22.33

IVLP from Scotland

IVLP from India & Bangladesh

Fulbright Student Program to South Africa

Critical Language Scholarship in Jordan

Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Brazil

FLEX & WYLET from Mongolia

English Access Microscholarship Program & MEPI from Yemen

Our bonus collection of food anecdotes from all over the globe. This month's featured story is from our English Language Programs colleague Joe Bookbinder. Just wait until you find out what the Chinese stew was made out of...

Fulbright Student Program to Mozambique

Fulbright Student Program to Vietnam

Fulbright Program to Samoa

Summer Work & Travel from Ireland

Fulbright Student Program in South Korea

Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Kazakhstan

IVLP from Nigeria

Fulbright Scholar from Lebanon

English Language Fellows in Sri Lanka & Oman

Imagine, you've left your comfort zone. You moved to a foreign country that's 12 time zones away, most people speak a different language, and the lifestyle and culture are radically different, but you slowly make your way. And one day you meet a group of strangers that you identify immediately as your kind of people. And, just as you feel you have made it, an unspeakable tragedy occurs. How you react will change your life forever. This is 22.33, a podcast of exchange stories.

This week a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program participant from Atlanta, GA describes her experience while living in China and studying Mandarin. Learning to better communicate boundaries, having your Americanness challenged, and cherry-picking with the neighborhood, join us on a journey around the globe through international exchange stories. For more information about the CLS program visit https://www.clscholarship.org.

In this week's episode, we interview a Fulbrighter who went to Egypt for the English Teaching Assistant program. This program places American teachers in classrooms abroad to provide assistance to local English teachers. Fulbright ETAs help teach the English language while also serving as cultural ambassadors for the United States. The age and academic level of their students vary by country and from kindergarten all the way to the university level. Find out more about the program at https://us.fulbrightonline.org.

This week, hear about the sweetest rickshaw ride in Mumbai, the funniest man in India, and what it's liked to be dragged onto a Bollywood dance floor. Join us on a journey from Colorado to India, to learn that sometimes it just easier to be your real self. This is 22.33, a podcast of exchange stories.

In this week's episode, a Fulbrighter from Western Kentucky University travels all the way to Shiyan, China to study math teacher education and discovers that both math and American sitcoms are truly universal languages.

Claire Ouedraogo is the winner of the International Women of Courage Award and the President of the Songmanegre Association for Women’s Development (Association féminine songmanegre pour le développement), an organization she founded that focuses on eliminating female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and promoting female empowerment through family planning education, vocational training, and micro-credit for women in the rural and underserved Center-North region of Burkina Faso. She also serves as a senior advisor on the National Council to Combat Female Genital Mutilation. She is an active member of the Burkinabe Movement for Human and People’s Rights. In 2016, the prime minister of Burkina Faso nominated her as an Ambassador of Peace for her work in empowering rural women. Despite the increased threat of terrorist attacks and violent acts against civilians in Bam Province, Mrs. Ouedraogo continues her courageous work on behalf of vulnerable women threatened both by FGM/C and terrorism. Note: This is the translated English version. The original French-language recording is also available in the previous episode (S02E45).

Note: This is the original French-language recording. The English translation is also available in the next episode (S02E46). Claire Ouedraogo is the winner of the International Women of Courage Award and the President of the Songmanegre Association for Women’s Development (Association féminine songmanegre pour le développement), an organization she founded that focuses on eliminating female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and promoting female empowerment through family planning education, vocational training, and micro-credit for women in the rural and underserved Center-North region of Burkina Faso. She also serves as a senior advisor on the National Council to Combat Female Genital Mutilation. She is an active member of the Burkinabe Movement for Human and People’s Rights. In 2016, the prime minister of Burkina Faso nominated her as an Ambassador of Peace for her work in empowering rural women. Despite the increased threat of terrorist attacks and violent acts against civilians in Bam Province, Mrs. Ouedraogo continues her courageous work on behalf of vulnerable women threatened both by FGM/C and terrorism.  

Moving from the United States to South Korea means leaving what you know and surrounding yourself with things that are unknown and mysterious. In this week's episode, we hear from Lauren Garza about how her international exchange experience through Fulbright and how it had her guessing people's ages, searching for tea fields, and even establishing a nonprofit to help orphans. Join us on a journey from Omaha, Nebraska to Chicago, Illinois to Gumi, South Korea on this episode of 22.33, the podcast of exchange stories.

