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PODCAST

Round Trip Stories

Tracy Vilanova and Melissa Ens

Through weekly guest interviews, hosts Melissa Ens and Tracy Vilanova offer gifts of understanding for those who have recently returned from living abroad, reflection for those who have been back for years, and insight for those who have never left their home country. These stories help us all understand the world and ourselves just a little better. www.roundtripstories.com

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

00:30:59

Applying All That She Learned: Carolina's Return...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/11/05

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with Carolina Baiza, eco-hotel owner and sustainability entrepreneur from El Salvador. After fifteen years of traveling to study in Europe and then representing El Salvador in trade and world fairs, she decided to settle down and stay put in her home country. Listen to how Carolina took what she learned from her networks abroad and grew the sustainability model for her Arbol de Fuego hotel, where she also grew deeper roots in her community. Learn more here

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00:34:01

Sustainable Trade: Carolina's Stories from the World...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/10/29

Our guest today is Carolina Baiza, eco-hotel and sustainability entrepreneur from El Salvador. When visiting her brother in Germany, she noticed that the El Salvador World Fair booth had no representative. She volunteered to run it and before she knew it, she earned scholarships in Germany and Italy to study how to run trade exhibitions for her country. For fifteen years Carolina ran her hotel in-country and at the same time created fair exhibitions to represent El Salvador across the

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00:29:31

Keeping Connected to the World: Ken’s Return Stories...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/10/15

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Ken Martens Friesen, professor of history and international studies and coordinator of the global education program at Fresno Pacific University. Ken grew up in India and continued to go abroad throughout his life. In this episode, Ken shares about his return to the U.S. as a ten year old and feeling like people looked at him like an alien. Time helped him adjust to the U.S., and once he was done with university he was overseas again working in a

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00:35:19

Independence, Diversity, and Just Enough Support:...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/10/08

Our guest today is Dr. Ken Martens Friesen, professor of history and international studies and coordinator of the global education program at Fresno Pacific University. Ken grew up in India and continues to go abroad throughout his life. Ken’s parents were missionaries from the United States, and he attended Kodaikanal International School until the age of 10 when he moved to the U.S. In this episode, hear about Ken’s growing up years in the south Indian mountains in the 1960’s, eating curry and

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00:30:09

A Shaky Landing After Being Pro: Branko's Return...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/09/25

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with elite water polo player athlete Branko Pekovic from Serbia. After twelve years of playing in Italy, Russia, and Kazakhstan and with many medals earned, he and his wife decided it was time to retire to Serbia and to begin to coach. With their five year old daughter and eight year old son in tow, they packed up Branko’s international water polo life. Upon return to Serbia, he wasn’t perceived quite as interesting anymore, and he needed to figure out how to

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00:33:16

A Job That He Loved: Branko's Stories as an Elite...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/09/17

Our guest today is Branko Pekovic, an elite professional water polo athlete who grew up during difficult times in Belgrade, Yugoslavia which is now Serbia. He found a love and great success in playing water polo, so much so that he played for Serbia’s national teams and teams in Italy, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Branko shares about how water polo was his amazing job that took him to the Olympics and all over the world.https://www.stormwaterpolo.ca/content/coacheslinktr.ee/waterpolowestSee photos of our

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00:36:28

Only the Ear of the Hippo: Carolyn Grant’s Tips on...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/09/03

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with Carolyn Grant, physical therapist and transitions coach originally from South Africa. Carolyn knows deeply about transitions after moving to London for ten years and then to Texas, USA for fifteen. Along the way she developed her expertise as a physical therapist in London, but she was not able to practice after the move to Texas. This loss of identity and change was the painful catalyst to redesigning her personal and professional goals. While she raised

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00:30:28

A Transition Coach's Transitions: Carolyn Grant's...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/08/27

Our guest today is Carolyn Grant, physical therapist, writer, and transitions coach originally from South Africa. Carolyn knows deeply about transitions after moving to London for ten years and then to Texas, USA for sixteen. Along the way she developed her expertise as a physical therapist in London, was not able to practice after the move to Texas, lost her mother while being half way across the world, and reinvented herself by becoming a transition coach, all the while raising her three

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00:24:04

Changing Seasons in Life, Place, and Purpose: a...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/08/20

Welcome back from summer (or winter) holidays! Melissa and Tracy launch their 5th season with a talk about how our time during vacations can be a way to connect to goals we made while abroad. What is important to us to continue as we return home? Is it service trips or events? Is it keeping connected to our international side? What does that even look like after many years of being back home? Whatever season you are in on your round trip journey and transition, whether just having landed back home

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00:37:49

TCK Advice from Six Continents and 12 Friends -...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/06/12

This is our "Third Culture Kid Advice" episode. Our guests show the variety and diversity of the TCK experience. They come from six continents and spent time as children overseas because of diplomacy, education, missions, or business. They are now in their 20's to 50's, and as adults, they have spent lots of time thinking about their TCK experiences. This episode is a compilation of our twelve TCK guests’ responses to our last interview question asking for words of wisdom for our

