From Where to Here

Send us Fan Mail Louise "Loulou" Guedou grew up speaking a dialect with 63 versions in one country, got sent away from her parents at age 10 for boarding school in Benin, and later found herself standing in front of her groom while he tried to guess which veiled woman in the lineup was actually her. In this episode of From Where to Here, Louise shares what it's really like growing u...

Send us Fan Mail She left Syria speaking only "hello" and "how are you" in English. She'd been learning French. Then the passport showed up, and within a month, everything she knew was sold, packed, and gone. Youmna Yassin grew up in Damascus, came to the United States with her family during the Syrian conflict, and arrived at an American airport overwhelmed by a world she...

Send us Fan Mail Kathy Chen left China in 1981 with British English in her ears and a country she wouldn't see again for 15 years. Now a PhD-holding grandmother figure in Birmingham, she still speaks Chinese at home and still corrects herself when she spells "colour" the wrong way. This is Episode 22 of From Where to Here , and it's part of something bigger than a podcast episo...

Send us Fan Mail Spain has 17 regions. Most people know one language. What Ruben Raposo grew up knowing, and what he unpacked in his full From Where to Here conversation, is that Spanish is a family, not a single tongue. Basque has no Latin roots. No one knows where it came from. Catalan sounds like French and Italian had a baby. The phrases his father taught him, a former priest who left the chur...

Send us Fan Mail Ruben Raposo left Madrid at 15 with a dictionary, a host family he'd never met, and a one-year plan. Thirty years later, he's still in Alabama, and he never saw it coming. In this episode of From Where to Here, Ruben takes us inside what it actually felt like to land in the American South with barely enough English to order breakfast, get recruited onto a high school foo...

Send us Fan Mail Espérance means Hope. And somehow, across genocide, trafficking, and 20 years in captivity on American soil, she never stopped living up to her name.  In this episode of Language Legacy, a special five-part series from From Where to Here where Alabama teenagers interview elders from immigrant and refugee communities, Espérance sits down with a young interviewer named Kirby and tel...

Send us Fan Mail Japan hit different when you go not just as a tourist, but as someone visiting family who's built an entire life there, and we had no idea how much it would change us. In this episode of From Where to Here, I'm taking you inside two weeks in Japan: Hamamatsu, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Tokyo — city by city, moment by moment, from the best to the worst to the ones I didn&apo...

Send us Fan Mail Sarah moved to Japan, thinking it would only be temporary. Nearly half her life later, she’s still there, raising a family and navigating two cultures. What happens when a short trip turns into an entirely new life? In this episode of From Where to Here , Alexandra sits down with Sarah Sawane, who grew up in Alabama and moved to Japan for what was supposed to be a temporary experi...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you let the people who love you reflect you back to yourself? In this first episode of a new solo series called In Translation , I celebrate turning 35 by reading handwritten notes from local friends and family answering two prompts: What’s one thing I should try this year?  What’s one thing I do well — or could do better? From skydiving and Bollywood dancing to...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 2 of the Language Legacy Project Series, a 5-part community storytelling initiative capturing the powerful conversations between youth from Alabama and elders from immigrant and refugee communities. In this second episode, Alex D., a young interviewer sits down with Jack Schniper, an elder whose journey began thousands of miles away, arriving in the United State...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you learn a new language later in life, and have to rebuild identity, confidence, and belonging from scratch? In this episode of From Where to Here, host Alexandra sits down with the Fernández family to talk about learning English as adults, navigating life with an accent, and building a sense of home far from where they started. Rather than growing up bilingual,...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 1 of the Language Legacy Project Series, a 5-part community storytelling initiative capturing the powerful conversations between youth from Alabama and elders from immigrant and refugee communities. In this first episode, a young teen sits down with an elder who left Taiwan at 18, uncovering a deeply personal story about language, identity, family, and the journ...

