Geopats: balancing culture shock

About Geopats: balancing culture shock

Geopats Abroad is about what helps us feel grounded while in our life abroad. For eight years of my serial expat life, I interviewed people about the things that helped them understand, adjust to, and feel more connected to the places they were living. The original Geopats Abroad podcast ended in 2022, but the conversations still hold up. Living Abroad, Culture, Identity, and Belonging In these conversations, you’ll find stories from expats, immigrants, international students, long-term travelers, and people whose lives don’t fit neatly into one place. The driving force of the podcast is my own curiosity and desire to connect with other internationals globally. This isn’t just an audio project, a podcast, a YouTube channel, an Instagram profile, a Stationary Store or a Substack. It’s a very personal project. It’s part of who I am and who I was while recording these conversations. Some episodes are practical. Others are deeply personal. Most explore the small and big things that help us make sense of a new place and feel more at home in it. What Geopats Abroad Explores Each season of Geopats Abroad approaches getting comfortable in our new places from a different angle. Season 1: Guests looked back at something they had written during an earlier period of living abroad, including emails, blog posts, and social media posts, and reflected on how they saw that experience differently later. Seasons 2 and 3: Language learning. Season 2 focused on foreigners learning Mandarin Chinese, while Season 3 featured native Chinese speakers talking about learning English and other languages. Seasons 4 and 5: Online communities that helped people feel more connected and at home in a new place. Season 6: Books that helped people understand the places they were living in. Season 7: Conversations about learning languages other than Chinese. Season 8: Coffee and the role it can play in connecting to a place. Season 9: Podcasting globally: how it’s similar and different. And of course, how it can connect us to each other in our new culture. Season 10: A mixed season covering music, photography, returning home, and other parts of life abroad. Season 11: Immigrant kids who later became expats, exploring how growing up between cultures shaped the way they experienced living abroad as adults. About Stephanie Fuccio: Serial Expat Since 2003 I’m Stephanie Fuccio. I’ve mostly been living and working outside the U.S. since 2003 and have lived in Asia, Latin America, and Europe during this time. My own experiences with culture shock, identity, belonging, language, and building a life abroad shaped many of the questions behind Geopats Abroad. The podcast grew from my curiosity about what helps people feel grounded in a new place, how we build connection far from where we started, and how living abroad changes the way we understand home, culture, identity, and ourselves. Geopats is my ongoing archive of those conversations

Publisher

Stephanie Fuccio | Expat of 20+ years

Category

education · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 May 2018

Latest episode

4 Aug 2025

Latest episodes

114 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Aug 2025

   Why is learning Chinese so hard with German Bookish YouTuber Angie Dumas

   Send us a text Musical tones, grammar traps, aha moments. Chinese sounds simple—until it isn't. From tone tricks to missing tenses, Steph and Angie chat about the unexpected complexity of learning Mandarin, especially for speakers of English and German. Their conversation unpacks how tonal cues, filler sounds like “ma” and “ah,” and even body language all shape meaning, while verbs and grammar markers leave learners scratching their heads. Hear what surprised them most and what fi...

2. 

   29 Jul 2025

   Spain and China are culturally similar?

   Send us a text Imagine realizing that everything you were taught about politeness, personal space, and even shopping no longer applies. In this conversation with Shannon, we talk about how living abroad—especially in China and Spain—has completely reshaped our habits and expectations. From using QR codes to give money to street performers, to feeling awkward saying “please” and “thank you” too much, to the never-ending tug-of-war between needing personal space and learning to let it go, it’s ...

3. 

   22 Jul 2025

   Dog culture and class in China

   Send us a text Evan was expecting cultural differences when he first moved to China in the early 2000's but he wasn't ready for the nuances of dog culture. Here's a clip from our conversation about pet adoptions, status pets and more from 2018, when we both lived in Shanghai, China. Full episode: https://geopatsabroad.buzzsprout.com/2039972/episodes/13164575-what-was-dog-culture-shock-like-for-this-american-in-china ---------------------------------------------- Traveling Mailbo...

Who has been a guest on Geopats: balancing culture shock

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Thomas Sandfield
• Antonella Cilento
• Tania
• Jo
• Eric

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

24,094

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

88

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

0

Contact Geopats: balancing culture shock

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.