🌐 we are not alone

[00:00:00] I am realizing that I have no idea who I am A lot of our parents really wanted us to be American because they were so afraid of us being like kids of immigrants I just had no idea how to respond

[00:00:23] I was like, is it a compliment? Is it an insult? You know, I'm not sure But yeah, the first time I realized oh I'm foreign And I think this, you know, or some people call it whitewashing of my identity

[00:00:44] I probably didn't start to reflect on it until after high school I think adoption from across different ethnicities and cultures is beautiful But it has to be done in the right way

[00:01:02] So there needs to be open discussions about what that would entail for the parents and for the child I think for it for my younger days, I used to think I don't have roots But I do have roots. It's just that they're spread around

[00:01:20] For how much of it feels like it's concerned with the past You feel the weight of history in the present And that's what makes it feel like a life like I know this happened decades and trees ago

[00:01:35] But like it influences how I live my life or what I know about myself right now It's a beautiful realization that I'm not alone and we're not alone And we're not alone, that might be the single biggest feeling

[00:02:01] I hope people take away as they listen to stories of belonging I tried to capture some of my favorite moments of vulnerability of the season in this little montage And trust me, it was not easy to decide

[00:02:14] The episode is to celebrate the season and think the people who made this possible I'm your host Beatrice Norr and you're listening to the 20th and final episode of season 1 of the In betweenish pods Today I'll take you behind the scenes of the season

[00:02:30] Let you in on some of the biggest mistakes I've made Share some learnings But I'll also share some highlights A pinch me moment in the Guardian And I'll also share a few bloopers as well At the very end, I'll also let you know what's happening

[00:02:48] In the future of the In betweenish pod, soul stay tuned for that So yeah, with that, let's get into it What you heard in the beginning of this episode were some of the highlights of the conversations helped the season

[00:03:02] I feel like this was the crux of our conversations These raw, very honest moments of reflections that really speak to the experience of existing across different cultures of confronting your past, of trying to make sense of the cultures that you were bought into

[00:03:21] And that you have to balance whether you chose them or not Of seeking belonging in some way shape or form And even though my guests, they're all quite different You know, some have immigrated with their families at various ages

[00:03:36] Some are adopted internationally, some are refugees and were then resettled Some were just multicultural individuals due to their parents and life circumstances But despite these differences, everyone had something to share that felt relatable As I was listening to these conversations unfold live

[00:03:56] I was hearing fragments of my own life reflected in the stories of others And I hope that you did as well Here are pieces of your life echoed in these stories We're finishing off with 20 episodes in total

[00:04:11] Initially, I had planned to release eight episodes for the first season So you can see that things didn't quite go as planned And it's been a learning curve So here are some of the things I have learned throughout the season

[00:04:26] Plan, but also know that nothing goes according to plans Exhibity, that's very season Always make sure you hit record So one time I was three quarters through the recording With my guests and I realized I forgot to hit record

[00:04:46] I felt so much guilt and hopefully that will never happen again I learned that the closer you are to someone, the harder it is to record their episode Because you know so much about them And you know where you can't go

[00:05:01] But you're both thinking it and feeling it And it's just a little bit tricky to maneuver We've had different kinds of episodes of the season So we've had conversational interview episodes with my guests We've had many souls where I dig deeper into

[00:05:19] A certain topic to better understand culture, identity and belonging The season I explored the differences between third culture kids And cross cultural kids, I dove into the cultural iceberg To understand visible and invisible layers of culture And then I also did a many so on what actually happened

[00:05:39] When you belong to different cultures like or the struggles Or the positive aspects Beyond the, oh it's cool to you know Speak several languages or to move countries But like what really takes place behind closed curtains And finally there was a bonus episode

[00:05:57] The very end of the season where I saw down with one of my previous guests To talk about the refugee experience Which is an often forgotten category of cross cultural kids So we covered common myths and misconceptions We explained the differences between a refugee and a silencer

[00:06:16] And that was released for international refugee day back in June I really hope that these stories meant as much to you as they did to me On my end recording these stories felt like meeting an old friend at a coffee shop

[00:06:30] And just, you know, diving deep into reflections of the past years Just, you know, clicking right away No small chit chat, none of the house or other talk But just like real, vulnerable, hard-to-hard conversations

[00:06:48] And I wanted to ask you the dot come through to you as a listener Speaking of listeners I thought it would be interesting to share some milestones with you So there are currently 64 countries Tuding into the in betweenish Which is insane to me

