Limitless Laowai Expat Life, Business Strategy, Personal Development & Cultural Adjustment In China | Learn Chinese

In my interviews, I hear it over and over again – success as an expat depends greatly upon your community, on how willing you are to dig in and dig deep with those around you. There’s no such thing as a successful ‘lone ranger’ here or anywhere else in the world for that matter; life sometimes just hands us burdens too heavy to shoulder on our own. This week, I was the one in need of help and I experienced miracle after miracle, angel after angel, who turned my desperate situation into an uplifting and empowering message on the unbelievable power and impact of a strong community. Tune in to hear how a number of real-life angels swept in and saved me from the brink of break down.  

Karen is Ford Motor Company’s Vice President of Communications for Asia Pacific. In this role, she is responsible for internal and external communications in the more than 20 markets of Ford’s Asia Pacific operation. I had a blast interviewing Karen and capturing her insights on how to operate successfully as an expat executive in China. In this episode she also covers everything from why she said 'no' to China (...twice!) and what helped her she said 'yes' in the end; how she balances career and family life; and why her family is thriving. This interview is simply not to be missed!

Shandy had the privilege of being an expat and supporting spouse for 6 1/2 years. She and her husband Todd, first started in Aschaffenburg, Germany for 3 1/2 years, then moved to Shanghai for 3 years. Their 3 kids have lived longer overseas than they have in the US. The Bolton family repatriated to Canton Michigan in 2013 and Shandy is a busy mama homeschooling her 3 kids again 11, 8, and 4, a new endeavor she embarked upon repatriation. In this episode, Shandy walks us through the past two years of her journey, sharing wisdom and perspective that will benefit you no matter if you're just beginning the repatriation process from China, or have been in the thick of it for years.

Evrim is a globetrotter, she believes that distance and differences are the key resources of creativity. That's how she founded While Travelling Blog which aims to inspire people to go out and explore the world. After having carried the travelling platform to a higher level of traffic and engagement in a short time, she is working on an other online platform. She is the founder of Expat Neighbors (www.expatneighbors.com which will be going online soon!. Expat Neighbors is a social network that aims to connect expats and give them a unique expat experience. Besides her entrepreneur identity, she is an Economics, International Business and Personal Development teacher in an international college.

Abigale moved to Shanghai from Canada three years ago for a job in medical writing. She has always had a passion for exploring, and this job was a great way to learn first-hand about a different part of the world. She and her husband have slowly settled into life in Shanghai, building a home and family here. They now have a two-year-old daughter and are expecting another baby any day.

Shanghai Teacher Week has come to an end! What a fantastic week showcasing talented and passionate educators at both American and British curriculum schools along with one private Chinese school. To cap off the week, I'm relaunching this amazing interview with seasoned international educator Anthony Reich just in case you missed it. Anthony, a native Brit, teaches Film, English, is a Head of Year at Dulwich College Shanghai. He has lived in Shanghai for 7 years with his wife, Maria. Before coming to China they lived in Maria's home town of Bogota, Colombia. Since being in Shanghai they have had two small children, both of whom were born here. On his radar at the moment, and taking up a good deal of his free time, is the realization of a 13-year dream in the opening of an orphanage in rural Uganda. The Peace Centre opened its doors to 20 orphans on the February 2, 2015. Anthony, along with a couple of friends and in conjunction with a dedicated team of students, has built the orphanage in the last year via man

Originally from California, Suzanne has been living in China for the past nine years. She is a preschool teacher at SMIC Private Kindergarten and she is joined by her husband, Jeff, and their two young daughters. In this episode, Suzanne shares insight into what it's like working at a Chinese private school as an international educator and the benefits it brings to teachers and families looking for a fantastic opportunity for integration into China.

Originally from the UK, Thomas has been in Shanghai for over 6 years and just recently had a baby girl with his wife, Jules. As a keen sportsman who has enjoyed many years as a competitive cyclist and endurance athlete, Thomas' position as the Director of Sport for the British International School Shanghai Puxi campus is a perfect fit. In this episode, Thomas shares his insight on life as a laowai, and more specifically the ins and outs of working at an international school in Shanghai.

Erin is a wife, mother, teacher and learner. She works as an Instructional Coach at Concordia International School Shanghai, supporting elementary teachers in implementing best-practice reading and writing strategies in classrooms. She and her husband, Nicholas, have been in China for nine years and have a young daughter.

File updated! Cathal is one of the many thousands of people who left Ireland shortly after the economic downturn in 2008. He has since lived in Canada, where he met his wife, and England before embarking on his journey to China two years ago. He is a Year 5 International Co-Teacher at Yew Chung International School in Shanghai. In his interview, he gives an insider’s perspective on Yew Chung’s unique co-teaching model and how it benefits the students in the classroom.

