THE WANDERLUSTERS MIND PODCAST
Cate Brubaker - An obsession for Germany to leading and helping others live a global life.
Cate is an author, teacher, and part-time nomad based in North Carolina, USA. For over 20 years she has helped all kinds of global souls successfully navigate international and intercultural transitions. She has lived, studied, worked and traveled in 36 countries on four continents and never says no to gelato.
Cate caught the travel bug in a big way where she continually returned to Europe, became independent and finally decided to lead a life helping others with re-entry and repartiation.
About Cate
Cate is an author, teacher, and part-time nomad based in North Carolina, USA. For over 20 years she has helped all kinds of global souls successfully navigate international and intercultural transitions. She has lived, studied, worked and traveled in 36 countries on four continents and never says no to gelato.
Cate moved to Germany at 16 to live with a German family and attend a German school for her senior year of high school, then returned for a year of college, then to teach English for a year after college, then for several shorter stints to teach German for a study abroad program and do research.
Cate is also a workshops facilitator, speaker and worked with international schools in Europe, Latin America, and Australia. And, of course, she has traveled a lot including taking career breaks to travel with her husband.
“Going abroad just throw you off kilter in such a good way and it can make you question everything about yourself.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Cate faced - Didn't want to go home and really resisted the transition. Excited to see family and friends, felt very disconnected. Conflicting emotions and Cate didn't know how to be the person she was in Germany back home. Feelings of guilt
- Biggest stress - Felt like she had lost her life from abroad and her life from home.
- How Cate supported herself - Wrote in her journal, had some amazing people who were wonderful support systems for her. Cate wrote chain letters with her connections abroad (in the 90s before the internet).
- How Cate used her mindset - she set out with a new attitude, like she could do anything. She would 'just do it!' A lot of seeds were planted during this time and it took her 20 years to process the experiance.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- She can do things that are hard and become stronger because of it.
- Global is within her and she can be global anywhere.
- Realised that she didn't need permission to 'belong'.
- Advise to herself for returning home - It's going to be ok...it might take a while to figure out who you want to be but you can figure it all out.
“Global is a mindset, not a location.”
Links
- Website: smallplanetstudio.com
- Workbook: The Re-Entry Relaunch Roadmap
- Facebook Group
- Small Planet Studio Instagram: @smallplanetstudio
- Cate's Dessert Instagram: @internationaldessertsblog
Are you glorifying your travel memories?
How do you look back on your travel memories? The common thread is that you remember the good times. Most of the time, you forget the rest. The seemingly ‘bad’ and ‘challenging’ times turn into moments of ‘overcoming challenges’ and you look upon these with a positive outlook. On occasions I believe you glorify these memories. Making these memories seem even more amazing than they actually were, attaching the strongest and most amazing emotions to them.
The unrealistic stories and emotions we connect to travel to make it seem 'better' than where our life is at right now!
“Never let your feelings get in the way of seeing things as they truely are.”
How do you look back on your travel memories?
The common thread is that you remember the good times. Most of the time, you forget the rest. The seemingly ‘bad’ and ‘challenging’ times turn into moments of ‘overcoming challenges’ and you look upon these with a positive outlook.
On occasions I believe you glorify these memories. Making these memories seem even more amazing than they actually were, attaching the strongest and most amazing emotions to them.
The reason is this is important to RECOGNISE is that there are some instances, such as Reverse Culture Shock, experiencing Post Travel Blues or your in a time where your unable to travel but you want to...maybe its a stage of life that your in so it can be unhealthy to look at our memories this way. Making us feel worse about our present situation.
Thinking of travels or any situations for that matter, can lead to “glorification” to the point we envy our past.
SO...Perhaps nothing good and nothing bad?I believe that in life you experience emotions 50% what you label ‘positive’ and 50% what you label ‘negative.’
The opposite is also true. You can also dramatise the negativity of a situation. Stating how awful and horrible it was and deep diving into these emotions. Painting this time in a far worse light than it actually was
It's up to you how you see a situation, look at what you gained from it? The challenge that you faced, the wonderful time that you had. Just don't over glorify it and make it something that it wasn't. Especially if your working through a tough stage of your life, it will only make things more challenging for you.
Links
- Related blog post: Are you glorifying your travel memories?
