Meet Vania
Marco Polo kept an open mind toward different cultures and religions, and so does Vania. Vania is a passionate traveller who loves to interact with people from all over the world.
Vania was born and raised in an old town close to Venice named Treviso. As soon as she was old enough to travel on the train by herself, she went to Venice to discover its hidden gems. For her, the most exciting part of this was to come home with a new story and a new place to bring her family and friends.
Vania also worships the sun and has spent a lot of time in southern Spain. She absolutely loves Malaga, and being Italian, it is easy for her to do the Spanish!
Vania is based in our London office but remains firmly Italian. Her approach to life is: "Stay positive, smile and eat good food. Italian food."
Click Here to see Vania's Mum making Gnocchi.
Meet Elisabetta
Elisabetta was born in Mantua. At the age of 10, she travelled with her family in a caravan across Turkey, ex-Yugoslavia and northern Greece to the border of Syria. This trip opened her eyes to the cross-cultural exchanges that had been taking place between the Arab world and Italy, and she ended up studying Arabic language and literature in Venice.
After living and working in Tunisia, Morocco, France, Germany, Canada and Syria, Elisabetta now calls Venice her home. She currently works in the field of social and cultural exchange between Europe and the Arab world and collaborates with various Venetian associations and institutes to protect Venice, its culture and its traditions.
Elisabetta loves to travel, cook, read, chat and walk through the streets of Venice and the islands of the Venetian Lagoon. She is looking forward to meeting you in Venice!
Meet Simona
Simona was born in Florence and was brought up in Siena, Rome and London. She is a Fine Arts graduate from London Metropolitan University and a PGCE qualified Primary School Teacher from Goldsmiths University.
Simona has experience teaching ESL in language schools and Fine Arts in international schools.
She has worked in Greece, Florence, London and the Middle East.
Simona is passionate about art, travel and music and is looking forward to .meeting you in Florence!
Click Here to see Simona making Frittelle.
Meet María
María is from Madrid but currently lives in Málaga which she loves. She loves the happy people, the historical places and the beaches. She currently works as a Spanish Teacher in an online school. She loves to teach not only Spanish but also music, history, cinema, etc.
Maria lived in Nottingham for three years. During this time, she enjoyed eating scones, learned about British Literature and travelled around the country. She has also spent three months teaching Spanish in Moscow. From this period, she has good memories of the different types of white coloured snow and the kindness of the Russian people.
Maria loves travelling and discovering new cultures, but she also likes to knit, enjoy a good coffee and be in the sun. Now, she is looking forward to meeting you in Andalucia.
Meet Charlotte
Charlotte was born in London and grew up in a small town in the southwest of England. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Studies and is TEFL qualified to teach English as a foreign language.
Charlotte has always loved to travel and meet people from different cultures. After finishing her studies, she spent a few months in Swaziland South Africa teaching in schools and volunteering with a charity. She has since travelled or worked in Uganda, Tanzania, Mexico, China and Italy.
Charlotte loves to spend time exploring new places, trying new food and attempting to learn
the local language! She now lives in London and is excited to meet you!
Meet Arti
Arti was born in India and finished her education there. She moved to Dubai and then onto the UK and Switzerland. She currently lives in Surrey, a suburb of London, and has recently become an Empty-Nester.
Arti loves to travel and meet people from different cultures, learning about their way of life. She has travelled extensively in India and Europe. She also enjoys gardening, which she finds relaxing and rewarding.
Arti supports the entire team out of our London office.
Meet Sumy
Born in Seoul, Korea, Sumy spent her childhood and youth moving between Korea, Germany, and eventually the US. She spent a semester abroad in Paris while attending university in Boston,and after graduating, she took her first job in Seoul. After graduate school in Chicago, Sumy worked in London and moved back to the US several years thereafter.
Sumy and her family regularly return to Korea to visit her extended family, and her older son, who recently spent a semester in Seoul, has now shown Sumy the trendier side of Seoul she usually missed on her previous trips back home!
Sumy's love of travel parallels her love of languages. Sumy is fluent in Korean and English and almost (!) fluent in German. She also speaks conversational French and basic Italian. Sumy is excited to be a part of our team and looks forward to sharing her love of Korea with you.
Meet Marie-Hélène
Marie-Hélène was born in Paris with roots in Brittany and the Jura at the Swiss border. Over the past 30 years, she has spent time working and living in Paris, Bangkok, London and Hong Kong.
Currently a resident of a suburb in Paris, she is passionate about encountering new people and cultures and sharing her love for Paris. Marie-Hélène has family in both northern and southern France.
Marie-Hélène speaks French (of course!) and English and would be delighted to meet you in France.
Meet Emi
Emi was born in Fukuoka in a small town by the beach. She moved to Tokyo for university where she met her husband. Emi and her husband left Japan for NYC to pursue graduate studies 25 years ago, and she has lived in NYC ever since.
Emi has a 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, and she goes with them back to her hometown every summer for 2 months. During this time, her children attend the same school she attended, and Emi concentrates on maintaining her connections to Japan and Fukuoka.
Emi works with Soo to provide local input and support to the Japan Study Trips.