The Newcomers Podcast 🎙️

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Alfred Kainga, the funniest comic I've listened to in a long while. No jokes. But it took some work to get to where he is today. Here’s a clip from one of his recent shows:Alfred moved to the United States as a 19yo and worked hard at honing his craft after his day job. After years of pushing hard to break through the noise, Rudy Rush passed his name to Kevin Hart as an upcoming comic who could open for Kevin on his 2016 Comedy Central show.Everything changed for Alfred after that gig.In this conversation, we chat about adjusting to life in the United States. We also explored:* Dealing with survival mode* Why he’s never regretted immigrating to the United States even though he originally wanted to move to South Africa* The American diet* And a ton of jokes along the way.This was a hilarious conversation.Official Links👋🏽 Follow Alfred on Instagram👌🏽 Follow Alfred on TikTokICYMI This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with the passionately curious Onyeka Okonkwo, a risk manager at KPMG UK, and a money coach.As an immigrant, it's easy to feel the need to show up and represent your home country's brand. To be great. To be of good behaviour. To show that your people are worth it.Especially now. Especially with all that's going on in the world at this time. When immigrants have become the next best thing to blame for all that's wrong with society.It can be tiring.So, I think we should take Onyeka Okonkwo’s advice…learn to give ourselves some grace. Give yourself permission to fail. To try again. To make mistakes. To live. To love. To enjoy everyday.Onyeka joined me on The Newcomers to chat about why she left Nigeria. We also talked about:* Working in Lagos vs. working in London* Finding her footing in her new home * Her approach to dealing with all the stuff immigrating to a new country throws at you* The burden of black tax* Learning to advocate for herself, and more. Again, give yourself some grace, dear immigrant. You’ve got this. Official Links👋🏽 Follow Onyeka on LinkedIn🖊️ Sign up for Onyeka’s Financial Life Workshop 🎬 Onyeka’s YouTube channel This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Milan Sanghani — Founder of EdMission, and an immigrant entrepreneur on a mission to make it easier for students looking to move abroad for a higher education.But Milan wasn't always on this path. Nine years ago, all Milan thought about was a research-based MSc in drug metabolism. But after failing to get into schools in Canada, Australia, United States, and a couple of other countries, he started using all the learnings he had picked up trying and failing to get admissions to schools abroad to help prospective students in India with their higher education plans. Milan finally moved to Canada in 2021 mid-pandemic to study Entrepreneurship at Carleton University, Ottawa. In this conversation, we chat about his journey from international student to edtech entrepreneur, moving amidst the pandemic, and how he thinks we can improve the Canadian international students program.He also shared:* How to avoid fraudulent ghost agents* Settling into Canada and dealing with the lack of trust during the lockdown* Common misconceptions international students have* And the mindset you need to have to succeed as an international student. My biggest takeaway: Your best source of information are sources like the IRCC website (I know this is a nightmare to navigate) and the university website. Official Links👋🏽 Follow Milan on LinkedIn👌🏽 Learn more about EdMission This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Ozoz Sokoh, a Nigerian food writer, explorer, educator, and author of Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria.The late Quincy Jones once said, "Music is the melody of the gods." I agree, and I would add that food is the flavor of the gods.Food is everything. What and how we eat says a lot about us. More importantly, it tells a little about our history, and, in some cases, it’s one of the motifs we use as an expression of our culture and our traditions.For immigrants, food carries an ever deeper meaning. Not to be dramatic, but it’s a link to the past [taste/nostalgia], a bridge to the future [the evolution of said meal in a new place], and a way to hold on to identity in the murky world of being an immigrant.In this conversation, we chat about food as identity. We also explored:* How cooking or eating familiar dishes bring a sense of home and belonging, even in unfamiliar environments* Why understanding the essence and history of a dish is important * Why recording the history of a meal is key to preserving the cultural heritage of a people* The roles institutional bias and racism in food media play in hindering the representation of certain cuisines, and more good stuff. But that’s not all the good stuff. She’s also shared some zesty food recipes.Five Nigerian recipes you can try this Christmas holidays* Nigerian pepper soup: One of my personal favorites. I think it tastes better with goat meat. But you decide. * Agbalumo Carrot Cake: You’ll probably need to check the African store nearby for agbalumo. * Cassava and Coconut Salad: Ozoz has taken a popular Nigerian street food, Abacha, and turned it into something that not only looks delicious, but might have a broader appeal. I’m definitely trying this out over the holidays.* Zobo: Everyone has to try Zobo at least once in their life.