Embracing Change: The Impact of Bold Decisions on Life Trajectories

Amy Stone [00:00:05]:
Andrea Hunt. Welcome to the art of imperfect adulting.

Andrea Hunt [00:00:09]:
Thank you so much. I’m so happy to be here.

Amy Stone [00:00:11]:
I’m so glad you’re here. Are you ready for a chat?

Andrea Hunt [00:00:14]:
You betcha.

Amy Stone [00:00:16]:
Let’s do it. All right, first question. Easy peasy. Get to know you question. What part of the world do you call home today?

Andrea Hunt [00:00:25]:
So I’m in Germany now, but I just. I just gave myself away with the. You betcha. I’m from Minnesota.

Amy Stone [00:00:30]:
You’re from Minnesota. Minnesota. I didn’t catch it. I didn’t catch it. Okay. All right.

Andrea Hunt [00:00:35]:
I was like, way to out myself like that.

Amy Stone [00:00:38]:
Didn’t. I didn’t even catch. That’s. All right. So before we dive in to the topic of today, I do want to give you a chance. I do want to get to know you a little tiny bit better and have the audience do, too, tell us something about you, like, as a person. It can be anything. It can be about the people you live with, your pets, a hobby, just a little bit about you.

Andrea Hunt [00:00:58]:
I am a curious world traveler. Like, I’ve been to almost 40 countries. I’ve lived in about six. I love languages and people and cultures and different foods. And I love being outdoors, which is great because I live in Bavaria, so it’s like the Alps are. The Bavarian Alps are right there, so I can go hiking and biking and swimming and all the other things that I like to do outside.

Amy Stone [00:01:21]:
So you’re in Munich. Is that. Is that about right? Yeah. So when. When I was in Munich, we saw the. Oh, my goodness. The surfing, the surf at the river. River surfing. Oh, yeah.

Andrea Hunt [00:01:31]:
Yeah.

Amy Stone [00:01:32]:
That was awesome to watch. That was awesome.

Andrea Hunt [00:01:34]:
It’s like a city where you see somebody on the subway with their surfboard, and you’re like, but there’s no sea around here. Like, where are they surfing?

Amy Stone [00:01:41]:
And then you’re like, the thing that got me was seeing the folks with the bikes and the surfboard. I was really impressed by the little trailers they put together to haul them around and was doing a little bit of sleep blue thing. Like, how can I rig my. My bike at home to. To transport my paddleboard? Which I still have not done, but it’s on the to do list somewhere on the to do list. Because parking. It gets you out of the parking situation. And an excellent conversation starter. All right, so now to get to the topic of the day. The topic you proposed is awesome and fun and a little bit complex. So we’re going to dig into it. But this is when you moved from Georgia in the United States to China when you were 28 years old. Does that sound like a fun topic?

Andrea Hunt [00:02:25]:
Sure. It’s a very interesting story.

Amy Stone [00:02:27]:
I believe it. Now, I do have some reflection from myself. I made a move when I was in my early 20s. Not nearly as big a move as what you made. But I do have a personal theory which is that most of us, when we do a move like this, are either moving towards someone or away from someone. And I mean, people will say, they’ll couch it in, you know, I had a job or whatever. But if you poke, it’s like, who. Who was it? Who were you? So you did include a little bit of information about that, that there was a relationship involved in this. So go ahead, tell us a little bit about that small piece of this story. Like, what was the push that was like, I’m fleeing across the globe out of here.

