About

Photo taken at Tarnita lake, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

About us:

So, first off, who are your blog writers?

Presenting…..!

Ana Maria Spariosu:

“I was born in France but in movement every two years mostly between France and the United States thanks to my nomad-like parents. After studying international relations in the Netherlands, I moved to London for a Masters in Russian Studies. Here I am now ready for some serious travelling after years of studying. I have been exposed to travelling and different cultures my whole life, especially as a child of a Romanian-Puerto Rican couple. As you might have already figured out, it’s still usually a bit of a dilemma for me to answer the question, “Where are you from?”. So far, based on my many moves, I define “home” as pure human connection, something which can be experienced across borders and cultures. My main interests include Russian studies, literature, art and anything creative for that matter, politics, different cultures, languages, human cooperation and interaction, and pretty much anything friendly and good hearted. This next year will be about discovering more about myself, challenging my mental/emotional borders, gaining new knowledge, understanding what I want to do next year, and most importantly learning more about cultures I have never experienced before.”

And…..!

Zsigmond Berczes:

“I was born in Budapest, Hungary, and I stayed in the capital until I reached university. I chose a university in the Netherlands, and my program was International Studies with a  major in European culture. During my four years in the Netherlands, I was surrounded by an international environment, which gave me a wider understanding on humans and cultures of the world. While I was there, the Dutch culture had a big influence on me. Likewise, it was also the place where I developed my independence. In this moment, I would define myself as a Central-Eastern European with hints of German and Dutch cultural characteristics.

In the future, I wish to work in the cultural sector, rather in a less mainstream field. In order to figure out exactly what my path will be I decided to plan my upcoming travels. Even though, I have already had experience with travelling in the past, this one will be by far the most complex travel I will have taken. Since, from an early age, I’ve always been interested in art movies and photography, I will be in charge of the photos accompanying our blog.”

About the blog content:

Our blog will follow the structure of a travel blog with a “touch of academics”, meaning we will be uploading blog posts, photograph series, and videos as we move from destination to destination. Our posts will be based on our interpretations of the different cultural phenomena that we encounter. At the focus will be the different cultures and cultural differences that reveal themselves to us (as “foreigners”) throughout the many phases of our voyage. We will be covering a large spectrum of topics, basically as many as we can identify and/ or feel inspired by. These will include food, traditions, cityscapes, humour, human interactions, philosophy, lifestyle, art, practical travel advice, and anything else we come across. Our blog will be largely experimental since it is our first blog and first “gap” year. Our long term aim is to create a platform through which we can record but also share our experiences and observations with others. Our trips will cover parts of Central America to the United States and Europe to Southeast Asia.

We ultimately hope that our posts can offer you something positive whether it be inspiration, solidarity, knowledge, entertainment, or whatever else you might personally find in them. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if any of our posts really spark an interest in you, or if you might have some further questions on a particular topic we cover. Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing where this might take us!