Meet the Team

Team Members

Raluca Curiciuc Raluca Curiciuc Raluca is a native Romanian from Iasi who has lived in Tokyo for more than fifteen years. A graduate of Hyperion University in Bucharest with a concentration in Japanese language and literature, Raluca also studied at a public university in Japan. She has worked as a licensed translator and interpreter for many years, working with businesses, Japanese government organizations, and private individuals. Raluca also teaches English and has worked with several public school districts in and around Tokyo. Raluca loves to travel and has done so extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Most recently, she took a cross-country trip through the United States, visiting eight states en route to Washington DC.
Mihai Popa Mihai Popa

Mihai Popa was born in Romania, and has been fascinated by languages ever since he can remember. He speaks Romanian, English, Japanese, and French. He is also studying German and loving it. Mihai studied at the Spiru Haret University in Bucharest, majoring in English and Japanese. He went on to study Japanese language and culture at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies for one year between 2010-2011. Currently, he is a research student there. While in Tokyo, he has also been working as a Romanian language teaching assistant since April 2015. He loves music, soccer, reading, traveling, cycling, repairing things, writing online about his interests, and learning new things every day. As much as he likes history, Mihai also likes science fiction and technology, and is excited to have been born in such a significant era. Mihai likes living positively and learning useful things from every experience, as well as trying to be as creative as possible and helping others to be that way as well.

Violeta Maria	Violeta Maria
Violeta Maria is a native Romanian born in Băilești, a small city in the southwestern Oltenia region. She lived in Bucharest for fifteen years, and has a BA, an MA and a Ph.D. in Education. She speaks English and French fluently. She had worked with many international Education and Business clients from Australia, the U.S., and the UK. She has a keen interest in learning and memory processes and currently interweaves her passion for teaching and training with that of neuroscience research. She taught for over six years in primary and tertiary education and has a more extensive professional background in youth and adult training. She loves interacting with people from other cultures, seeing it as a unique eye-opening opportunity.
Larisa Macovetchi Larisa Macovetchi
Larisa has been teaching Romanian to language enthusiastic individuals in Japan and future diplomatic staff of the Japanese government before leaving for missions in Romania. She’s currently living in Japan, studying Japanese language and culture, and enjoy living and working in an intercultural environment. She believes that it is very important to have teachers that make you feel enthusiastic and comfortable with learning something new when learning a language. She is passionate about intercultural education and loves helping students achieve their language learning goals.
Mihaela Marchidanu Mihaela Marchidanu
Mika has been living in Romania since she was born. She has studied Faculty of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture, and Rural Development. Mika is also passionate about languages, and in addition to her native-tongue, Romanian, she is fluent in English, French, and Italian. She loves reading, writing, watching movies, and listening to music.