Living with Chronic Illness, Conflict Zones & Expat Lifestyle 🩺 🌎

🌍 🥼 What’s it like to live in Baghdad, Beirut, Phnom Penh, Lagos, and Curaçao — all while battling Lyme disease and Hashimoto’s? In this powerful episode of the Expat Experts Podcast, we sit down with Vashti Kanahele, functional medicine practitioner, author, and founder of Passports & Parasites.

What happens when chronic illness meets global adventure? 🌍 In this episode of Expat Experts, I chat with Vashti Kanahele — author and founder of Passports & Parasites — about what it’s like to live in conflict zones, rebuild your health abroad, and find meaning far from home.

💬 We dive into: 
✅ Her experience living in Iraq, Lebanon, Cambodia, Nigeria & Curaçao 
✅ Her battle with Lyme disease & Hashimoto’s 
✅ What functional medicine taught her about survival 
✅ The real truths behind expat life (hint: it's not all beach photos)

📲 Follow Vashti on:
https://passportsandparasites.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vashtikanahele/
https://www.facebook.com/vashti.kanahele/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vashti-kanahele-2a9b4911a/

📚 Vashti books:
Passports and Parasites

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:45 Guest Background & Expat Journey
• 16:04 Biggest Challenges & Surprising Moments
• 33:02 Expat Life Hack & Advice
• 34:18 Cultural Deep Dive & Fun Comparisons
• 47:34 Audience Q&A
• 51:27 Guest Promotion
• 53:59 Funny Story & Wrap-up

Transcript

0:00
Welcome to expert experts. Today's guest is Bashti Kahel. Someone who has one of
0:06
the most powerful expat journeys we have ever shared. Bashti lived in Baghdad,
0:12
Beirut, Snumpen, Lagos, and Kurasau. Not as a tourist, but as a long-term
0:17
resident. Now add to that surviving two chronic illnesses while navigating
0:22
foreign health care systems and rebuilding a new life back in the US. In
0:27
this episode, we will explore her life, how she adapted, lived and dealt with her chronic illness in all these
0:33
countries. On top of that, we will talk about her book and coaching project, Passports and Parasites. So, sit back,
0:41
relax, and let's explore this expert experience together. So, um really happy
0:47
to have you here, Vashai. Um, welcome to Expert Experts. Um, welcome.
0:54
Thank you so much for having me on. Um, so yeah, you lived in a lot of
1:00
places, so I think this episode will be one of the long uh, as we say in Spanish, coffee, dark coffee for coffee
1:07
drinkers. Let's say like this hardcore thing, but uh, maybe we start from like
1:15
rewinding a bit and then going uh, to your origins. I think you are from the
1:20
US, correct? Yes. Yep. I am originally from Washington State on the west coast of the United States.
1:27
Nice. And what bring you to the first move abroad?
1:32
Um, so my husband's job, that's why we have so many moves, which I know we're going to talk about. Um, but we move
1:38
every two to three years generally for my husband's job. So um the first place
1:44
that I went overseas with him to to live was of all places Baghdad, Iraq, uh
1:51
2009, so during during the war still um which was you know jumping into a whole
1:58
other lifestyle that I wasn't used to and also going into a conflict zone which is its own set of you know new
2:06
things. Wow. I mean that seems like a big uh
2:12
jump to do. No, like it's not that you're moving. It was your first ever move abroad and you go to a conflict
2:19
area in a not so nice nice moment of the of the territory. How how was it? How do
2:26
you remember arriving there the first time? You know, I remember arriving there on a um military aircraft which uh my husband
2:34
wasn't in the military at the time. He worked for the State Department. Um so our like diplomatic corps but um at that
2:42
time you know we we were coming in on a C130 which is a a military aircraft and
2:47
I just remember thinking like what am I doing here? because then I proceeded to get on a helicopter and you know there's
2:54
like a a gunner in the door and we're just like going over the Iraqi countryside to go to down by the embassy
3:00
and I just had this moment like what what am I doing?
3:06
Can't imagine. I mean it's not the normal entry into a country either. So yeah. No,
3:13
generally not. No. Have you entered other places in a more calm way though afterwards? I hope.
3:19
Oh yes. Everything else has been, you know, pretty normal.
3:24
So I have the list, but I would like I would love you to say it because it's
3:30
pretty impressive. Like what has been your years like uh abroad more or less like you know it by memory.
3:37
Yeah. Yeah. And you know the other day I was messaging you with it. Um so 2009 to
3:42
2010 we were in Iraq. Then 2010 to 2012 we lived in um Beirut, Lebanon. And then
3:50
we had a brief stint back in the United States. Um and then we went to Ponampen,
3:57
Cambodia from 2013 to 2015. And then we went back to the US for a couple years
4:04
in Dallas, Texas. And then we went to Lagos, Nigeria from 2017 to 2020. And
4:11
then in 2020, we went to Ciraasau in the Dutch Caribbean. It's an island right
4:16
down by Colombia and Venezuela. And then from there, we went back to Virginia,
4:22
which is where I'm talking to you from today. And then next month, we're moving to Cairo, Egypt.
4:29
So, here we go again. So, it's not it's not over. There is more countries coming.
4:36
Crazy. Crazy. like and it's it's very different places. It's just like I don't know like I can
4:42
imagine that from Nigeria to Coraso things are absolutely different and like
4:48
nothing to to to compare with. No, I I assume that the the cultures are very
4:55
different but languages also so of course how it's language very different.
5:00
uh curo is actually Spanish papu which is like the local uh dialect and
5:07
then also um Dutch because it was a former Dutch colony course. So and then English because so everyone there spoke
5:13
about four different languages. But the interesting thing that was similar is that you had so many uh West Africans
5:21
who came to the Caribbean during the slave trade. So you do have aspects of
5:26
the African West African culture there. Crazy. Yeah.
