About this episode

Yuliya Patsay shares her experiences of childhood immigration and the complexities of rebuilding identity in a new country.

I’ll never forget what it was like to live with 12 people in a Soviet apartment sharing a bathroom. Writer and storyteller Yuliya Patsay joins us to explore the emotional work of immigration, belonging, and identity — from her childhood arrival in San Francisco as a refugee from what was then the USSR, to the life she’s built today. She shares the reality of childhood immigration — the disorienting impact of an abundance of resources, diversity, culture shock, and the courage it takes to rebuild your identity when you don't understand the language, rituals and experience. We talk about the pressure her parents felt to “turn things around quickly,” the loss of professional identity, and of entering a system where the rules — social, cultural, bureaucratic — were entirely different. She also speaks candidly about the humor and heartbreak of childhood expectations, like the moment she realized Barbie was not life‑size: “I was like, this? No. I hate this.” Her story resonates with immigrant women , expat families , and anyone who has ever called another country home. Follow the show for more stories about migration, identity, and belonging — and the quiet, powerful work of creating a…

People in this episode

Guest: Yuliya Patsay

Topics covered

• immigration
• identity
• belonging
• childhood experiences
• cultural shock
• expat families

Keywords

• immigration
• identity
• Barbie
• Soviet
• cultural shock
• refugee
• expat
• belonging

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Places We Call Home LLC

Books & works: Until the Last Pickle

Places: San Francisco, USSR

More episodes of The Places We Call Home podcast

• #70. Bubblegum, Barbie and Becoming American. Pt.2 Yuliya Patsay · July 18, 2026 · 33 min
• #69. Feeling Lonely After Moving Abroad? Here's How to Lighten the Emotional Load · July 16, 2026 · 9 min
• #68. 3 Lessons Every Migrant Woman Needs to Hear When Starting Over Feels Impossible · July 7, 2026 · 5 min
• #67. The Truth About Success, Friendship, and Starting Over in a New Country · July 1, 2026 · 42 min

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