* Yedem’blong: This is one meal I’m going to need help putting together. But it does sound enticing. Kolanut with pepper sauce. Who’s got some adventure in them? Official Links👋🏽 Follow Ozoz on Instagram🖊️ Sign up for her Kitchen Butterfly newsletter for more re-imagined Nigerian recipes 📚 Buy her book here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Izunna Dike, immigrant, chef, and all-round jolly fellow. When we move to a new country, the traditional dishes we bring along with us change over time, shaped by the realities of ingredients availability, the need to adapt the meal to our new friend’s palate, and experimentation.If properly harnessed, these culinary transformations can serve as an entry point into understanding the people who cook the food. For Izunna Dike, it was no different. The interesting thing was Izunna didn't always cook when he lived in Nigeria aside from random requests by his parents to knock together a meal for them. After moving to the UK as a teenager, and spending a year without eating Nigerian food due to his living circumstances, Izunna started to cook as a way to hold onto his heritage.And he’s never looked back. Cooking become a way for him to write a love letter to home while experimenting with hybrid meals. In this conversation, we chat about the relationship between food and culture. We also explored:* How he replicates Nigerian flavors in Canada* The three Nigerian dishes he would make if he was asked to cook for a global audience* How he balances authenticity and adaptation when fusing Nigerian flavors with flavors from other cultures, and a lot more good stuff.P.S. Did you know that if you added Cameroonian pepper to your mashed potatoes it would taste much much better? Try it this holiday season and let me know.Official Links👋🏽 Follow Izunna on X🤌🏽 Follow Izunna on Instagram🎬 Izunna’s YouTube channel This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Douglas Price — award-winning music teacher and composer turned personal finance educator, and author of Seventeen To Millionaire.When planning to immigrate to Canada, we often spend a considerable amount of time learning about schools, where to find a house, the cost of groceries, the best cities to find a job, rental costs, and more. We rarely bother trying to understand how the Canadian financial system works.It doesn't help that once you land and walk into a bank to open an account, the banks stuff a credit card into your palms and ask you to review dozens of forms and sign. So it's not surprising that when we ignore the one thing that underpins most of the factors mentioned above, we experience a significant drop in financial confidence as we battle with our settling-in checklist. Check out Interac Corp’s survey on newcomer's financial confidence.I was no different. And if I could go back in time, the one biggest thing I would have done differently is to buy the book, Seventeen to a Millionaire by Douglas Price. Yes, it was written for a seventeen-year-old in Canada. But I dare say as a newcomer to Canada, we are all like 17yos when it comes to understanding the nuts and bolts of the Canadian financial system.In this conversation, we chat about his book and why it’s a MUST-READ for newcomers. We also talked about:* The golden rules of making money in Canada* How to approach the world of credit* Why he thinks the TFSA is one of the best tools for saving and investing money* The money truths he’s learned while working on the book* And the backstory of how the book came to lifeEnjoy. P.S. Seventeen to Millionaire is currently #1 on Amazon’s Personal Financial Planning book list and was chosen by Moneysense contributors, influencers, and money experts as one of the top 25 timeless personal finance books.Official Links📚 Buy Seventeen To Millionaire on Amazon👌🏽 Learn more about Douglas’s approach to money This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Tope Fajingbesi, ex-Global Chief Financial Officer of Ashoka, and Founder of She-EO, a company focused on helping women of African descent develop resilience, grow, and become catalysts for positive change. For many immigrants, speaking a second language is a core part of their identity. In some cases, they speak as many as four languages. For example, I am fluent in English and my native tongue Igbo. I also understand a smattering of Hausa (the language spoken in the Northern part of Nigeria) and French. But once we move to a new country, we seem to do a poor job of transferring these gifts to our kids. Tope Fajingbesi thinks we are doing worse than a poor job. She believes we are robbing our kids. We are robbing them of the language. We are robbing them of their cultural heritage. We are robbing them of a core part of their identity.And I think she makes a great point. In this conversation, the farmer lady and I chat about the immigrant identity. We also explored * How she deals with unconscious bias * Food as a way to build community* The immigrant mentality* Why she thinks America hasn’t changed in the past 22 years she’s lived there* And why we must be deliberate as immigrants. Enjoy!Official Links👋🏽 Follow Tope on LinkedIn🔗 Learn more about She-EO This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Daniel Bernhard, the CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC).Anti-immigration sentiment in Canada is at a 30-year high and growing. Some of the recent takes on immigrants and the problems they bring with them make for an interesting read. But, let’s