5:32
How do you immerse in so many cultures like or do you live in a bubble in this
5:37
in kind of situation? I would say some of both. Right. In Baghdad, it was definitely a bubble. Uh
5:43
it was a active war zone. We were had very limited ability to you know really
5:49
interact with Iraqis much and learn much which was I was sad about but that was the situation. And then, you know,
5:56
moving every couple of years, you know, I always try to immerse myself as much as possible in that time frame that
6:02
we're there because I think it's really important and that's how you build a life somewhere, right? But also, it's
6:08
it's also not as great as people that go as expats more long term to places because I don't have the ability to
6:15
learn the language as much as I would want and things like that. So, um I'm
6:20
just constantly reinventing myself honestly. I mean definitely like the language is
6:27
very difficult. I don't think you can do it like in a time span of like one two years. So that's it's
6:34
I mean you move with English. I mean at least you have the base of a of a language that is spoken in a lot of
6:39
places or that there is always some one to five. But what about more like personal connections also? Because in
6:45
two three years it's always this time that you start to have good connections or people that you might consider good
6:51
friends and then you're living again. How do you deal with that? And that's really hard. And I've learned to always say until we meet again. You
6:58
know, it's never goodbye because the world is very small now because of technology. And so you can always stay
7:04
connected to those people that become close friends. But it's hard because like you said, you're getting into your
7:12
community. You're finding your people amongst expats and and people local people as well. And then it's time to
7:19
go. And so it it makes it hard and sad, you know, because we don't have those
7:24
longer relationships. But I will say that I am still friends with people. They were just over at my house that I
7:31
met in Iraq, you know, so in 2009. So that you just you do we live in a time
7:37
where you can keep those connections, which is wonderful, but you need to make an effort to keep
7:43
Absolutely. You always have to make an effort. Yeah. What about feeling integrated in the
7:50
sense of like arriving to a place and immediately felt it like home or or
7:55
being an alien? Absolutely. At first that place it does it happen often when you move to these places that you think
8:01
oh not in here I feel like from the first moment
8:06
happy. Yeah. So uh Lebanon I really loved which some people might be like oh that sounds
8:13
so interesting but I loved it there. Um, absolutely. Um, and Ciraau also I felt
8:19
like, oh, I could live on this island for the rest of my life and be very happy. Um, and then I think the hardest
8:26
place that I outside of Iraq just for obvious reasons. Um, that I really kind
8:32
of struggled with was Nigeria, which I ended up absolutely really enjoying living in. But those initial months I
8:40
felt very isolated and um alone. It was
8:45
it was a very difficult time for me. Um and I had two little kids. So there's a
8:50
lot of things that go into that, right? You're not the ability to get out because I'm have a baby and a toddler and and that adds sort of to that that
8:58
feeling of aloneeness sometimes until you are able to go out and find your
9:03
community. Absolutely. as something that I wanted to ask you
9:08
also like the concept of home no that's also something that I discussed with people who are more like digital nomads
9:15
and they are always traveling and these kind of things how has the concept of what it's home
9:20
changed uh after traveling so much like because do you still consider I don't know your
9:28
place of born your home or no longer or home is what you bring with you and that's it
9:33
home is where my family is you know like my well my immediate family my husband
9:38
and my children definitely where we are together we can create a home anywhere
9:44
um and the United States yes is always my home but the world is really my home I feel
9:51
like I don't have it's very hard my husband and I have talked about this like where do we
9:56
retire someday because we can't decide where we want to go which isn't a
10:02
terrible problem but we have been so many places that we feel comfortable
10:07
living long term that it might not be here, you know. Um, and so it's just
10:13
kind of home is where my people are. Nice.
10:18
Which is also interesting and I want to definitely ask about it like you are a
10:24
mother who had the children abroad. So it's normally not an easy
10:31
process or especially if you don't speak the languages you I mean definitely we would talk about health care systems and
10:38
the whole reason why you have a book at the end. No exactly but how how is it for for your children
10:45
actually to be moving so constantly? I mean for an adult you take it but from a
10:51
child it's either a game or it's like something complicated. Yeah. And it's been a game until this
10:57
move, honestly. Uh this upcoming move to Egypt. I now have a almost 13year-old
11:02
and a 10-year-old and they have made, you know, friendships and
11:08
it's hard for them to leave now. And there, my oldest is equal parts excited and sad because she she loves to travel.
11:16
That's all she's ever known, you know. And so she's like, "When do we go to our next country?" and you know I want to
11:23
see more of the world and things like that and my youngest is just a little bit sad you know and so you have that
11:30
feeling as a parent what are we doing are we doing the right thing you know
11:35
conversely they've seen so much of the world that they see it through a different lens which I think is really
11:40
important especially in this time and so um you know they know what it's like to
11:47
to not have access to food and basics and and see kids that don't have that
11:53
access to things that we take for granted every day. And so I think that's really
11:59
important. But there's also this this drawback of the upheaval of moving them
12:04
once again. Yeah, of course. I mean, and kids, they
12:09
take things differently also. Of course, like that's different. It's difficult to imagine what what they are thinking. No,
12:15
all the time. So, right. Yeah. I mean, we know how to process it and it's still hard.
12:20
Absolutely. That's if it's difficult for us, I don't know. Like, I imagine it's harder or maybe it's not like that.
12:26
Maybe it's easier for them. I don't know. We just don't know always. And so, it makes it a little bit tough.
