Moving to China can sound like a highlight reel, but Jeff Lewis’s story shows the real texture of expat life. After graduating into the 2009 recession and struggling to find a teaching job, he lands a last minute offer at an American school in Shanghai and has to scramble for a same day passport and visa. For a newly married couple, that kind of sudden relocation is more than a career move, it is an identity shift. The episode tracks how living abroad starts as survival mode and slowly becomes a framework for confidence, patience, and a wider view of the world that carries into work, marriage, and parenting.
Photos Courtesy of Jeff Lewis
The first days in Shanghai capture classic culture shock: exhaustion after a 24 hour journey, a driver treating lane lines as suggestions, and skyscrapers that make US cities feel small. Jeff walks into a low quality apartment, gets a hand drawn map, and realizes he cannot read a single sign. Even sleep becomes a lesson when the “Chinese mattress” feels like the floor. Those details matter because they show how the language barrier and unfamiliar norms turn simple errands into complex problems. The episode is a useful reminder that moving overseas is not only about travel, it is about daily life logistics, emotional stamina, and learning to function without the systems you take for granted.
Once Jeff’s wife arrives, the focus shifts to building rhythms as a couple in a foreign country. With limited TV, unreliable internet, and few nearby foreigners, they lean into shared experiences: weekend trips, subway navigation, and learning by doing. Jeff describes the first year as an extended honeymoon, not because it is easy, but because they rely on each other more than ever. They explore Shanghai history, from Sun Yat-sen’s former home to the Jewish Refugees Museum, and gradually learn how to travel China before smartphones and Google Maps. This part of the conversation is packed with practical insights for anyone considering international teaching, expat marriage, or long term travel abroad. 
The reality check arrives in the “bad China days,” when normal adult tasks become grinding: heat repairs delayed by communication gaps, missing comfort foods, and the slow wear of always being the outsider. A move to a better funded British international school improves quality of life and community, and it also enables a major milestone: starting a family overseas. Their two oldest children are born in China, and the episode gets candid about parenting abroad, hospital decisions, transportation without car seat norms, and how cultural differences shape postpartum support and feeding challenges. By the end, Jeff reflects on returning to the United States with stronger communication skills, a deeper classroom perspective as a social studies teacher, and a renewed belief in second language learning through immersion programs for his kids.