This week, Bigfoot meets Mary Poppins, disco meets polka, and what happens when you turn the handle the wrong way? Join us on our journey from Waterford, Wisconsin, to Hamburg, Germany, and diving fearlessly into a new culture in this interview with an alumnus of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange program.

Lives Without Limits! John Register, a Sports Diplomacy program partner, and two-time Paralympic athlete from the United States tells us what living without limits means to him. #WithoutLimits And in recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ECA has launched the Lives Without Limits campaign to promote the importance of inclusion within international exchanges. Join ECA, our alumni, and our partners in the exchange community in celebrating the spirit of human potential. Check out John's video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv7pgclyiTE

Oh, for peat's sake! Join us this week on a journey deep into the heart of Ireland's magical bogs, places of lore, and as we learn from Fulbright National Geographic Storytelling Fellow Emily Toner, very precious resources. 

Stories that have to be heard to be believed.  Living and studying with shaman in Mongolia.  This week, entrepreneur, investor, theater artist, and co-founder of Zuckerberg Institute Michael Littig recounts the transcendent and life-changing lessons he learned as a Fulbright Scholar on the other side of the world. Photo: Patrick Schneider / Graphic: Kate Furby

On a fellowship in the Balkans to research the concept of identity, Christiana Botic discovers her family background is much more complicated than she thought, leading to a journey over many borders and an inescapable realization about how people see themselves.

Meet the remarkable 'Sophia' Huang, the fearless driver of the #MeToo movement in China.  However, due to the censorship of that specific phrase, the cause Sophia champions instead features two emojis: Rice ("mi") and Bunny ("tu").  A fearless journalist, who uses her platform to highlight the injustices of sexual harassment and gender-based violence, Sophia has become a role model for many young women in China.   Photo: Christopher Wurst / Graphic: Kate Furby

This is the incredible story of Susanna Liew Koh, a 2020 recipient of the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award. Following the February 2017 abduction of her husband, Christian pastor Raymond Koh, allegedly by state agents, Susanna Liew has fought on behalf of members of religious minorities who disappeared in Malaysia under similar circumstances or who face persecution for their beliefs.  Susanna actively pursued justice during the Malaysian Human Rights Commission’s 2018-2019 public inquiry into enforced disappearances and continues to push the government to investigate these cases and prosecute those responsible.  Despite police harassment and death threats, she continues to advocate for her husband and others, not because of her faith or theirs, but because of their rights as Malaysians.  

As a Gilman Scholar, David Rader thought that going from the United States to South Africa would be a radical change, but it turned out to be nothing compared to the dramatic contrasts within his new home and the realizations they provided.  This week: poignant stories from Capetown.

This week, Will Tyner, a coder from Silicon Valley, travels to Romania on his Fulbright National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship, to see the power of civic tech unleashed.  On the frontlines with Code for Romania, Will witnesses how the first generation after Communism uses technology to hold their government accountable and makes it a force for good.

A very special episode, featuring the story of Meaza Ashenhafi, Ethiopia's first female Supreme Court Chief Justice. Her story is an inspiration for women and girls everywhere. With over 225,000 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni, each has a story to tell and Maeza Ashafeni has been selected as one of the outstanding #FacesOfExchange. This initiative will highlight 80 years of the IVLP by showcasing 80 accomplished alumni, their lives and leadership, and the impact of their exchanges on the global community. Check out more stories at eca.state.gov/facesofexchange

This week is all about gratitude--for the essential workers keeping us safe and for those we are closest to.  From 91-year-old "Granny" in an assisted living facility in Alabama to a little boy obsessed with garbage trucks, to an international super-host.  With original new songs from Grace Jerry and Nelly's Echo. Graphic: Kate Furby / Photographs: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture & Library of Congress

This episode is all about the power of music--to connect people, to break down barriers, to inspire, and to evoke powerful emotions.  This week: musical inspiration from all over the world and original songs by Giselle Felice & Erik Abernathy, Wordsmith, Seth Glier, Stela Botan, Tony Memmel, Just Wade Tam, and more.  Turn this one up loud!

This week it's all about human connection--valuing it, missing it, and finding creative ways to get it.  Stories about discovering a newfound appreciation for little things, feeling empowered and out of control at the same time, and the magical community-building qualities of the Lily of the Valley.  Plus a premiere of Tim McDonnell's song "Stir Crazy." Graphic: Kate Furby 

This week: Getting to know a musician playing backyard quarantine concerts in his Washington, DC neighborhood.  An exclusive new song from Seth Glier.  A massive recommended reading list from all around the globe.  And more quarantine memes... 