12:35
So, what about your your daily life in
12:40
these countries? Because at the end I assume your husband needed to go to work in to an office in every place where you
12:46
move and then did you work during that time or you were on your own and what what were you
12:52
doing? So for the first few years so I would say I was I was working in Baghdad. I
12:58
had to have a job in order to go. I couldn't just follow along. So um I was working at the the US embassy in Baghdad
13:05
and then same in Beirut I worked and then in Panama Pen I also worked and
13:10
then um I had my oldest and I was still working part-time and then I had my
13:16
youngest in Bangkok when we lived in Cambodia and we can I'm sure we'll talk about that. And um so I did work those
13:24
first few years and then I took some time away um mostly when we moved to Nigeria and um it was hard. It was
13:32
different, right? Because you meet a lot of people when you go to the office. Um so then it just became more about,
13:38
you know, going to meeting other moms, um other expats, um
13:44
and things like that. Just a different way, a different approach to to meeting people honestly at that point. Um, and
13:50
it was good in many ways. I we I still have lifelong friends from from that
13:56
time. But it it just changed and it was like I said in Nigeria a little bit more like alone in the beginning until
14:03
especially if you arrive somewhere in the summer a lot of expats leave places in the summer and they go back to their
14:09
home countries you know and so then you arrive and like there's nobody there
14:16
and so you're just trying to figure out your your way a little bit and it just depends on where you're at like if you
14:22
have the use of public transportation um and things like that which there we
14:28
did not. So it was just it was a different setting.
14:33
What's the thing that impacted you the most or the country that you say okay like not not culturally wise but you
14:39
arrive there and you said okay this is not what I was expecting of this country even if you read it or research it but
14:45
then in the place was not like that at all. Yeah. So I would say two Beirut because
14:52
in America anyway, Lebanon's always in the news as like this like you know sort of hot spot of terrorism etc etc. And I
15:00
got there and I was like this is this amazing like cosmopolitan you know very you know metropolitan
15:08
beautiful city with beautiful people, beautiful culture everything. I loved it. Then when we got to Nigeria, this is
15:16
what I would also tell people is not to have these like sort of preconceived ideas about places, you know. I was like
15:22
I didn't know what to expect. The beginning was hard. And then I found this this amazing community that I
15:28
didn't want to leave, you know, and so you just don't know how something is going to be from that moment that you
15:33
get there and how it sort of transcends and then then you have to leave. But um
15:40
those were two different places where I just didn't quite know what to expect. I guess you never know what to expect but
15:45
um just if you're looking from like media perspective
15:51
uh they were vastly different. Okay. So what did it's arriving to the media in US were not what you found in
15:58
there like it's like different perspective. Both were lovely places.
16:04
Cool. Just very different. So maybe we touched a little bit of the
16:10
health challenges that you had. Uh I mean I wanted to touch the the health
16:15
from two perspective. The first one is like giving birth into different countries that are not your home. Uh and
16:23
then of course like more intense health challenges that you that you had like
16:28
navigating like Lyme disease and uh um while living abroad. Uh maybe we
16:35
start with with the giving birth first and sure. How was that experience? Because I imagine like I mean you said
16:42
one in Bangkok and the other one uh one was in Seattle. So I did have one here in the United States. My oldest
16:48
daughter Cara was born in the US which was just like the US health care system
16:54
is what it is. But it's um like when you go in to have a baby, like you're there for maybe 48 hours max, like depending
17:02
on like the type of birth that you have, okay? Um and how things go with the baby. Obviously, if necessary, you're going to
17:08
be there longer. But generally, it's just sort of 36 hour time frame. And so I was like, I had her and we left
17:15
and I felt completely unprepared and I was like, what do I do with this tiny human? And which is pretty common.
17:22
Conversely, then we're we were in um living in Cambodia, but we were not
17:27
allowed to um have our give birth there. Just the the uh like NICU care in case
17:35
the baby came early just wasn't sufficient if something were to go wrong in a in pregnancy. So I went to Bangkok
17:44
and I had her I had Kate there and it was like the so great one everybody did
17:51
speak English so that that barrier wasn't there. Um there's a lot of medical tourism there so they really
17:57
cater to especially Europeans and um I think
18:02
people from the Gulf. So um you know and then I did hire an Australian midwife to
18:08
help me navigate the system. She lived there. She knew the system. I was coming
18:13
in, right? And I was like, I need some some help would be great here. Um, and she was wonderful. And, um, 4 days after
18:22
I had her, I was like, can I go home now? Like they were taking care of me. I was getting massages. I was having like
18:28
they were just helping take care of the baby. It was really different. I was like, okay, this is, you know, very
18:35
different from the US model. and actually a very wonderful model where
18:41
the mother is more taken care of which is not something you see in the United States really
18:46
curious I wasn't expecting that experience I mean I wasn't expecting that there is countries where you're not
18:52
allowed to give birth either uh I mean not it's not allowed it's that probably they don't recommend you know like
18:59
the company right obviously um people give birth every day in Cambodia and
19:05
it's fine right um But just um for for
19:10
my husband's work, they were like, "We would prefer that you you know either go
19:15
back meeting certain criterias or whatever." Yeah. Or go to to this area where they
19:21
have high-risisk pregnancy. Uh they can facilitate that. So um that was really
19:28
why um it's always like kind of a weird thing because people have babies everywhere every day. Um, so that's sort
19:35
of the the pregnancy side of things, which was, you know, I think different than people would expect, right,
19:42
when you talk about it. Um, and then when we're talking about, um, like Lyme
19:48
disease and Hashimoto's, um, when we lived in Cambodia, I got bit by a bug of
19:54
undetermined origin at the time. Um, I can still remember it where I was when
20:00
it happened and it just didn't heal. I was pregnant, so we just didn't know
20:05
like kind of what was going on. And, uh, after I had Kate, it just still didn't
20:10
heal. I was tired and I was like, "Okay, I have a baby, but I kind of know the difference between motherhood, new, you
20:17
know, new baby fatigue, versus like this feeling that I'm sick, but I can't figure out like what's going
20:24
on." And so, um, I ended up coming back to the United States because we just
20:30
couldn't figure out what was going going on. And I, that's when I was introduced to naturopathic medicine and I met a
20:36
doctor in Seattle who really well actually diagnosed me with it, you know, based on lab tests and other
20:43
things like that. Um, but that was the sort of the beginning of the journey. But then I had to leave again, you know.
