An Immigrant’s Life

I kicked it with the comedian Eva Alexo. We talked about her Greek-Brazilian roots, her constant lying growing up, her family’s obsession with calling the police for the inanest things, her self-diagnosed ADHD and autism, immigrant family's disbelief of learning disabilities, experiences in a Christian Camp, her food addiction, her weight loss surgery that changed her life for the better but b...

I had conversazione with the co-founder of "The Overseas Dream", Eugenio Rotondi. We talked about growing up in Montesarchio, Naples, Italy, why not making the military academy propelled him to immigrate to New York, how his goals helped him stay in the US, his opinion regarding NY Pizza VS Neapolitan Pizza, the importance of asking for help, being a consistent Dean’s Lister and still have...

I had an enlightening talk with human rights advocate Izzy Joseph. We talked about her growing up in Palestine, her opinion about the conflict between Palestine and Israel, the oppression of the “colonizers” towards Palestinians, her luggage being stabbed at an Israeli checkpoint, being given a 30-minute warning by the army to go home or be shot dead (yes, even young children), her story of being...

I had a proverbial “high tea” with the artist, Henna Bakhshi. She talked about her experiences growing up in a big loud Desi family in Kent, England. How the movie “Blinded by the Light” perfectly portrayed her childhood, growing up with dual-identity or what she called “split personality”, her badass mom, her grandad’s openness to educate her daughters in a strict Asian society, her experiences l...

The 1st Year Anniversary Episode Available Now!        We are bringing back the Safari Rāṇī, Shital Patel. She just came back from Kenya and wanted to talk about her experiences living there, and how much she loved it. We talked about our opinions how adaptive immigrants are, how traveling to 35 countries prepared her from living in Kenya, how she didn’t get “homesick”, why expect craziness when y...

I had a conversation with my long-lost friend, Johny Andrew. We talked about his parents’ complicated immigration story, being sent away from his family at a young age to Cornwall, Ontario, being homeless when he was a teenager, and his arduous road to his eventual success.        👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: bit.ly/3g0qe2g   Apple Podcasts: apple.co/34KNRa2   Spotify: spoti.fi/2S9eQJx   R...

I talked to Digital Marketer, Marivii Giminez. We talked about her experiences being a Canadian Argentinian, being told as not “Latina enough”, being judged as a brown girl at an Evanescence concert, taking care of her family at an early age when her mom fell ill, the friction between the vaccinated VS the unvaccinated, the state of live music performances after Covid, and how it affects her work...

I had a storytelling session with journalist & filmmaker, Gelareh Darabi. We talked about who inspired her to be a journalist, her family’s opportune escape from Iran before the revolution, her rebellion against her parents’ confusing parenting ways, our similarities of growing up in a matriarchal household, her reporting about the Amazon rainforest and whale sharks in the Philippines, her cre...

I talked to real estate agent, Jean Dumont. We talked about his experiences living in Gatineau, Quebec and Côte-des-Neiges, racism in the 80’s towards Haitians, how diversity helped him to be a better person, teaching his daughter about racism, and he introduced me to “ubuntu” philosophy.     👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: bit.ly/3g0qe2g   Apple Podcasts: apple.co/34KNRa2   Spotify: spoti.fi...

I had a powerful and emotional conversation with Immigrant Rights Activist, Eva Santos Veloz. We talked about her growing up undocumented, how a chain reaction of trauma and personal struggles are brought to her family for being undocumented, how DACA changed her life for the better, her activism, the challenges organizing rallies, her “Feeding the Harlem Homies” program, and why she thinks it’s i...

I had a conversation with author and digital nomad, Saloua Ibaline. She told me about her and her mother’s immigration to Belgium from Morocco, that separated her from her siblings, being raised by a resilient but strict Muslim single mom whom she rebelled against, living with a foster family in her preteen years, which fed to her confusion between the Moroccon culture and Western culture, the dis...

I talked to my brother and Restaurateur, Tom Katsabanis. We talked about Greeks celebrating their “Name Day” rather than their birthdays, how religion is so important to Greece, how the civil war in Greece impacted his family and prompted his parent's immigration, and challenges of growing up with immigrant parents.             👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: bit.ly/3g0qe2g   Apple Podcas...

