What if “home” isn’t where you were born, but where your habits, friendships, and values finally make sense? 

Brian sits down with Dorothée Chareyon, a French educator who has lived in China, Hong Kong, and now India, to unpack the lived reality of expat life—beyond visas and job titles. The conversation threads through identity, safety, community, and the quiet rituals that either divide us or pull us closer.

Dorothée offers a clear, human definition of an expat—someone who lives and works outside their home country—and then complicates it in the best way with stories. We explore the peach vs coconut model of culture, why “yes” can hide “no,” and how saving face shapes communication across Asia. From open doors in apartment buildings to honking as road language, everyday norms become maps you can learn to read. Along the way, we talk about building community after moving during COVID, the pull of local friendships, and the unwritten rules you only learn by asking a neighbor instead of a guidebook.

Food becomes a passport in its own right: Kerala fish curries, South Indian coffee with chicory, and India’s many kinds of spinach sit alongside France’s endless cheeses. We compare traveler vs tourist mindsets, and how language—asking for a “parcel,” ordering “filter coffee,” choosing “Americano”—signals respect. There’s a deeper current too: leaving home can sharpen your view of it. Brian shares candid reflections on safety and belonging, and why raising a child in India changed his sense of what matters. Dorothée describes the freedom and challenge of a life abroad, and how simplicity on a Ladakh trek recalibrated her idea of comfort.

If you’re considering life abroad or want to thrive where you’ve landed, this conversation offers practical guidance and honest encouragement. Do your homework, then make space for surprise. Learn local codes, taste the local story, and let the place change you. Enjoy the episode, and if it resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

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If you would like to connect to the host (Brian Hooks), please reach out to [email protected] or check out or website at BCH Coaching – BCH Coaching