20:49
So it wasn't like I could stay and be with my care team and really dive into it. I mean, I was walking around with
20:55
all the medications, all the supplements, all the things, but I was still um uh you know, basically on my
21:04
own. Um and then we moved to Texas at that time and there just wasn't the care
21:09
there that I needed um for Lyme disease. So, I was always doing it remotely,
21:14
which is not really ideal when you're dealing with a chronic illness like Lyme disease. And then I was diagnosed
21:20
with Hashimoto's, which is autoimmune thyroiditis, which is a autoimmune
21:26
autoimmune disease. And that's really common when you have something like Lyme disease to have that. But again, I was
21:33
diagnosed with that when we were living in Nigeria, and I was just like, I don't know what
21:39
I'm going to do because there's like lifestyle things that you're supposed to do. Not eat gluten, not eat dairy, not
21:45
eat soy, not eat all these things. And I was like, I'm I'm in West Africa. Like, I don't
21:52
I don't have a choice. I don't I don't have all of the the things available to me all the time,
21:58
right? Um, but I made it work. Um, and then I wrote a book about it. Um, but
22:05
you know, it was it was hard to be away from my care team. But that's also what
22:10
took me out of working in international development and working for the government and then starting my own
22:17
health coaching practice and later became a functional medicine practitioner because I know what it's
22:22
like to be misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, all of the
22:27
things. And then to also not have your care team with you. So I work with people remotely. Now a lot of people
22:34
that have Hashimoto's or people that have lime, mold disease, things like that, um that just have a harder time
22:41
getting the treatment that they need in the conventional care system, which we need the conventional care system. There
22:47
are just other um sometimes disease states that that aren't treated as well
22:52
in that system. So um that's kind of what led me down the path. um to to work
22:59
to the work that I do now. Interesting. I mean I I I know very few
23:06
about the functional medicine, but I know very few about medicine in general. So it's not it's not like I've luckily
23:12
never been to to Zik or like they said some bones out or whatever. So um for
23:18
for those like me, what what is functional medicine? How do you describe your your the job that you do? So, we're
23:24
really looking at the root cause of why you're sick, right? Um, there's so much
23:32
illness now that people are getting diagnosed with autoimmune disease, with
23:38
Lyme disease is becoming much more prevalent. But I that's a lot more due to things like global warming and just
23:45
having those bugs in many other places now than they were before. Um, and then
23:52
so we're looking at, okay, why are you sick? Let's not necessarily just throw
23:57
medication at you. Let's really work on helping you get better and stay better.
24:04
Um, medications most definitely have their place in this world. Um, but you
24:09
know, we especially in the United States have a lot of chronic illness. And so it's it's working with people on that
24:15
lifestyle, diet, things that people can do at home
24:22
to help them feel better. Uh, but that isn't always, you know, solve the problem. We're
24:29
looking at also stress reduction and all of those things that we all talk about that really is a a causitive factor in
24:37
why so many people are sick now. Yeah. I mean that's one of the things that I wanted to to ask you also like
24:43
mental health in general like how how was it to be abroad or be in a in a
24:49
place and then suddenly because of a bite of of an insect uh your world changes? No also because I mean I mean
24:57
and that for sure was a toll on your on your mental health at some point.
25:03
Absolutely. Yes. Absolutely. And you know I got we were moving at that same
25:08
time internationally. So back from Cambodia to Dallas, Texas which also was
25:13
not my home state. I didn't know anybody. I'm completely alone in that environment as well. And my husband was
25:21
traveling all the time for work. And so I was there with a baby and a two-year-old
25:27
and I was really really sick and it was very difficult time just mental
25:32
health-wise. I I just never felt good. And when you don't feel good, your mental health really isn't great either,
25:40
you know. Um and so I I struggled. I I won't say that I didn't. Um and so I was
25:48
lucky enough to have like my mother-in-law and my mom come and help me because I thought I could do it all. foretold,
25:54
push through, do it all. You know, you you've got this. Don't don't complain.
26:00
And then one day, I was just like, "No, I can't actually do all of this on my
26:06
own. I'm I'm struggling." And so, um, yeah, I was lucky to have my
26:11
mom and and my mother-in-law be able to come and help me during that time. It it's just something that I think that
26:17
needs to be addressed more often in people even if you're not chronically sick just in general the amount of
26:23
mental health issues that we see in the world because of stress and every
26:30
life in general and we're just told not to deal with it and especially in my the
26:35
world that I live in and um we we're see how do I put this mental
26:42
health was not always a um something that No, there was no awareness.
