Classifying for the World Cup is an emotional roller coaster for most soccer fans, but in 2018, that was especially true for Peruvians, who hadn’t seen their country compete on the world stage in over three decades. What did it take for Peru to qualify for the biggest event in world soccer? Peruvian fan and writer Toño Angulo Daneri believes it might have all boiled down to an unlikely good luck charm: his 4-year-old son’s favorite toy. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3gcUcAY.

In Perú, writer Marco Avilés and his dog Piji were inseparable. But when Marco decided they should pursue better lives in the United States, and Marco found himself working for a top chef, their bond and sense of adventure would be tested in ways he had never imagined. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/34ngMEj.

Stella Forner will never forget her first wedding anniversary. It was March of 1976 and she spent the day at the Mexican consulate in Montevideo, Uruguay, which was in the midst of a military dictatorship. She, her husband and their baby weren’t there for a romantic celebration but to ask for political asylum. They had no idea how long it would be until they again felt at home in their own country. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3IP9Nmo.

Maria Murriel used to struggle with living between languages and cultures, and for many years tried to hide that she was an immigrant in the United States. Eventually, she realized that what she had been treating as a challenge was actually a key part of her identity. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3oAezg3.

Fabio Manuppella used to walk by homeless people on the streets of Buenos Aires thinking they must have done something to deserve their fate. Until he had to learn first-hand what it means to lose everything you have. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3unvEgy.

María Clara Calle grew up hearing about the atrocities committed by the FARC rebels in Colombia. She never imagined that one day she would not only meet them, but eat and sleep among them, deep in their territory, as they thought about their role in the future of peace in their country. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3AJFyul. 

A mother and her young daughter leave Mexico, escaping violence in search of a better life. It’s a trip with a few unexpected turns that ends up taking longer than planned. But their constant companion was there for them whenever they needed to escape: an old blue suitcase. A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3ITv8ew.

In 1996, Luis von Ahn left Guatemala to study in the United States and never moved back. That's partly because of something that happened just before his departure, something that changed his life forever: the kidnapping of his aunt. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://bit.ly/3HoXtZW. 

Growing up in Ecuador, Carolina Loza-León didn’t feel particularly close to her father. He was withdrawn and not very affectionate; a military man who loved reading American books. But while Carolina felt distant from her dad, he in turn was close with an American couple who hosted him when he was an exchange student to the U.S. She never quite understood that period in his life, until she took her own trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. Study materials and a transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3GaVEON.

Fabián Mauricio Martínez discovered his love for travel through his other passion – literature. So when he first read Jack Kerouac’s novel, "On the Road," he dreamed of crossing the United States from coast to coast as the main characters in the book had. One day, he decided it was time to make the trip his own. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://bit.ly/3APaOZ2.

Actress Trinidad Piriz traveled to Berlin to study theater, hoping to fall in love and improve her quality of life. But six months later, she returned home having only accomplished one thing: to get scammed by a woman whose name would forever be etched in her memory — Helen Brown. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://bit.ly/3gevkZu.

María Elizabeth Soto had never traveled to Asia before her office sent her on a three-week business trip to China. She wasn't prepared for the culture shock she'd face there. But the real surprise wouldn't come until she returned home to Chile. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://bit.ly/3LaRZnV.

Roberto Herrscher was one of the many Argentinians who fought against Great Britain in the Falklands War in the 1980s. Decades later, Herrscher returns to the islands to confront his memories and ends up making an unlikely friend. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://bit.ly/3uh4KqO.