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Emmanuel Ahiafor is a technology project manager and founder based in New Brunswick, Canada, with a passion for AI and global exploration, having traveled to 20+ countries. A devoted family man, he’s on a mission to help people thrive through innovation and meaningful connection.
In his episode, Emmanuel and I chat about:
How a song, a spontaneous trip, and a failed credit card led to four and a half years in Budapest
The gap between what the algorithm sells you about Canada and what you actually find
Why parenting far from home forces you to become your own village
The lessons he'd share with anyone thinking about moving
Adventures led by women, designed to make a difference.
Peru, Bhutan and Cambodia. That’s where Intrepid, the world’s largest adventure travel company, has launched three new Women’s Expeditions.
These small-group trips are designed exclusively for women, creating space to connect, explore and support local women-led businesses along the way.
Trek the lesser-known Chinchero to Urquillos route in the Peruvian Andes with an all-female crew. Discover Cambodia’s street food scene on a women-run tuk tuk tour. Unwind with a traditional herbal hot stone bath at a women-owned farmhouse in Bhutan.
Every trip is led by an expert female guide and built around meaningful, immersive experiences.
Some takeaways:
Every country you live in installs something in you that you can't uninstall. Emmanuel picked up a European habit in Hungary, which is mind your own business even in the elevator. Then he moved to Canada and found people who wanted to chat as "too friendly." Every country you make home, even for a little bit reshapes your sense of what's normal, what you tolerate, and how much control you expect over daily life.
Home doesn't require you to fit perfectly inside it. Emmanuel is probably never gonna fit in fully into Ghana again. And I think one lesson I took from reflecting on this point he made is that home isn't the place you currently agree with on everything. You can question it, outgrow parts of it, or feel frustrated by it. But deep in your bones, you just know it's home.
Immigration will reveal all your biases. For Emmanuel, things that were fine in Ghana aren't fine to him anymore. Things that were normal in Hungary feel strange in Canada. Each move peels back another layer. And if you're not willing to do that work, you'll struggle, because the country you moved to doesn't care about preserving the version of yourself you arrived with.
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