experiences of being bullied at school, and how she wanted to be strong for her parents all that time. Now living in the UK, Wenkai tells us about her life here, her scientific experiments in fermenting koji and much more. You...

My guest this week is Mujib Khan. Mujib joins me to talk about his childhood and growing up in Pakistan. Along the way he talks about his travels around the country when he was a civil servant, about Pakistani arranged marriage tradition, about his gradual move to the UK and much more. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed talking this very charming guest. _____ If you would like to t...

My guest today is Simi Rezai-Ghassemi.  Simi is so eloquent, interesting and sweet-natured. She joins me to talk about her worlds, about her love of cooking and how it all started, about how Iranian people celebrate Yalda night and much more. You are in for a treat. Simi's website _____ If you would like to talk to me about your two worlds, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to c...

In this episode I welcome Leslea Petersen, a very uplifting person, a Brit married to a Dane.  Leslea helps internationals in Copenhagen increase their visibility to get hired quickly.  We talk about her initial struggles to settle, about the Danish work-life balance, and, of course, about hygge and much more.  A Darlington girl with a Danish perspective - what a lovely podcast guest - I hope you...

For this episode I am delighted to welcome Hala.  Born in Damascus, Syria, Hala joins me to talk about her journey to safety in the UK, with her young family. Imagine losing everything. What a brave and strong woman! Thank you Hala for your story, you are truly an inspiration! _____ If you would like to talk to me about your two worlds, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me...

This week I bring you Louisa, a very calm and genuine individual. She joins me to talk about her three worlds - the Netherlands, the UK and Belgium. An original and brave mum of two teenagers talks about Dutch directness and what it means to her, about cycling, licorice and the meaning of "gezellig". ______ If you would like to talk to me about your two worlds, I would love to hear from...