Exchange Me

How was it to be an exchange student before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall? How was it to come to Moscow during the transition of the USSR to a market economy? How was it to meet Gorbachov in person at Stanford and witness the dissolution of the Soviet Union? Denys, the co-host of this show, spoke with Jeff Gospe* about these and many other stories to feed your curiosity and listen to four...

In another episode of the Global Response (GR) series, we travel to Auckland, New Zealand, to talk with Leo, a South Korean by descent and with Ukraine in his heart. He was in Ukraine one time but for 3 months while on AIESEC program. Since then, he well in love with Ukrainian culture and made lots of friends. And as we know well, friends are known in trouble. What's inside : Fertile soil! Ora...

Hi, Listener. This is Denys from Ukraine, your co-host of the Exchange Me Podcast. My guest for the third episode of the Global Response series has a background in literature and visual culture and is based in Pakistan🇵🇰, where she's working as freelance development writer and researcher for local and international grassroots organizations. Saadia's previous work has put her at the intersection of...

We recorded this episode over a year ago! The full-scale invasion in Ukraine switched our priorities.  But more than ever, English is vital to millions of Ukrainians who were forced to flee abroad, including many children and teenagers. In #XME15, you will learn from Anna how she encountered #FLEXprogram, became a FLEX alumna, and got inspired to plant a seed of learning into other minds. Our...

Merry Christmas, the world! Wow, we recorded this episode a year ago... But it is still war in Ukraine. Please see the ways to help Ukraine today:  https://supportukrainenow.org/ Especially, we encourage you to donate to the SUN Leaders Program which provides scholarship to young leaders of Ukraine who address specific social issues helping this fearless country to win in the mid- to long-ter...

Tom Giuretis 🇦🇺 is a self-made data journalist from Melbourne, Australia, who has been reporting on the war since 2014. He's in favor of heavy arms for Ukraine. Simone Pote 🇮🇹 is a youth worker from Turin, Italy, who's taking a more neutral position and has lots of friends who were in favor of peaceful negotiations since the beginning of the war. In this conversation, my friends and I are finding...

Andres from Ecuador and I met online 8 years ago to do a startup together. We aimed to “ share the chance ” of participating in exchange programs and scholarships easier. He is a Fulbright scholar and resides in the US now. We’ve recorded this episode half a year ago talking about Florida, Ecuador, applying to Fulbright, metaverse, simulations, equality, and more. I postponed it for obvious reason...

"I would rather mark it as Invasion of Humanity by Russia in Ukraine." In the first episode of the Global Response (GR) series, we talked with two Ukrainians (Yaroslava and Vira) and two Bangladeshis (Hasan and Ratul) to unpack the war in Ukraine in a global context. We especially thank the latter for contributing a more holistic view on this tragedy in the midst of Europe in 2022. Both Hasan and...

Global Response is a limited series under the ExchangeMe podcast umbrella to understand the perception of Ukraine in the world.  See the original show: https://exchangemepodcast.com . Summary International politics is always a factor in how things are perceived. Our team wants to know how the world sees Ukraine. What was reported in the news before the war and during it? It is an opportunity...

Donate to support Ukrainians via PayPal: exchangemepodcast@gmail.com Having started volunteering at the age 13, Sofia (Sonya) was among creators of the Druzi ("Friends") youth space in Kostyantynivka (Donetsk oblast) supported by USAID ( listen to XME 10 ). After returning from FLEX program, she doubled down on her passion to music and started an indie project with her father: https://slukh.media/...

How do you react when one of the host family relatives dies on the day of your arrival? How to overcome bullying and turn your deepest fears into career opportunities? This and other contradictory topics we covered in our new episode of Exchange Me show with co-host Tetyana Kondrya.  Valeriia Rudnichenko is originally from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. She is now studying in Poland to become a nutrition...

Roman is a co-founder of GarageHub . He is a brilliant engineer and project organizer, he led CACTUS camps in Ukraine and created a platform (an actual physical space) for people to build stuff. Denys talked with him about this, as well as his year in the US, an older sister who was an exchange student before him, and on monetizing culture. Listen now! 00:01 Preview 01:30 Having an older sister –...

Meet our co-host Tetyana Kondrya, FLEX'10! Our new episode is with FLEX alumna of 2003 Olga Shyshman (Lebedyna). She had to change 4 families with the patience and understanding of a Tibetan monk and continues to spread positivity wherever life takes her. Currently, she works as a Partner Account Manager at Dell Technologies after previously spending 8 years at SAP. Listen to our conversation as w...

From the Ukrainian city of Kherson to the US state of Kansas: the story of Nadia who “got hungry for impressions.” Curious fact: six years before she applied for FLEX, her father participated in the agricultural program in the same state. Currently, Nadia lives in Germany after “literally falling in love with this country.” 00:01 intro 00:56 a brave trip to Kansas City and embarrassing moments at...

She has lived in Thailand for 2,5 years and studied meditation with buddhist monks. She has lived in China for 5 years and wrote 2 books about foreigners and their perception in other countries and cultures. Meet the second part of our conversation with Katia ( https://katiakulyk.com/ ) 00:01 Preview 00:45 Intro 01:52 Small talk culture 03:31 Foreign experience which started with Russia and a 36-h...

After traveling to 35 countries, teaching mindfulness in 14 of them, Katia moved to a small village of Zavallia in Ukraine to organize her yoga and meditation retreats: https://katiakulyk.com/ 00:01 Preview 00:15 Intro 06:16 Studying English with American Peace Corps Volunteers 10:54 Religion in the US and community service at church 15:05 Gamification in reading books and writing own books 1...

Read about our podcast on  https://exchangemepodcast.com 00:01 Intro 00:43 Yevhenia’s trip to Michigan via Frankfurt, Washington DC, and Chicago. 05:23 Cultural shock 08:37 Host family 11:00 How surroundings shape us. How challenges unleash the hidden potential. 17:13 An American dream of becoming a cheerleader and a high school 19:53 Travelling with a sport team in a yellow bus 21:06 On skip...

What’s inside: Studying at a charter School in Colorado, USA. Learning to play a violin and embracing failures. Trying herself in the court club (mock trial). Joining community service at a local fire department, which brought her “down to earth”. How FLEX gives an opportunity to see a situation from different points of view and makes you FLEXible. Going to Barcelona on Erasmus program. Working in...

“Wealth = income - ego.” Roman is a business analyst at SoftServe , author of youtube-series and a podcast named “ GOALS on FIRE ” about financial literacy, investments and meaningful life. He is a Personal Finance Planner at iplan.ua – a consulting service that helps Ukrainians around the world to plan their life goals with smart financial and investment decisions and milestones. Roman also has a...

00:01 Intro 02:17 Three exchange programs 04:44 Learning about FLEX — traveling across the border 06:53 On Leadership skills 09:44 Going to California 13:35 Host family issues 17:58 High school and breaking rules 21:29 Improving your accent 23:26 Tips for prospective finalists 30:39 Soft power 37:16 How to take advantage 43:44 Outro Read about the project on https://exchangemepodcast.com Want to u...

00:01 Intro 00:45 Vitaliy’s background 01:58 What is FLEX Program? 02:51 How did you get on the Program? 08:08 Reaction to the Finalist call 10:37 On American education 17:12 Alumni opportunities 19:00 Orange revolution in the eyes of FLEX alumnus 21:49 Migration to Canada 25:00 Life in Canada: finding a job 27:02 FLEX as fraternity 28:00 the best moment from the exchange year, and challenges 31:0...