Somehow it’s already our fifth installment of Connecting Through Isolation.  How did that happen?  This week: Inspirational and dramatic poems, original music, stories of perseverance, and how people of all faiths can come together around a common theme.  Plus our first installment of "Quarantine Memes" from our colleague Ana-Maria. Graphic: Kate Furby / Photo credit: Alec Favale

With a bit of stir-craziness setting in, this week's stories remind us of the power of art to connect us and transport us, and the surprising power of flour, sugar, and eggs to bake away our isolation.  Have cupcakes ever seemed so profound? This week: stories from India, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Washington, DC, New York City, Virginia and, my home state, Minnesota. From teenagers in Afghanistan to a Parliamentarian in Europe, to an award-winning Midwestern chef. Graphic: Kate Furby

Our third edition of a global conversation that shows how we are all in this together, so we're never alone. Stories this week about balancing the joys of springtime with the difficult realities of self-isolation, the vital importance of science at this moment, and a wonderful story of how the COVID-19 crisis might look through the lens of an almost-two-year-old. Stories from San Diego, CA; Holyoke, MA; Alexandria, VA, Washington, DC; Hideaway, TX; and rural Lithuania. Graphic: Kate Furby / Photo credit: Nynne Schroder

The second edition of our new global conversation. We’re all alone, but we’re all alone together. As we navigate our collective new reality, stories are still coming in from around the world. More and more we see how things we might have taken for granted before, art, music, culture, even our own families, are supporting us through this. This week we offer a small window into others’ lives, stories came in from Bangladesh and Libya, Oklahoma City and Baltimore. No matter where you live, I hope you’re all staying as safe and healthy as you can.

The first of 22.33's special new series "Connecting Through Isolation," featuring self-recorded clips from 22.33 alumni from around the world who, separated though they may be, are together in social distancing.  In this episode, messages from three continents, original songs, and the sense that, even though we are apart, we are all very much together.  

This week's special bonus episode follows Sabrine Chengane, a Fulbright Scholar from Algeria, who, in the course of an exchange to the University of Nebraska to study public health, found herself at the front lines of the first COVID-19 cases in the United States. Her experiences, conducting research for the school's state-of-the-art quarantine facilities as it began admitting infected patients, were profound. Note: This episode was produced before the global COVID-19 pandemic. We have temporarily paused conducting new 22.33 interviews, but will continue to air curated episodes into the foreseeable future.

Nighat Dad's trip from Pakistan to the United States was also your first time on an airplane. This led to some, well, awkward situations.  But ss a lawyer and digital rights activist, she paved the way for thousands of girls in Pakistan, including Malala, by educating them on safe cyber behavior. Through the Cyber Harassment Help Line, the first of its kind in Pakistan, Nighat fights for women's access to technology and promotes women's rights despite numerous challenges and threats. Note: This episode was produced before the global COVID-19 pandemic.  We have temporarily paused conducting new 22.33 interviews, but will continue to air curated episodes into the foreseeable future.

What happens when you leave your comfort zone to move to another country and are forced to interact with a different culture, a new language, and unique ways of life you might not be used to. In this episode, we take a journey from Illinois to India with Benjamin Simington, a Fulbright student researcher who went to Carthage College in Varanasi. His research focused on Kabir, a medieval Indian mystic and poet, and he shares stories of 30 hour train ride through India solo, swimming in the Ganges, and trusting one's heart knowledge.

"Going to school in Soweto township meant that you had a lot of challenges. However, no challenge was greater than the day your math teacher stopped showing up and the students decided one by one that they no longer needed to be in class. So what did you do? You as a student decided to become the teacher. " This week we interview Labang Nong, from South Africa, who started a youth education and tutoring program called Go Maths in 2004. He visited the United States as part of ECA's prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

This week our guest is Chantal Suissa-Runne, editor of Nieuwwij, the largest multimedia platform on diversity and interfaith matters in the Netherlands. She has founded various projects in the field of interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution, social resilience, youth empowerment, refugee support, and the prevention of radicalization. These include several award-winning initiatives, such as the “Getting to Know your Neighbors” initiative, the "Mo & Moos Jewish-Muslim Leadership" project, the "Democracy in the Classroom" teacher training, and the "180amsterdammers.nl" website.

In this week's episode, we bring you an interview with Susie Meyer, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) from Philadelphia who shares her experiences living and working in Aguascalientes, Mexico as part of her ECA exchange program.

