"There was so much we didn't know because it was blocked from us. The iron curtain was real. It was like overnight we went from being part of the big ol' USSR to being free and independent Lithuania."

How do you go from have one type of expectations and known experiences in your first country and to almost literally waking up the next day to a new world that you never knew existed? And it's all in your home culture?

Akvilina Reiger has lived in the USA for over 20 years yet she experienced new cultural norms and culture shock in her home country before ever coming across the Atlantic Ocean. Listen to Akvilina and Janese share about learning new cultural norms and becoming so highly adaptable and flexible it's hard to prove or articulate in a tangible way.

Highlights include:

• 2 Facts & a Myth
• How family shapes our understanding of our culture
• Traditional ways versus progressive ways
• Why cultural sensitivity in American workplaces is vital to organizational culture
• Akvilina's Top 4 Tips for Learning Cultural Norms

Follow us @everyonesaforeigner on Facebook and Instagram...and remember, we're all foreign to someone! 

Tiffany Ingle is an ESL professional who has a beautiful way of sharing her stories and observations as well as bringing wisdom to cultural situations. We discuss the challenging stages of the culture shock cycle, touch on experiencing micro aggressions in another culture and language, cultural fatigue, depression due to culture shock and how to harness your energy when you're feeling completely unmoored within a new culture.

This is her first episode with Janese about living in another country. Listen to her experiences with culture shock and the sage advice she brings to the conversation. If you've ever lived overseas for more than six months, you'll connect to this episode and with Tiffany.

Highlights include:

• 2 Facts & a Myth
• Culture shock parallels with Racism
• The "eating at McDonald's stage" of culture shock
• Bargaining from an individualistic cultural perspective
• Tiffany's Top 5 Tips for Working Through the Culture Shock Cycle

Follow us @everyonesaforeigner on Facebook and Instagram...and remember, we're all foreign to someone! 

My guest on this week's podcast is Andrea Heiliger. There are plenty of adjectives to describe Andrea - artistic, caring, spunky, brave, witty, smiley, dedicated, and adventurous are a few that come to mind. If you're ever having a bad day, she's the person you want to call because she makes everyone feel welcome when you're in her presence. 

Andrea was born and raised in Nebraska but isn't quite sure where she caught the exploration bug. It may have started with her artistic talent combined with technical drawings that took her to archeological digs in Israel. Traveling is one of her passions and she definitely knows how to go with the flow no matter the circumstances. Most people try and make lemonade with lemons but Andrea would probably make an art project or a dessert...the options are endless with her imagination! It's this ability to adapt and be flexible that created opportunities in Turkey to observe and learn about the culture around her.

Andrea and her husband lived in Turkey. She and Janese chat about the highs and lows of culture shock overseas, how everyone experiences humbleness through it, and how to differentiate between cultures and personalities.