26:48
No, there was not a lot of awareness. Yeah, absolutely. I mean I think we come most of us from I mean unless the new
26:56
generations maybe they are changing a bit but the the our generations everything was like I don't know like
27:02
psychologist and psychiatrics were for mental problems mental problems and that's it
27:09
and this whole like pushing and things and uh okay you are sad just be happy and things doesn't work like that it's
27:16
not that easy exactly unfortunately it would be very very nice
27:22
to be just like okay I force myself to be happy and that's it and then that solve all my problems but it's not the
27:27
reality so but it's not how it works right absolutely not so I think there's so much more
27:33
awareness around it now and that's good where you know hopefully the younger generations will continue to carry that forward
27:39
nice what about the fact of I suppose you needed to explain that wherever you
27:45
went like arriving to a new place and with your probably with your medicines
27:51
which I don't know you cross the border and they okay now I need to explain again this is the medicine for that and
27:57
this is for that and then I don't know if you needed to do any regular check or anything in the doctor you needed to
28:03
explain everything again yeah and they don't and like lime is a weird thing that's not always recognized
28:11
by every doctor they'll be like you don't really have that or you know there's like a lot of weirdness around
28:18
it and so Um, I actually would often just go back home, which is not ideal,
28:24
but that's where my doctor was and like that's where I felt I was getting the best care. So,
28:30
I would usually go back, but it it made it Yeah, it was tough because not
28:35
everybody believes like, oh, you have Lyme disease. Uh, even though I clearly have paperwork that says that I do. Um,
28:42
so just reexplaining it and um, you know, being believed. oftentimes people
28:48
are sick and they're especially women and they're not nobody believes them. So, okay, hitting up against that as
28:53
well. Uh maybe one last question before we we
28:59
jump to to your life hack and advice. Uh I moved three, four countries already
29:05
now. Uh how do you move all your stuff? It's the moving is always a nightmare.
29:12
I'm trying to break a little bit the the health moment but it's just like how do
29:17
you do like do you have play like do you take your husband jobs take care of of each
29:23
they do so I am I am very lucky in that we have a certain weight limit right and
29:28
so within that weight limit we can ship items um and so in that aspect I am very
29:35
lucky because I know that a lot of people have to either get containers or they just sell everything and then they
29:40
move So, we do have that luxury. I'll say it's a luxury to have the help with
29:47
moving, but still I find myself having to go through everything in the house.
29:52
I'm I'm like in that now, you know, and even when you move every two to three years, you still accumulate a lot of
29:58
stuff, you know? It's crazy. It's crazy. So, that's where I'm at now is just like going through it. Okay. And
30:04
then I have this sort of system of like stickers of things that I want to come with us on the airplane, things that are
30:11
going to go in storage and things that will come on the ship. So, I've kind of
30:16
gotten a little system over the last few years and like those things that you know you need right when you get there
30:24
um or to take with you. Um and now things will be different. This is the first time like we don't have toys or
30:30
we're not trying to, you know, do that kind of stuff with the kids. So, it's a
30:36
little bit different. But I think moving is just stressful. It is in general.
30:42
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How how do you deal with it actually? Because I know like always there is this like two three
30:48
months before the move where you start romanticizing where you are and when you
30:54
live for the last two three years and everything it's like oh I will miss this and I will miss this food and I will
30:59
miss this coffee shop and oh I need to say goodbye to this one to this person to this other and then arriving to a
31:06
place blank and it's just like okay what I'm doing here now I need to
31:11
rebuild everything it's it's a sensation that it's not easy to deal with. Uh I don't know.
31:16
Yeah. And I'm in that romanticizing moment right now. Um and trying to see
31:22
all the people uh you know, eat at all the restaurants knowing that like uh for me like I love Mexican food and I know
31:29
that that's not going to be obviously readily available in Cairo. And so I'm like eating it all the time and my kids
31:36
are like not again mom. like we don't you know but or just the convenience of
31:42
America for better or worse like I can get whatever I need whenever I want it
31:48
and so just that mindset shift is you know okay things are just going to
31:53
be a little different um and then getting there and and I am lucky in Cairo that um I have a couple of friends
32:01
and so they're kind of setting you know things up and helping me out like this is the internet guy you want to use or
32:08
this or that, right? The basic stuff. No, the basics. Internet provider, water provider,
32:14
electricity provider, and here there is the best coffee of the city and the the best restaurant to eat.
32:20
Absolutely. Important information always. And here is the book club of English
32:27
speakers. Uh yeah. Yes. And now like people in the in
32:33
the embassy, I went like where are the Yeah. the the English speakers but like a broad scope of people. Right.
32:42
Cool. Um yeah, I would say if if if we jump to to I mean we will get back to c
32:49
culture comparisons and uh deep diving and I also have some questions from the audience which I reserved
32:56
from that. So I didn't ask them myself but I let the audience ask them. And but
33:02
before we do that I would ask ask you if you have any any major piece of advice
33:10
any life hack that you would like to share that you would say okay this is
33:16
what I recommend everyone to do when moving abroad. Yep. I have two. be flexible because if
33:24
you think that everything's going to work like your home country or the place you've just been in, you're going to be
33:30
upset more often than not, right? Like because things are just different everywhere and they work differently. So
33:38
try to be as flexible as possible and, you know, understand that things aren't going to be exactly the same, which is
33:44
probably why you're moving too. It's part of the process. and then really find that community. Start nurturing a
33:52
community as soon as you can. Hey there everyone. I hope you're enjoying this episode so far. Remember
33:58
that the best way to stay tuned with the latest episodes of the podcast is by clicking on subscribing YouTube and in
34:04
your favorite audio platform. For extra content and information, follow, like, and comment on our social media and
34:11
visit our website expatexpertodcast.com. Thank you for supporting our podcast and let's continue with the episode. Good.
34:18
All right, then I would say that we jump to game time as I call it. So, I just
34:24
prepared a little bit of a rapid fire games. This is just like a lighter side. This makes me nervous.
34:30
No, no, no, no, no. Uh, actually, the first one is one that I love to do when
34:35
with people who just lived in a lot of places. It's a little bit of a this or that. So, I would just like
34:42
you lived in a lot of countries. So, I will just give you two contrasting cultural things uh from from the places
34:48
that you lived and then you you tell me what do you prefer or what you pick and and why.
34:54
Okay. Um the Lebanese hospitality or the Nigerian
34:59
celebrations. Oh. Oh, you're so rough. Uh Lebanese
35:05
hospitality. Uh, street food in uh nonen or
35:13
home-cooked meals in Baghdad? Uh, street food in the mountain.
