Episodes

  • Navigating Friendships Abroad 101: A Conversation on Finding, Building, and Letting Go of Friendships as an Expat

    Navigating Friendships Abroad 101: A Conversation on Finding, Building, and Letting Go of Friendships as an Expat
    Jan 16 2026
    This episode is packed with learning! I recommend you listen to the whole thing. Kim and I talk about navigating friendships abroad and all that comes with that: - Making new connections - Creating deeper bonds - Having to say goodby to the friends that leave for another adventure - Keeping in touch with friends that are all around the world Do you have any awesome tips or experiences around any of those? Share them with us in the comments. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 5:00 - How to make friends abroad 10:00 - How to navigate when your friends leave & managing long distance friendships 36:00 - Friendship rituals and making friendships work for your lifestyle 48:00 - Our takeaways 51:50 - Kim’s life lesson and recent challenge
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    59 mins
  • Being Touchy: How to Bring More Connection Through Touch

    Being Touchy: How to Bring More Connection Through Touch
    Oct 28 2025
    Feeling disconnected? Let’s talk about the power of touch: from science to history, personal stories, and easy tips to weave more connection into your life. Stay till the end for a reflective moment you won’t want to miss. Attachments Homunculi: ⁠https://learnsomatics.ie/how-your-brain-sees-your-body/⁠ Google Form (Your Reflections): https://forms.gle/TbWZmAd7SPFkmjfCA Timestamps 0:00 — The Science-Backed Benefits of Touch 7:00 — Personal Reflections: Why Touch Fascinates Me 20:00 — Touch Through Time: History and Cultural Perspectives 28:00 — Practical Ways to Bring More Touch Into Your Life 32:00 — Reflect & Connect: Final Thoughts on Embracing Touch
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    35 mins
  • What Vulnerability Taught Me

    What Vulnerability Taught Me
    Oct 28 2025
    Ever wondered if being vulnerable is really worth it? 🤔 I have experimented with being vulnerable - sharing publicly, researching and lots of reflection - to find all the benefits of vulnerability for you. To show you why vulnerability is more important than you might think. Listen to this episode to find out all about it 🎧. The overall result? Vulnerability is embracing your authenticity. Vulnerability is a virtue, not a weakness. Be more vulnerable, but be wise about it! 💖 Google Form (Your Reflections): ⁠https://forms.gle/c5aPNyZ9mqYigsLj6⁠ Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - My Definition of Vulnerability 2:45 - My Experience With Vulnerability 5:21 - Why Being Vulnerable Is Worth It 9:30 - How Other’s See It 11:28 - What Experts Say 17:05 - How To Be More Vulnerable 22:51 - My Vulnerability Experiment 33:00 - Your Turn
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    35 mins
  • Lessons on Building Friendships That Truly Matter

    Lessons on Building Friendships That Truly Matter
    Oct 28 2025
    Navigating friendship is hard. But so important. In this episode, we dive into what real friendship feels like to us. We share with you what we have learned (and are still learning) about building friendships that truly matter. So you can do the same! If you’re building new friendships, feel like the ones you have are not quite it, or just curious about how to deepen your connections — this episode is for you. We explore: 0:00 - Who Is Dorotea? 9:00 - What Does Friendship Mean To You? 11:00 - How Long Does It Take To Build A Friend 14:00 - How To Build A Close Friend 19:00 - Adult Friendships 35:30 - Friendship Breakups 42:00 - “We haven’t talked in ages, but it seems like yesterday” phenomenon 48:00 - How Does A Close Friendship Feel 57:40 - What’s The Current State Of Friendship 1:03:00 - Lessons Learned From The Conversation 1:05:20 - Life Lesson & Life Challenge
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Is Your Phone Ruining Your Relationships?

    Is Your Phone Ruining Your Relationships?
    Oct 28 2025
    In a world where we're always connected, many of us feel more disconnected than ever from the people around us. The constant promise of junk dopamine from our phones, social media, and digital distractions can quietly damage our ability to be present and form deep, meaningful relationships. These habits affect how we listen, communicate, and connect. In this episode, we explore why that happens and what you can do to change it. You'll learn simple, practical steps to create space for real connection in your life. If you've ever felt distant from someone sitting right next to you, this episode is for you. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 01:05 – What is Dopamine and Why It Matters 02:25 – Junk Dopamine: The Quick Highs That Leave You Empty 10:05 – Healthy Dopamine: Effort, Reward, and Real Fulfilment 12:00 – How Junk Dopamine Damages Relationships and Communication 27:19 – What You Can Do to Rebuild Connection in a Digital World 34:06 – Guided Reflection
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    36 mins
  • The Fastest Way to Connect With Anyone? Remember Their Name.

