Hello, I’m Maja.
(* Pronounced Maya, like the bee 🐝).
My interests are teasingly diverse, but if I had to choose just one, I’d say life-changing travel tops the list.
If you’re wondering about my other interests…
My role model growing up, long before Netflix, was Rory Gilmore. Long story short: we both had our sights set on Harvard. But somewhere along the way, we parted ways. It was right around the time I graduated from the ivy-covered halls ... and when the Gilmore Girls revival hit. Coincidence? I’ll let you decide.
I've spent this past decade deep in the tech world at institutions like the United Nations and Google, but before that, I was a bit of a diplomatic nomad, academic adventurer, and once upon a time, a wannabe concert pianist.
With a handful of degrees under my belt, I love reading in six languages (which I also speak fluently), am endlessly curious about psychology, and am working on my first novel. You’ll always find me enrolled in a course. I've dabbled in interior design, delivered my PhD dissertation speech in Japanese (although I don't speak it fluently—yet!), and am currently channeling my globetrotting wisdom here at mucho mundo.
I've traveled to 40+ countries and called 11 countries home. While my native country, Croatia, absolutely has my heart, Spain has a solid claim on my soul. Switzerland, where I’m currently based, is postcard-pretty. Then, of course (ovviamente) I am also a big fan of Italy. Hong Kong left me speechless, which is never an easy undertaking.
Slavonski Brod, Croatia
It gave me everything I needed for the future: love, warmth, a great education, books, languages, piano, tennis … even a brief attempt at karate.
Vienna, Austria
If decadence could take the form of a city, look no further than Vienna.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Passions and Borges-induced identity crises.
Osaka, Japan
Intense and groundbreaking. Even socks on flip-flops.
Paris, France
My attempt at being bougie: watched Alain Delon in a play and bought about 64 sweaters, some cashmere and some definitely not.
Geneva, Switzerland
Two words: Lake Parade.
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Never laughed as much in my life as I did during those four blissful years.
Places that shaped me
Cambridge, MA
Very formative years, plus all the unnecessary snow.
New York, NY
A galaxy of towering buildings and the iconic Strand bookstore.
Hong Kong SAR
My take on Eat Pray Love. Hong Kong delivered on all three fronts.
Rome, Italy
The museum of living arts, along with all that ridiculously sumptuous food.
Valencia, Spain
Valencia, where everyone calls everyone else carinyet, is simply what “happens to the heart”.
Zurich, Switzerland
I’m currently getting my ducks in a row in a place where, quite literally, all the ducks swim in rows on that crystal-blue lake.
And some more…
In addition to the places we visit, I’m a firm believer that the music we listen to, the books we read, and the movies & shows we watch, permanently shape us.
Music: Leonard Cohen, The Smiths, Tracy Chapman, The National, Gregory Porter, Randy Crawford, Belle and Sebastian, Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, The Killers, Tom Waits, Pulp, Birdy, Florence + The Machine, She & Him, Whitney Houston, Miguel Bosé, Juan Luis Guerra, Adriana Varela, Mecano, Xavier Naidoo, Wise Guys, Fabio Concato, Vinicio Caposella, Gino Paoli, Arisa, Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Nouvelle Vague, Zaz, Parni valjak, Oliver Dragojević, Gibonni, Kemal Monteno
Books: The Master and Margarita (Bulgakov), Belle du Seigneur (Cohen), Mr Gwyn (Baricco), Otras inquisiciones (Borges), Life is Elsewhere (Kundera), The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner), The Neapolitan Novels (Ferrante), Middlemarch (Eliot), The Museum of Innocence (Pamuk), A Gentleman in Moscow (Towles), Bird by Bird (Lamott), The Artist’s Way (Cameron), Big Magic (Gilbert)
Movies: Cinema Paradiso, La Grande Bellezza, Parasite, The French Dispatch, El secreto de sus ojos (the 2009, original version), La contadora de películas, Split, Fauteuils d'orchestre, The Before Trilogy, (500) Days of Summer
TV shows: Gilmore Girls (obviously), This Is Us, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The White Lotus, Mad Men
My music, books, movies & tv shows
