Where Are You From? A TCK Podcast

Mike and Sherif cover a lot more ground in this bonus episode. Sherif talks about his Fellowship in Mongolia and his hope to become a global nomad. Mike talks about why Sherif may be a better English teacher BECAUSE it isn’t his first language. They talk about the collective conscious as well again to wrap things up! Mike asks Sherif about how his cross-cultural background aids his efforts in teac...

Sherif was born in Saudi Arabia to Egyptian parents, grew up in Egypt and migrated to the U.S. Like Mike's previous guest Claire and himself, Sherif currently serves as an English Language Fellow, but with the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia. Who is a first generation immigrant? The discussion is never settled on this podcast. :D (3:30). Mike asks the ridiculous question .. (4:20)  Mike and Sherif di...

Yep .. that's right. We have our BONUS round with Claire Lee! We had a tremendous discussion about her working in Japan as a Korean American. So many threads of wisdom come out of this conversation about what is necessary to build bridges with others and mend generational misgivings between two nations. Mike asks Claire how her Korean upbringing has helped her forge bonds and perpetuate her wo...

Claire Lee is a Fellow, like the host, Mike Sullivan, in the prestigious English Language Program, sponsored by the US Department of State. She is working with the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan .. they talk a bit about her Fellowship in the podcast. She is a former Fulbright ETA Scholar, graduate of the #1 all girls school in the US, Wellesley College, and has her Masters of Education at Harvard Univ...

Welcome back to the BONUS round with Sarah Siegert. They get into the gritty details of successfully and intentionally building legit friendships. They talk about one of our favorite topics as TCK’s .. people pleasing and rejection. Thanks as always for listening in! Mike asks Sarah about a recent Telagraph article that she collaborated on about how people in mid-life can make new friends (1:10)....

This is part 1 of 2 with Sarah Siegert. Sarah Siegert is an expert friendship coach for expats, and recent speaker at the Expat Women’s Conference. I believe she is handling the challenge of this era .. loneliness. What’s new with Sarah? (4:40). She spills the beans on an exciting new chapter of her life. Mike had an underwhelming Winter himself (5:40). They get into the 'Ridiculous Question&#...

There are reason why Mike keeps the record button pressed throughout his time with these amazing guests. There might be something that puts the cherry on the top of the ice cream sundae .. in this case .. quite a few cherries. Karina or should I say Kalimba, drops another treasure chest and talks about her real name and challenges growing up with it. There is definitely a multitude around the worl...

In this episode, Karina Lagarrigue and I talk about sensory processing sensitivity and highly sensitive people. It's in her wheel house for sure and specifically the area of her recent research. Mike and Karina jump into the deep end on sensory processing sensitivity and highly sensitive people (2:40). Mike chastises himself for assuming it is a disorder or disease. Karina provides beautiful e...

Karina Lagarrigue graces the podcast in a 3 part series. She is a sexologist and couples therapist, mainly with expats and shares with us her journey toward her doctorate, her TCK experience, and the “dance”. Mike stumbles over another name .. :D (3:40). Karina discusses the final road she is on with her thesis and publishing her fascinating findings in a series of articles more palatable to the a...

Doreen has recently retired and rewired to Mexico but hasn't stopped. She is releasing her third book soon, and it has been amazing having the host of 'Nomadic Diaries' on the other side of the microphone. Glad to have her on the other side of the microphone. Doreen’s quest for coffee is a priority (3:00), and this spurs a conversation about the difficulty of getting Americans to imagi...

In this bonus round, Jacob introduces the five milestones of identity construction theory (5:30), which include a sense of stability, belonging, and direction. He also shares his project called 'Stuff,' which aims to collect stories about the mementos and objects that hold significance for TCKs (14:40). This triggers Mike to tears and he shares a story of loss and how Jacob and others have...

Dr. Jacob Daniel Huff is a TCK researcher and career international school principal who shares with us, his TCK past and research into the world of TCK identity from from the perspective of international school educators. What's in a title? Mike and Jacob get into awkward titles we've come acrossed around the world and some of the ickiness involved in some of them (3:30). Mike spends some...

This episode is a 'catch his breath' episode as Mike wrangles with the stress of life stacking up on his behalf. This is a recorded episoded from November that was supposed to be a replacement episode but was never aired. In perspective of America's upcoming election it is always healthy to see how elections are run in other countries. Jen has always provided her husband, Mike with a t...

