In Between

Meet Pierre, an adventurous and risk taker mechanical engineer with a distinctly unique background. Half French, half Polish, Pierre grew up in an international environment since the age of three years old when his family moved to Japan, then Poland, then Cyprus. That was the beginning of his journey living abroad and that eventually led to him moving full time to Asia. Pierre speaks fluently thre...

Meet Rafa, a fellow Southern Brazilian who I had the pleasure to meet through one of the many expat groups here in China. Like many of us foreigners here, China was not in her plans, but life opportunities opened to her the doors to Asia. Her journey of living abroad started when she did an exchange program in Canada, which broadened her horizons to what could be out there. Before coming to Shenzh...

Meet Gavin, another fellow volleyball player with whom I have a lot of friends in common! He’s been living in China a little bit longer than me. After graduating university in the UK and getting a job he hated, he decided to quit and go backpacking with a friend to discover this side of the world, which was his very first experience in Asian lands, but not China. After realizing his passion for vi...

Meet Junko (AKA Tamura), born in the city of Osaka and raised in Tokio, Japan. Her international exposure to the world started when she went to study abroad in Australia, and from there, she never stopped traveling! She opens up about how mesmerizing was her first experience of going abroad and experiencing another culture, coming from an Asian background, in which society expectations and behavio...

Meet Nikolas, one of the many people in China I have met “by accident”, a fortunate coincidence of us heading to the same event! Nikos is Shenzhen’s youngest blood, having arrived in the city a bit over a month to pursue his postdoctoral research position in Marine science at one of many universities in the area. Before coming to China, Nikos lived in Saudi Arabia for many years during his PhD, an...

What’s up guys! Today’s solo episode is in the topic of “creating a village” where you live, which is something I have struggled with in the past and eventually found the best ways to do so. As I speak in the episode, having a community is not a WANT, it is a NEED, from my point of view.   If you are like me and live in a distant land from where you grew up, this episode is for you. If you are con...

Meet Kinga (AKA Kanusa), named after a Hungarian princess who married a Polish king! Not only her name origin has an interesting story background, but her nationality is also unusual. She was born in Poland, to Polish parents but her great-grandfather was actually born in the United States and was able to pass citizenship to the future generation. Coming from a culturally diverse family, Kinga alw...

Meet Anne,  a bright and beautiful young lady fromGermany, who is doing big things here in China! After graduating from her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Munich, and traveling around Europe, she felt a desire to explore other parts of the world and have a new adventure! That’s when China came into play! Anne has a PHD in Science, which allowed her to get a very unique and interesting opportuni...

Meet Daiana, an outgoing and sweet  “fake” Brazilian Imet during mandarin class. Even though she is Russian, she is married with a Brazilian and speaks Portuguese almost as a native! A fun fact about her husband is that he is from the same place as me in Brazil, in the very south, and I actually have family members from the city he is from! From leaving her home country at 18 years old to study in...

Meet Tom, an incredibly kind and wise man with a very distinctive background. From dropping out of school and being an engineer at 23 years old, he knew inside of him he  always wanted to become a teacher. He then, at the age of 29, pursued university to make his dream come true, which eventually would lead him to teaching opportunities internationally and open possibilities for him to come to Chi...

Meet Ellie, an incredibly talented woman with a very interesting and inspiring background.  She was born in Russia but her parents are both from Kyrgzstan, but it was in China that she ended up finding her true purpose. She studied architecture in Russia and that was the beginning of her journey into the arts and creative world, which opened her the doors to the amazing and chaotic architectural i...

Meet Simon, a very enthusiastic and friendly guy from Felixtowe, which is the biggest container port town in England. I’ve had the chance to meet him over one of the many group chats I am a part of here in China. I started the conversation by asking him what were his thoughts on so many British people coming to work in China, and he shares many important points on why that is thecase in his perspe...

