))
Two friends, Andrew & Mags, who live half a world away simply converse over a virtual cuppa coffee. This series is an embodiment of the powerful Dutch concept of “Gezelligheid”. Join these two friends intentionally chatting about spending time together while hearing out each other’s perspectives on cultural differences, geography, history, and lifestyle.
…
continue reading
Today Andrew is taking Mags to Carona Del Mar in Newport Beach California. They talk about finding our emotional home, a place where we can realign with ourselves away from the demands of the world. "This was my sanctuary. This is where I was able to get away anytime I was stressed out. Anytime I was going through whatever, fights with girlfriends …
…
continue reading
Joining us on Conversational Cuppa is Trine Daimi Kalliomäki. She is taking us to Runonlaulajan pirtti, The Bard's House, in Ilomantsi Finland. We talk about the history of Finland and how it has been a place where the West and the East meet. You won't hear much of Andrew and Mags in this episode because we were both transfixed by everything Trine …
…
continue reading
Joining us on Conversational Cuppa is Jacqui Hoitingh. Jacqui lives in the Netherlands with her husband and twin boys, but today she takes us to the Scottish Borders where she is from originally and shares the location where she will be hosting her Art 'n Soul retreats this year: the home of Sir Walter Scott. "He's actually one of the most successf…
…
continue reading
Joining us on Conversational Cuppa is Louisa Stewart. Louisa is originally from Australia and currently lives a town over from Mags in Leiden, the Netherlands. Today however she is taking us to Litzelstetten in Germany where she first lived on the European continent. We talk about language barriers, cultural differences and how they transform a per…
…
continue reading
Joining us on Conversational Cuppa is Mags' friend Remco Vrolijk who takes us to his home in Hirado, Japan. We talk about the old geisha house he bought and is renovating with traditional materials and techniques. "From the top of my house, you look out over the over the bay. They have dinners and parties and things like that, then the geisha would…
…
continue reading
Our friend Cathy Nesbitt takes us back to the street she grew up on in North York Ontario. We compare travelling and commuting between then and now and also between Europe and North America and how much bigger our world has become since then. "This is a great souvenir looking at this picture. I had a really good childhood, I think At the end of the…
…
continue reading
Today Mags is taking us to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, one of her favourite places in Glasgow, where she first moved as a student and lived for about 6 years in total. "It's a vibe for sure. I have a little bit of a love-hate thing going on with Glasgow, to be honest. I love it. I absolutely love it. And I also am not sure that I could live there …
…
continue reading
In this episode, we didn't go to a place. Instead, we spoke about language learning and how different languages can provide us with different perspectives and registers when it comes to our communication. "I just spoke English, all the time from then onwards. So for the last 20 years, my main language has been English. And it's also the period in m…
…
continue reading
Today Mags is taking us to Egebjerg Skov, a forest in Denmark that she spent many hours exploring as an exchange student. We talk about Waldeinsamkeit, which is a German word that describes the transformational power of being alone amongst the trees. "It was a habit that grew out of a need to process and just the activity of walking but especially …
…
continue reading
Today, Andrew is taking us to Turfmarkt in The Hague, where his Dutch adventure started. We talk about the moment when it first hits you that 'you are not in Kansas anymore' and how impactful it is to live abroad for a few months. "I walked from this spot right here, leaving Den Haag Centraal to the Student Hotel. I wish I would have timed it bette…
…
continue reading
Today, Mags is taking us to her home town of The Hague, where she settled almost a decade ago after cutting ties with her family. We're talking about feeling grounded and rooted in a place and what Mags loves so much about her new home. "The Hague is the first place where I really feel like I put down some genuine roots" Join us at Hofvijver: https…
…
continue reading
Today we are taking you to Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Andrew shares the first time he experienced the Dutch concept of Gezelligheid. "I'd heard the word from other people living in the Netherlands and the whole meaning and the feeling of gezellig and gezelligheid. But I hadn't felt it yet." Join us at Dam Square: https://maps.app.…
…
continue reading
Conversational Cuppa is a new podcast by friends and business partners Andrew Lopez (Lucem Partners) and Mags Thomson (House of Hives). We've both lived in different places, we're half a world away from each other, and we have these conversations about culture, geography and history and being a human being in this world, at this time. Our best conv…
…
continue reading