It's Ron's turn to divulge what it's really like being married to yours truly – an excitable entrepreneur working her tail off to drive this start-up toward success and maximize its impact in people's lives around the world. It's not always pretty. In fact, the 'ugly' rears its head many times in a week, if not on a daily basis. In this insightful message, Ron draws pertinent lines between the role of an entrepreneur's spouse and that of the Stay@Home Expert, and encourages those of you wearing either hat that you are absolutely critical to your spouse's success. The fact of the matter is, the words you speak and the stories you tell can bring either life or death in your home and to a project. Tune in to find out how you can choose life.

Today starts the Year of the Sheep and whether you are one who particular subscribes to the predictions of the year ahead or not, I find them quite interesting to learn about and it definitely gives us 'laowai' some insight into the superstitions of the land. In today's show, I share the culminated findings of the bit of the research I did to find out who and what will find success this year (and how!) and what this auspicious Year of the Sheep is expected to bring to all of us around the globe.

If you’ve spent time in China or in Chinese communities over Spring Festival then you’ll know – it’s undeniably a time filled with tradition and the excitement and anticipation of visits home and time spent with relatives is almost tangible. For years, I never knew what all the hubbub was about. I didn’t have any emotional reaction to CNY like I do with, say, Thanksgiving or Christmas. By taking book knowledge and coupling it with some fantastic real-life experiences in many Chinese homes, I've been awakened to the mystery and beauty of CNY and I believe having even a basic understanding of this topic really gives great insight into not only what to expect from our end as 'laowai' but it also helps us see why this holiday is so important to the Chinese people that we know and love.

It's no secret: gifts make China go 'round. As 'laowai', we can choose to play by the cultural norms of the land, or choose to dig our heels in and, well, not! There's loads of grace to go around for the unknowing foreigner, but why choose to be that laowai if we don't have to be. I truly believe that the basics of gift-giving (understanding and avoiding what is sure to offend at all costs) is actually attainable and is a worthy endeavor during our time in China. In this episode, we check out a couple of my own favorite cultural gift-giving failures and successes to get to the bottom of the basics that you need to know.

It’s Chinese New Year week – get your red out and pick up some fireworks at the roadside stands! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some quality family time and for the hustle and bustle of China to go quiet for a few days. (Well, minus the fireworks of course!) Why cover CNY in a 'laowai' podcast? Well, I believe that because this holiday is so vitally important to the core of our host nation, it is also incredibly important for us to learn about. They care, so we care. This week, I’m going to embark on a journey with you to try to uncover some of the mystery around China’s biggest holiday. Today's episode covers the basics – the need to stop generalizing the entire population; the ingrained cultural importance of this holiday; why the color red; and finally, the significance of fireworks.

As a start-up, time is your most valuable asset. I know that, but I've not been doing a great job safeguarding my time as that one thing that could actually make or break this project. And of course, this week, we had an odd family milestone that shook my foundation of the true meaning and impact of time when it comes to raising a family. It was a great reminder that time is something that none of us can afford to waste.

Sean is an American with a degree in Psychology and a passion for travel, language, politics, history, geography, science, cooking, and just about everything that defines us as humans. He's fluent in Mandarin and has been living in China for almost 7 years, first as a teacher, and now as a social entrepreneur. He currently runs a free English-speech event, similar to TED, in Shenzhen called IdeaXchange.

After working on various low-cost housing and sustainable design projects in Australia, Canada and Thailand, Sherry, a first generation Canadian Chinese, settled in Shanghai with her husband in 2001. After the birth of her first daughter, Sherry started Wobabybasics using her experiences as an architect, environmentalist and parent to guide her designs, and now her high quality garments are stocked in over eight countries! Sherry is also the founder and an advisory board member of the Eco Design Fair in Shanghai. Through her work with this project, Sherry is a winner of the Rotary Club of Shanghai’s Rotary Leadership Award.

Tess is the Founder and Managing Partner of TEAM Education Consulting Company, and is also the Director of Counseling. She has been assisting students in preparing for and applying to colleges and universities in the U.S since 1998 and she has quite the list of impressive student admissions including, Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, UC Berkeley, UCLA, etc. She herself is a graduate of Harvard Business School where she earned a M.B.A. and Stanford University where she earned a BA in International Relations. Besides running her own business, Tess is super involved in the Shanghai community that has been her family's home for the last 10 years. For her first 9 years she was the president of the Yew Chung International School of Pudong Parent Organization and is currently the Chairman of board of Community Center Shanghai. Added to all that, Tess is just plain awesome and inspiring as a woman and a mama of her three boys, and it was a blast having her on the show.

Jane comes from a very large family and she has four children of her own, two in Minneapolis and two here in Shanghai. She is passionate about horses and farming, gardening, traveling and cooking as well as learning languages and writing. Jane has been in Shanghai for 6 years and today she’s going to share her journey and give us some tips and tricks on how to bring elements of a sustainable lifestyle here to China.