This week, 22.33 brings you a special two-part collaboration with ECA's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Listen to a live recording of interviews with the participants in this year's "Women Heroes of Peace and Security" delegation, including women leaders from South Sudan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Cameroon, Peru, and Libya. Part 2 features Sally Mboumien (Cameroon), Silvia Adrianzen Quintana (Peru), and Hend Elarbi (Libya). Cover art photos courtesy of Miguel Bruna and Nikhita S. on Unsplash.

This week, 22.33 brings you a special two-part collaboration with ECA's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Listen to a live recording of interviews with the participants in this year's "Women Heroes of Peace and Security" delegation, including women leaders from South Sudan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Cameroon, Peru, and Libya. Part 1 features Deborah Awut Mayom (South Sudan), Humaira Saqib (Afghanistan), and Shorouq Shatnawi (Jordan). Cover art photos courtesy of Miguel Bruna and Nikhita S. on Unsplash.

Another tasty selection of crazy food stories from ECA alumni while on their international exchange programs. Enjoy!

This week's episode features Savon Jackson who grew up in the borough of Queens in New York City. Savon traveled to New Delhi and Kolkata, India as part of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Programs. In honor of Black History Month, he describes how he taught his Indian students about Martin Luther King Jr. and about how India's Mahatma Gandhi served as an important inspiration for MLK and the civil rights movement in the United States.

In this week's episode, we interview a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant from Little Rock, Arkansas who traveled to Brazil and soon found herself becoming part of the Gaucho community, and the centerpiece of their annual parade.

Today we bring you a very special episode in celebration of Valentine's Day. Enjoy!

Today we celebrate our 100th episode of life-changing international exchange stories!

The American Film Showcase brings award-winning contemporary American documentaries, independent fiction films, and documentary know-how to audiences around the world, offering a view of American society and culture as seen by independent filmmakers.   The Prosecutors is a feature-length documentary film that tells the story of three dedicated lawyers who fight to ensure that rape in war is not met with impunity. Filmed over five years on three continents, it takes viewers from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Colombia on the long journey towards justice.

On this week's episode, we interview a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow working in Ukraine

The American Music Abroad band tours in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Another installment of crazy food stories features stories from around the world.

In this week's episode, we interview a Fulbright Scholar from Togo who is at the University of Michigan, Flint conducting research on deconstructing ethnicity in African literature.

Life in Slovakia as a Fulbright English Language Teaching Assistant was often similar to what she was used to in the United States... but always just a little different, and often in humorous ways.

The main story follows Gretchen Sanders from small-town Georgia to India and traces how her new life in a completely foreign culture helped her see her situation as an American even clearer, and how becoming closer to American colleagues helped her learn much more about her own country.  The short second story is a slice of surreality from former Yugoslavia and what happens when you get what you ask for…literally.

All your life was spent moving further and further from home, from a village to a bigger village, to a city, and finally abroad, in your quest for a better education. But, now, living half a world away in Michigan, you find that the sacrifices and distances are taking their toll, that for the first time you are truly struggling. So you do something that is at once the hardest and simplest thing to do, you ask for help.

Recorded live at the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Conference in Washington D.C.

As a vocal trio, working without instruments and often singing in a language foreign to your audience, you're worried about how deeply you could resonate. But years and many foreign tours later, you know that not only were your initial worries unwarranted, if anything, you underestimated the power of music to connect.

Happy New Year! -From everyone at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)

Our 12th bonus episode of crazy food stories from around the world.  It's been an amazing first season of 22.33 and we thank all our fans and loyal subscribers for supporting us!  Happy New Year and see you in 2020.

Tony Memmel has never let anyone impose limits on his dreams and he followed his passion to become a successful guitarist, despite the fact that he was born with only one hand. Now he travels the world with the Tony Memmel Band serving as a source of hope for countless others. (Featuring two exclusive “Little Nook” acoustic performances.)

When Munif Khan touched the soil in rural Iowa, it didn't seem much different than the soil in his hometown of Bangladesh. Yet, the fact that there were nearly 157 million fewer people on the same size piece of land meant making some big adjustments.

What started as a curiosity about a unique sounding instrument ultimately led Edward Nassor to the top of the United State's capital city, Washington D.C. Specifically, to the top of the Washington National Cathedral (where this episode was actually recorded) as the man behind the music in the bell tower.

Every step of Amy Avello's journey, from student activist to family court judge in the Philippines, she has had to confront and overcome stereotypes and obstacles. It wasn't easy but she did so gladly and with determination because those for whom she was fighting did not have a voice of their own.