pause for a bit…are we misdiagnosing the Canadian immigration problem? Are we addressing the right issues? Or in a hurry to sound right and get a word in, we've simplified a complex and nuanced conversation into a good vs. bad debate.Daniel believes we can have a better conversation about Canadian immigration. One that's much broader, accommodates all the nuances, and, most importantly, considers everyone affected —Canadians and immigrants.In this conversation, we explore the two sides of the international student debate. We also chat about:* Why we MUST view immigration from an outcome-based lenses* Why The Leaky Bucket Report 2024 and Talent to win study are part of a bigger story* Why the student route should be the best immigration pathway for Canada, and more.This conversation validated a lot of thoughts that I have about immigration. My biggest takeaway as an immigrant: We need to address everyone’s interest. It’s a Canada conversation. If all I consider is my immigrant POV, nothing moves forward. Shoutout to George Carothers and his team for the amazing work they’ve done with the Leaky Bucket report and the Talent to Win study. Read them here 👇🏽* The Leaky Bucket Report 2024* Talent to win StudyOfficial Links👋🏽 Follow Daniel on LinkedIn👌🏽 Learn more about the Institute for Canadian Citizenship🔗 Learn more about the Canoo app This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Kris Granger, who immigrated from Trinidad to Sweden four years ago. The immigrant experience can be stressful, so stressful that Kris ended up with Stage 4 cancer. His story is amazing. Inspiring. Humbling. Kris moved to Sweden with his girlfriend at the time to further her music career. He was going to be a digital nomad and service his marketing strategy clients from Sweden. She would move ahead with her music career. "I thought I could do anything," he says. Boy, was he wrong? A couple of months later, Kris was running thrice as fast to keep up with all life was throwing at him. He was losing his clients back home, he hadn't been able to get a job in Sweden, and things were getting desperate. He ended up getting a maternity cover role at an agency after volunteering with the European Union. But he had to make ends meet, so he still hustled hard for clients back home. He also accepted a guest lecturing position at the University of Gothenburg. This continued for a while. By the time he got his dream job at Volvo, after applying over 50 times, Kris's life was falling apart. His marriage was falling apart. His body was falling apart.In this conversation, we chat about surviving Stage 4 cancer and finding family and community at his Volvo workplace. We also talked about: * The power of volunteering as an immigrant* Why making a decision to fall in love with his city was the first step to falling in love with his new life* The checklist life of an immigrant and how it can lead to dreadful outcomes* The importance of breaking into the existing friendship circles because these are often the work circles, and more.This was some episode. My biggest takeaway: if you move in your 30s, seek community. Seek stability. We trivialize all we walked away from in our former life.Our family. Our friends. Our colleagues. Or the cultural cachets that make it easy for us to approach every day as if it’s nothing. Moving to a new country resets you. The stress of trying to settle in, get a job, while also being a good parent and partner can literally kill you. Here’s Kris’s approach to finding his community:1. Seek out spaces where you feel alive. Look for groups or classes that truly interest you – those are the places where real connections form.2. Give first, without asking. When people feel your genuine willingness to help, trust follows.3. Say yes to small, unexpected opportunities. It’s often the smallest steps that open the biggest doors.Official Links👋🏽 Follow Kris on LinkedIn🫁 Learn more about Grounding—a free, 7-day meditation experienceDid you read this? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I’m speaking with Yawa Degboe, who moved to Paris, France as a 4yo. Years later, she moved across the Atlantic to Boston, United States. So, a second-generation immigrant during her time in France. And now a first-generation immigrant in the United States. One would be forgiven to think she would be more French than Togolese. Because I did. think so.Nothing could be further from the truth. Yawa is all about embracing her French and Togolese identities. And I agree. Very often, you hear immigrants talk about discarding who they used to be so they can assimilate into the new culture. You aren't doing yourself any favors if you march down that road. The advantage of being an immigrant is the unique individual you become when you merge your old self and the new self. You create something so beautiful, so different, so special.But back to Yawa. In this conversation, we chat about her journey as a first-generation immigrant to the United States. We also explored:* Dealing with survival mentality* The various identities we immigrants carry with us* The advantages of being an immigrant* How she’s using the lessons she’s learned from her Mom to create a new future for the next generation* Tips for French immigrants looking to move to an English-speaking country, and more beautiful stuff.Integrate folks. Don’t assimilate. Official Links👋🏽 Follow Yawa on LinkedInDid you read this? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com