How SIMA Began

We love living abroad — meeting people and discovering how they see the world. Languages are another matter. One of us still blushes ordering a coffee in Spain, and the more nervous the moment, the quieter the voice. The other is theatrical, unafraid of mistakes, and better for it.

We share a love of culture, travel and learning, but we experience language very differently. And it made us wonder: what if language didn't have to be something you studied, but something you experienced?

With backgrounds in teaching and hospitality, we began reimagining language learning through food, people, stories and real moments. We explored the idea through academic research, and the response was encouraging.

A table. Interesting people. A reason to talk. What started as a conversation between the two of us began to feel like something worth building. So we created SIMA.

— The SIMA founders