A hospitalization abroad leads to an insight that changes the course of a participant's life and work--and all this while living overseas with a disability.

Muchas personas sueñan con terminar un maratón, pero pocas lo hacen. Increíblemente, Kathy Pico decidió competir en maratones el día en que le amputaron la pierna. (Este es un episodio especial de 22.33 en que les presentamos la versión original de la entrevista en español).

Many people dream of finishing a marathon, but few actually do it. Incredibly, Kathy Pico's decision to start racing began on the day that her leg was amputated. On this special episode of 22.33, we are also releasing the original Spanish language version of the interview as a bonus episode.

Ever wonder how an iconic image comes to be? In this bonus episode, Jen Guyton explains how she got her favorite picture, taken in Mozambique during her Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship.

Jen, a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow, is a photographer and ecologist with a passion for wildlife conservation and communicating nature. She believes that art -- whether it's film, photography, writing, or something else -- has the power to persuade and motivate. That makes it crucial for protecting our wild places.

A special Thanksgiving Day installment of crazy food stories features stories from Yemen, Iraq, Ukraine, Morocco, and the Philippines.

From learning to teach on the fly, to learning absolute obedience to Tajik grandmothers, to learning to adapt to ten-hour taxi rides, Chane Corp kept his wits, his sense of humor, and his love of Central Asia.

Ahmad talks about his family and life in Afghanistan, and cultural experiences he noticed as an exchange student in Kentucky.

Life as a student in Cold War Berlin

From Oakland, California to Rostock, Germany, Julia Follick remembers her pleasant and also intense conversations with her German students. She also recalls fun cultural activities that opened her perspective on cultural differences.

Aleksandra Gren teaches us the importance of mentorship. Chosen among women from women around the world for the elite Fortune Women's Program, she traveled from Poland to the United States as a mentee.  However, her presence was so strong that it wasn't long before the mentee became the mentor--as soon after it was a group of U.S. business people making a trip the other way, to Poland. 

As a Critical Languages Scholar in Hong Kong, your lessons included not only how to speak Chinese, but how the society worked from the ground up and some of the skills you learned (and applied) back home were learned under a sea of umbrellas.

Katie Thornton’s quest to look at cemeteries and death rituals has given her a greater appreciation of the kindness and needs of the living.  A special All Saints Day episode to listen to in your favorite cemetery.

In this installment of food stories, we bring you tales from the United States, India, Portugal, El Salvador, China, and Egypt.

Yasin Dwyer visited the United States as part of a group of international leaders learning about American programs that work to support the developmental aspirations of youth. He talks about his time with IVLP, meeting an Uber driver who could speak to animals, and spirituality in prison.

From a high school exchange student into a museum expert creating her own high-level exchange, Jane Milosch recounts the path that led to her love of Germany and bringing together some of the top art museums in the world.

Recorded at SXSW the day of his film’s premiere, Oscar-winning film producer and director Andrew Hevia recounts his Fulbright grant in Hong Kong—and how a series of near-failures, bold decisions, and artistic risk-taking led to his amazing debut film.

Coming from an arid part of India, Biplab Paul vividly understood the importance of water.  His simple idea about collecting and preserving rainwater—told with passion and humor—has gone on to save countless lives all around the world.

A Lebanese student at Loyola Marymont University, Lucien Bourjeily used the experiences that he learned in Los Angeles to create a film that tackles tough subjects about family, culture, and human instinct.

A veteran of three space missions, including a six-month stay on the International Space Station, astronaut Cady Coleman talks about life in space, living in close quarters with people from different parts of the world, and the importance of sharing her story around the world.

Our ninth installment of crazy food stories features stories from the United States, Syria, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania, India, Colombia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of hip hop’s great forces for good, Baltimore native Wordsmith has traveled around the world showing that music inspires in every culture and that, no matter where you travel, if you open your heart and mind, people will embrace you.

What started as an effort to teach students in her new country (the United States) about life and culture in her old country (Germany) in the 1970’s has now become the longest-running continuous academic exchange between the countries—a program that witnessed the Cold War, the Wall, Reunification, and much more over the years.

A bonus episode glimpse into the career of Rick Ruth, Senior Advisor to ECA for many years, and longtime public diplomacy visionary within the U.S. Department of State.

When Kayla Huemer traveled to India as a biomedical researcher, she worried about finding a community in the land of contrasts. However, it didn't take too long for her to find her people, join an ultimate frisbee team, and participate in India's first national frisbee tournament.