Andrea Hunt [00:03:14]:
Yeah. So I was. When I got done with university, the plan was just to go to South America with my ex boyfriend at the time. And he didn’t end up coming. So I went by myself. And through a series of unfortunate offense, the relationship dissolved while I was gone to South America. And we broke up. I broke up by my email and everything like that. And I was just like, oh, my God, I can’t deal with this just yet. So I stayed in South America longer. I was in Argentina, I went to Peru and Bolivia, met all these people. And I was in Bolivia in the hostel. And the hostel had its own brewery and they had a free pancake breakfast. So I was like, check, check, wind. Like, this is amazing. And so when I was there, there was an American girl and she had been l in Korean. She saved up, like South Korea, saved up all this money, and there she was at the pancake breakfast. And she was just like, well, I just got done with, you know, a year teaching in Korea. It was fantastic. And I was like, oh, that sounds so cool. But I’m not a teacher, you know, Like, I have a journalism degree. Like, I’m planning on working in Atlanta, you know, like, I was working at Georgia Public Broadcasting. And she’s like, well, no, you don’t have to be a teacher. You just have to have a bachelor’s. And I was like, really? I’m like, yeah, I don’t really know if that’s something I want to do now. I’m like, I’ve always been interested in Chinese culture, like China. She’s like, oh, you could totally do that. So fast forward, like, I come back to the US My ex is like, already moved out. I Have, like, this complete breakdown. It was very ugly. And I kind of had this realization where, like, I need to do something, like, totally drastic. Like, everything reminds me of him. I am heartbroken. He had already moved to someplace else with somebody else. That’s an extra little tidbit which really, like, added some, you know, fuel to the fire. And I’m just like, I. I’m not going to do this. I need to go start over someplace. And I was applying for, you know, jobs on Dave’s ESL Cafe, by the way, if anyone wants to do that.

Amy Stone [00:05:02]:
Okay.

Andrea Hunt [00:05:03]:
I found a place in Juji which was. I didn’t even know what it was, where it was. Okay. But it’s outside of Hangzhou, maybe two hours from Shanghai. And they offered me a contract. And they’re like, guess what? It starts in two weeks. So if you can go ahead and get your ticket and, like, you know, it’ll be room and board, and we’re sending you the papers for your visa. Come and, like, be here by the end of the month. And I was like, okay. And so, like, I. I did it. Like, I had moved out of my apartment, and I got to China. And the thing is, is that looking back, like, it’s. It was one of the best decisions that I ever made for my entire life. But I didn’t realize it at the time because, like, I mean, I got there and I was, like, in my little room, and I just sat there on the bed and I. Just. Totally bawled. I was just like, oh, my God. Like, now I’ve really done it. Like, Andrea, this is really it. Like, are you crazy? Are you stupid? Like, what are you thinking? You don’t know anyone here.

Amy Stone [00:05:54]:
That’s so funny.

Andrea Hunt [00:05:55]:
And here you are, and you can’t go back. You can’t undo this, you know? But, I mean, that’s the other.

Amy Stone [00:06:02]:
That reminds me of when people talk about skydiving. So when people talk about skydiving at the exact moment they do it, it’s terrifying and exhilarating, and then they get to the ground, like, that was amazing. And usually a minute or two later, depending on how old you are, that’s followed by, oh, my gosh, what did I do?

Andrea Hunt [00:06:20]:
Yeah.

Amy Stone [00:06:21]:
So, all right, so you move. You’re 28 years old. You. You do what everybody says you should not do, which is make a big life decision in the aftermath of an emotional breakup. But we. We’ve all done it. We’ve all done it. We’ve all done it. Dave’s esl. I love that. That is There. Um, so I want to back up a teeny tiny bit because we’re talking about the move to China. But you put a little nugget in the form that you turned in to tell me about this, which this is not really actually the first decision like this that you made. So I want to zoom out a little bit, because you had moved from wherever you were in the U.S. at the time to Mexico when you were 20, I guess. So what was that move about? Because that’s also. So you’re. That’s a. That’s two international moves. So what took you to Mexico?

Andrea Hunt [00:07:11]:
So it wasn’t very happening in high school. I mean, I was kind of hanging out with the wrong crowd. I didn’t have a lot of support. I was getting into a lot of trouble, and I just was not in a point in my life where I was making very good decisions. And I. I didn’t want to go to college right away because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just wasn’t happy in Minnesota. And I knew that I needed to go and, like, explore and kind of find myself, you know, I wouldn’t have said it in those words at the time. I was 20, and I was not that evolved, you know, like, with my self awareness, but I was just like, I just need to get out of here. And my grandmother was Mexican. And so, like, one of my. The ways that I really wanted to honor her was by learning Spanish. My other cousins at the time, who were also part Mexican, had not learned Spanish. And so I was like, that’s what I’m gonna do. Like, I’m just gonna. I’m gon to Mexico. I’m gonna learn Spanish. Like, I went there and I was, you know, same thing. Sat there on the bed and cried like the first night.

Amy Stone [00:08:03]:
There’s a pattern.