35:18
I don't know if you had home-cooked meals in Baghdad though. Probably not not in that time. Not very much. We had like a I had to
35:25
eat in a cafeteria. So, the calm island life of Kurasau or
35:32
the chaotic buzzing of Lagos?
35:37
Uh c uh island life. Yeah. Yeah. Nice. More calm or because uh
35:45
I think more calm just where I'm at in life now. I love the chaos of Legos on a
35:50
certain day. But if if I I'm like a beach girl at heart, so if you give me
35:57
the beach, I'll be happy. So well then prepare for the the chaos
36:02
of Kaido because Right. Exactly. Yes, it's coming again.
36:08
It is. Uh, talking about chaos, uh, Lagos traffic chaos or pen
36:17
motorbike madness. Uh, motorbike madness,
36:22
driving or just seeing it from outside? Um, I will tell you I didn't drive in
36:28
either place really very often. Good. Yeah, it's a good way of staying alive. Yes.
36:37
That's functional medicine also. Not exactly. Yeah. Stay alive.
36:43
Uh the Caribbean chili vibes or the Beirut's bustling energy. I suppose it's
36:49
more uh chilly vibes. Uh
36:55
doctors with prescription pot or healers with uh herbs and natural
37:02
healers with herbs. Yeah. Yeah. Then I have negotiating in a market in
37:08
Lagos or navigating bureaucracy in uh Lebanon.
37:14
Oh uh Legos. Yeah. Yeah. Is it the funny story? You need to
37:21
bring prices down or you have to bring the prices down. Sure. Start like at half. Right.
37:27
Okay. That's also keep that practice on because I think in Kyrie you only think.
37:35
Oh yeah. I went to the Kanuki and it was like nothing I had experience before.
37:42
I'm really bad at this. Like I'm really really bad. I'm really lucky to have my girlfriend who is good at negotiating
37:47
because I'm a disaster. So they will rip me off every time.
37:54
Um, dry desert heat in Baghdad or the tropical humidity of Kurissau.
38:00
Uh, tropical humidity. Yeah, Baghdad was like walking into a uh hair
38:06
dryer like directly into the heat of a haird dryer.
38:11
What about Gurasau? It's it's it has also raining season I suppose. Yeah, but
38:17
it's more aid than other Caribbean islands and so maybe a little bit like uh the US Arizona. Um but so it wasn't
38:26
super humid, but there were some rainy times. Yeah. Nice. So I have two more. Uh communal
38:33
living in Cambodia or private space in the US.
38:39
Oh. Um, I do like my private space.
38:45
And the last one that I have is uh Hashimoto friendly diet or US uh
38:53
more kind of eating Hashimoto's friendly diet.
38:58
How is food? Like I I should have done this question in the beginning, but how how is like experiencing all these foods
39:05
around the world? like it must be I love it. And
39:10
for those of you that pick up my book, it's like one part travel log, one part like health, and then it is really
39:17
everyone's like, "You are a foodie, aren't you?" Cuz like your book makes me hungry.
39:24
So I I love trying all the different food. That's cool. I'm one of these persons
39:30
who has the whole Google Maps pinned with restaurants only. Oh, my husband is that person, too.
39:36
Yeah, he can look anywhere we've been in the world and like find his favorite restaurants. Yes,
39:42
I'm exactly the same. But I even like have like my list are shared publicly
39:47
because my friends ask for them. So, I sh I send them the links and everyone is just like, "Okay, here you have my list of
39:54
restaurants. Go check it out." And that's it. Yeah, we do that, too. That's so cool.
40:01
Cool. Um, I will do the second game which I called
40:06
experts anonymous uh true or false. Basically I would throw some myths about
40:12
people who are living abroad being an expert life and being like traveling around and you tell me if you believe
40:18
it's a true or a false uh uh statement and maybe why. Um,
40:24
okay. The first one that I have, it's expert life. It's being on a one big vacation.
40:30
False. Living somewhere and going somewhere on vacation are two very different things.
40:37
Absolutely agree. I mean, I think you responded this one
40:43
before, but uh, healthcare is always worse abroad. False.
40:49
Healthcare can be excellent abroad.
40:54
Being an expert changes your core values. True.
41:01
You you always been be seen as an outsider wherever you go.
41:07
True and false. It depends. Depends on the effort that
41:12
you put in. Makes sense. So now this one is for the
41:17
moment that you are in. Uh, the hardest part of being an expert and moving so often, it's saying goodbye all the time.
41:24
True. Very true. Locals always assume that experts are
41:31
very rich. Sometimes true. Yeah.
41:37
Uh, you can find good healthc care everywhere if you know where to look.
41:43
True. Nice. After a few years abroad, going home
41:48
feels more foreign than familiar. True.
41:55
Learning to let go of control is essential for an expert life. True. Yes. Hence my flexibility comment.
42:02
Yeah, absolutely. Uh, every country has its own version of
42:09
customer service and most don't resemble the US version at all.
42:15
Very true. Oh gosh. I I saw story time in there in
42:20
that ice like did you had any bad customer service experience for sure or
42:27
also bad customer service here too like yeah just everywhere you can have both I
42:33
think. Uh so the next one that I have it's making friends as an adult expert adult
42:40
expert it's harder than learning the local language. Yeah, true.
42:46
Sometimes I think it depends. Some people are It's easy to make friends, right? That's a really tough question,
42:53
but I know we're not in it for the conversation, but I would say No, no, go, go for it. It's it's uh it can be challenging as an
43:02
adult. Um some people have a harder time making friends than others. Um but like Arabic
43:08
is super hard language to learn. Exactly. Depends on the language also. No. Yeah. Yeah.