On this bonus episode of 22.33, we ask Kalina Silverman, founder of Big Talk, to answer questions from her very own Big Talk card game, designed to help facilitate in-depth conversations with friends, family, coworkers, and strangers. All the questions in the deck are universal, open-ended, and meaningful. We put a twist on the old fortune cookie game and simply had Kalina add the words "...on your exchange" to every question. Guess what? It works!

When Kalina Silverman went to study  journalism at Northwestern University, she was meeting new people each day, yet still felt a sense of loneliness and superficiality that made her feel isolated and disconnected. So, she tried skipping small talk, and immediately noticed she was making more meaningful connections with her peers. Encouraged by this reaction, she made a video, where she approached strangers and asked them the fist Big Talk question: “What do you want to do before you die?”

How do you mix heartbreaking and hilarious? Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program participant Bilal Khan, from Karachi, Pakistan, tells about his life before, during, and after YES, and the inescapable conclusion is that stories like Bilal's are why we do international exchanges.

On this bonus episode we bring you even more hilarious food stories from around the world.

This week, understanding systems to help individual people; learning to expand your limits of trust; and using words to understand emotions. Join us on a journey from Virginia to the Dominican Republic, and communicating through imagery and empathy.

What happens when you leave your comfort zone, travel to another country, interact with a different culture, a new language, and unique ways of life? Now let's take that a step further. Imagine you are in a place that many would be very afraid to visit, finding yourself in situations like nothing you've ever experienced. How do you trust yourself to make the right decisions? This week, a Fulbright ETA shares stories of her time in Jordan & Syria. It's an audio journey from Vermont to the Middle East, mainly by taxi and bus and taxi.

As a child, when you thought of America, you thought of the Texas plains and cowboys but, as a teenager, when you first traveled to America, your destination was Alaska. Instead of life in the Wild West, you found yourself in the snow hugging trees, literally hugging trees.

The thriving, multicultural neighborhood that you so love wasn't always that way. When you first arrived, it was a place of fear and violence, and thus sadness. A group of courageous and passionate community leaders, including you, set out to change that. You talked to the neighborhood elders. You listened. You started living and leading by example. One of the driving forces of your actions, then and now, is the vital importance of outdoor spaces, places where people meet, and come together, and share their lives. You are listening to 22..33, a podcast of exchanged stories.

A medley of “Little Nook” concerts and original music heard exclusively over the course of 22.33’s first 49 episodes. Featuring Seth Glier, Carla Canales, Francis Tongpalad, Est Est Est, Begish, Derik Nelson & Family, Tony Memmel & Junious.

What started as a great experiment—a virtual exchange between schools in rural Virginia and Amman, Jordan—ended in a heartwarming face-to-face meeting and lifelong friendships.  Moreover, together the students created the “Bottlebot,” a patented tool to help clean the environment.

Stories this month with flavors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Slovenia and other Balkan countries, India, and the United States.

Over the course of programs in Malaysia and Indonesia, Cheyenne finds out how a city girl copes in the jungle, finds herself unexpectedly managing several boy bands, and discovers the grandparents she didn't know she had.

As Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Daniel Mulhall lives and breathes an international lifestyle within an elite group.  But it wasn’t always this way.  In fact, his first international experience came 40 years earlier, in Kansas City, Missouri, toasting hot dog buns in a local cafe.  Yet, without a doubt, Kansas City was the first stop on his road to the foreign service.

This is a study in contrasts:  A high school student from tropical Ghana sent to the freezing plains of southern Minnesota, the adjustment from a small village school to a giant U.S. high school, and the surreal scene of being a Muslim sent to live with pig farmers (during Ramadan no less).  Our hero not only survived, he thrived.

How better to document local environmental changes than by handing out cameras to local coffee farmers in Uganda?  Photographer Tim McDonnell ended up not only getting interesting results, he received back a collection worthy of a gallery show.

Lithuanian Rūta Beinoriūtė threw herself into her expat experience in the United States, both professionally and socially, leaving a positive mark on those whose paths she crossed.  A dream come true, you say?  For sure--at least in the case of one bizarre recurring dream she's had since childhood...

When Stephen Guice took a teaching assignment and moved his large young family to communist Romania he was sure that it would be difficult—especially for the kids—to go without so many of comforts and products they were used to.  What he didn’t anticipate was that, by learning to do more with much less, they would have the time of their lives.

