In Between

Meet Maria, with an energetic and loving spirit; her chat with me brightened up my day! It was her love for dancing that brought her to China for the first time, but it was her ability to persevere through challenges and trust in herself that kept her here! From dance teacher to English teacher, in the words of Maria “life happens!” Even though she struggled deeply with Mandarin from the start, sh...

What’s up guys! I cannot believe this is episode 50 of the podcast! I guess I’ve been doing it for quite some time now! Well anyways, today’s solo episode is all about being comfortable not knowing what will happen, not having a complete plan or simply being okay with the idea that life will happen as it is supposed to happen.  “Life is often less like solving a math problem and more like listenin...

Meet Acylina, a lovely Brazilian woman with whom I had the pleasure of sitting down and get to know in a deep level. She came to China by destiny and our meeting was a blow of fresh air, insightful, inspirational and blissful. She came with the mindset of growing and learning from this ancient county. With a focus in integrative medicine, Acylina became a driver for positivity and wellness, assist...

What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is all about most common mistakes expats make when relocating overseas and how to avoid them, helping you settle in faster, build a better life abroad, and get the most out of your international experience. We cannot expect life to feel like a permanent vacation, at some point reality kicks in! We need to stop comparing everything to how it is done at home, thi...

Solo -   “Living On The Opposite Side Of The World.” What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is all about what what happens when you leave everything familiar behind and move to the other side of the world! You will hear me talking about my personal experiences and thoughts on how it feels to take that leap of faith of moving to the unknown and all that comes along with that decision! You will hear a...

Meet Stevan, the second Serbian I know other than Novak Djokovic (tennis player), although I never met Djockovic in person haha! He is one of the many friends I’ve made through volleyball. Because of life circumstances, Stevan ended up in China, a place he at first had no interest in coming to, but that now proves to be the place for him to live and stay. From tattoo artist, graffiti artist to gam...

Meet Robert, an energetic and charismatic polyglot who chose a kind of lifestyle unfathomable to many of us! His passion for languages started at the age of 18 because of the influence of a friend, and from that moment on, his life took a turn. Unlike many people I have interviewed, China came up to him in a very unusual way! If you really want to learn a new language but believe it is too hard to...

Meet Ani, an exciting and lovely girl with whom I had the pleasure to sit down and get to known more about. She come to China in a very unique way, only on the basis of trust and gut feeling! Although, having been exposed to a lot of Asian cultures since a young age, the idea of coming to China was not so foreign to her. We dive into the experience of living with a Chinese hosting family, from foo...

Meet Danny, a kind and full of energy young man who was looking for a big adventure in life, and China was the perfect opportunity for him to start exploring the world! Coming from a quiet and small town in the state of Maine, Danny knew he wanted to experience more and open his horizons to the new and unknown. We chat about first impressions of the country and how he navigated getting used to a c...

Meet Yann, the second Yann I interview and in his words, “the best one!”. If having the same name was not a good coincidence already, they share a childhood background as well! What a small world! Yann has a very distinct and interesting background! Asia sparkled on his interest since a young age, but it wasn’t until later on that he travelled internationally quite a lot for work, that he had the...

Meet Carla, a “bella” fun Italian who I had the pleasure of meeting. She studied languages in the University of Naples, with focus on Chinese language. After a short trip to China back in 2002 she already knew she wanted to come back eventually, which happened in 2005. And without planning it, life had it set up for her to stay in China for good. We share our love for languages and chat extensivel...

What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is all about what we think it is “normal”and are proven wrong once we are in China! I share with you a few scenarios that really called my attention in the daily life here and how my perception is very different from the locals.  “I thought cash was king…”  “I thought people always respected personal space…” “I thought drinking cold water was normal…” “I though...

Meet Elen, a beautiful and strong minded young lady who I met by mutual friends. With a background in English and Chinese languages, she had the opportunity of coming to China for the first time on an exchange program during University time and knew she wanted to go back. We chat about her first time visiting China and the journey that has brought her to Shenzhen. We also get into those first days...

Meet the Bartons, a young, courageous and lovely couple who I had the pleasure to sit down and have a real talk of what is to move a family of 6 to China! Having arrived recently to the country, they are still on the learning curve of how the country’s systems work and how to pass from survival mode to comfortably living in this unique place. It all started because of Ryan’s ability to speak Manda...

Meet Jenn, a sweet and courageous Canadian who decided the world would be her home! She comes from a relatively small lake town a couple hours from Toronto, which is also the place where Shanaia Twain was dicovered?! China was not the first place in Asia she adventured to, she also lived in Korean and Istanbul, so she was quite familiar with the Asian culture in some aspects. Although China was di...

Meet Yann, he called my attention right when we first met because of the fact he speaks Portuguese fluently but is not from Brazil! He is half Brazilian half French, having grown up in French Guiana. He has a very interestingly diverse background, which allow him to be comfortable enough to go solo though the world at a very young. Because of his adventurous personality, he didn’t think twice on a...

Meet Sophie, my yoga teacher here in China! She moved all the way from France with her husband and two kids to adventure in Asia. It was not the first time they moved to a different country, but China specifically was never a place they thought of moving to. Like many other people, the pandemic pushed Sophie to explore a new career path, from Engineering to Yoga. Currently, she has her own private...

Meet Sefrah, a lovely high energy young woman with whom I have a lot in common actually! She double majored in Global Studies and East Asian Languages, Literature and Cultures, which opened her options to come to this side of the world and create a life here. She shares her experience with getting a job in China during the pandemic time, which was not easy, but it was meant to be and totally worth...

What’s up guys! Are you used to having a “coffee to go” any time you want? Would you be open to try duck blood? How long you spend sitting on the toilet? From weird eating habits, clothing styles, public transportation and local rules on chewing gums, there is a lot to expand on how countries go about life. Even something as mundane as turning on the lights in your apartment can become a challenge...

Intercultural dating can go both ways, it can be amazing and life changing as well as scary and tricky to navigate if you don’t have the right mindset. I sit with Francis another time to chat all things related to having a partner from the other side of the world! We chat cultural habits, language, holiday traditions, food and even love languages! It doesn’t matter where you come from in the world...

What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is all about what makes the East and West countries so unique and distinct from each other. There are way too many differences to mention that would not all fit in one single episode, so I just chat about a few of the ones that stood out to me throughout the years and which I believe to be the most obvious ones and a lot of people can relate to. In this episode...

Happy 2026 everyone! We are not done with the podcast! I just decided to take a bit of a break while I was enjoying some much needed quality time at home with my family in Brazil! Sometimes we need to reset, change the environment and most importantly, focus on what is right in front of us, which is, the present moment. It is the start of a new year, new beginnings, new goals, new accomplishments!...

Meet Francis, my partner in life and who introduced me to the Eastern world 7 years ago. Now I brought him to the podcast to chat about his views, perceptions and opinions about Brazil! Francis has a very international background, having lived in the United States since a young child and traveling to many countries throughout the years. It is his second time in Brazil and Latin America. We chat ma...

What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is about me, and all it means for me to be a foreigner in the world and in Asia. After having interviewed many guests in regard to living abroad and specifically on this side of the world, I thought it would be interesting to ask myself the same type of questions I have been asking others these past few months. If you are curious about my life, my background, m...

Meet Sandro, another Brazilian brother that I was fortunate to have been put in contact with though another fellow Brazilian who came on the podcast a few weeks ago. This is another proof that “word of mouth” really works! Sandro is originally from Presidente Venceslau, in São Paulo state, but he moved quite a bit, not only in Brazil but also in the United States. He eventually had the opportunity...