From Football Dreams to Testicular Cancer: A Japanese Expat's Journey in Cambodia

From Football Dreams to Testicular Cancer: A Japanese Expat's Journey in Cambodia

A Japanese man dreams of becoming a professional footballer. A street gang attack derails everything at 17. He ends up in Cambodia, survives testicular cancer, navigates divorce, and discovers his life purpose through photography, community, and human connection. Shunsuke, known as Taki, was on track to become a professional footballer in Japan when a random act of violence shattered his ankle and his dream. One day before his trial, a street gang attacked him, leaving him with a broken ankle and torn ligaments. But what could have been the end became a beginning. From advertising executive in Tokyo to country director in Phnom Penh, Taki traded the suffocating pressure of Japanese corporate culture for the chaotic freedom of Cambodia. He built a community through photography, nerd nights, and football, documented everyday life in the streets of Phnom Penh, and gained 50,000 Instagram followers overnight with a single photo of his son. But life abroad wasn't easy. Divorce. Distance from his children. And then, testicular cancer. He went through chemotherapy in Phnom Penh, lost all his hair, kept working, and rang the bell cancer free on Christmas Eve 2023. Now, nine years into his Cambodian life, Taki is building a creative co op called Hitonami, mobilizing photographers, designers, and change makers to solve social issues through creativity and purpose. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔥 What we cover: From football dreams to street gang violence at 17 The doctor who healed him in 2 months and changed his philosophy Finding his attacker at Yokohama Station and getting revenge Why he chose Cambodia over Europe or America First impressions: red soil, tuk tuks, and BBQ on the streets The generous man who was killed and finding purpose through photography Building community through Nerd Night as an outsider Living in Japan vs Cambodia: the crushing weight of social norms The Instagram photo that got him 50K followers overnight Divorce, distance, and raising kids from another country Testicular cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy in Phnom Penh Losing hair, gaining perspective, and ringing the bell cancer free Lifestyle changes: quitting smoking, drinking less, cooking more Why he'll never go back to Japan Starting Hitonami: a creative co op with purpose Online scams, mafia, and social issues in Cambodia The privilege of risk and entrepreneurship realities Life purpose: meeting people and widening perspectives ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ REAL TALK: This episode is about resilience, reinvention, and refusing to give up. It's about what happens when your dream gets taken away, when your body betrays you, when your family is thousands of miles away, and you still choose to keep going. Whether you've ever thought about leaving your home country, survived something that nearly broke you, or wondered what it really takes to start over in a place where nobody knows you — this conversation will challenge you, inspire you, and remind you that life is about the people you meet and the perspectives you gain. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💬 TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: Would you move to a country you'd never visited before? Have you ever had a dream taken away from you? What would your life postcard look like? Drop your thoughts below 👇 We read every single one. 🔁 Share this with someone who needs to hear this story. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 About the show — "Babes, How Did You Get Here?" Hosted by entrepreneur & former Miss Jamaica April Jackson, this podcast explores the raw, emotional, and often uncomfortable stories behind people who chose a life elsewhere. New episodes every week from around the world. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: CHAPTERS * 00:01:46 Living in Japan vs Cambodia: The Pressure of Social Norms * 00:04:42 The Street Gang Attack That Ended His Football Career * 00:09:05 The Doctor Who Healed Him in 2 Months Instead of 10 * 00:15:43 Revenge at Yokohama Station: Finding the Gang Member * 00:19:51 Why He Chose Cambodia Over Europe or America * 00:21:59 First Impressions: Red Soil, Tuk Tuks & BBQ on the Streets * 00:29:46 The Generous Who Was Killed & Finding His Purpose Through Photography * 00:24:36 Nerd Night & Building Community as an Outsider * 00:28:13 The Instagram Photo That Got Him 50K Followers Overnight * 00:37:48 Divorce, Distance & Raising Kids From Another Country * 00:47:40 Starting Hitonami: A Creative Co op With Purpose #Cambodia #Japan #PhnomPenh #ExpatLife #CancerSurvivor #Reinvention #Photography #Entrepreneurship #LeavingJapan #SoutheastAsia #TesticularCancer #Chemotherapy #Divorce #RaisingKidsAbroad #CreativeCommunity #SocialChange #LifeAbroad #JapaneseExpat #CambodiaLife #Podcast #AprilJackson #BabesHowDidYouGetHere #LifePurpose #HumanConnection #StartingOver #BuildingCommunity #CancerFree #ModernMigration