43:14
I I did German and Greek in in six years. So, uh Oh, yeah. That been a nightmare. So, I prefer
43:21
also really difficult. Yeah. You learned some language from the
43:26
places you've been. I would say like I've learned like get around language, you know, like
43:32
how to order ordering taxis, you know, the basics. Yeah.
43:38
I have one that I know the response because you lived in Nigeria, but the concept of time is universal.
43:45
No, that is false. There's there's Nigeria time, there's
43:50
there's island time, there's all sorts of time. No, but even like deeper. No, I think in Nigeria, I don't remember with who I was
43:57
talking with. Uh well, I think the second episode of this season, she also lived in Nigeria and she was telling me
44:02
that they literally have a different hour system. that when they tell you 3 11 it might be 3 p.m. and
44:09
Oh yeah. Yes. Oh yeah. So, and it's funny because my husband was in the
44:15
military and so for him um early is on time and on time is late and then you
44:22
put him into Nigeria where like they're going to tell you three but they really mean like five, right? And he shows up
44:29
at like 255 and they're not ready at all. I think I would like your husband with some He
44:37
seem very similar. I would I would also be 250 there. Uh yeah.
44:43
Cool. The last one that I have from this game, it's living abroad taught me more about myself than any self-help book
44:51
ever could. Absolutely. Very true. Nice. So the last mini game that I have,
44:58
it's a very short one and it's just to go back a little bit to the healing
45:03
section. I call it wellness around the world. So I give you two countries and you tell me how each approach uh health
45:11
and wellness differently, how did they do it, if it was more supportive, less or and or if you experience it at all or
45:18
not. And the first two countries, I put them randomly. Don't pick this as a one or
45:23
another. It's Cambod Cambodia versus Kurasau. Oh, very different uh health care
45:31
systems. Um I would say Kurasau is more like the US health care system. Um and
45:38
that it's it's it's uh you have to have a doctor and you get your referrals and
45:43
all of that and you have to go through the system, right? Okay. Um whereas Cambodia more
45:50
like I could go to any doctor I wanted. I didn't necessarily need a referral. Um, and it was like cash pay. So
45:57
you there's different tiers of healthare then, right? Yeah. Levels of
46:04
how much how much you pay, right? Private hospitals versus public hospitals, etc. Yeah.
46:10
Crazy. Iraq versus Nigeria. Um, I can't speak to the Iraqi piece
46:18
because I only was at the embassy health unit there and I thankfully didn't have any health issues while we were there.
46:26
Um, Nigeria again. Um,
46:31
I had some great doctors there and my husband had to have emergency surgery there and at first I was like pretty
46:37
nervous. Um, but we had a really good experience. We had excellent surgeon. Um
46:43
they to the hospital was good. They took they took really great care of him. So again that those I those things that we
46:49
think can sometimes be different than the reality, right? Prejudices that we bring together.
46:56
Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. So the last one is uh Lebanon versus US.
47:04
Lebanon. Yeah. I was better for me personally. Um, I
47:11
had a quite a fertility journey and the doctors there took me uh they really
47:17
investigated and figured out what was going on far quicker than in the US
47:22
healthcare system. Okay, interesting. Cool. So, with that said, uh I will
47:29
close the mini game so you can relax again. Okay, that wasn't it wasn't that hard. No,
47:34
no. uh and as I said I asked some questions uh to the audience and some friends and
47:41
people who listens to the podcast uh to share in your profile and ask uh
47:47
whatever they wanted to ask you. So they sent me three questions. Um the first one it's uh from Mike radio
47:55
8 I don't know names in YouTube are always
48:00
strange. Uh, what's the one country that you would move back in uh to eat in a
48:07
heartbeat and why? Uh, I think right now, Cirao, I would
48:12
definitely move back. I would immigrate. Um, it was just the life was easy there. I
48:19
really appreciate the work life balance. Um, and just the slower pace of life.
48:24
And so, um, part of me just thinks I belong on a Caribbean island,
48:29
which doesn't sound too bad. No, at all. No, not at all.
48:36
Cool. Then the second question that I have, it's uh from a tour to the world. Um, and they are saying, "How do you
48:43
manage your health routine while traveling? Do you have any uh things that you keep in every country for
48:49
yourself like as a Yeah, I do. So, um, I always have,
48:56
well, so right now I'm I'm like really pretty stable in my health care and my healthcare journey. So, like I'm lucky
49:02
in that. So, I have my little set of, you know, supplements and then medications that I always travel with
49:08
and like just recently I got off the phone with the pharmacy and like, okay, I need a year supply of this. So, just
49:13
planning ahead and having, you know, things put in place so that I'm not scrambling at the last minute. Um, and
49:21
then finding the place in the country that I'm moving to that can help support me in my health care needs. That's
49:28
different for everybody. Some some people maybe I mean I think everybody can benefit from massage, but for me
49:33
that's great. Um, and so finding like where's that location or is there a functional medicine practitioner in
49:40
Egypt? Well, yes, there is. um you know and and locating that and just finding
49:46
the resources within the country that can help um help me flourish there.
49:51
And you do that in advance normally or like you research these things before moving? I research I'm a big researcher. It's
49:58
kind of a thing for better or worse. But um you know and then I'll ask my friends and then when I
50:05
get there I'll just figure out the rest. But I like to have a little bit of insight into what to expect and places
50:12
to reach out to. Nice. So the last one that I have is from Luis Christ. Um, are you planning
50:20
to stay traveling forever or there is a moment that you see yourself stopping
50:25
this traveling journey? It's a really good question. I don't know how to stop.