Andrea Hunt [00:08:03]:
You can see there’s a pattern here, like, of my. My bravery slash, you know, afterwards having this, like, you know, meltdown. But again, like, I think I had not been hanging around people who were very motivated and really doing things, and it just wasn’t good for my growth long term. And when I was down there, like, I could feel myself, like, getting better at Spanish. And I just met all these people from all over the world, and I had Mexican friends, and it was just this completely other world that I had no idea that, like, I could be part of. And it was kind of like that. That’s what planted the seed in my head that, like, okay, you know what? You don’t. You’re not ever stuck you can always kind of go someplace. If it’s not working for you, you can always do something. You don’t have to stay where you’re not happy. And that’s what I got out of that. That’s, you know.

Amy Stone [00:08:51]:
And so you. So I had made an assumption when I read this on the form, but I don’t think I was right. You picked up and moved, but you were just. You. Were you a student there, or were you just picking up Spanish through the community and the environment?

Andrea Hunt [00:09:04]:
I just went to a private Spanish language institute.

Amy Stone [00:09:07]:
So you signed up for, like, a language school.

Andrea Hunt [00:09:09]:
There’s, like, no Internet at the time. It was a. I found it in the back of, like, a. Let’s go. No, it was the Berkeley Guide to Europe, 1996. Okay. Before the Internet. So keep that in mind. Where you, like, you know, you can go get pamphlets and stuff like that. I found it in the back, and that’s where I got this. And I found this guy named Sam Bull who did these kind of tailored programs. So the plan was Mexico, go learn Spanish, go to London, do volunteer work, which I did with disabled kids, and then go to China. But then the order of things got kind of messed up because I went to London and then I went back to Mexico.

Amy Stone [00:09:45]:
Okay, all right. And at some point in there, you go to. You pick up a bachelor’s degree. Yes, Georgia.

Andrea Hunt [00:09:52]:
Then Athens, Georgia. And I got a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Amy Stone [00:09:55]:
So it’s interesting. So I also did study abroad in the 90s, 95, I think so 96. When I moved to my. So one of the craziest. It is so funny to now travel with the Internet and all of the advantages of it. I remember being somewhere and getting off the train and looking in the book that we carry, whichever tourism book you had. And we were in. It was in Prague. And they were like, look for this guy who’s going to take you to the. The hostel. And we all thought, we’re like, that’s no way. There’s no way this information could possibly be correct because it’s got a guy’s name. But sure enough, you walk outside the train station and there he is. And we were all like, wow, what is this arrangement? But anyway, that’s not the way things are anymore now. Now it’s just a matter of having your, like, data to update. But okay, so your phone. Exactly everything. Google Translate is the greatest, greatest thing. The greatest thing, in my opinion is somebody likes to travel. So, all right, so you move to Mexico, you work on your Spanish as a. As a connection with your grandmother and that part of your heritage. That’s amazing. You. Some of the pieces here are coming together because there is a little bit of a pattern. Right. You made the decision to jump and go to Mexico. You’re obviously a very motivated person today. You are a person who has lived and traveled in a lot of places. And you mentioned that China was actually on your list. You. I’m going to ask you this, and maybe you gave some foreshadowing before you moved to Mexico. Did you have any idea of what you wanted to do as an adult? Like, I know you went on and got a degree in journalism, but was there. Was there any sense of that, or were you just searching for whatever would show up in front of you?

Andrea Hunt [00:11:36]:
I didn’t know, honestly, like, what I wanted to do. I just knew that, like, at 19, I didn’t want to go to college right away, and I just. I needed to go out and figure myself out. I was just. I was very depressed and stuff like that in high school, and so I just knew that I had to go, like, breathe some spark back into myself in my life.

Amy Stone [00:11:52]:
Yeah.

Andrea Hunt [00:11:53]:
And then over the course of the time that I was there, like, I was taking photography courses in Mexico, and I had the idea first, like, I wanted to be, like, a photojournalist. And when I got to, like, Grady, this is a University of Georgia, there was, like, a journalism program where you could do telecommunication arts, which included, like, photography, but also, like, videography. So I had been doing video production in high school. We had, like, a school, like, news show that we did every single lunchtime. And so I was like, that’s what I want to do. I need to get, like, into video production and all this stuff.

Amy Stone [00:12:25]:
So, yeah, that’s how it was. All right, so it was very good. But you’re obviously, you’ve got a pretty high risk tolerance, because for somebody to make that international move at such a young age, I think that definitely does. So you live in Mexico, you went to London, you travel somewhere, you travel through South America. I guess that’s after. After you picked up a degree.