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00:31:57

Black Identity Doesn’t Fit In a Box: Amanda’s TCK...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/05/29

This episode is Part 2 of our interview with Amanda Bates, employer branding strategist , storyteller and transitions consultant who is also the founder and creative director of theblackexpat.com, a website for black identity and international living. Amanda is also the host of “The Global Chatter” and happens to be a third culture kid who spent her growing up years in Cameroon and then returned to the U.S for university. In this episode, Amanda shares about how she at first disliked college back in

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00:34:33

Layers Upon Layers of Identity: Amanda Bates' TCK...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/05/22

Our guest today is Amanda Bates, employer branding strategist , storyteller and transitions consultant who is also the founder and creative director of theblackexpat.com, a website for black identity and international living. Amanda is the host of “The Global Chatter” podcast and happens to be a third culture kid from the United States who spent her growing up years in Cameroon. In this episode, Amanda shares about spending her teen years in her parents’ country of birth, where her black identity

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00:27:55

Breathing Again: Marie's TCK Return to the...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/04/29

This is Part 2 of our interview with Marie Suazo, host of the podcast “Talks with a TCK friend” and author of Tales of a Diplomat’s Daughter. Originally from the Philippines, Marie grew up in South Korea and Egypt because she was part of a diplomat family. After college in Seoul, Korea, she moved back with her family and eventually returned to the Philippines. Not only was it difficult moving into a monocultural environment, but it was also challenging living with her family as an adult TCK.Tales of

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00:30:49

Loved That Expat Community: Marie Suazo's TCK Stories...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/04/23

Our guest today is Marie Suazo, host of the podcast “Talks with a TCK friend” and author of Tales of a Diplomat’s Daughter. Originally from the Philippines, Marie grew up in South Korea and Egypt during her family’s diplomatic assignments. She loved being part of the expatriate communities in both places, and did not know any difference until she was on a rough home assignment in the Philippines for several years in her preteens. Mentioned in this episode: Tales of a Diplomat's

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00:31:37

Too Complex for a Category: Ana Julia's TCK Return...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/04/08

This is Part 2 of our interview with Ana Julia Borges, a Brazilian third culture kid who spent seven years of her childhood in Uruguay. Ana Julia is a foodie, sociologist, and curriculum developer for TCK Training. When Ana was eight years old, her parents went to Uruguay to begin university groups for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. When their mission was complete and when Ana was fifteen years old, the family repatriated back to Brazil. Ana Julia had always been a good

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00:33:41

Rooted in People: Ana Julia Borges' TCK Stories from...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/04/01

Our guest today is Ana Julia Borges, a Brazilian third culture kid who spent seven years of her childhood in Uruguay. Ana Julia is a foodie, sociologist, and curriculum developer for TCK Training. When Ana was eight years old, her parents went to Uruguay to begin university groups for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Those university students became part of her extended family, she drank a little too much coffee and mate, and Uruguay became her home until she was fifteen.IFES

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00:29:59

Embracing the Now: Ben's TCK Return to the U.S. -...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/03/12

Today we're sharing Part 2 of our interview with Major Ben Scott, a US Army Signal Corps Officer who grew up as a Third Culture Kid in Kenya and Germany. He and his wife are now raising his five third culture kids of their own back in Germany where Ben is stationed. At 15 years old, Ben returned to the United States for high school. Despite a smooth first year, he entered a difficult time of negotiating what it meant to be an American teenager in a large suburban public school. Find out how Ben

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00:33:06

A TCK Turned Career Officer: Ben Scott's Stories from...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/03/04

Our guest for this episode is Major Ben Scott, a US Army Signal Corps Officer who grew up as a Third Culture Kid in Kenya and Germany before returning to the United States for high school. As a missionary kid, he says that he always has a story in his pocket. He begins this interview sharing one story of a baby cheetah tackling him and shares another of him running down a U.S. highway with a German flag to celebrate a soccer win. Ben continues with more heartfelt stories of valuing his TCK

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00:31:46

Claiming What Had Been Buried: Amy's TCK Return to...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/02/18

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with Amy Burton, a life and mindset coach living in Alaska with her husband and three teenagers. She grew up as a third culture kid in Spain in the 1980’s where her parents were missionaries. After 12 years, Amy’s family was back in the U.S. for a year-long sabbatical. Right before they were supposed to return to Spain, their mission was discontinued. To 15 year old Amy, that’s when everything fell apart. Listen in as Amy shares about both the hard journey and

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00:33:34

A Foundation in Spain: Amy Burton's TCK Stories -...

Round Trip Stories ·

2025/02/11

Our guest today is Amy Burton, a life and mindset coach who grew up as a third culture kid in Spain. Amy now lives in Alaska and is a mother of three. From the ages of two to 14 she was raised in ancient Madrid and then a brand new city called Tres Cantos as her parents planted a church in the 1980’s. Spain was recovering from the dictatorship under Franco, and Amy tells of the difficulties of beginning a protestant church there. At the same time, she shares endearing stories of her foundational

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70 results

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