Watch the Episode

Larisa Vakulina

About This Conversation

There are times in life when we know exactly who we are, yet somehow the world seems to know us only by the first thing it notices. An accent. A disability. A job title. Our age. A diagnosis. Without meaning to, people begin filling in the gaps, and before long we find ourselves responding to assumptions rather than being known for the whole of who we are.

In this conversation, Andrea Putting sits down with Larisa Vakulina to explore what it means to build a new life when the person you’ve always been is hidden behind a new language and a new culture. Beginning with Larisa’s migration journey, the conversation opens into something much more universal—the desire to be recognised for who we are rather than judged by what people first see.

Together they explore belonging, identity, misunderstanding and the quiet courage of continuing to show up as yourself while waiting for others to see beyond the obvious. It’s a conversation that gently invites us to look again at the people we think we already understand.

Meet Larisa Vakulina

Larisa Vakulina migrated to Australia carrying a lifetime of knowledge, professional experience and personal resilience. Like many people beginning again in a new country, she discovered that learning a language was only part of the journey. Finding a way to express the person she had always been proved just as challenging.

Her story opens a thoughtful conversation about identity, belonging and the assumptions we make about one another. It reminds us that every person we meet has a history we cannot immediately see and strengths that may not yet have found their voice.

Brew the Change ☕

The next time you hear an unfamiliar accent, pause before your mind fills in the blanks.

Remind yourself that you may be speaking with someone who has spent decades building a career, raising a family, solving problems, leading others or overcoming challenges—simply in another language and another place.

If the opportunity presents itself, begin a conversation instead of settling for an assumption.

You may discover that the most interesting part of someone is the part you almost overlooked.

Watch on YouTube

If this conversation resonates with you, I’d love you to continue the conversation by sharing it with someone else.

The movement behind Chocolate and Coffee Break has always been built on one simple invitation: sit down with someone different, listen with curiosity and discover the person beyond the first impression.

Because every conversation has the potential to make strangers a little less strange.

Watch here