Kai Charles #2

A Black British woman leaves London with two suitcases, no job, nowhere to live — and builds an entirely new life in Dubai. What started as a one-year plan turned into nine years abroad, multiple careers, identity shifts, burnout, reinvention, and one brutally honest realization: “I’d NEVER raise Black children in London.” Kai Charles grew up in West London, worked corporate jobs at companies like The Economist, and dreamed of building a music career. But despite doing everything “right” — good grades, university, stable career — something still felt deeply wrong. So she left. In this raw, controversial, and deeply honest conversation, Kai opens up about the realities of leaving the UK, the emotional cost of migration, Black British identity, why Dubai felt safer than London, and the uncomfortable truths many people are too scared to say out loud. From surviving Dubai with no plan, no apartment, and only £4,000 in savings… to navigating the music industry, COVID lockdowns, corporate burnout, loneliness abroad, and the question of whether “home” still feels like home — this episode goes there. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔥 What we cover: Leaving London with no job and no apartment Why corporate life felt “soul destroying” Working at The Economist before quitting everything Trying to survive as an independent singer in Dubai The hidden reality of gig culture and artist burnout Why Dubai felt safer than the UK The culture shock of raising children in Dubai “I’d NEVER raise Black children in London” The difference between Black British and Caribbean identity Why so many ambitious people are quietly leaving the UK COVID in Dubai vs London: why she chose to stay The loneliness nobody talks about when moving abroad Why London now feels “slow, unsafe and depressing” Soft life culture vs survival mode Why Dubai changed her forever The emotional reality of starting over abroad Building community as a Black woman overseas Why she no longer sees the UK the same way ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ REAL TALK: This episode will probably trigger people. Some will completely understand everything Kai is saying. Others will strongly disagree. But whether you agree or not, this conversation opens up real questions about identity, safety, ambition, burnout, race, migration, and what people are silently searching for when they leave home. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💬 TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: Would YOU ever leave your country and start over? Do you think London is still a good place to raise children? Has living abroad changed the way you see “home”? Drop your thoughts below 👇 We read every single one. 🔁 Share this with someone secretly thinking about leaving the UK. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 About the show — "Babes, How Did You Get Here?" Hosted by entrepreneur & former Miss Jamaica April Jackson, this podcast explores the raw, emotional, and often uncomfortable stories behind people who chose a life elsewhere. New episodes every week from around the world. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ #Dubai #London #BlackBritish #ExpatLife #LeavingTheUK #DubaiLife #BlackWomen #MovingAbroad #SoftLife #LondonLife #BlackExcellence #Diaspora #Podcast #AprilJackson #BabesHowDidYouGetHere #UKvsDubai #LifeAbroad #BritishCulture #EntrepreneurLife #WomenWhoMove #DubaiPodcast #BlackDiaspora #Identity #SelfDevelopment #BlackProfessionals #ModernMigration