Send us Fan Mail When Yumna "Yumi" Yassin left Damascus at age 13, she had no idea what life in Alabama would hold. From learning English and building friendships to navigating faith, identity, and belonging as a Muslim woman in the South. Her story is one of courage, reflection, and heart. In this episode of From Where to Here , host Alexandra Lloyd sits down with Yumi to explore: What...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up across the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Cass learned to feel at home in difference and to see cultural fluidity as a strength. Her story traces how global events like 9/11 shaped perceptions of identity and belonging, and how being mixed race taught her to navigate worlds with empathy and awareness. Now a leader in tech and host of the podcast How She Got Here , Cass...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of From Where to Here , Alexandra sits down with Dr. John Maddox , a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at UAB, to explore the intersections of language, culture, history, and identity. Dr. Maddox shares how an inspiring Spanish teacher set him on a lifelong path in languages, how games and stories made learning accessible, and why perfection in language learning...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for an intimate conversation with Juliana Madrid , a Colombian business operations director who transformed a simple dream of perfecting her English into a beautiful cross-cultural love story. Discover how she navigated building relationships, career success, and family traditions while bridging two very different worlds. Her honest insights about cultural stereotypes, the...

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply personal solo episode, host Alexandra Lloyd shares her real-life story of moving from Montreal, Canada, to Birmingham, Alabama, for love. What began as a spontaneous connection on a tropical island turned into a long-distance relationship, a K1 visa journey, and a completely new life in a new country. Alexandra opens up about: How she met her now-husband on vacation...

Send us Fan Mail In this heartfelt and honest episode of From Where to Here, Alexandra sits down with Astrid, a tropical plant expert from Mérida, Venezuela, now thriving in Birmingham with Vivatia Plant Care Services and Botanical Workshop. Astrid shares her moving journey of resilience — from growing up under a dictatorship marked by frequent power outages to grieving the deep friendships and co...

Send us Fan Mail Afghanistan is more than a country in conflict — it’s a place of resilience, culture, and untold stories. Shabir Kabiri shares his powerful journey from Kabul to the U.S., reflecting on what it means to call two countries home, the impact of decades of conflict on Afghan identity, and a message to those who only know Afghanistan through the news. Listen in as he challenges misconc...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of From Where to Here , host Alexandra Lloyd sits down with Diana Martínez García, an immigrant rights advocate and cultural connector who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as a child. From navigating two identities to lobbying in D.C. for DACA, Diana shares her journey of resilience, advocacy, and uplifting young Latinas in Alabama through her work with Virt...

Send us Fan Mail 🎙️🌍 What do people really know about cultures, languages, and Québec? We hit the streets of Birmingham to find out! 🇨🇦🤔 From Charles Barkley to ranch dressing obsessions, this Vox Pop is full of surprises! From Charles Barkley to poutine—this Vox Pop had everything ! 😆🍟🇨🇦 Some answers were spot on, and others… well, let’s just say Québec needs better PR. 😂 What was your favor...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of From Where to Here , we dive deep into the personal and cultural experiences that shape one’s connection to the French language and Québécois culture. Chris shares his unique journey, from the moment he fell in love with French to his exploration of his French ancestry and his deep connection to Québec. Get ready for an insightful conversation filled with storie...

Send us Fan Mail The Art of Learning a New Language as an Adult | From Where to Here Podcast 🎙️ Learning a new language as an adult can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be! In this episode of From Where to Here, I dive into the myths, challenges, and strategies behind language learning as an adult. From personal experiences to research-backed insights, you’ll walk away with a new perspecti...

Send us Fan Mail From Ukraine to Alabama: The Sweet Journey of Cake Honeys and Finding Home Through Food | From Where to Here Podcast 🎙️ What does it take to rebuild a life from scratch in a new country? In this episode of From Where to Here , host Alexandra Lloyd sits down with Lisa Strelnikova , a Ukrainian immigrant and owner of Cake Honey’s , to explore the emotional journey of adapting to a n...

Send us Fan Mail From Germany to the South: Navigating Culture, Language, and Business with Johannes Eff | From Where to Here Podcast 🎙️ What’s it really like to move from Germany to the Southern U.S.? In this episode of From Where to Here, host Alexandra Lloyd sits down with Johannes Eff, a German professional who relocated to Alabama for work. He shares his experiences adapting to American cultu...