<p>In this episode I'm catching up with Pedro, a Ph.D. student in Portuguese literature. Join us as we talk about life in academia, his dissertation, therapy, Portuguese cuisine, electric scooters and urinals, among other things. Check out the <a href="https://www.podcastics.com/podcast/episode/oedipal-dream-or-peppers-in-exile-3651/" target="_blank">show notes</a> for extra links to some of the things mentioned in the episode.</p>

In 2014 I was living in Los Angeles. I had just dropped out of a Ph.D. program and was on my way to South Korea to work as an English teacher. Then, I met a French teacher. We fell in love, I dropped everything, and six months later I followed her to Paris with nothing but two suitcases.
As exciting as this new life was, looking for work and struggling with everyday life in a language I didn't speak started to chip away at my confidence. I could see that people back home had been steadily building towards something: finishing Ph.D's and working stable jobs, successfully making the transition to adult life while I had the impression of continually starting over.
This became the perfect excuse to call my friends and catch up. Beautiful people with big dreams whom I've met at different stages of life and who are now researchers, artists, teachers, scientists, parents. It turns out they too are trying to figure life out.
Stay tuned for new episodes every two weeks. 