    The Fastest Way to Connect With Anyone? Remember Their Name.
    Oct 28 2025
    You’ve been there… Someone introduces themselves for the first time, you would swear that they have mentioned what their name was, but for the love of your mum you just cannot remember it when you need it, even if they offered you money for it. In this episode, you will find out why you should up your name game and how to do it in a way that’s easy and works wonders no matter how good you are at remembering names right now. And at the next party, you’ll finally be the one who rocks the names. Give it a listen and let me know how it went! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Why Remembering People’s Names Matters 5:24 – Practical Strategies to Actually Remember Names 16:00 – Bonus Tips: What to Do With Tricky or Foreign Names + Making Your Name Memorable
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    22 mins
  • Questions Are Where Growth Begins - Awareness as the main ingredient for better communication and deeper connections.

    Questions Are Where Growth Begins - Awareness as the main ingredient for better communication and deeper connections.
    Oct 28 2025
    Awareness… as I have come to learn, is an almighty tool that can help us improve so many areas of our life, but most specifically our relationships. It’s nothing new, the Zen masters have known this for centuries… But in our modern world, where your attention is what literally everyone is after, it is even more important to realise how precious it is. To be aware, and to use it well! My goal for this podcast is to be an explorer, not an expert, and to explore how we humans connect. And my favourite way for exploring is through an honest conversation, just like this one. If you’re curious, join us for a conversation about what role awareness plays in our relationships and our communication, and to whatever journey it takes us from there. Together with River, we discuss: - The crucial role of awareness and attention in our communication - That the words we choose to use have a bigger impact than we think - What it is to react versus to act - The actual power of useful questions and how to dare to ask more - Lying to oneself - The explorer mindset over the expert mindset, and how that might serve you well in a conflict - And of course life lessons and navigating life challenges I have learned many things thanks to this conversation, but the two biggest ones I am taking away are these: - Assuming we know keeps us in one place, questions are the space where growth and understanding happens. - A truly wise person has no need to lie to themselves, thinking otherwise probably just means that you’re not as wise as you thought you were. It was an inspiring conversation, give it a listen and let me know what are you walking away with. Cannot wait to read your reflections! Connect with River here: https://wordsthatwork.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips Timestamps: 1:00 - About River 3:00 - Awareness, attention & questions 20:00 - Words and tones we use have an impact, intention, assumptions 32:55 - Lying to oneself & true intelligence 41:00 - Is there such a thing as a stupid question? 47:00 - How to get better at communicating 48:00 - Confrontation is never the right way, understanding is 01:03:00 - Life lessons, Life Challenge & Last Message
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Self-development abroad... are expats a little masochistic?

    Self-development abroad... are expats a little masochistic?
    Nov 4 2025
    Join this conversation between me and Dinara where we explore what self-development means in the life of an expat. I personally had a great insight into the masochistic nature of expat life. But you’re gonna have to give it a listen if you want to know what the hell I am talking about. Apart from the main focus of our conversation, we also explored questions such as these: - What are the lessons from moving abroad? - Can we enrich the culture we come into? - Are all of us expat insatiable explorers? Curious about our experiences and want to connect? - Connect w me: https://www.instagram.com/connectionalchemy/ - Or connect w Dinara here: https://www.instagram.com/dinaracoaching/ Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction 06:30 - What self-development means in the expat life 14:30 - Reasons to move abroad & support 17:45 - Who am I now, confused identity 20:00 - What are the lessons from moving abroad 30:00 - Are we masochists? 32:00 - Homesickness & First experiences 39:00 - Time perception 40:30 - Thrill vs Stability 45:00 - Is travelling a form of development? 47:45 - Can we enrich the culture we come into? 49:00 - Are all of us expat insatiable explorers? 50:20 - Our takeaways 54:00 - Dinara’s life lesson and a challenge
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    1 hr and 1 min