A podcast that shares the stories of people who grew up in a culture outside of their parents' culture.
Season 3 is here! In this special first episode of our new season, we will be talking about five of our favorite movies that feature stories about growing up between cultures. We will tell you all about the plot (no spoilers though!), cultural themes, and our favorite moments for each movie.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Angelica tells us all about how she adapted to life in the U.S. after moving to Miami from Indonesia with her family at ten years old. She talks about why she always found it hard to speak up in class as a student in America, shares the Indonesian saying that her father uses whenever she hasnāt called him for a few days, and explains the benefits of being trilingual.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Amelia tells us all about growing up in Northern Virginia with a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. She shares some of the humorous ways her mom has mispronounced English words, explains why she canāt understand Bad Bunny lyrics despite being fluent in Spanish herself, and expresses her love for the many Puerto Rican and Dominican dishes containing plantains.
In this episode of Culture In Between, David tells us all about growing up with Cuban parents. He fills us in on why the Cuban Spanish accent is so recognizable, what itās like to experience rolling blackouts in Cuba, and why itās sometimes hard to receive much sympathy from his parents
In this episode of Culture In Between, Maggie shares the harrowing tale of her motherās escape from Vietnam during the Vietnam War. She also tells us why bĆ”nh mi is the perfect lunch food and how her perspective of Americaās role in Vietnamese history differs from her familyās.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Alex joins us to talk about growing up in Miami with a Greek father and a Cuban mother. She describes a funny moment when her Cuban Spanish was misunderstood by her Argentinian clients, explains why she appreciates the spirit of collectivism that she has experienced while visiting her fatherās Greek village, and details the heartwarming way that her parents met.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Cepee Tabibian, founder of She Hit Refresh, joins us to talk about growing up in Texas with an Iranian father and a Colombian mother. She shares with us how she felt about her unique name growing up and the ways in which Iranian culture and Colombian culture are not as different as one might think. She also describes the struggle that she faced between living up to her parentsā expectations and following her entrepreneurial spirit as well as how becoming an immigrant herself has helped her appreciate certain aspects of her parentsā lives even more than before.
Season 2 is here! In this special first episode of our new season, we will be talking about five of our favorite books that feature stories about growing up between cultures. We will tell you all about the plot (no spoilers though!), cultural themes, our favorite moment, and our favorite quote for each book. If youāre looking for your next vacation read for the summer or are just desperate for recommendations, we are here to help!
In our final episode of Season 1, we have a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion about growing up Indian-American with Anuj. He tells us about missing out on girlfriends due to beliefs around being born at the wrong time of day, why he hates being asked where he is from, and expresses his appreciation for the Indian representation in the hit Netflix show āNever Have I Ever.ā
In this episode of Culture In Between, Alex shares his story about the complexities and joys of growing up with a Lebanese father and a Jamaican mother of Lebanese descent. He explains his journey toward ultimately identifying as Arab rather than White, why he has mixed feelings as a ānon-Black person of colorā whenever he goes back to Jamaica, and how homophobic sentiments in his parentsā home countries have kept him from feeling truly integrated into either culture. This episode also features another shoutout to cross-cultural icon Shakira, who also has a Lebanese background.
In this episode of Culture In Between, June tells us all about how he adapted to life in the U.S. after moving from Seoul to San Francisco with his family at nine years old. He talks about why he has always liked to challenge his motherās expectations of him, why he respects Psy more than recent K-pop idols, and how he learned English while playing street basketball.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Joanne (a.k.a. āSalsa Mamiā on social media) shares her memories of being raised in a military family by parents who made sure to impart their Puerto Rican culture to her and her siblings wherever they went. She tells us about whether or not her family in Puerto Rico identifies as American and how she learned more Spanish than her older siblings out of necessity.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Keshan joins us to talk about his upbringing in the āLittle Guyanaā neighborhood in Queens, New York. He also tells us about his experience visiting his grandparentsā home in the Guyanese jungle, gives his input on the ācurry chickenā vs. āchicken curryā debate, and explains why Guyana is generally considered a Caribbean country despite being located in South America.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Tammi tells us about the stories that her parents shared about what life was like for them in their home country and what she feels gets lost in the intense popularization of Korean entertainment. She also talks about how knowing the Korean language helped her understand her heritage and deepened her relationships with her family back in Korea.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Juan joins us to talk about feeling like he needed to hide his Colombian heritage during his childhood in Boca Raton, Florida before ultimately striving to embrace it more as he got older. He also tells us about why heās grateful that his parents only spoke Spanish with him growing up, having to combat negative stereotypes about Colombia, and his love for Shakira.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Becca describes her unique upbringing in a small village in the Philippines while her parents were American missionaries there. Becca tells us many stories about growing up in the country from birth to age 19, including her love of Filipino foods and the mishaps she found herself in due to not understanding American culture during her few brief stints going to school in the U.S.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Ashleigh shares what it was like growing up in Portland, Oregon with an Australian dad. She chats with us about celebrating Australia Day, identifying as an Australian from an early age, being a college student for a year Down Under, and whether or not all of the wildlife in Australia actually does want to kill you.
In this inaugural episode of the Culture In Between podcast, the hosts Alyssa and Brianna introduce themselves and talk about their Jamaican heritage. They also discuss how recent SNL skits about immigrant parents inspired the idea behind the podcast, why they believe talking about growing up between cultures is important, and what listeners can expect in future episodes. Welcome!
