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PODCAST

The Places We Call Home podcast

Yolanda Reshemah

I created The Places We Call Home for women who’ve immigrated and are rebuilding their lives in the USA — women carrying loneliness, homesickness, culture shock, and the pressure to stay steady while figuring out who they are now.Moving from one country to another is still a massive undertaking. Only 4% of people do it. It still requires courage. And it’s often the women who end up creating what sustains life abroad — community, friendships, purpose, mental wellness — all while attending to everyone

society & culture mental health

All Episodes

00:06:10

#80. Is Life Abroad Worth It When Your Support System...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/10/02

The night my husband fell ill suddenly, the distance I've been carrying for years hit me harder than I expected.Everything I usually manage on my own, like anticipated hospital runs, school drop-off and pick up, after-school schedule, new bathroom demolition and rebuild, the business ... suddenly felt impossible without the people who know how to steady me. And in that moment, I had to face a question I’d been avoiding: Is the life I’m living abroad still sustainable for the woman I’m becoming?This

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00:24:43

#79. The Moment You Realize: I’m Lonely Here

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/10/01

A real conversation about being unseen, finding your people, and rebuilding connection from scratch.Today’s episode is a panel conversation with immigrant and American friends talking honestly about the moment they realized, I’m lonely here. From Venezuela, China, Brazil, Sierra Leone, the U.K., and the U.S. We describe the exact situations that made loneliness feel real, and what made the change possible.We talk about what loneliness looks like for immigrants — the loss of culture, language,

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00:21:33

#78.Why Belonging Feels So Hard: What Immigrant Women...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/09/24

Belonging takes a while to create. It’s something you first begin to build from the inside out.Part two with guest Natalie Chu, a Taiwanese woman who moved to the U.S. alone and discovered that belonging is also about emotional clarity. She shares how solo travel, cultural transition, and moments of deep loneliness forced her to ask better questions: Why am I feeling this? What do I actually need? What am I trying to build?We talk about identity, masking, self‑respect, cultural pressure, and the

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00:08:19

#77. The Day You Stop Begging to Belong

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/09/15

There's a moment every immigrant woman hits and once you hit it, everything changes.In this episode, I'm talking you as my friend. Because starting over in a new country forces you into a delicate truth most people never say out loud: you can chase inclusion for years and still feel lonely, unseen, or disconnected. Real belonging begins somewhere else entirely. I share what I takeaway from Natalie's story (episode 76) when she left Taiwan for California's Bay Area the warmth she grew up with, the

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00:29:27

#76. Friendliness Isn’t Friendship: What Expat Women...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/09/10

A conversation about belonging, friendships, and rebuilding yourself in a new country.I sat down with Natalie Chu, who moved from Taiwan to the U.S. with a childhood dream and found herself facing the emotional truth expat women rarely say out loud. She talks about the “friendly but not actually your friend” moments, and the shock of realizing that belonging doesn’t show up just because you arrived.Natalie shares what she misses most about home — the morning markets, being known — and how different

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00:08:09

#75. Why You Don’t Feel Like Yourself Abroad: How to...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/09/05

When you migrate, you enter environments that reinterpret you.In this solo episode, Yolanda Reshemah breaks down why so many immigrant women, expat women suddenly feel unfamiliar to themselves after moving abroad, and how identity distortion happens long before you realize it. From credential devaluation to accent bias to being misread in rooms where people don’t yet understand your history. Yolanda explains the emotional and psychological impact of being seen through someone else’s lens.Drawing

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00:19:51

#74. Reclaiming Your Worth — Finding Yourself Again...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/08/27

A conversation about rebuilding identity, reclaiming your worth after migration.Educator and scholar Neisha Terry shares the deeply personal journey of navigating identity after migrating to the United States. She speaks openly about having her Jamaican teaching credentials reduced to “nothing,” being questioned about her legitimacy, and the emotional weight of constantly proving herself in spaces that weren’t built with her in mind.She speaks candidly about the exhaustion of becoming, the

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00:21:10

#.73 Why Going Back Home Never Happens for Immigrant...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/08/19

A conversation on identity, home, and why going back never truly happens for immigrant women.In this episode, I continue my conversation with Dr. Neisha Terry Young, Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University, about what it really means to build a life between geographies. We talk about the emotional weight of being an unconnected immigrant, the freedom she misses from her childhood in Jamaica, and the realities of raising Black boys in America.Neisha shares how a recent health crisis brought the

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00:17:09

#72.Immigrant or Expat? Neisha Young on Naming Ourselves

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/08/12

Jamaican scholar and assistant professor Nisha Terry Young joins me for a grounded conversation about identity, belonging, and the labels we inherit when we move to the United States. We explore the difference between immigrant and expat—and how those words quietly shape the way women migrants are seen, judged, and expected to perform competence in their new lives.Nisha shares how her identity as a Jamaican woman fuels her work, and how her decision to pursue a PhD became a direct response to the

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00:12:42

#71. The Hidden Rulebook of Your New Country — What...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/24

