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. Now that she is in Romania, she is planning on exploring new creative directions by sharing her rich knowledge on living beautifully with the world, from this sweet place she made home. You will get a feeling about Elena’s active demeanor after listening to her talk about her experience as an entrepreneur, her transformational journey, in which Romania played a big role, how her spirituality helped her push through tough moments, including when she met her husband, how she follows a mantra called beautology in her work and more. Please enjoy the conversation!

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 Romania, the similarities between Măgura and rural West-Sussex where she grew up, Romanians’ dark humor, how she does not consider herself a storyteller despite her writing background, how she met President Iohannis, the revival of the traditional lifestyle in Romania and more. Enjoy Arabella’s musings in episode 10!

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 enjoy the best of what Transylvania has to offer. In this episode, Julia lets us know her thoughts on why she fell for Transylvania, what binds Ukrainians and Romanians, but what also sets them apart, what she thinks of pig roasting in Bucharest, what the challenges are to settle in Romania as an expat, and more. Get your chill mood on, it’s podcast time with Julia Leescu!