Episode notes
Guest: Andreea Rusu — Marketing Manager
Based: Nomadic
Andreea Rusu was sad and depressed in her Bucharest flat in June 2021, post-COVID, with no money to travel. So she bought a one-way ticket to Spain, spent half a year researching on YouTube and Google, and discovered the World Packers platform. She applied to 40 volunteer opportunities, got accepted to 12, and ended up in Anceu, Galicia—a 100-person village in rural Spain—to do some Instagram marketing for a co-living space.
What was meant to be a one-month stay became five months, then extended to two and a half years of returning repeatedly. Because when she arrived, something shifted. On a date before the trip, someone had asked her, "Who are you?" and she could only answer, "I'm Andreea and I'm a video editor." At Anceu, surrounded by strangers who became family, she finally discovered the answer. She wasn't just a video editor. She was a community builder. A connector. Someone who made strangers feel like they belonged.
Now she's building a directory bridging two worlds: community builders looking for places to volunteer, and co-living spaces looking for community builders. She's experienced 15-plus co-livings, understood the power of genuine curiosity, learned that what you feel is valid even when you grew up in a conservative environment that told you to shut up, and realised that being a community builder is actually a full-time job in mental space—even if volunteering looks part-time. If you want to know everything about co-living, about finding yourself by helping others belong, about the personal development bootcamp that is community building, Andreea is your person.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction by Ibi
00:37 Andreea's story intro, depressed in Bucharest, one-way ticket to Spain
02:00 Discovery of World Packers, applied to 40 opportunities
03:00 Anceu co-living, Galicia, rural village
03:30 First month experience
04:20 Marketing volunteer role discovering co-living concept
05:30 Applied to 40 opportunities, accepted to 12, found Anceu
06:50 Stayed one month, emerged as community builder
08:15 The date question \"Who are you?\" identity crisis as video editor
09:30 InsideOut project by J.R., rural revival cause
10:30 Using InsideOut as excuse to stay longer
12:00 Two types of communities, online and offline
13:00 Building community in tiny 100-person village
14:30 Trust people, don't guide them through everything
15:00 Conservative upbringing, fear of speaking openly
15:45 Learning from others' stories, discovering multifaceted self
16:30 \"What you feel is valid\"—psychologist moment
17:00 Control freak lesson at team dinner, learning to trust
18:30 Lived there on and off, one year nonstop
20:00 Community expanded from co-living to village to neighbouring villages
21:30 Personal development bootcamp aspects
23:00 Permission to fail, observer role, awareness of impact
24:30 Friends around the world, friendships built through co-living
25:30 Material benefits, no rent, maintaining freedom
Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.
Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/andreea-rusu
Watch: https://youtu.be/jo-hT8Yy9ZQ