Andrea Hunt [00:12:49]:
I studied in Argentina several times. I took like, a. So I studied in Argentina a couple times.

Amy Stone [00:12:56]:
From Spanish back, and that’s back and forth from Georgia to Argentina. That was while you were a student or separate student. While you were a student. All right, so very good. So you’re in South America, where you’re exploring in Argent, Your relationship dissolves and. And you’re breaking up by email. You come back to Georgia, which was your home base because that’s where you were a student. How long? And you’re only there a couple weeks before you go. A couple weeks? Or how long are you there before you go to China?

Andrea Hunt [00:13:25]:
It was, like. It was about two months, I think. I came back in July because it was like, World cup. And I ended up starting, like, September 1st for, like, the school year. So.

Amy Stone [00:13:35]:
Left. You left Argentina?

Andrea Hunt [00:13:38]:
Moved out of the apartment. Sorry.

Amy Stone [00:13:39]:
You left Argentina during the World Cup? Yeah, because I. I would have done exactly the opposite. I would have been like, I’m gonna stay here.

Andrea Hunt [00:13:46]:
I. I changed my ticket, like, already twice. I could not change it again. It’s like. It’s not a cheap ticket.

Amy Stone [00:13:52]:
So, like, got it. Got it. That’s. That has got to be a fun place to be, though, for the World Cup. They’re crazy.

Andrea Hunt [00:13:58]:
It was amazing.

Amy Stone [00:13:58]:
It was crazy. All right, so you’re there for two months. You fill out the application for Dave’s esl. What was going through your mind when you were filling out the application? Like, did you consider anything else? Like, you know, like, was there any other?

Andrea Hunt [00:14:13]:
Because it was kind of one of those situations, and it’s happened to me several times in my life where I suddenly realized, like, having. Not having any certainty for the future sometimes is actually a really big opportunity. Because I was like, okay, what could I do? What can I do now that I couldn’t do When I had a relationship and he never wanted to move to China, that was always my thing. Like, I was interested in Chinese since I was a little kid. I took classes. I went to Chinese camp and Concordia language camps, Northern Minnesota. I was an odd kid, I guess. I was like. Had all these interesting little hobbies, but. And so I was like, that’s the first place that I want to go, and I can start over. I can go study Chinese. I hadn’t planned on living there as long as I did. I mean, I was there almost, like seven years. I just wanted to go for, like, a year, teach for a year, go to Southeast Asia, and then go back to Argentina. That was my plan. But that didn’t happen because I ended up moving to Beijing. Studied Chinese there, and I was working for an ad agency during the Olympics. So it was 2008 for foreigners. Like, if you could speak Chinese, another language, you could do all this other. You know, all these different things. But then when the global financial crisis happened, like, in the fall of. The fall of 2008.

Amy Stone [00:15:25]:
Yeah, my dad.

Andrea Hunt [00:15:27]:
And I was like, so I was gonna come back, and my Dad’s like, you know what? Like, I miss you, but I don’t think it’s a good time to come back to the US Right now. Things are just shaky, like, with the financial crisis, all these people had gotten laid off. And he’s like, if you have a job and there’s work in China, why don’t you just kind of wait this out and, like, kind of see what happens? And every other foreigner that I was that was around at the time did the same thing. Most of us stayed another five years at least, and there was, like, a lot of growth in China.

Amy Stone [00:15:54]:
So that is. That is amazing. That is okay. So very, very good now. So you were well traveled, well traveled and well studied before you made this jump across the globe and got it got to China. But you did describe it as the scariest, bravest, stupidest thing you’d ever done. Those were the words you used. I copied them. So I didn’t make a mistake exactly in that order.

Andrea Hunt [00:16:15]:
Like.

Amy Stone [00:16:16]:
Yeah, and you did. You already said, you’re like, it was a really pivotal, great change. But what was so different about this move from the US To China that made it scary, brave, and stupid?