Why I’d NEVER Raise Black Children In London

A Black British woman leaves London with two suitcases, no job, nowhere to live — and builds an entirely new life in Dubai. What started as a one-year plan turned into nine years abroad, multiple careers, identity shifts, burnout, reinvention, and one brutally honest realization: “I’d NEVER raise Black children in London.” Kai Charles grew up in West London, worked corporate jobs at companies like The Economist, and dreamed of building a music career. But despite doing everything “right” — good grades, university, stable career — something still felt deeply wrong. So she left. In this raw, controversial, and deeply honest conversation, Kai opens up about the realities of leaving the UK, the emotional cost of migration, Black British identity, why Dubai felt safer than London, and the uncomfortable truths many people are too scared to say out loud. From surviving Dubai with no plan, no apartment, and only £4,000 in savings… to navigating the music industry, COVID lockdowns, corporate burnout, loneliness abroad, and the question of whether “home” still feels like home — this episode goes there. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔥 What we cover: Leaving London with no job and no apartment Why corporate life felt “soul destroying” Working at The Economist before quitting everything Trying to survive as an independent singer in Dubai The hidden reality of gig culture and artist burnout Why Dubai felt safer than the UK The culture shock of raising children in Dubai “I’d NEVER raise Black children in London” The difference between Black British and Caribbean identity Why so many ambitious people are quietly leaving the UK COVID in Dubai vs London: why she chose to stay The loneliness nobody talks about when moving abroad Why London now feels “slow, unsafe and depressing” Soft life culture vs survival mode Why Dubai changed her forever The emotional reality of starting over abroad Building community as a Black woman overseas Why she no longer sees the UK the same way ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ REAL TALK: This episode will probably trigger people. Some will completely understand everything Kai is saying. Others will strongly disagree. But whether you agree or not, this conversation opens up real questions about identity, safety, ambition, burnout, race, migration, and what people are silently searching for when they leave home. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 💬 TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: Would YOU ever leave your country and start over? Do you think London is still a good place to raise children? Has living abroad changed the way you see “home”? Drop your thoughts below 👇 We read every single one. 🔁 Share this with someone secretly thinking about leaving the UK. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 About the show — "Babes, How Did You Get Here?" Hosted by entrepreneur & former Miss Jamaica April Jackson, this podcast explores the raw, emotional, and often uncomfortable stories behind people who chose a life elsewhere. New episodes every week from around the world. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Introduction * 00:01:25 Leaving London With Two Suitcases * 00:04:49 Corporate Burnout & Music Dreams * 00:06:16 “I Got Sick Of Being Sick In London” * 00:07:38 Moving To Dubai With No Plan * 00:10:57 Finding An Apartment In 5 Days * 00:14:14 Why Dubai Felt Different * 00:17:07 How The Dubai Music Industry Really Works * 00:20:14 Sacrificing Artistry To Survive * 00:21:51 Why She Quit Singing * 00:23:19 COVID Destroyed The Industry * 00:26:17 Why She Stayed In Dubai During Lockdown * 00:28:04 Returning To London After Living Abroad * 00:29:59 How Dubai Changed Her Personality * 00:31:03 The Moment She Realized She’d Never Move Back * 00:33:02 Why Corporate Life Never Fulfilled Her * 00:39:09 Searching For Purpose Beyond Money * 00:40:01 Family Reactions To Her Leaving * 00:41:20 Why So Many People Are Moving To Dubai * 00:43:17 Parenting, Culture Shock & Children In Dubai * 00:47:47 “I’d NEVER Raise Black Children In London” * 00:50:02 Why The West No Longer Feels Appealing * 00:51:11 Black British Identity Explained ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ #Dubai #London #BlackBritish #ExpatLife #LeavingTheUK #DubaiLife #BlackWomen #MovingAbroad #SoftLife #LondonLife #BlackExcellence #Diaspora #Podcast #AprilJackson #BabesHowDidYouGetHere #UKvsDubai #LifeAbroad #BritishCulture #EntrepreneurLife #WomenWhoMove #DubaiPodcast #BlackDiaspora #Identity #SelfDevelopment #BlackProfessionals #ModernMigration

Best of I Six-Foot-Six, Blonde & British: How I Became Jamaica's Most Unlikely Police Reform Hero

