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To be a part of this conversation and share your story, please shoot me an email: [email protected]. I was in Washington D.C. for a work conference in media relations. I felt several things while I was at the conference full of professionals that came from years and years of experience working in the media, television, the government administrations, and I felt like I didn’t belong there. I haven’t felt the imposter syndrome in a while now so when I was a part of a less diverse world; I found myself in the same spot where I was a couple of years ago. I’m a south Asian immigrant whose first language isn’t English, doesn’t have a journalism background, yet works in the field I am in now. I really had to take a moment to remind myself why I deserved to be there. Why I was a part of this world. Why I deserved that seat at the table among all the others. So hear me out as I share this personal experience as I am aware it’s not so much personal — rather universal. In the ways, a lot of us, that come from minority groups feel this way. As Michelle Obama famously quoted, “You’re important in your own right. People need to value you because of who you are, because of your story. Because of your challenges. That’s what makes you unique.”
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If you or a friend you know would be willing to share their story with me, please feel free to reach out to me: at [email protected].
The artists/songs mentioned in this episode:
Oum Kulthum
Sabry Aalil by Sherine
In today’s episode, I’m in conversation with my new friend Raghad whom I met spontaneously while going to a dancing class in Denver, Colorado. Raghad is originally from Saudi Arabia and moved to the United States temporarily for her work. Head us dive into some very interesting topics like how culture changes personalities, living in the U.S. as immigrants, fear mindset in cultures, life in Saudi Arabia as a woman, languages, Arabic music, oh my! We’ve so much to share so I hope you’re able to enjoy it! -
Fehlende Folgen?
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In this episode, I don’t have a guest with me but I do have a lot of thoughts about everyday communication and using a language that’s not your own, in a country that’s not your own! I have come to realize that, it’s normal to come across challenges and misconceptions when you are trying to fit into a new culture and country, trying to speak their language and it’s especially, so important to understand that you’ll not always be the best and most effective at using it so you should allow yourself some grace, and pat on the back, that you’re already doing a good job trying! Language is not always the best indicator of intelligence, it’s a medium that can always be improved and that’s what I’ve tried to emphasize here. Hope you can take away some insights!
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For today’s episode, I’m in conversation with May Alherek, May was born and raised in Salamieh, Syria, and is currently based in Ottawa, Canada. May just completed her master's degree in environmental engineering in Canada with her thesis research on sustainable solutions to provide safe drinking water for low-income communities living in remote areas, such as refugees living in camps. From my conversation with her, I could sense a lot of pain in her voice as she was telling her story, yet a lot of resiliency, courage, and positivity. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the massive earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey earlier this month. I deeply empathize with the people there and hope everything goes well.
I hope this episode helps you look at war-torn countries from a new perspective. My goal for this episode was not to dwell on war, and crisis because there’s already so much narrative available for that. I just wanted to get to know Syria from a perspective of its culture, history, and people. So that’s why I tried doing here. Hope you are able to enjoy this episode.
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In this episode, I am in conversation with Krysten Kaladkarin. Originally from the Philippines, Krysten made the brave decision to leave her home and everything behind to embark on an epic solo adventure, on foot, hitchhiking around the world, collecting memories, and defying expectations, and all the stereotypes connecting to her identity as a "weak passport" citizen, and as a woman.
Krysten is currently based in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine where she is currently volunteering as an English teacher for an alternative learning school and raising funds to distribute humanitarian and medical aid in Ukraine.
Krysten is on a mission to touch lives through sustainable, ethical, and accessible travel. She combines advocacy and adventure and now wants to give back to the community through her blog and social media outreach.
From the entire experience of talking to her, I found Krysten to be extremely optimistic, energetic, courageous, confident, and with a strong desire to explore the world, meet people, and make connections. I gained so much inspiration from the entire conversation as she has a lot of great stories, and I was nothing but envious, equally, in awe of how she has been living every moment of her life as she should. I also deeply admire her ability to persevere through any difficult circumstances and keep moving like a true traveler, she's surely one of a kind!You can follow Krysten's journey on Instagram and assist with her outreach work in any way possible.
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In this episode, I am in conversation with Farishta Afzaly. Originally from Afghanistan, Farishta grew up mostly in Pakistan but is currently based in the United States, where she is also seeking asylum. In this episode, we talk about some of her personal experiences living in immigration for the most part of her life, while also touching on the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
From the entire experience talking to her, I found Farishta to be smart, brave, resilient, and with a strong need to speak up for people’s rights in her country, especially for women. I hope you can take away something from this conversation as I did.
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Hey all. Welcome to the very first episode of A Whole New World. 🎉I’ve finally decided to publish this episode which I recorded back in May of 2022. I had some plans that didn’t work out initially but I stumbled upon it again today and I realized it needs to be heard…so here goes nothing! In this episode I’m discussing why this podcast exists, why I decided to shed light on immigrants and expats from under represented countries.