This classically-trained opera soprano is used to performing on the world’s largest stages. But as she travels the world sharing her music as an Arts Envoy, she finds the joy shared between diverse people and cultures is more powerful than standing ovations, and that the place she must sing from is not her diaphragm, but her heart.

Listen to these entertaining food stories from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, India, South Africa, and the United States.

As an orphan raised by her grandfather in rural South Africa, but pushed by her brilliant older brother, Lindiwe Matlali beat the odds and went to the best university in Africa. Now, as the leader of Teen Geeks, she is teaching the next generation to become tech-literate coders, simply by using knitting needles.

A special bonus episode for Father’s Day.  15-year-old Meenu Bhooshanan describes her life-changing experience, learning Arabic in Jordan, halfway across the world from her native Alabama—while her father, Sri, talks about how her journey ended up being life-changing for him as well.

Meeting across a table to share a meal brings people together like nothing else.  In this episode, an American traces his family’s history on a historical food tour through Syria, and in the process discovers a lot about humanity.

We asked high school exchange students from around the world only one question: “Tell us about a time when you said to yourself, ‘I wish my friends or family back could see me now.’”  Their answers will astound you.  (Listen to this one with a box of tissues nearby.)

A blind soccer player and snow skier talks about living life without limits.

Coming from different musical traditions, playing instruments unknown to each other, this American music trio and audiences in Cambodia and Singapore came together over the love of the sounds created by strings.  And once the common language was unlocked, the connections came quick and ran deep.  This episode features the music of Harpeth Rising, including two exclusive “little nook” performances.

Our monthly food episode will have you laughing and drooling.

Sometimes opportunities present themselves in mysterious ways.  When many expats evacuated during a time of political turmoil in Indonesia, this Fulbright professor not only stayed, she found herself in the middle of a group of journalists that would help lead the country into the future and, during the course of those intense days, change the trajectory of her life.

Looking up from the foot of a rainforest is overwhelming.  Imagine what the world looks like from way up there.  Our storyteller today doesn’t have to.  He spends his time in the rainforest canopy, researching and communing with creatures whose entire lives are spent without touching the ground. 

Too cute to eat? Plus, the relationships created and the ethical issues that arise during an excavation at an ancient historical site in Peru.

This U.S. filmmaker wasn't sure how her topical documentaries--one about unconscious bias, another about the gender gap in the tech industry--would play to foreign audiences in dramatically different cultures, but found an even more elemental thread bound them even closer.

What’s it like for Americans living abroad during Ramadan, or international exchange participants in the U.S. during Ramadan? Listen to ECA exchange alumni share their experiences in this bonus episode.

From the deserts of Jordan to the pine forests of Washington State, everything in America should have seemed radically different to this one high school international exchange student. But with his enthusiasm and willingness to try new things, the experience turned out to be a perfect match, right down to playing American football and vying to be Prom king!

22.33’s fourth mash-up of unique, scary, strange, and sometimes delicious food stories from around the world.

The talented sibling trio recount their amazement at hearing their own musical compositions performed for them halfway across the world, while on an ambitious tour that constantly underscored how music can bring people closer together. This episode features original music and an exclusive “little nook” live performance.

She was a perfectionist, successful and with her future mapped out. But traveling alone in Ecuador proved full of unexpected challenges—not least of which was answering the question about what kind of person she was deep down. The longer she was there, the more her life slowed down, until one day she found herself immovably in the present.

Please enjoy our 6th bonus episode of the year: an interview with Dr. Bernadett Szél, a Hungarian economist, politician, and member of the National Assembly.

Based in South Carolina to teach Arabic to American university students, Salma Oubkkou found herself in the path of a major hurricane—and completely new weather phenomenon to her. Her experiences, including a full school evacuation, turned out to be a dramatic, but effective, way to cure her homesickness.

Wise beyond his years, high school junior Luke Tyson took advantage of a year abroad in India not only to learn Hindi, but to dive deeply into foreign cultural traditions, religion, and the practice of mindfulness—with a little Bollywood thrown in for good measure.

The concept was simple, Award-winning American chef Lenny Russo would go to a small country he knew little about, meet farmers and food producers and transform their ingredients using traditional American techniques.  However, what happened when the cameras started rolling was a surreal series of events—and it was Chef Russo who was ultimately transformed.

22.33’s monthly mash-up of unique, scary, strange, and sometimes delicious food stories from around the world.

A life-long love of milk tea, lead Lillygol to consider her environmental footprint, leading to a fellowship in Taiwan to study waste management, all the while practicing hip hop diplomacy.