📚 For more details on my parenting method: https://april-s-site-fcfd.thinkific.com [https://april-s-site-fcfd.thinkific.com] What happens when a London cop rises through the ranks at Scotland Yard, gets recruited to transform Jamaica's police force, and ends up staying for 20 years — building a life, a business, and a family in a country that wasn't his? 🇬🇧🇯🇲 In this powerful episode of 'Babes, How Did You Get Here?', April sits down with Mark Shields — former Deputy Commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Scotland Yard veteran, and now a Kingston-based security entrepreneur who traded the policing career of a lifetime for Caribbean sunshine, political stability, and a whole new definition of home. From arriving in 2005 to overhaul a force riddled with corruption and fatal shootings, to walking away five years later to start his own company, Mark opens up about what it really takes to lead change in a foreign country, why he chose Jamaica over returning to the UK, and how a place he once found chaotic became the place he now defends fiercely. We talk about: 🚔 Leaving Scotland Yard to become Deputy Commissioner of the JCF — and why some colleagues thought he was crazy 📸 Arriving to find crime scenes photographed in black and white, evidence stored in wax-sealed paper bags, and zero accountability 🔧 Introducing exhibit bags, color photography, major investigation task forces, and Jamaica Eye surveillance 💔 The corruption, resistance, and weekly moments of "what the fuck am I doing here?" 🇯🇲 Why Jamaican people embraced him — even when senior officers didn't 👨‍👩‍👧 Getting divorced, remarrying a Jamaican attorney and broadcast journalist, and raising a daughter with an English accent in Kingston 💼 Walking away from policing in 2009 to start Shields Crime and Security — and why he finally became the entrepreneur he always wanted to be 🎥 Facial recognition cameras, vehicle tracking tech, and why Jamaica needs more than just "Jamaica Eye" 🚗 Why 400+ road deaths a year could be cut in half with traffic cameras — but the regulations still aren't in place 🇬🇧 Comparing UK chaos (five prime ministers since 2015, Brexit, economic disaster) to Jamaica's political and financial stability 🏡 Why his London friends are selling houses for £1.9 million — and why he can't afford to move back 🌍 The cultural differences: disorder vs. freedom, sexism, entitlement at Hillel, and why some expats love it here and others can't wait to leave 🗣️ Why he's protective of Jamaica's reputation — and why crime headlines are often irresponsible and misleading It's about political stability, economic growth, and why Jamaica in 2025 might actually be safer and saner than the UK. It's about raising a third-culture kid, defending a misunderstood island, and finding home in the last place you expected. Whether you've thought about moving to Jamaica, wondered what it's like to work in law enforcement abroad, or just want to hear a story about resilience, reinvention, and refusing to go back — this episode will challenge you, inspire you, and maybe make you rethink what "home" really means. 💬 Tell us in the comments: Have you ever stayed somewhere you only meant to visit? And would you choose Jamaica over London right now? 👀 🎧 About the show – "Babes, How Did You Get Here?" Hosted by entrepreneur & former Miss Jamaica, April Jackson, this podcast dives into the real, unfiltered stories of people who left the script — swapping comfort for courage, and choosing a life "elsewhere." 📌 Subscribe for more stories on: • Expat life, Jamaica living & building a life abroad • Law enforcement, crime, policing & justice reform • Entrepreneurship, security tech & starting a business in Jamaica • UK vs Jamaica: politics, economy & quality of life • Raising third-culture kids & navigating identity across borders • Cultural misconceptions, media narratives & defending Jamaica's reputation • Reinvention, resilience & choosing a new home. #howdidyougethere #AprilJackson #MarkShields #JamaicaLiving #ExpatLife #ScotlandYard #JCF #LawEnforcement #KingstonJamaica #UKvsJamaica #LifeAbroad #PolicingAbroad #Entrepreneurship #SecurityTech #ThirdCultureKids #Reinvention #FindingHome #CaribbeanLife #JamaicaVsUK #RealStories #Podcast #PoliticalStability #CrimeAndSecurity #BuildingALifeAbroad

