(I had no idea what that was, but it’s a foreign currency trading – quite a complex and daunting undertaking). 

Now, he’s 100% locked in and focused on becoming an “all-star FX trader.” He speaks limited Spanish but will soon start an immersive nine-month course. He lives with locals and rides a bike around the city.
 
Jay is ready to learn how to surf and asked me extensively about Costa Rica, but admittedly can’t swim that great yet.
 
He’s fearless, disciplined, and balanced but with the wisdom of an old soul - a true lifestyle architect. 
 
Try putting him in a box, I dare ya…
It would need to be as big as the world.
 
It’s encouraging for me to see that there are people who travel and live abroad for the right reasons – not just to leverage comfort and pleasure at low prices, but to explore the world, experience other cultures, learn every day, humble themselves, and increase the vibe no matter where they are.
 
Enjoy this podcast interview with Jay, who doesn’t know where he’s going yet…but is on the exact right path.
 
-Norm Schriever ?
​

But he lived, defying the odds and amazing even his doctors, a testament to the incredible physical shape he was in, as well as a good amount of luck.
 
During the excruciating recovery and rehabilitation, found forgiveness and mindfulness as a way to heal, mind, body, and soul.
 
Particularly, he used a method called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to aid his healing and send him on his spiritual journey, and became a certified teacher in MBSR.
 
In a recovery that would take most people years or even decades, John was somehow healed and up and walking within only four months. Of course, there was still a lot of work to do and rehabilitation, but John’s turning inward somehow sped his miraculous rehabilitation.
 
Now healthy, happy, and still enjoying athletics, John teaches MBSR and meditation workshops to individuals and companies, and even offers free courses for anyone who would benefit.
 
Long gone are the days of college antics and bike messenger wildlings, and the evolved man before us now concerns himself with helping others find compassion, forgiveness, and becoming aware of their true (higher) selves.
 
Enjoy this chat with John Abate and thanks for listening and subscribing to the Who in the World podcast!

-Your friend,

Norm :-)

There, she picked up where she left off as a Bar Manager for 57 Below and Union Bar & Grill in the vibrant British colonial city shrouded in mystery, which had just recently opened to the outside world again.

But political unrest in Myanmar forced her and her new bride to relocate, taking refuge during the pandemic back in the U.S. and Mexico. 

Now, Jen Queen has a bright and bold new chapter to her story in Hong Kong, the preeminent hub of everything food, drink, and bar related. 

From discussing her concepts on building culture to what makes a great bar to her day-off ritual (Fresh Cut Fridays and a bottle of So Co and lemons in a dark piano bar), seeing the world through Jen’s lens of experiences makes me want to pack my suitcase again – and order another round.

Enjoy this podcast and all hail the (Jen) QUEEN!

​-Norm :-)

But he didn’t try to steal just anything or pocket things he thought he could sell. Instead, Gaspar broke into the school’s library and stole a big, virtually unused book: the English dictionary.
 
He began teaching himself one word per day, underlining it when he’d mastered it, and then, ten words and soon, forty per day. In short order, he was conversational in English in a time and place where few were. 
 
Despite his wild, hard drinking, knuckle bruising antics as a teenager and young adult, Gaspar simultaneously put himself through business school and then law school, becoming an attorney.
 
His new role as high-end "problem solver" for foreigners, the rich, and politically connected have earned him the nickname, "The Nicaraguan Ray Donovan."
 
These days, Gaspar is a family man, with a beautiful wife, Rebeca, a seven-year-old son, Gasparcito, and a newborn daughter who was less than a week old at the time of this recording, Luz (light).
 
Nothing much else has changed – he still lives in San Juan del Sur where he sells real estate, develops land, and has his sights on eventually becoming mayor, serving the people who both nurtured and sharpened him as a youth.
 
I started this humble Who in the World podcast to share the life stories of the remarkable, interesting, and downright crazy people I met around the world, and Gaspar is a prime example. 
 
In fact, his life story and these conversations bring to mind the famous quote by Mark Twain who said, “Travel is “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
 
Enjoy this podcast and some next-level real life shit with the one and only Gaspar.
 
-Norm Schriever

​I think you’ll enjoy his chill Texas drawl as much as you enjoy his wise words and worldly perspective.
 
It’s Trevor Gibbs for episode #13 of the Who in the World podcast!
 
-Norm

In the short span since then, the world has gone completely crazy and gone together, so it's nice to always hear the steady, sage voice of my buddy, Clint. 
 
In this podcast, we chat about the people, places, good times - and bad - that we've experienced together, how things may evolve through a post-Covid world, and hopes for the future. 
 
Enjoy this podcast with Clint and you can be assured there are more to come! 
 
-Norm Schriever

While Jake’s life story is remarkable, his deeply personal revelations about true love, tragic loss, and picking up the pieces to find beauty in life again will leave you in tears. 

I know they did for me. 

Enjoy this podcast with Jake Magnus and thanks for your support.

-Norm Schriever  :-)
​

Honestly, she’s one of the most chill, high-character people I’ve ever met, so it was fascinating to hear her story. 

Life has taken Sherli from humble beginnings in Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast to now working for Survivor the past eight years, splitting her time between Bali, Australia, and traveling the world.

Whether she's jumping into the ring for a boxing match, wrangling snakes, camping in Australia's Outback, or just enjoying the slow, simple island life, Sherli is one of a kind.

So, I’m really looking forward to introducing you to the great and fearless Sherli Quinn!

Let's go!

-Norm Schriever   :-)

When I found Yohaun at his cozy apartment down a back rode in the pacific village of Villareal, Costa Rica, I expected our conversation to be a primer on tea. Instead, it was much more – an honest and surprisingly vulnerable look into his family history, his tumultuous journey, and the soul of a damn fine human being. 
 
Enjoy this podcast interview with my friend, Yohaun.
 
-Norm  :-) 
 
PS Check him out soon at www.WadiGrammi.com
​

However, their soul-sapping corporate cubicle life further pushed them to the Less Than Zero life on the weekends, and soon they were depressed, despondent, and self-medicated with the prospect of spending their next 30 or 40 years that way.

So, Val and Lupe chose the road less traveled, deciding to move to the beach in Tamarindo, which is about five hours away from San Jose but may as well be another planet in terms of the pace, vibe, and the pura vida, or pure life.

It was anything but easy: the Covid pandemic essentially shut down Costa Rica from tourism for about seven months, but at least they were living a life of purpose and passion now. Finally, after months of struggle and hard work, they grew their Tierra Bendita Café, which means sacred or holy ground in Spanish. That’s an apropo term for the place that both saved their lives and serves as the center of community life in Tamarindo for so many (me included).

We talked about all of that when we sat down at Lizard Lounge recently, my favorite bar in Tamarindo, with the mic rolling and margaritas flowing.

Over our nearly two-hour conversation, Vale, Lupe and I covered the story of their move to Tamarindo, the build-up of their café against all odds, dealing with mental health, chasing their dreams, sacrificing everything to live an authentic life, and much more. These sisters couldn’t be more different in terms of personality, but I like and respect both of them a little more every single time we talk and the closer we become.

Enjoy this (slightly inebriated) part 2 of my pow wow with Val and Lupe, and shout-out to Wes at Lizard Lounge for hosting us!

-Norm  :-)
​
***
You can follow the sisters and their café life at @tierrabendita.cr on Instagram, and give some love to Lizard Lounge at @lizardloungecr