MySlovakExperience

Life is easier in Slovakia

that’s why I’m here.

My today’s guest is Ewelina Agata Zbyszynska who came to Slovakia from Poland in 2006. Her first experience was a job interview in Žilina.

She wanted the job because she felt she could get more than what she had in her own country, and she wanted more than the factory job that many of her peers who emigrated to UK had.

Ewi has had a life-changing Slovak experience, which started in a call centre with “a bunch of Polish people” and so far led her to become a project leader in a multinational company.

Twelve years on, Ewi still enjoys her Slovak experience.

We talk about Slovak dreams and Slovak nightmares, the good and bad things about living in Slovakia and, spoiler alert!, it all ends with a smile. Because for Ewi, Slovakia now feels like home.

You can follow MySlovakExperience and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

I went to new restaurants every week to discover all the hidden gems in Bratislava.

Olga is a humanitarian and a community organizer, she experienced the diplomatic life and she’s a member of the International Women’s Club Bratislava.

She didn’t choose Slovakia as her destination, it is more of a transit place for her, due to the job of her husband in the diplomatic community. She knows she is leaving at one point, but in the meantime she makes sure to keep herself busy helping the local community and raising awareness about issues she believes in.

Food is one of them. She is the founder of the WeFoodie Facebook group that counts thousands of members, focused on discovering the best ethnic food in Slovakia.

Olga is an active and motivated Russian who wants to make a change with her volunteer work.

To learn more about the International Women’s Club of Bratislava https://www.iwc.sk and about the WeFoodie group that Olga launched at the beginning of 2018 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1243051579129544/

You can follow MySlovakExperience and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

In Slovakia

it’s easy

to buy food for BBQ,

it’s always at the beginning, it changed my life.

In early November I travelled to my Italian hometown, Udine, where I met my today’s guest, Lorenzo Luci, to have him share his story about Slovakia. For the first time in this podcast, we share the Slovak experience of someone who chose to leave the country and return home.

Lorenzo is a good old friend of mine, we met many years ago and we enjoyed countless days and experiences together till the time when I moved to Slovakia and he stayed to finish his studies and work in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

He later decided to join me in Slovakia for his Slovak experience that lasted for a couple of years. Through Lorenzo, I bring the Slovak experience of someone who chose to return back home. Now he lives and works in Italy again.

Enjoy the talk with Lorenzo Luci and thanks for listening.

You can follow MySlovakExperience and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

Zlaté Slovensko!

The Slovak experience of my today’s guest is as rich as it is long.

Billy Altansukh was born and raised in Mongolia. He came to Slovakia in 1998 after he decided to come and study in Europe. Back then, Slovakia was a whole different world compared to how we know it today. Billy has a lot to say about that.

A linguist and fluent Slovak speaker, Billy is a good person to ask about the Slovak language, but also about how to get the Slovak citizenship. And what’s the favorite Slovak dish of a native Mongolian?

Listen to my interview with Billy to find out.

You can follow MySlovakExperience and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

“Slovakia is a country of women”

they rule the country behind the scenes.

Today’s guest is Anca Dragu, a journalist who came from Romania 18 years ago with just a few crowns in her pocket, to attend a media workshop.

Currently she’s working in the English section of the Radio Slovakia International covering a range of topics but particularly focusing on health care.

You can hear Anca’s voice on the radio almost every day (on https://enrsi.rtvs.sk ) but only here, in this podcast, you can hear more about her Slovak experience.

More about Anca here https://enrsi.rtvs.sk/people

Thank you for listening!

You can follow MySlovakExperience and subscribe to the podcast

on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

Slovakia raised me

a little bit, I became my own human here.

My today’s guest is Nasi (her full name is Nastaran Alaghmandan Motlagh) who came to Slovakia from Iran with her family. She was 15 years old when they arrived. 
 
“Slovakia raised me a little bit, I became my own human here,” she says.

You might have seen Nasi either on the Slovak TV or on stage as stand-up comedian. I think she’s really cool at what she does, both in English and in Slovak. I found her clarity of reasoning and respect for inclusion remarkable.

In this episode of the podcast we covered Nasi’s journey from Iran to Slovakia as an immigrant,    but also her love for borovička and feeling for her new home, Slovakia. “It’s worth it!” she says about her Slovak experience. 

For more info about Nasi follow this Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Jokesonyoucomedy/
 

Enjoy! 

You can follow and subscribe to the podcast

on YouTube  or iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

Bratislava is a great experience

if you give it a chance, if you put a little effort the city would be very fun

My next guest is Diego Loyola. You might be familiar with his name, like I was: I read it many times on Facebook posting, collaborating in the Foreigners in Bratislava group or in some articles like this one on the Slovak Spectator blog. Several of my friends and colleagues attended his parties and events. 

So I was curious to know more about why he’s so active for the community, what brought him here from Ecuador and how he enjoys life in Slovakia.
He learned an interesting rule: if you make it through the first 3 years in Slovakia , then you are likely to stay indefinitely. That worked for me and for him. What about you?

To get in touch with Diego go to
https://www.internations.org/bratislava-expats
http://expatsk.com
 

Little news, now you can follow the podcast also on YouTube  and as before you can listen to it on iTunes on Stitcher or Tunein 

MySlovakExperience

In Slovakia since 2003. 

This is the first episode of MySlovakExperience podcast, thanks for listening.

In the first episode, Paul Burt, the managing director of IBM International Services Centre (company where I'm also working at the time this post is published), currently vice-chairman of BSCF (Business Services Centre Forum) powered by Amcham Slovakia, shares his Slovak experience. 
 
Paul is an Englishman who came to Slovakia to work for IBM a decade ago. Initially, he thought he would spend a few months here on an assignment, but he ended up living and working here.
 
In our conversation Paul talks about his first experiences in Slovakia back in 2003, and the challenges he faced when he first arrived. He shares his impressions of Slovakia and Bratislava from a human and business perspective: business, education, food, but also about the ups and downs of a foreigner’s life in a small Slovak village. 

What are the things Paul likes and dislikes about living with Slovaks? When did he start calling Slovakia his home? Listen to Paul and his Slovak experience. 
 
To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes click here

I decided to start this podcast to record and share the experiences of foreigners who have lived in Slovakia.

We might have similar reasons why we came to this country and made a life here, but we all have our unique stories that might interest our fellow foreigners living here, but also Slovaks who are curious to hear how it feels to be a foreigner in their homeland.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Thank you for sharing!