Andrea Hunt [00:16:31]:
Because China is a completely other world. Like, culturally, there’s just so many things that you don’t understand. It’s not even just the language. It’s like, culturally, the difference between east and west is really hard to understand unless you kind of go live it. And then the thing is, is that it’s not just one thing. Like, for one, in a small town of a million where I was living, there were five foreigners. And so, like, wow. And the thing is, like, people take pictures of you like they’ve never seen a foreigner in real life. So, like, sometimes you kind of feel like this, you know, dancing monkey that’s just walking down the street and people are taking, like, selfies with you and all this stuff. So, like, there’s a sense of humility because you. You stand out. You don’t blend in. You know, like, everywhere you go, people are really curious. Sometimes it’s just weird. People will come up and, like, touch your. Your arm and be like, oh, wow. Like, just, you know, skin or your hair. And I don’t know, it’s just the whole. The language and the culture, there’s so many different traditions and practices and ways of doing things that some of it’s very obviously different. And then the other things you don’t realize when you might be making, you know, this cultural faux pas, you know, and even, like, working in an office, I Mean, and I worked for the Chinese state radio, and so there were very specific hierarchies and things that you could mention on the radio and things that you could not mention on the radio. So, like, I had to change one of my reports one time because I mentioned I, Weiwei, who was a dissident at the time, I had to completely, like, redo my radio report, take that out like, five minutes before it was supposed to go live on, like, Beijing drive, like at 6:00. So just those kind of things. It’s just. It’s a totally other world. But on the other hand, like, I just realized that, like, if I can do this in China and you’re constantly just pivoting and adjusting and, like, you know, not getting everything that. What you want, you know, and just having to be like, all right, managing, you know.

Amy Stone [00:18:24]:
Yeah, so it’s not. I mean, it’s one of the things. It’s a culture and it’s a language. But you, at this point, had already picked up a couple different languages, and you, you had studied a little bit of Chinese at a language institute, but you met. I don’t. I don’t think you spoke Chinese when you got there. Is that right?

Andrea Hunt [00:18:42]:
No, I hadn’t studied it for over, like, 14 years or something like that. 10, 12, something like that, since I was in, like, middle school and then I was 28 then. So, like, a lot of time.

Amy Stone [00:18:54]:
And it’s a big jump because it’s more than just words. It’s also the Alphabet and the way they write things. So it. When we talk about the culture, when you go from Miami to, you know, Cancun, I recognize the letters. They’re not put together in the way that I would put them. But if I go to someplace where the Alphabet is different, I look up at the sign, I’m like, it could be anything. Could be.

Andrea Hunt [00:19:15]:
Well, their. Their characters is like. They don’t even have an Alphabet that you can translate like that. Their characters and each of the radicals have different meanings and stuff. So it’s just a completely different way of. Of doing.

Amy Stone [00:19:28]:
Completely different. Completely different. So I would think that the sense of disconnect and difference was heightened in the beginning compared to. Yeah, that would be my guess. So before you went. So you make this big change, you make it fast. You’ve got a referral from somebody you met in a hostel who did a similar program, but actually in a totally different. Fill out a form. They say, come right away. You zip, zap, zoop. You’re in a completely different Places. But before you did this, what hopes or dreams or expectations did you think were going to happen? You had a. You ended up staying a lot longer than you expected. But what were you hoping would happen as a result of this big change of China?

Andrea Hunt [00:20:10]:
My idea was just to kind of travel around at the time, like, I. I wanted to teach students and like, teach English for a little bit. I had done that a tiny bit in Argentina. I don’t. I’m not a natural teacher or something like that. Like I said, like, I’m a kind of a motivator and like a coach. But I am good at English teaching, apparently. But I also. That’s another component. I wasn’t familiar with children up until that point. And like, they told me that I was going to be dealing with middle school. Okay. The reality was I had two giant classes of like 40 students each that were five, so five years old, 45 year olds. And then I had two classes of those. And then I also had second grade and fourth grade that I would come in and teaching this. So, like, I had no idea what I was doing. Like, I didn’t particularly. Even I wasn’t fond of children at the time. Now I love children as a result of this, because this completely changed. I mean, those are like my kids. I was with these kids for 10 days straight and then four days off. And then they would go home to their parents and they.

Amy Stone [00:21:12]:
Oh my gosh, that’s so crazy. So they. This was like a living program. So you did. You were okay when you said teaching? I figured they were showing up for like after school, like a boarding school.

Andrea Hunt [00:21:23]:
It was. I lived there. Yeah.

Amy Stone [00:21:25]:
So 10 days and then four days. Sorry to interrupt. That caught me by surprise.

