Why Do I Feel Like a Foreigner in My Mother Tongue? | S3 EP1

Jess speaks her mother tongue fluently so why did she feel like an imposter the moment she used it at work? We're back after a 9-month break. Season 3 kicks off as a solo mini-series, where host Jess steps away from the guest format to share her own story where she's from, why she started this podcast, and how she found her voice. In EP1, Jess unpacks a question she can't stop turning over: what is the "sense of self"? It started with a work trigger after years of using English and Japanese professionally, Jess recently worked on projects in Mandarin, her mother tongue. She expected it to feel like coming home. Instead, she felt anxious, out of place, and hit with imposter syndrome — missing cultural nuances she was "supposed" to know instinctively. Turns out, the hardest identity crisis wasn't feeling foreign abroad in the US, it was feeling foreign in her own root culture, surrounded by people who assumed she'd simply "get it." If you've ever felt like a stranger in the place you're supposed to belong, this one's for you. People from everywhere, making life work in Japan. One guest, one vibe, no neat labels. We talk culture clashes, soft identities, creative survival, and all the strange magic in between. Unfiltered, a little feral, and sometimes accidentally profound. Step inside and join us Behind the Yellow Curtain. DM us or comment your own version of this story. Jess wants to hear it. #thirdculturekid #impostersyndrome #culturalidentity #japanlife #senseofself Follow us on Instagram   / btycpod