Live on Facebook - The Wanderlusters Mind
Kate Williams - Inspired by the world to build a thriving wellness business.
Kate left New Zealand at 20 years old to study the world instead of going to university. What she learned was something that school could never teach, travel opened her eyes to a whole new way of seeing life. At 25 years old, Kate found herself (on the Gold Coast) booking a last minute, one way ticket to Melbourne, triggered by what she claims to be a 'quarter life crisis' on the search to find a "good" job. After a year or so in the corporate world, feeling like a square peg in a round hole, Kate set off on an adventure again. Kate has not moved home to New Zealand but knows how it feels to move into many different situations. Now residing in Torquay, VIC, she has found a way to feel at home and has since created a business, Retreat Yourself Box, designed to encourage and inspire people to lead fulfilled lives.
Kate set out to study the world, after continually questioning the status quo she now runs her thriving wellness business 'Retreat Yourself.'
About Kate
Kate left New Zealand at 20 years old to study the world instead of going to university. What she learned was something that school could never teach, travel opened her eyes to a whole new way of seeing life.
At 25 years old, Kate found herself (on the Gold Coast) booking a last minute, one way ticket to Melbourne, triggered by what she claims to be a 'quarter life crisis' on the search to find a "good" job. After a year or so in the corporate world, feeling like a square peg in a round hole, Kate set off on an adventure again.
Kate has not moved home to New Zealand but knows how it feels to move into many different situations. Now residing in Torquay, VIC, she has found a way to feel at home and has since created a business, Retreat Yourself Box, designed to encourage and inspire people to lead fulfilled lives.
“Why do I want to ‘get the house’ and ‘get the car’ and I had to dig a little deeper to overcome the pressure I felt.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Kate faced - Hard and challenging to fit back in but used this motivation to fuel her next steps and make a change in the world.
- Biggest stress - Worried about what she was going to do with herself in her career.
- How Kate supported herself - Saw a life coach, spoke with family and took small steps to what she wanted to be doing.
- How Kate used her mindset - set small goals to a bigger vision and supported her to dig a little deeper.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- People are all the same, no matter your background, we all want to be loved we all want to be accepted.
- You can do anything you put your mind to.
- Ive learned to seek out adventure and excitement and finding adventure in everyday.
- Advise to herself for returning home - Don't worry about whats ahead, don't stress about what you think you 'should' be doing. Look inside and take small steps to your bigger goals. Do things that make you feel alive.
“One of the biggest things that travel has taught me is that people all over the world, no matter where you’re from or what your background is or where you live, we’re all the same. We’re all the same on the inside we’re all on the search for the same thing. We all want to be accepted we all want to be loved.”
Links
- Website: www.retreatyourselfbox.com
- Retreat Yourself Instagram: @retreatyourself_box
- Kate's Instagram: @a_piece_of_kate
- Retreat Yourself Facebook: @retreatyourselfhealthbox
Gabrielle Nancarrow - Bringing women together as a birth doula after living in the fast paced New York.
Gabrielle is a mum of two little girls and a birth doula. She grew up in Anglesea on Victoria’s Surf Coast and has lived in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires. She is currently back in Melbourne with her family and is close to launching a women’s space in the inner-west called Gather. Gather will be a place for women to come together and connect through the sharing of stories, thoughts and experiences. Gabrielle’s intention for the space is to bring connection back to a personal level and to provide a supportive place for women to come together free of judgement. She is passionate about speaking our truths, sharing our stories and celebrating honest motherhood.
Gabrielle has always been a traveller. After living in New York she has returned home to Australia to focus on her family, honest motherhood and purpose as a birth doula.
About Gabrielle
Gabrielle is a mum of two little girls and a birth doula. She grew up in Anglesea on Victoria’s Surf Coast and has lived in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires.
She is currently back in Melbourne with her family and is close to launching a women’s space in the inner-west called Gather. Gather will be a place for women to come together and connect through the sharing of stories, thoughts and experiences.
Gabrielle’s intention for the space is to bring connection back to a personal level and to provide a supportive place for women to come together free of judgement. She is passionate about speaking our truths, sharing our stories and celebrating honest motherhood.
“If you decide in a few years to go back, then you go back.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Gabrielle faced - Contemplation of life back in New York, Excited and happy to be back with family and friends, loss of identity.
- What had changed - Career was not fulfilling her in the way she would have liked.