50:34
Um, no. Honestly, this is the first time I've felt more more tired going into a
50:39
move. I think it's just, you know, we're getting older and, you know, just kind of, okay, I'm a little fatigued, but I
50:46
don't think I'll ever stop traveling. Um, that's just part of who I am and I think it's a really important part of my
50:52
life and part of my health is to learn and see and and learn about new
50:58
cultures. And so, I don't know. That's the the the question is maybe we'll stop for work
51:04
pretty, you know, in the next few years. Um, but who knows where we'll end up retiring and I think that we'll always
51:11
continue to travel. Cool. Traveler forever. That's nice. Sounds cool.
51:17
As long as we can, right? Absolutely. I mean, there is always a limit. No physical at least.
51:22
Yeah, exactly. Good. Um so with that said I would uh
51:27
just would like to give you the the the stage to share with the listeners uh a
51:33
little bit about your your book about the platform like passports and parasites what are you working on like
51:39
where they can find you and and connect with you of course. Sure. Um, so I wrote this book called
51:45
Passports and Parasites and it is it really is a sort of travel log and life
51:52
log of like the last 15 years of my life. So it it starts as you know we fly
51:57
into Baghdad. Um, and it it really is I wrote it to encourage others to travel
52:04
to see the world and for those people that are having health issues how I overcame those health issues. Um, and
52:11
for for those people that are haven't traveled to give them that sort of insight into life, you know, as an
52:18
expat, but also if you just want to go and see the world, you know, you don't you can go and travel. So to
52:24
to really bring that to people because I know there's a lot of people that want to travel or want to live overseas, but
52:30
they don't know what that means really, you know, and so that's part of why I wrote the book was to be an inspiration
52:36
to others. And it it really if you want to know more about all the places that we've lived, each chapter is a different
52:44
place that we've lived. And so they're kind of long chapters. They're broken up, but um that I it's gotten, you know,
52:51
it's it's it's a fast read. People are like, "Wow, this reads like, you know, a thriller or some like movie that I would
52:57
watch on TV." So, um if you're looking for adventure, it's a good book. Um, and
53:05
you can find me at vashticconaley.com. Um, and on Instagram atvashticahaley.
53:11
Uh, you can learn more about working with me if you're interested in hiring me as a functional medicine practitioner
53:16
or health coach. Um, I work with a naturopathic doctor out of Seattle, Dr. Fox, and we we work together to help
53:24
people around the world um, find health again and to feel better and stay
53:29
better. Cool. Nice. Um, as always, all the links are will be in the description. So,
53:35
anyone anyone who uh wants to get in contact like uh check the book out. I
53:41
think there is even a a firstap first free chapter so you can get a sneak peek
53:47
into it. Uh, which is also very nice. Um, so yeah, just check the links down in the
53:53
in the in the description of the episode. And looking a little bit on the time, I
53:59
would say that before we close the episode, I would love to hear if you have any funny or unexpected story uh
54:06
from your travels to I don't know close with a with a last funny moment.
54:13
I was I was talking to my husband about this because I was like there are a lot and I don't know what to say. But um he
54:20
was like giving me a bunch of different ones. And just a funny anecdote because you talked about like in the the notes
54:26
like any encounters with wildlife. And so when we lived in in Kiraasau, it's a
54:31
lot of indoor outdoor living. You know, I just sort of kept the doors open and we would often have birds or whatever
54:37
fly in and but one day I turned and there was this very large iguana which
54:42
are very big lizards, right? And it's just standing in my doorway looking at
54:49
me and I'm like, "Okay, well, what do we do here?" Because there's this, you
54:54
know, large iguana staring at me in my home. Um, you know, we just sort of had
55:00
a little bit of a standoff. I also had dogs, so I had to put them elsewhere because I didn't want
55:05
the dogs and the iguana to fight. But um it was kind of shocking to just find this, you know, very large lizard um
55:13
hanging out. And another iguana story at the beach one day I was just hanging out and I looked up and this iguana had come
55:19
up and was like right beside me in the sun.
55:24
In the sun. Um you know, that's just one of the funny anecdotes. And then another one is just like the people that you
55:30
meet. You just never know. So, you know, we were traveling through Turkey once and there was this this guy we ran into at a gas station and he was like all
55:38
grizzly with this big beard and he was driving this old RV and he was just really like we were getting a flat tire
55:45
changed I think and he was like, "Oh, I'm an American, too. I, you know, sold
55:51
my house and whatever and I'm traveling all over Europe and I'm just driving this RV." And it was just the funniest
55:57
story. And then he's like, "And I know George Bush." And we're like, "Sure, okay." you know, like, okay. And then
56:03
sure enough, all of these pictures with him and the former president and everything and he looked like just this
56:10
like funny random guy, right? So, it was a we
56:16
talked to him for a couple hours. You just don't, you know, you just never know who you're going to meet
56:21
out there. Crazy. Yeah.
56:27
Nice. Uh well, I think it's time to close the episode, but uh it's been very
56:33
inspiring and very nice conversation talking with you. I've been I'm really happy that you accepted the invitation
56:39
to come to the to explain your story. Yeah, it was wonderful. We'll have to do
56:45
another episode once I've been in Egypt for a while. Exactly. So, once you have one country
56:50
more to talk about, then we will do a dedicated Egypt episode once again.
56:56
Yeah. you know, it's a bucket list for a lot of people. So, I think listeners would be really interested to see what
57:01
it what it's like. And I know you're you're visiting soon, too. So, yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank
57:08
you. Thanks again. And yes, for everyone listening, as always, don't forget to subscribe, rate, share, check our our
57:15
profiles, but also uh Vashi. Ah, this name is I'm I'm failing
57:21
at the end. Yeah, great. Vashtai uh profiles and and website. Uh until then,
57:28
keep exploring, stay curious, and see you in the next episode of Expert Experts. [Music]