Meet Nicole, one of the first girlfriends I’ve had in China and one of my favorite South African in town! In searching for a new adventure to take on, her and her husband decided to come to China, where they’ve been for six years and counting! After living  in Chengdu for two years before moving to Shenzhen, we chat about how different life is from one city to another, from the lifestyle, city vib...

Meet Anna, a very sweet and smart blondie from “the middle of Europe”, can you guess which country she is originally from? Her interest in linguistics opened her curiosity to the Chinese language, in which she has a very unique perspective on. And it was because of this curiosity that she embarked on a one year scholarship to study mandarin in the mother language country. One year turned into anot...

Meet Bruna, who after living in China for ten years has decided it was time to leave and start a new life chapter. She is a translator, majored in French with a minor in Italian translation and knew since a young age that she was destined to explore the world. This mindset is exactly what had brought her to China as well as what is making her leave China. Bruna is polyglot, speaking five languages...

Hello everyone! I have decided to record solo episodes every time I feel there is some specific topic that I would like to throw out there for discussion! As we all know, there are a lot of subjects in life that we don’t get to share thoughts on or even think too much far into, and I believe they should be discussed and brought into light. So, this will be the first topic in discussion, ACCENTS, e...

Meet Julia Liu, a very good friend of mine here in China that has an extremely unique and interesting background! Starting with her mother, who has at least four different bloods running through her veins, Julia herself is a mixed baby, having Chineseroots as well! She shares her incredible Chinese family’s history on how her grandparents met each other during one of China’s revolutions, being bot...

Meet Jonnise, a vibrant and spirited American girl from the “Mall of America”, can you guess what state she is from?  Wechat all about how Disney, yes Disney, has brought her to China and how 14 months became 7 years of living here! We expand on her journey of making local friends and how a hairdressers’ appointment can get you on a date, even if you do not speak the same language! From food adven...

Meet Kauê, an open minded and adventurous fellow Brazilian who cannot decide where is home for him. From having a very mixed cultural background and moving extensively growing up he ended up coming to China at the age of 20 because of ajob opportunity that came his way with three specific requirements, and he met all of them. We get into the intrinsics of his job in China and how multifaceted it...

Meet Omar, a fellow Latin American that created roots in China! His passion and dedication for volleyball followed him all the way from Mexico, where he grew up playing the sport, and opened the opportunity for him to start a volleyball group for foreigners here in Shenzhen. Although, what made him stay was a combination of engineering, opportunity, kindness and love. His engineering knowledge all...

Meet Eledir Busanello, a lovely Brazilian from the same state as me in Brazil! She fell in love with China since the first time she stepped into the country more than 10 years ago! Coming here for work at first, she never expected to have such a strong connection to the country that would makeher want to stay! We discuss the learning curve she experienced from havingstudied Mandarim in Brazil to a...

Meet Shayna Marie, a southern girl from the United States with whom I share a lot in common! Her focused area of studies in International Relations and Latin American Politics plus her courageous and risk taker personality pushed her to move toChina on a leap! She never thought she would fall in love with China, literally and figuratively speaking! We expand on the dating scene in the country, par...

Meet Hattie Gordon, a blondie from the southwest in the UK! She is one of the many people I’ve met through Kade, who was my first guest on the show. She is also extremely creative and artistic, having launched her own brand of handcrafted earrings! (Tagged down below) Hattie shares her experience of living in Beijing for many years and how she compares life there to now living in Shenzhen. From th...

Meet Kade Maijala , an American from Seattle, UnitedStates, who thought he would be in China for only a short term, but life had other plans for him! His opened minded approach and free spirit personality exposed him to many different experiences that he would never have thought of living if he stayed in the United States. Kade is also one of my best friends here in China, andhaving the opportunit...

My very first podcast episode could not be any other type than a SOLO episode. Here is where you will get to know me, Veronika, a Brazilian born that has made theworld her home. I share with you my background, my very first trip abroad, theexperience of leaving home at the age of 17 to pursue my dream in a foreigncountry and how I became the person I am today. You will get to know what hasmade me,...