Andrea Hunt [00:21:29]:
No problem.

Amy Stone [00:21:29]:
That caught me by surprise. All right, so you want to do exploring, you want to do this. You didn’t have any expectations about teaching, but then you fall in love with these kids. Yep.

Andrea Hunt [00:21:39]:
And then I also got like, you know, to have the holidays and stuff like that. So I was able to travel a lot. I got room and board. I ended up meeting some people in my city and having some friends. And then it was close enough to Hangzhou and Shanghai that I could go there pretty much every weekend. So.

Amy Stone [00:21:54]:
All right, so how long was the teaching contract? Like, because. So how long did you do that? Nine months and does. And then you decided to stay. You called home to your dad and said, maybe I’ll come home. And then you decided to stay. How did it happen that you stayed?

Andrea Hunt [00:22:08]:
Well, no. So 2007, I had planned to kind of go back to Southeast Asia. I wanted to do Vietnam and, you know, Thailand. And I went to a rock. A rock festival called Midi rock festival in 2007 up in Beijing. And I was like, this is just awesome. Like, there were so many different kinds of Chinese people. Like, all these, like, Chinese punks and, like, metal guys and. And, like, Scott, like. And they had all of these bands playing and everything. I was like, this is so cool. I just had no idea that China could have this. I mean, like, I had gone to a rave on the Great Wall in 2005 when I went to study Chinese there. That’s actually something that they do every year, rave at the Great Wall. But, like. But this was, like, a huge music festival with just thousands and thousands of people and just really cool Chinese people. And I was like, I need to move up here. Like, I just. I need to do this because I was living in the small town where everybody knew me. Everybody was pointing at me, staring at me. They were nice, but, like, I felt like a alien, you know? And so then once I was up there, I was studying at blcu, the Chinese. The. It’s like Beijing Cultural Language University. Met a whole bunch of people. And through that, once I got done, that’s where I found an internship and an ad agency.

Amy Stone [00:23:18]:
All right, which brings you back. That closes the loop and brings you back to using your journalism skills.

Andrea Hunt [00:23:23]:
Yes.

Amy Stone [00:23:24]:
I’m not sure, but my favorite part of this story so far might be you decided to stay based on a music festival. Also, I have an outstanding invitation. A friend of mine wants to do the Great Wall marathon, which I’m on the fence about, but I think the Rave on the Great Wall has an entirely different appeal. Did not know that that was a thing, but I love it. I love how long. Remind me again. Seven years. You stayed in China?

Andrea Hunt [00:23:52]:
Almost seven. Like, I guess I left in. In, like, September. So it wasn’t a full year. It was like six. And, you know, some change or whatever. But, yeah, it was amazing. I mean, like, I wouldn’t necessarily want to go back now. Like, I. I love Europe. Like, I love living here and stuff like that. But I think that that. That part of my life in China definitely kind of formed who I was or who I became as a. As a person, because those were just really formative years. That. But I met people from all over the world. Like, I also realized what I was capable of. I also. You really understand also, like, the global supply chain and, like, how things work. Like, you know, because you meet people who are like, you know, there was, like, a Norwegian guy is like, yeah, we, you know, fish the salmon in the morning, we fly it to China. They go ahead and, like, package it up and, like, clean it, and we ship it back. And we’re like, why would you do that? They’re like, because it’s cheaper. So it’s just. It’s all these things that you don’t really realize, and you’re like, wow, is that how they do that? Okay. Like, so that is.

Amy Stone [00:24:53]:
I would not have said that. That would. I would not have known that that was how that happened. But one of the things that is also different when you’re outside of the US Bubble is the concept of how far apart things are. Like, so we have a different view of that very US center view of that when we’re here. Right. So. All right, so you’ve had some distance from this big decision of making the jump when you were 28. And if you were to think back and maybe it’s what you just said, actually, what is a shift that you look back and you realize that you made as a result of. Of making that. Making that decision and making that trip.

Andrea Hunt [00:25:27]:
You mean a moving to China?

Amy Stone [00:25:29]:
Like a journey moving to China? Yeah. What is one personal shift that. Yeah. What is one personal shift that you would tie back to that decision?

Andrea Hunt [00:25:36]:
That I can always make a decision and change things. I’m never stuck.

Amy Stone [00:25:40]:
Never stuck.