Best Of - Bajan by Birth, Jamaican by Heart: How I Found Love, Community & My Calling in Kingston

What happens when a Bajan Hindu girl lands in Kingston at 18 to study physiotherapy, falls in love with a Jamaican, and 22 years later is still here — raising two daughters, running a practice, and calling Jamaica home while Barbados stays in her heart? In this heartwarming and deeply personal episode of "Babes, How Did You Get Here?", host April Jackson sits down with Jivika Lalwani-Chugani (Jivey)—a Barbados-born physiotherapist, entrepreneur, co-director, and proud Hindu mother of two—who shares the unexpected journey that took her from a university student in Kingston to building a family, a business, and a life rooted in love, tradition, and adaptability across two Caribbean islands. 📚 To join the Parenting community: https://april-s-site-fcfd.thinkific.com [https://april-s-site-fcfd.thinkific.com] Jivey opens up about arriving in Jamaica at 18 to study physiotherapy at the University of the West Indies—where she fell in love with a Jamaican, extended her "one-year internship," and never left. What began as a degree turned into 22 years of marriage, two daughters, a thriving physiotherapy practice, and a life that weaves together Bajan roots, Indian culture, and Jamaican warmth in a way that feels effortless—but wasn't always easy. She talks honestly about the cultural differences between Barbados and Jamaica, the shock of seeing goats cross the road in the city, the confusion of Jamaican money ($200,000 for university supplies?!), and why she'll choose tastee patty over juicee any day. She shares what it's like to raise two daughters with completely different relationships to their Jamaican identity, how she keeps Indian traditions alive through food, festivals, and community, and why her husband's support made all the difference when she decided to take seven years off to be a stay-at-home mom. One of the most powerful moments in the episode is her return to work—just two weeks before COVID hit. After seven years of being the chauffeur, the cook, the nurse, and everything in between, Jivey stepped back into physiotherapy with fear, excitement, and a deep sense of calling. She discovered a passion for working with geriatric patients, found fulfillment in improving quality of life for the elderly, and built a part-time practice that honors her number one priority: family first, everything else secondary. She also gets real about the misconceptions people have about Jamaica (crime, safety, fear), the classism she experienced in Barbados (Sandy Lane bar service, anyone?), and why she believes Jamaicans are filled with love and warmth—something she's experienced firsthand for over two decades. From roast breadfruit and steamed fish with okra, to deep-fried okra with peanut sauce, to the cultural shock of window washers at stoplights, to raising third-culture kids who celebrate Diwali and love the beach— Jivey's story is a beautiful reminder that home is where you choose to bloom, and that love, food, and community are the threads that hold it all together. 💬 Question for you: Have you ever moved to a new country and built a whole new life? What was the hardest part? And Team Tasty or Team Juicy? 👀 If this episode resonated, like, comment, and share it with someone who needs the reminder that it's never too late to choose love, family, and a life that honors all of who you are. Chapters: CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Intro: From Barbados to Jamaica * 00:01:04 How Jivy ended up in Jamaica * 00:03:17 First impressions of Jamaica * 00:06:05 Becoming a mom & Indian culture * 00:07:30 Food culture shock * 00:10:02 Goats, cows & culture clashes * 00:12:43 From stay-at-home mom back to work * 00:14:30 Quickfire questions #howdidyougethere #AprilJackson #BarbadosToJamaica #expatlife #JamaicaLiving #CaribbeanLife #BajanInJamaica #IndianCulture #Hindu #Physiotherapy #Motherhood #ThirdCultureKids #StayAtHomeMom #WorkingMom #CulturalIdentity #FlyingFish #JerkChicken #TastyPatty #RoastBreadfruit #FindingHome #LoveAndFamily #CaribbeanExpat #RealStories #Podcast #Reinvention #LifeAbroad #KingstonJamaica #Diwali #FoodIsLove #ChoosingJoy