Wo/anderers

What is love? What is your soul? What mission have you come here, on this planet, to fulfill? These important questions have inspired Andrew Kenneth Fretwell from the United Kingdom to direct his entire energy into bringing their content closer to home. Or more specifically, as a spiritual space holder, he took it upon himself to help others connect with their higher, truer selves. Romania played a pivotal role in refining Andrew’s life mission, which is closely linked to the ancient Daoist...

Romania’s history regarding its national anthem has been as knotty as its own shifting path, especially in the last 150 years. Top the status quo with a continuous mystery surrounding certain important past events, and you get the questions that Matthias Ruijgrok from the Netherlands has been asking himself, particularly for his dissertation back in 2015. A musician and trained historian, Matthias had become interested in unravelling the veil of enigma off certain places that felt so far...

What secrets does our past hold? What magic can be found in our ancient roots? Stephen Aube from Canada has taken these questions to heart and ended up transforming them into the prima materia for his life mission. He has travelled the world from Peru to Turkey, from Ecuador to France, to learn from treasure thieves, shamans, star readers, and historians everything he could about ancient civilizations. All this preparation led him to his discovery of the Getae and their advanced culture in...

When spiritual teachings collide with scientific knowledge and ancient writings, that is what you’d call a breakthrough. Richard Rudd from the United Kingdom is no stranger to such a wonderful coming together, as he is the soul behind the Gene Keys, a wisdom-infused synthesis that helps people from every corner of the globe know more about themselves and the world. His encounter with Romania has a special seat reserved in his heart, since this is one of the places that have embraced the...

Felipe and Janelle Silva, the first couple on the Wo/anderers podcast from Brazil and Canada, started their Romanian adventure back in 2012, when they got involved in developing youth projects for children in Jiu Valley. Little did they know that their heart would not let them leave this corner of natural paradise and that this would be the place they would settle, and even where they would start a family. A dream of Felipe kept both of them focused and determined to remain in Jiu Valley, to...

Not many can claim the experience of a simple Google search sending them off into the journey of their lifetime. But Claire Melinte, President of the “Asociatia Bunul Samaritean” in rural Galati, can certainly tick that box. And what an adventure she signed up for! Originally from the United Kingdom, Claire ended up in Nicoresti, Galati, as a volunteer for an international charity, which prepared her for her leading role that she shares with her husband at the Good Samaritan Association. Her...

He has had some of the most profound conversations of his life with Romanians. Interacting with them also led him to want to go vegetarian for a couple days, see his life flash before his eyes #Romaniandrivers, and make him wonder what all those food jars are that Romanians keep getting from their moms. Vincent Joris, a Belgian-born, internationally-versed marketeer and branding expert, spends some time in this podcast episode analyzing the many quirks he noticed in Romanians. What he ends...

Elena Junc is a Russian entrepreneur, make-up specialist, natural perfume magician, organictarian, wife, and loving mom. She is currently living in Brasov together with her family. Her passion for aesthetics, design, fashion, and everything natural have gotten her to build her own make-up brand from scratch in Russia, which became a national success, put together special natural perfume lines, and consult world-class luxury brands like Prada and Dolce&Gabanna with their marketing actions....

Arabella McIntyre-Brown is a British writer and journalist with deep roots in West-Sussex and a profound appreciation for Transylvania, which has been her home for the past years. Her arrival in Romania was more situational than planned, but her journey let her discover much about herself and the world. And she made the best out of it. In today's episode, Arabella talks about what her definition of peace is and how she has found it in Transylvania, the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in...

Finding adventure, friendships, meaning, love, and a super-sweet cat called Sonia, all in the land beyond the forests, aka Transylvania. Julia's relationship with Romania is nothing short of rich, to say the least. She is a buoyant soul coming from Ukraine, who has explored much of what Eastern Europe has to offer and who enjoys connecting with interesting people on a regular basis. That is how she created initiatives such as Transilventures, a community of Romanians and expats who want to...

Matteo from Italy, or Matt for short, is a youth worker and writer with a passion for positive change. A gentle young man, Matt's purpose is to create the space for personal transformation especially around children who have less hope for life through art, travel, and non-formal education. He found himself in the summer of 2019 in Romania, teaching empathy, compassion, communication, and self-discovery to different age-groups in the village of Haghig, Covasna. The ride so far has had its...

Bulgaria and Romania share so much history, so many cultural aspects, and even words (hello zacusca!). And yet, these two nations seem to have gone their own way, on a different path from one another. Instead of studying the tidbits of some far-away land, today we take a closer look at Romania's old neighbour through the eyes of Stefan Nenov. A young marketeer and aspiring entrepreneur, Stefan has not lived in Romania, but instead, has gotten close with the Romanian people and culture,...

Alisa State has always exuded a crazy love for life. She cannot live too far away from nature, she's always on the go, and has more than enough energy to love and care for her beautiful Latvian-Romanian son as a single mom in Brașov. She didn't know much about Romania before she decided to change her life forever. But the decision to explore and make Romania her home remained one close to her heart. In this episode, we dive deep into Alisa's love for the Romanian customs and traditions, her...

Love is the magic word for the first wo/anderers podcast of 2020. You will hear it come back again and again in today's episode, because love represents the glue that binds together all of the dreams, aspirations, and experiences of our podcast guest, Damita Pressl. She is a Viennese woman to the core, with dirndls, Waltzing Balls, and a typical cosmopolitan attitude to match. She found out about Romania from Harry Potter, but it was love that immersed her in this culture for good. In...

Take an Indian young man out of his hometown of 5,5 million people, and drop him off in Romania's Pitești. Add some local teenagers, Romanian buses, tough pălinca moments, and heart-warming life lessons from your next-door Romanian grandmother and you have the perfect recipe for the adventure of a lifetime. Abhishek Pandey, or Panda for his friends, knows all about Romanian adventures that change you. Currently working in the banking sector in Poland, Romania prepared Panda more personally...

Imagine an old man, taking care of his little coffee house next to the beach, talking to strangers and getting to know them better. This is Luis Garcia's dream, inspired by his first out-of-the-country experience that took him to Romania. The Belgian-born, half-Spanish-half-Belgian is still in his early 20s, but is already aiming to achieve his dream of living life in a laid-back, relaxed manner as soon as he can. Straight after finishing highschool, Luis decided to adventure out into the...

A former soldier in the Royal Netherlands Army turned traveling gardening salesman, Bart Lunenburg from the Netherlands takes the stage for episode 2. He found Romania by accident in the middle of his soul-searching, at a time when he needed some drastic change in his life. Following a "why not" attitude and diving head-first into the unknown, Bart flew to Romania and never looked back. Living and working in Brașov, Bart got to find himself through beautiful friendships, road-trip...

Birthdays are always special. They are a great way of reminding us just how far we have gotten in life - how many beautiful moments we have lives, but also, how many challenges we have managed to put behind us. For the 101st celebration of the birth of Romania, things are not that different. Together with Guido Marthi, a young Argentinian engineer and our first guest on the wo/anderers podcast, we looked at Romania's historical triumphs and tribulations. From the age-old linguistic debate...