Andrea Hunt [00:25:41]:
That’s the biggest thing. Like, you’re never stuck. You can always do one thing different. And sometimes, like, you know, I mean, there have been points in my life where, like, literally, I was. Things were really difficult, and you don’t feel like you have any power over anything. And I mean, like, I started my morning routine during a time in Germany where, like, I was working for a startup. Like, loved this job. Like, absolutely love the show. My colleagues were fantastic. Went through a different breakup. It’s, like, historical to a different breakup. Lost that job because a company acquired us, so they let go of everybody. I ended up getting rehired with them, but that was, like, there were, like, several months in between there where I was like, what am I doing? I’m here in Germany by myself. Like, you know, and sometimes you have to be like, okay, what do I have control over? I. I’m gonna do a morning routine. Every morning. I’m gonna get up, I’m gonna write my intentions. I’m gonna do my yoga. I’m gonna go swimming. Morning. That’s what I’m gonna do. Like, I don’t have control over anything else. I’m gonna keep sending out job applications, but I can start my morning in a structured way that makes me feel like I have some power. And sometimes that’s all you can do, you know, I mean, like, hopefully you’re not in that kind of position where that’s literally all the power that you have. But, like, what I’m saying is that you can always find something to. To do to give yourself that sense of groundedness and strength.

Amy Stone [00:26:56]:
Yeah, no, absolutely. All right, so you have been everywhere. You have been so many places. You have lived in six different countries. When people ask you where you are from, what do you say these days?

Andrea Hunt [00:27:10]:
Us.

Amy Stone [00:27:12]:
So generally you just claim the entire country. I think that. I think that works.

Andrea Hunt [00:27:15]:
I just said from the US because not everyone abroad knows Minnesota. Like, keep in mind, people know sports teams. Like, sometimes people will know the Timberwolves. I don’t even follow Tim rules, but, like, I always say us, and they say where? Minnesota. Because they’ll say which city.

Amy Stone [00:27:31]:
Right. But that’s. All right. Very good. Now, so in a minute, we’re going to do final questions, but I want to give you a chance to talk about what you do these days as a profession and how people can connect with you, because we’ve talked about this amazing journey and all the things you’ve done along the way, but you are not actually an English teacher these days. So tell us what you do and how people can connect with you.

Andrea Hunt [00:27:51]:
Yes. So now I’m an EFT empowerment coach. So I did my certificate for coaching during lockdown because we had not one, two, but three different lockdowns here in Germany. And I decided to use that time to go ahead and get a certification because like many people in 2020, I also got laid off. And I was like, same situation, you know, like, okay, everything is uncertain, but I have a space open in front of me. What would I like to do? And I had been thinking about becoming a coach for a really long time because I’ve done a lot of personal growth. Like, there are a lot of things that I just had to, like, learn about. Like, boundaries and self awareness and authenticity was never something that I struggled with, but I had, like, a lot of. A lot of other things with, like, assertiveness and whatever. And so I decided to get that certification. And then EFT became a natural part of that. Like, where I got certified in that as well, because EFT tapping, it’s a mind body technique, by the way, if anybody doesn’t know. And you can use it for. For releasing Stress and anxiety and, you know, getting more emotional resilience because you can always recalibrate and bounce back from whatever things that happen. But what I really like to use it for is for motivation and belief woundings and things like perfectionism and imposter syndrome, because if you can release the fear and resistance and, you know, the, the lack of belief in yourself, then you can become more confident and you can feel more empowered and you can feel more certain about yourself and secure in, in your abilities. So that’s what I like to do. I combine those things now these days.

Amy Stone [00:29:29]:
Very good. All right, so that is great. I’m a big fan of eft, so I think it’s a very cool thing. You do have a special offer for the audience which I’m going to share. Right. You have a recreate transformation 2025 recreate transformation, which is 10 sessions to unlock your potential. So that’s a lot. And so you can do that normally. These ten 60 minute private sessions, which I suppose you do with people all over the world, like, just like I’m talking to you today, are usually €999. You have a free book about EFT, which there’s a link in the show notes and in the email I send out, and there’s a coupon with the hashtag Perfectly Imperfect where listeners can get €100 off that package above. So that’s an amazing discount and I’m so happy that you’re sharing that with the audience. Thank you for that generous give. So now we’re going to close out with three final random questions. These are about nothing and they have no importance. Just for fun. All right, so I wrote these before we had the conversation, but you mentioned this and so this is going to be really interesting. Do you have a set morning routine? And if so, do you want to share with us what it is?