- How Gabrielle supported herself - Fostered and continued to build her strong friendship network, connected with her sisters back in New York.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- The importance of family.
- Giving yourself time, being patient and being kind to yourself.
- Being in the moment and being present.
- Advise to herself for returning home - be patient, its going to be hard but you will come out the other end and know you have made the right decision.
“I really think people are looking for that strong offline community, just a presence where they can be seen and heard for whatever experience they are going through.”
Links
- Website: www.gatherwomenspace.com
- Instagram: @gabriellejoynancarrow
- Gather Womens Space Instagram: @gatherwomenspace
Habits to keep after your travels.
When we travel we start to lean in and embrace powerful new habits. Sometimes they come naturally and go along with the mood of our journey, other times there is no choice but to be a little more courageous. Yet sometimes when we return home and leave our travels behind we also leave some incredible habits that will serve us greatly in our day to day lives. As we switch from travel mode to everyday life mode think about how you can carry forward and embody these amazing habits into your everyday life.
9 habits that we develop on our travels but sometimes forget to apply when we return home.
“If you want to make a remarkable change in your life, change your habits.”
9 habits to keep after your
- Spontaneously trying new thing.
- Being curious to learn new things.
- Getting out of your comfort zone.
- Be adventurous.
- Keep it minimal.
- Awareness of your surrounds.
- Getting a good deal.
- Making new friends.
- Going wiht the flow.
Links
- On minimalism: Ep 18 Pip Honour - A wellness journey and a travelling adventure.
- On making new friends: Ep 29 Igniting friendships after a long time away.
- Related blog post: Nine habits developed from your travels that you should keep.
Margot Andersen - 7 years in London and returning home to help others in repatriation.
Margot spent 7 years living in London before returning 'home' to Australia approx 12 years ago. Whilst she loves being back and firmly believes she made the right decision to do so, the return journey was not quite as straightforward as she had anticipated. However it is these experiences that led her to start a network group called Insync aimed at helping repatriates reconnect as they return; as well as develop several career management and leadership programs in her consulting business to support both individuals and the organisations that they work for. She regularly writes and speaks on the topic of repatriation, global mobility and global careers and is passionate about helping people leverage the amazing experiences they have had as they return ‘home’.
Margot moved to London on a working visa and ended up staying there for 7 years. She faced challenges returning to the professional world when returning home before establishing her own successful business.
About Margot
Margot spent 7 years living in London before returning 'home' to Australia approx. 12 years ago. Whilst she loves being back and firmly believes she made the right decision to do so, the return journey was not quite as straightforward as she had anticipated.
However it is these experiences that led her to start a network group called Insync aimed at helping repatriates reconnect as they return; as well as develop several career management and leadership programs in her consulting business to support both individuals and the organisations that they work for.
She regularly writes and speaks on the topic of repatriation, global mobility and global careers and is passionate about helping people leverage the amazing experiences they have had as they return ‘home’.
“We are all hardwired to connect and belong and contribute and when we cant see it for ourself its very difficult to ask others to help us on that journey.”
When coming home...
- Challenges and Emotions Margot faced - Re-establishing herself in the professional world and in her career. Losing confidence and momentum in certain areas of her life.
- How Margot supported herself - Spent time with people who understood the journey she was going through. Participated in short courses. Got involved in the local community.
- Points about mindset - Get clear about why you want to come home
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- You can do more than you think you can - the magic is on the edge of your comfort zone.
- Things wont always go 100% to plan.
- I want a rich, full life, there is an enormous world out there to go and appreciate but you have to decide what we want and go after it
- Advise to herself for returning home - Plan, aknowledge why you have come home and connect with others.
“Patience hasn’t been a big thing and we have to learn to be a little bit patient.”
Links
- Website: www.insyncnetworkgroup.com and www.margotandersen.com
- LinkedIn: Margot Andersen
- Facebook: @InsyncNetworkGroup
- Instagram: @insyncnetworkgroup
“There is great power in lived experience and shared experience.”
Hi, Im Abby...
About me...
Hi I'm Abby, Adventurer, Life coach, Speaker and Blogger.
After a successful sporting career I now love sharing what I have learned from my adventures and traveling the world.
I believe in turning into your adventurous life through your intuition and the little nudges from the universe.
Lets share the adventure. xo
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