This week, I sit down with Camilla Vai to trace her journey from a childhood on the edge of two cultures to her life here in Galway. Growing up on the border of Italy and Austria, Camilla experienced a unique cultural tug-of-war that shaped her early understanding of identity. We discuss her journey since then and the winding process of finding where you belong along the way.

Camilla talks about her work with the Galway Simon Community and we discuss the vital link between community and wellbeing, and why having a "tribe" is a fundamental human necessity rather than a social perk.

We also get into the practical side of starting over, from the power of creating community via a book and run club to our shared experiences navigating spaces as women. It’s a conversation about planting roots, finding your people, and finally feeling at home.

Recommendations:

[Instagram] camilla.vai

[Instagram] readandrungalway

[Podcast Recommendation] Trolled https://open.spotify.com/show/3AlLsjDH27y2iZXP6a80yy?si=60c95529833249b0

[Substack] no one hates women like women https://plumpits.substack.com/p/no-one-hates-women-like-women

[A few reads on the anthropology of where we come from, and how being from the mountains or an island actually shapes who we are]

Mountain Dwellers Are Different: International Study Investigates Link Between Terrain and People’s Personalities: https://prd.at/en/newsroom-clients/mountain-dwellers-are-different-international-study-investigates-link-between-terrain-and-peoples-personalities/#:~:text=Mountains%20are%20frontier%20regions%20which%20are%20often,and%20overcoming%20them%20demands%20a%20particular%20personality

Imagery and imaginary of islander identity: Older people and migration in Irish small-island communities:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016713000090

Physical topography is associated with human personality:

https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/528Readings/Goetz2020.pdf

A Tale of Peaks and Valleys: Sinusoid Relationship Patterns Between Mountainousness and Basic Human Values:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506211034966#:~:text=The%20results%20indicated%20that%20mountainousness,between%20mountainousness%20and%20personal%20values.

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