Andrea Hunt [00:30:40]:
Absolutely. I’ve kind of perfected my morning routine over the last, like I’d say 15 years. So I wake up, I first do like a meditation usually that’s like five to seven minutes long. I do eft. There’s a Brad Yates specifically that I do. It’s called Ask for no Resistance. It’s a just kind of ground you. And yeah, call me in the morning. Also amazing day Quickie. That’s another one by Brad Yates. You can find it on YouTube for free. And I do yoga stretching. So like either yoga with Adrian or yoga with Cassandra. And I set intentions for the day, but I do that every single day in some, in some order.

Amy Stone [00:31:18]:
That’s Fantastic. All right, Very good. All right, so do you read or listen to books? And if so, what was the last book you read or listened to?

Andrea Hunt [00:31:26]:
So actually I got. Somebody recommended the E Squared book. I don’t know if you’ve heard it. It’s about, it’s about like manifestation but with the reticular activating system.

Amy Stone [00:31:37]:
Okay.

Andrea Hunt [00:31:37]:
So not like, woo, manifestation but like you can train your brain to be like I will see purple cars today, whatever. And so like it’s supposed to work for other things. And so I, One of my friends was telling me that I was like, that sounds interesting. Like, why not? So yeah, I’ve been trying to go. There’s like 12 little experiments. And her name is Pam Grout, so it’s kind of interesting. That’s what I’m. It’s my sauna book.

Amy Stone [00:32:00]:
So I can just sit in the sauna and read. I, if I, I’m not a sauna person, I. It’s just, it’s like not the place for me. And so if, if I’m in a sauna, my all of my focus is on breathing and not passing out.

Andrea Hunt [00:32:13]:
I’m like reading in the sound. Once you get out.

Amy Stone [00:32:16]:
Okay, that’s much better because like I’m.

Andrea Hunt [00:32:19]:
Always all over the pages and like.

Amy Stone [00:32:22]:
I’m always amazed by people who are like relaxed in the sauna when every, every cell in my body is like, okay, has it been 60 seconds? Like, can I get out? Like how are you?

Andrea Hunt [00:32:32]:
I find like the ones in the States, like I didn’t, I always hated it because it felt really dry and like suffocating. But the way that they do it in Germany is you have these little sessions and I’ll dump some water and they like, like take it very seriously. They like fan you and then they like pour some more water and they’d like fan you. So it’s, it gets very intensely hot for maybe five, 10 minutes and then you go out and you like take a super, super cold shower and it’s just like really revitalizing.

Amy Stone [00:32:56]:
So now I like, I believe I, I will put that under the category of things that I would probably enjoy if I knew how to do them better. There’s a long list of those things and I believe all of them. Yeah. And I’m always happy to try. I’m always happy to try new things. All right, so if you could have a super power superpower, like a, like a superpower like the movies, like Avengers and things like that, like a magical superpower, what would it be?

Andrea Hunt [00:33:30]:
It’s a really hard one. I don’t know, maybe like, just to. To always have perfect health and be able to give everybody else perfect health.

Amy Stone [00:33:39]:
Okay, there you go. Very good.

Andrea Hunt [00:33:42]:
I became more. More cautious about the older that I’ve gotten. I think, like, health is just so important, especially with burnout and stuff like that. People. It’s sometimes something that you Don’t. You really take it for granted until, you know, something happens so you hurt your knee or till you, like, you know.

Amy Stone [00:33:59]:
And yeah, it is definitely something that we do take for granted while we have it. And that’s, you know, it’s. And the downside of that in so many ways, but one of them is that you’re not really fully enjoying your health when you’re not aware of the fact that it can disappear, which is one of those weird things, right? And then even if you get something minor, like a cold and you feel crappy for a while, then, you know, remember the first day you’re able to breathe a little bit when you’re getting a ripple and you’re like, oh, I’m so thankful. So thankful for the air. Air coming into my body. You know, it’s such a reframe. Such a reframe for such a minor thing. All right, that’s it. Andrea Hunt, thank you so much for being an amazing guest.

Andrea Hunt [00:34:43]:
Thank you so much for having me. I mean, I really appreciate it.