Round Trip Stories Podcast

Home
United States
Fresno, CA
Round Trip Stories Podcast

Tracy Vilanova and Melissa Ens host a podcast interviewing guests about moving abroad and back again.

09/09/2025

Don't miss part 2 of our interview with transitions coach Carolyn Grant. Carolyn knows deeply about transitions after moving from South Africa 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 redesign her personal and professional goals. While she raised her three daughters, she also began raising others up by mentoring them in their difficult life transitions. Carolyn is now a transition coach and offers our listeners compassion and tips. Get ready for notetaking and be sure to mind your Rs, Ps, and Ns as Carolyn shares practical steps to move through those heart wrenching stages from transition to reinvention.

Listen to Carolyn's wisdom in episode 63 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

09/01/2025

Welcome to Season 5! Last week we shared part one of our interview with 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 daughters. In this episode, Carolyn explains why she is an accidental immigrant, why she resists change at the same time as loving adventure, and why she needed to grieve.

Listen to Carolyn's stories in episode 62 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

06/13/2025

This week on the Round Trip Stories Podcast we shared our TCK series finale "Third Culture Kid Advice" episode! We learn so much from the guests on our podcasts, and our two-season Third Culture Kid, or TCK, series has given us stories to ponder and enjoy! 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 audience. We can't wait for you to hear their combined recommendations! Our guests’ advice help us get to know the world, and ourselves, a little better.

Listen to some great TCK wisdom in episode 60 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

Thank you to all of our amazing guests!

06/03/2025

Last week we shared Part 2 of our interview with Amanda Bates, employer branding strategist, storyteller and transitions consultant who is also the founder and creative director of The Black Expat, a website for black identity and international living. Amanda is also the host of “The Global Chatter” podcast 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 the U.S., was grateful to grow up in an African country, and that her black identity did not fit into a box. Listen to when it finally got good for her and how she turned all that was hard into soft skills like counseling, guiding, and even creating her own brand to help normalize black expatriation.
Listen to Amanda's stories in episode 59 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

05/23/2025

Our guest this week was Amanda Bates, employer branding strategist , storyteller and transitions consultant who is also the founder and creative director of The Black Expat, 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 was affirmed and she became aware of her American privilege. She attended international schools where her global curiosity was launched and David Po***ck planted the seed that Amanda was a third culture kid.
Listen to Amanda's stories in episode 58 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

05/02/2025

This week we shared 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. Thank you for sharing your heart and stories with us!

Listen to Marie's stories in episode 57 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

04/24/2025

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 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. Thank you, Marie, for sharing your stories with us!

Listen to Marie's stories in episode 56 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

04/10/2025

Listen this week to 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 . 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 student, but back in Brazil, that, and other parts of her identity, got squeezed like sugarcane juice.
Listen to Ana Julia's stories in episode 55 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

04/03/2025

Our guest in this week's episode 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. Listen to Ana Julia's stories in episode 54 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

03/14/2025

Don't miss this week's episode, 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 five TCKs 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 got through this reverse culture shock, finally got a car, and what his recommendations are for TCKs now.

Listen to Ben's stories in episode 53 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

03/08/2025

Our guest this week 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 experience and at the same time not feeling like he fit in anywhere.

Listen to Ben's stories in episode 52 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

02/20/2025

This week we shared 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. Amy shares about the long journey and the healing she has found.

Listen to Amy's stories in episode 51 of the Round Trip Stories podcast at www.roundtripstories.com or in your favorite podcast app.

Address

Fresno, CA

Website

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/roundtripstories, https://www.roundtripstories.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Round Trip Stories Podcast posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company in Fresno?