I had a conversation with social media sweetheart, Minnat Shah. We talked about her experiences growing up in Vadodara, India, being an introvert child, how making friends helped her become more outgoing, being a single child in India, the culture of arrange marriage vs love marriage in India, being in an arrange marriage herself, our experiences with Canadian winter, the challenges of making new...

I had a conversation with Industrial Engineer and Overseas Filipino Worker, Norman Bala. He told me about the greatness of his grandfather who was as a former Mayor of his town in the Philippines, getting a job that is not lined to his college program that led him to a good career, his migration to Qatar, and he read me a heartwarming letter from his daughter that almost got me all teared up.    ...

I talked to bibliophile & HS ESL teacher, Emily Francis. She told me about her life growing up poor in Guatemala, being a 15-year-old taking care of her 4 siblings while her mom tries to make a living, her mom’s immigration to America, leaving them to fend for themselves for 2 years, then her and her siblings’ 2-month experience living with “coyotes” (smugglers) so they can immigrate to the US...

I talked to entrepreneur & content creator Juan Maya Hernandez. He told the story of him suffering from seizures when he was child, being bullied in school, asking help from a teacher that instead of helping offered to buy him a “Jack In The Box” instead, his drive to enroll and graduate from UCLA, and how an unfortunate situation made him find his purpose in life.      👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇...

I had a chat with man of the world and entrepreneur, Matus Lukes. We talked about growing up in small town Slovakia, how breakdancing prompted him to travel to Spain, migrating all over Europe, unintentionally serving for the Slovakian army, why he decided to stay in Vancouver.           👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: bit.ly/3g0qe2g   Apple Podcasts: apple.co/34KNRa2   Spotify: spoti.fi/2S9e...

On this episode, I sat down and talked to the rebel & aesthetician, Sadia Haque. We talked about how difficult it was to grow up as an ethnic Pakistani in rural Quebec around the 9/11 era, and how she stood up against it, how a rebellious act accidentally helped her find her true calling in life, and she dropped some knowledge regarding skin care.       👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: bit...

I talked to Nature lover and motorcycle enthusiast, RJ Germino Mapoy. We talked about his experiences working as a Head Credit Collector of a motorcycle company in the Philippines, how hard it was for him to adjust to Canadian life, how his immigration became a humbling personal experience, and how perseverance helped him land the job that he always wanted.           👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   Yo...

In this episode, I chatted with the cook extraordinaire & salt of the earth, Fiona Suratt. We chatted about her childhood in Trinidad and Tobago, challenges of raising "Canadian" kids, how much cooking "consumes" her, and most importantly, how much she adores and misses her dad.       This episode is dedicated to the loving memory of Mr. Roopdeo "Rudy" Suratt      👇🏽...

I had a fun conversation with Photographer, Arun Somasundram. We talked about how the civil war in Sri Lanka pushed his parents to immigrate, his strict upbringing and how that made him a better supervisor at work, his travels, and his photography.     👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽   YouTube: https://bit.ly/2SW06Oc   Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/34KNRa2   Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2S9eQJx   Redcir...

I had a heart-to-heart chat with my brother, Christian Catapusan. We talked about his dad’s passing when he was very young, how that situation pushed his mom to migrate and leave him with strangers, growing up literally “alone”, his eventual migration to Saudi Arabia to join his mom, becoming a migrant father himself, and how the pandemic made him realized what is really important.       👇🏽 ALL...

I had a conversation with web designer and developer, Jaye Mangahas. We talked about her memories living in the Philippines, her parents’ work ethics, the culture of spanking in the Philippines, being called “whitewash”, Filipino stereotypes, and starting her own business.       👇🏽 ALL LINKS BELOW 👇🏽  YouTube: bit.ly/3g0qe2g   Apple Podcasts: apple.co/34KNRa2   Spotify: spoti.fi/2S9eQJx   Redc...

I had an amazing conversation with Caregiver Derwil “Bong” Santiago. He told me about him being sent to jail in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming 2007 Riyadh Bartender of the Year, suffering a heart attack while away from his family, his eventual move to Canada, being played by his Canadian employer, working for a construction company that takes off asbestos off buildings, and fulfilling his dream of...

I had a chitchat with Aussie girl, Nhung Nguyen. We talked about her dad’s attempts of escaping Vietnam that lasted for ten-years, her parents’ divorce and how it impacted her, her travels, and how the pandemic helped her find self-contentment.     Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIlVuYta7UlMNhRj95AwRWw   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-immigrants-life/id153618...