The Germany Experience

//This interview originally aired on 25th May 2020//

Dana Newman from the Wanted Adventure YouTube channel joins me to discuss her book, "You go me on the cookie!". The book (written in German) describes Dana's adventures (and misadventures) learning German, and also highlights the quirks and beauty of the German language. It was written for German native speakers, but it is definitely relatable for anyone who has learnt German at any level...

//This episode originally aired on 20th July 2020//

Original Show Notes:
 
Amy always had a dream of living in Germany, and even happened to marry someone who felt the same way. So living here has kind of been a dream come true. And generally, Amy is really happy here -- she admits that she was "right" about wanting to live here.

But making friends with Germans is one aspect that has been a challenge...

//This episode was originally aired on 16th November 2020//

Sneha from India moved to Germany in 2011. A professional Indian classical dancer, she was expecting something similar to New York, where people knew about the artform of Indian classical dance. Instead, she found herself constantly having to explain to Germans that it wasn't Bollywood dancing that she does.....

Aspen is originally from the USA and has been living in Germany for 7 years now. She runs the Aspen Abroad YouTube channel. She joins me to discuss the topic of mental health as a foreigner in Germany, as well as the expectations on her as content creator. We also cover the dangers of toxic positivity.

The video with Claudio we discuss: Running, Sports, and Mental Health Motivation
Aspen's YouTube channel: Aspen Abroad
Aspen on Instagram: @aspen...

Lara is from Slovenia, and you might know her from her Instagram or TikTok channels, where she posts short, informative and funny videos about life in Germany. She made the move from Chicago, where she was living at the time, to a small town in Germany, and we discuss what that was like for her. We also talk about freelancing in Germany, as well as her Instagram and TikTok videos.

Lara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larcipetek/
Lara on TikTok: https://www.tiktok...

Kaleena is from the USA, and Jan is from Germany, and together they host the YouTube channel, Kaleena and Jan. Shortly after meeting each other, their relationship was forced to go through two phases by the pandemic: first, they had to conduct a long distance relationship, and then, when Kaleena was able to return to Germany, they were locked down together. We discuss how they managed to keep their relationship going through both of those phases, as well as their YouTube channel...

Steffi is from the UK, and she describes herself as an "unexpected expat". In fact, as someone who experiences anxiety and who is a planner, life in a foreign country was not something she considered. When Steffi moved to Germany, she experienced depression after the honeymoon phase was over, and to deal with it, she turned to therapy. Steffi and I discuss the effects of expat life on mental health, the difficulties with finding a therapist, and the effectiveness of online therapy...

Fadi Gaziri has written a book about life in Germany for foreigners called, "Ze Germans: An Expat's Guide to Living in Germany", and he joins me to discuss the book and some of his insights from his experiences in the country. We cover apologizing in Germany, sauna surprises, making friends, and why Fadi actually likes it here. Plus, we do the "How German Are You?" quiz from his book to see which one of us is the most Germanized...

The Germany Experience podcast is 2 years old and to celebrate, here is a compilation of some of the advice that guests have offered about everything from making friends through to preparing for bureaucracy...

Jasmin is the host of a podcast called Herstory, which tells the stories of strong women from history. Her podcast inspired this week's episode: a look back at incredible (and underappreciated) women from Germany's history. And to tell these stories, I'm joined by Jasmin herself...