Andrea is a certified teen girls coach who works with primarily 11 to young adult girls of expats in 3 languages. She starts out the podcast by taking a swipe at Apple products. It's ok. They don't sponsor the podcast .. yet (3:00). Mike adds an anecdotal daughter story involving another Apple product. Maybe they should sponsor the podcast. Andrea answers the ridiculous question (6:00), an...

Dr. Ruth Van Reken shares why she resonates with Mike's book title .. Building Bridges: Can We Love & Relate in a Polarized World? She also talks about SPAN (Safe Passage Across Networks). She talks of the commonalities, not the difference that give TCK's an edge in a diverse world (1:30). She talks of the world's toxic comfort in a 'negative identity' .. defining ourselves...

Dr. Ruth Van Reken, co-author of Third Culture Kid: Growing Up Among Worlds, is arguably the biggest pioneer in working out the unique place we TCK's belong to in this world. Mike is still pinching himself to make sure this is really happening. They start off discussing dealing with timezones and the transition to virtual meetups (3:10). The interview starts with with her pegging Mike repeatle...

Bonus round as Su talks about her capstone project design a space of safety and belonging for TCK's. Su gets into the details of her parent's reservations and support for her decision to become a designer (1:00). She definitely feels she's in the right place, but suddennly Mike wonders out loud if HE's in the right place (4:45). Su jumps into the ins and out of her capstone project...

Suwade Pe Than is a 4th-year interior design student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is indeed, at the tail end of GenZ, Mike's favorite generation (5:18). He can't stop talking about them, in fact (11:15). Finally, he gets around to asking the Ridiculous Question (13:30). Su talks about her experience of local schools in Brunei and the huge transition to international schoo...

Megan Norton is celebrating a lot these days. Her book Belonging without Borders is celebrating its 1st anniversary. It was her birthday a couple days ago .. and it's Christmas today. Be sure to get yourself a signed copy before the end of the year! https://www.amazon.com/Belonging-Beyond-Borders-Culture-Cultivate-ebook/dp/B0BNLRZYL2?ref_=ast_author_mpb Megan and Mike talk about social media&#...

This is Part 1 of t wo Episodes with Megan Norton, author of Belonging Without Borders: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging. Mike dumps an overwhelming podcast script on poor Megan only hours before they were able to meet (2:00). But at least they were able to get Mike's name squared away. She gets into the 'Riculous Question' and has Mike beat by two countr...

Is there a particular tree or forest that made you feel at home or reminds you of a part of your mobile life long gone? Camille Deniau uses her art to bring a piece of you back into your home (11:30). Camille is a new mother (2:00) and all that may bring. Please congratulate her if you get the chance. On the podcast, she answers the ridiclous question of course (4:00), with a lot of overlap with M...

In the BONUS ROUND, Mike and Kanako discuss inportant issues for educators and parents with kids who are TCK's and/or Queer. Kanako discusses a great strategy to sustainably care for students and avoid burnout by asking an important question (1:35) This resonates with Mike and gets emotional, struggling to talk about the educators who let him down in his past (6:30). Kanako lays out clearly th...

Mike is delighted to have Kanako Suwa who openly identifies as Queer on his podcast. She is an international educator working in Mike's 'hometown' of Chiang Mai, Thailand. They talk about Chiang Mai in the outset (3:00), and of course jump into the ridiculous question (7:50). Kanako then opens up about her journey discovering that she is Queer and the conflicting elements of coming fro...

Rhoda Bangerter is a life coach, author, and podcast host. Her work specializes in working with couples with a traveling partner. She first attempts to answer the ridiculous question (5:00), and gives us a great overlay of the trials and differences of having bicultural parents (6:50). Mike then discusses with her the discoveries Rhoda has made and how this impacts her crosscultural marriage (9:30...

Mike invites fellow Kickstarter non-fiction indie author Jia Ling Wang (a.k.a. Karen Diggs) on to talk about her new book, '10 Super Asian Women Who Shaped History'. Mike first talks about how he discovered her through is own efforts as an indie author (3:00), and then of course presses her to answer the ridiculous question (3:45). She reveals a bit of what inspired the book (5:30) and seg...