Five practical tools every migrant woman can use to stop feeling lostEver felt overwhelmed after moving abroad? This episode gives you the missing manual. Host Yolanda Reshemah breaks down two essential skills every immigrant, expat, and migrant woman needs: Learning the hidden rulebook of your new culture and; Using curiosity and optimism as practical survival tools. You’ll walk away with five clear, actionable strategies to help you feel more grounded, more capable, and more at home in the place

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00:32:45

#70. Bubblegum, Barbie and Becoming American. Pt.2...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/19

My expectation was that we were going to buy me a Barbie ... jeans, and bubble gum!This conversation with writer and storyteller Yuliya Patasy is an unusual exploration of what it means to arrive somewhere new — physically, emotionally, culturally, and generationally.Yuliya immigrated to San Francisco as a child, landing in a converted garage apartment packed with grandparents, great‑grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the weight of her parents’ hopes. Her early memories of life in a country that no

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00:09:24

#69. Feeling Lonely After Moving Abroad? Here's How...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/16

Moving abroad can look exciting from the outside — but inside, many immigrant and expat women carry a silent truth: loneliness, identity loss, homesickness, and the pressure to hold everything together.In this solo episode, I talk honestly about the emotional work women do when they uproot their lives, often without a title, paycheck, or community to hold them. I share the tools that helped me feel lighter - dealing with one big emotion at a time, rebuilding identity in small steps, and giving

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00:39:00

#68. Bubblegum, Barbie and Becoming American. Pt.1...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/10

I’ll never forget what it was like to live with 12 people in a Soviet apartment sharing a bathroom.Writer and storyteller Yuliya Patsay joins us to explore the emotional work of immigration, belonging, and identity — from her childhood arrival in San Francisco as a refugee from what was then the USSR, to the life she’s built today. She shares the reality of childhood immigration — the disorienting impact of an abundance of resources, diversity, culture shock, and the courage it takes to rebuild your

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00:05:11

#68. 3 Lessons Every Migrant Woman Needs to Hear When...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/08

Practical guidance for migrant women rebuilding life in the USA.This episode shares three practical lessons for migrant women who are working hard to build a new life in the United States.These lessons come from my conversation with Janet Xu in episode #67, who moved from China with $300 in her pocket and rebuilt her life through persistence, community, and a clear sense of identity.You’ll get three takeaways that help you stay grounded during the hardest parts of relocation:Stay rooted in who you

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00:42:15

#67. The Truth About Success, Friendship, and...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/07/01

A blueprint for migrant women eager to turn obstacles into opportunities.Most women exploring life abroad feel overwhelmed by cultural shifts, language barriers, and the fear of losing themselves—until you hear Janet Zhu’s story.Janet shares raw, live stories of her journey—from the initial excitement, loneliness and identity shifts to creating a life that honors both her Chinese heritage and American dreams.What you get:Hear how embracing your culture fuels your confidence,How to cultivate

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00:23:20

#66. Starting Over Abroad: Parenting, Language, and...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/05/29

How to rebuild with kids, handle culture shock, and find your footing as an expat mom. immigrant mom.Feeling lost after moving abroad? This episode names the quiet grief women carry when you immigrate-homesickness, language shame, identity wobble, and the pressure to make the move "worth it". Karen - a professional organizer from Israel shares how she rebuilt in the U.S. in her 40s: making friends from zero, helping her kids learn a new language, reopening her career, and adapting to culture without

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00:29:38

#65. The Long Exhale — Finding Friendship and...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/05/13

Moving to a new country is an emotional, psychological, and cultural upheaval. In this episode, Korean‑Canadian entrepreneur Monica Hyang-sil Chang shares her powerful story of rebuilding her identity after immigrating from Korea, to Toronto, Canada, to Marin County in California.This episode is for anyone searching for belonging, rebuilding identity after migration, or learning how to stay grounded while living far from home.Monica opens up about the pressure many Asian women feel to 'fit the box,'

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00:07:01

#64. Expat Woman — Five Signs Life Abroad Is Draining...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/04/17

Here are 5 practical tips to help you protect your peace, your voice, and your sense of self while you're building the life you dream of as an immigrant woman.By the end of this episode, you’ll have some language and tools to decide: Do I stay, do I walk, and on what terms? You’ll hear practical ways to protect your peace, your voice, and your sense of self while living abroad—especially when your livelihood, community, or sense of belonging feels tied to a particular space.This is for the expat

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00:31:02

#63. Moved To USA For Love? Feeling Homesick,...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/04/13

Moving to a new country — especially the United States — asks more of you than anyone prepares you for.Monica Chang shares what it’s really like to move from Korea to Canada, then to California while feeling like the only one in every room. She talks about identity, loneliness, reinvention, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life far from home.If you’re homesick, trying to make friends, or figuring out who you are in this new place, Monica’s story offers clarity, comfort, and a reminder that

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00:28:42

#63. Feeling Like the Only One After Moving Abroad -...

The Places We Call Home podcast ·

2026/04/08

In this episode, Monica Hanksel Chang opens up about moving from Korea to Canada to the U.S., navigating bias, reinvention, and the quiet work of belonging.From building a restaurant to rebuilding her life in California, her story speaks to expat and immigrant women searching for community, confidence, and a sense of home in a new country.

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