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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.
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The podcast for people who want the world to slow down and become more human. Josh Levent creates a space for empathetic connections to people on the other side of the planet through biographical interviews of ordinary people. Take a moment to catch your breath, hit pause on life and curl up on a sofa with Humans in your earbuds. We all need to take a moment to nurture our inner child, heal our wounds and enjoy the real-life stories of others. With his break-out podcast, Josh creates a Gezel ...
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Runonlaulajan Pirtti in Ilomantsi (FIN) with Trine Daimi Kalliomäki
18:14
18:14
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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 …
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Abbotsford the home of Sir Walter Scott (UK) with Jacqui Hoitingh
16:18
16:18
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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…
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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…
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Hirado, Nagasaki (JPN) with Remco Vrolijk
24:23
24:23
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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…
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North York, Toronto (CAN) with Cathy Nesbitt
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18:14
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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…
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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 …
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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…
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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 …
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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Playful Curiosity, Exploring the World Headfirst: Meet Christofer Lövgren
1:29:05
1:29:05
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Christofer Lövgren calls himself the irrevocably curious dickhead. Born and raised in Sweden, he grew up playing with Legos, Gameboy and Trading Cards. When he was 5 he picked up the guitar from his granddad and fell in love with it. He only gave it up at age 19, when his workout addiction led to extreme pain in his hands and forearms making guitar…
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Becoming Yourself Again: Meet Kai Christen
1:50:02
1:50:02
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Kai Christen was a shy, sensitive child, who found school stressful. It’s something you might not see in him when you meet because he radiates confidence, extraversion and a sense of peace with himself. Kai was born and grew up in Aargau, Switzerland. In high-school he intentionally tried to be cooler but never felt successful at it. At age 16 he d…
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The Big Picture, Connecting the Dots of Experience: Meet Tinashe Mashungu
36:45
36:45
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Tinashe Mashungu was born in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, and he has lived all over the country. His father was an agro-economist, and in many ways, Tinashe has followed in his footsteps, though his path has taken him in many different directions. He studied computer science in high school and came to the US to attend Reed College and stud…
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Finding Balance in the Passionate Pursuit of Life: Meet Laura Curau
2:06:53
2:06:53
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Laura Curau was born in the small town of Münsterlingen, Switzerland and lived most of her life in nearby Weinfelden. Her and her twin brother are the youngest of four siblings, raised by supportive, enterprising, and politically involved parents. Ever since she was a young girl, Laura enjoyed learning and being good at things, though in school she…
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Relearning How to Walk in Confidence: Meet Bongiwe Beja
1:41:12
1:41:12
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Bongiwe Beja was born in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, to a Zulu mother and a Xhosa father. She is the youngest of four children, a brother and two other sisters. Bongiwe describes her upbringing and how her parents, particularly her father, worked very hard to make sure that their children have all the opportunities that t…
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Constantly Seeking the Truth: Meet Yushan Chen
2:35:33
2:35:33
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My guest today is Yushan Chen, a 29-year old Chinese filmmaker now living in Los Angeles. Yushan talks about her very strict education, only being allowed by her parents to read good books and listen to Western classical music. She also talks about her rebellions, one of which was learning how to play the Jinghu, a traditional two-stringed Chinese …
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Searching for His Role in Life: Meet Varun Venugopal Gupta
54:21
54:21
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Varun Venugopal Gupta was born in India into a middle-class family. Growing up, he lived in many cities, was raised a very independent kid and was given a lot of freedom to do what he wanted. One of the things that makes him deeply human is his constant search for himself, for his role in society. Today he shares his journey so far, he tells us abo…
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On a Journey to Find Meaningful Work: Meet Gemma Milne
1:46:17
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Gemma Milne is a British science writer and speaker on innovation and technology. Despite being a high-achiever (or maybe because of it), she struggled to find work that was meaningful to her. This is one of the things that makes her very human. Another thing that makes her human is her self-awareness around the desire for attention. Other topics w…
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Empathy Is the Answer: Meet Business Analyst Mosidi Modise
2:02:38
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Today I’m speaking to Mosidi Modise, a South African social entrepreneur and finance intrapreneur at Allan Gray. When I met Mosidi I was immediately calmed by her presence. Her empathy and kindness make her deeply human, as well as her energy and passion to make a difference in the world. On top of her full-time job at Allan Gray, Mosidi is trying …
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Overcoming Failure: Meet Filmmaker & Entrepreneur Francis Rafal
1:30:38
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My first guest is Francis Rafal, an Austrian filmmaker and entrepreneur. When I first met him in May I was struck by his playfulness. This is something that will come across in our conversation today, and what I think makes him deeply human. The other thing that makes Francis human is his failure. He almost went bankrupt a couple of years ago, afte…
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The podcast for people who want the world to slow down and become more human. Josh Levent creates a space for empathetic connections to people on the other side of the planet through biographical interviews of ordinary people. Take a moment to catch your breath, hit pause on life and curl up on a sofa with Humans in your earbuds. We all need to tak…
…
continue reading