As more opportunities for women open up in Saudi Arabia, previously unattainable pursuits become not only possible but essential.  This week: Three groundbreaking Saudi women soccer coaches and players, whose love for the sport is benefitting countless young girls—and whose imaginations were changed forever after an intense tour to U.S. women’s soccer programs.

Ever wonder how an iconic image comes to be?  In this bonus episode, American cowboy, writer, photographer Ryan Bell talks about the challenge of representing Kazakhstan's ancient horse culture with a single image, how he managed it, and how many ways it almost didn't happen.

American cowboy Ryan Bell never imagined that he would find himself riding on the steppe, teaching Russians the art of cattle-wrangling, but once he was there it seemed perfectly natural.  Later, when he discovered the ancient horse culture in Kazakhstan he realized that “people of the grass” are kinfolk around the world. 

Tired of watching women and girls targeted, kidnapped, and killed in a region of Nigeria controlled by Boko Haram terrorists, Fatima Askira has fearlessly dedicated her life to creating opportunities to educate, train, and empower the females in her community. She has created a network where women can better protect themselves and look to the future with optimism.

22.33’s second mash-up of unique, scary, strange, and sometimes delicious food stories from around the world.

When Alaa Mahmooud was 8 years old he saw a picture of his father in front of the U.S. Capital building. He didn’t know what it was at the time, but he knew he wanted to go there someday as well.  He did— and his journey to get there— and the path his life has taken— from the shadows of the Egyptian Pyramids to an amusement park in New Jersey— is unforgettable.

Though she grew up in New York City, Amanda Trabulsi never actually felt like she fit in until she landed in Kyrgyzstan, a faraway place that she knew little about. But then, as she looked like the locals, learned the local language, and taught local pop stars, she learned just how American she had been all along.

A Valentine's Day bonus: When Collin Walsh went to Bangladesh to learn the Bengali language, he had several goals in mind, including securing his future career. But of much greater concern was learning the language and culture enough to secure the woman he loved.

Musician Seth Glier traveled to Mongolia, China & Ukraine, connecting with foreign artists and audiences, learning to appreciate new cultural traditions, and learning more about his own country in the process. He performs a couple of songs in our tiny studio and premieres a song recently put together using sounds sampled during his trip.

Will Langford knew that Kenya would be very different than Detroit, but as an African American he never expected to be called a “white man” simply because of his American accent.  His memorable enlightenment about race, wealth, and language led others not only to rethink their idea of America, but to help Will find himself as well.

22.33’s first monthly mash-up of unique, scary, strange, and sometimes delicious food stories from around the world.

Eaint Thiri Thu never set out to be a human rights activist.  She did not like what was happening to minority populations in her country, but it was only when the government pushed to silence her that her anger and stubbornness not to be quieted emerged, along with courage and the sense that what she is meant to do is speak for those without a voice.

Because she was required to do a project during her exchange program in Jordan, Grace Benton volunteered to teach English to Sudanese refugees.  What started as a lark (and with her literally falling on her face when she first met her students) led to the creation of a school program that still exists, and a passion for the plight of refugees that continues to color Grace’s life.

Eric Swinn found himself in St. Petersburg, Russia, tasked with teaching English to marginalized students who sometimes didn’t even speak Russian.  Describing his regular trips from the city center to the end of the metro line in a barely inhabited village—firmly in the present, but always conscious of Russia’s deep and heavy past.

Xatyswa Maqashalala tells her life story, how a tragic misdiagnosis in her youth, combined with poor health care, led to her permanent disability—and how difficult it was to be young and disabled in a place without any special accommodations. Yet, as the result of all she went through, Xatyswa is determined to help others avoid her fate, and to live with dignity.

Husham Al-Thahabi never set out to be a hero. As he saw more and more orphans and homeless people in his community, he took it upon himself to create a center where needy community members would be cared for and trained for careers.  As time went on and the community flourished, an entire village with the name Al-Thahabi stands as a testament to his legacy.

American professional soccer player Joanne Lohman recounts a trip to sub-Saharan Africa as a sports envoy only to learn that her team didn’t own shoes, despite the fact that turf was burning hot.  With stories about girl-power, toughness, and teamwork, Lohman returned feeling she gained at least as much as she gave.

Four life-changing stories from around the world about challenges, commitment, isolation, vulnerability, perseverance, and triumphs.

Featuring first-person stories of people finding themselves in the middle of a culture that is foreign to them; each week, 22.33 will deliver interesting tales from people who share how they were able to create mutual understanding through cultural exchange.