Mark Hanna’s a storyteller with one hell of a story to tell. 

From Saudi to the UAE to Canada to Egypt, Mark immerses us in the narrative that leads to him unexpectedly dropping his life in Canada to pursue his filmmaking dream in Egypt.

Kicking off the second season of The Foreign Local podcast, Mark and Monica talk about… basically everything. No, seriously. As they recount the stories of Mark’s many moves, they talk about…

• how the rhetoric your parents use shapes your perception of the country
• school in Saudi vs school in the UAE
• Star Wars and Gladiator
• integrating into new spaces and getting bullied
• Coptic Orthodox church culture in North America
• McMasr
• how Egyptians in North America and the Gulf have very different relationships with Egypt
• romanticization, nationalism, and patriotism
• how seemingly small decisions can alter the course of your entire life
• crazy faith moments you couldn’t script if you tried
• how they both ended up in Cairo and working at the same agency one year apart

And, in an unprecedented turn of events, Mark flips the script and welcomes Monica as a guest on her own podcast to talk about the other side of her Egypt story that she’s never shared before.

This is one for the record books.

Mark Hanna is in the house, ladies and gentlemen; let’s GOOOO.

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Mark tells stories on Instagram @hannam6. 

While you’re there, follow The Foreign Local (@theforeignlocal) for more stories connecting the Egyptian diaspora with everyday life in Om el Donya.