[00:07:06] There are listeners from Viji to the Bahamas to South Korea, Zimbabwe, Slovakia It's just been really cool to watch this grow I don't necessarily know people in these countries So I don't really know how you found the in betweenish But I'm so grateful that you did

[00:07:23] So thank you to all the listeners No matter where you're located Thank you to everyone for tuning in And please feel free to reach out to me You know, whether you want to share your story Or, you know, you just want to connect

[00:07:36] It would be wonderful to hear from you I also wanted to share that the in betweenish was Unexpectedly reviewed in the Guardian And listed under best podcasts of the week That was such a pinch me moment And it's still surreal

[00:07:53] It was submitted by one of our guests who randomly DMed me The link once on the evening And I opened it and thought it was a prank Yeah, it was very surreal It still is surreal to me But I'm so grateful for that

[00:08:07] And the sequence of certain dipotous events that led to this happening The in betweenish and its own category Was also in the top of its charts in certain countries And I don't know how that happened But it did, and I'm very grateful

[00:08:23] And I know that top in charts is just like a fleeting moment in time But it's pretty cool to see this unfold And since we're celebrating the season You know, I thought I'd let you in on that Beyond the audio world

[00:08:37] And the in betweenish I also developed a monthly newsletter called The Quest, kind of like you know, the Quest for belonging So every month I send you a question and exercise And other culturally relevant content to explore There's also the in betweenish blog

[00:08:55] Which I don't really talk about much But on there I share some anecdotes, personal reflections And I do some of the exercises from the quest newsletter myself Along with Hedwig, one of my first guests We collaborated together to create a Roloss for Worlds

[00:09:12] A campaign that tackled where language means identity And how the two are very closely related We created a workshop together called Weaving Your Cross Cultural Tapestry Which was a lot of fun to put together Very challenging as well, I'm not gonna lie

[00:09:30] It was way out of my comfort zone, but I'm so glad we did it Now it's time to share some bloopers You know, obviously what I upload and what I publish online It's the final result But it's been a struggle to get to that final

[00:09:47] There's a lot of messing up And that's just the reality of hosting a podcast And no I may come across this eloquent on the podcast But don't let that fool you Trust me people who know me in real life

[00:10:01] Know that I mess up in speech a lot like certain accents Will come out, especially when I'm tired I realize I study when I'm nervous Which I didn't know about So that was interesting, it's just to discover So all this to say that messing up is okay

[00:10:18] It's just a part of a gig Is your culture from music, to visual arts To literally literally blah blah blah We've had different kinds of episodes Okay, and now I just want to let you know Some of the future plans You may be wondering is this it?

[00:10:58] Is this like a goodbye episode or is there more coming? So yes, there will be another season of the In betweeners coming very soon I've been working on it for months But because I struggled with consistency in the past

[00:11:11] I wanted to learn from that and you know, ensure a consistent schedule in season two Which will be coming two year years october 3rd, 2023 Marker calendars We cover more stories of the longing tackle identity from different angles That we didn't necessarily tackle in season one

[00:11:29] And we dive headfirst into certain topics like the foreigners complex Generational gaps and evolving identities If you follow the long and enjoy this journey, please consider leaving us a rating or a review on Spotify On our website or on Apple

[00:11:47] For some reason Apple reviews only appear if you're based in the US I'm not sure why but yeah, a review the rating goes a long way for a virtual likely in betweeners So to my guests, I want to say

[00:12:02] First of all, thank you for trusting me with your stories Thank you for being so open about your struggles with your identity I don't think you're forgotten and I am incredibly grateful To my collaborators, my mentors and those who shared me on

[00:12:17] Thank you for pushing me to create and thank you for pushing me to keep going even though I felt like giving up many many times I wanted to thank every single one of you who has tuned in across the globe I know that we don't know each other

[00:12:29] But it means so much to me that you've taken the time to listen to these stories of belonging on the In betweeners' path I truly do appreciate everyone who made this possible Thank you So that's a wrap for season one

[00:12:50] If you've enjoyed these episodes, please spread the word and leave us a review Sign up to the questions letter to stay updated on the new season that's dropping very soon I'm your host and producer Beatriz Moore, original music is composed and produced by Medican Missility

[00:13:09] Thanks for tuning in in betweeners' signing off See you guys next season