Episode Transcript
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 0:00
The femininity is powerful in all its forms exceptional women, rare girls must be appreciated in every way for their perspectives, actions, thoughts, and their unique ways of being such rare girls are inspiring. And this is what this podcast is all about. Hello, my name is Aziz and my guest today is elsea. Sally Cova. LC is a citizen of Kazakhstan studying Media and Communication Arts in Busan university days on South Korea. She likes drawing, filming and dancing. LC received multiple scholarships to improve her skills in media and communication throughout the years. Elsie, how are you today?
Ilsiya Khalikova 1:02
I'm good, ready to be in the Podcast?
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 1:05
I'm happy, honored. excited to have you here. And I'm really curious about you. So I'll begin with this question. If your friend could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
Ilsiya Khalikova 1:20
That's an interesting question. I would say they think that I have kind of a bubbly personality this day. So I'm trying to be like a social butterfly to have more connections with people to get to know people from different countries. And also, I think I joke a lot so I can act a bit of a clown sometimes.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 1:47
I like that. And you mentioned meeting a lot of people from different countries. First, why did you choose South Korea? Were you a fan of Kpop and their culture even before and therefore you chose to study there? Or what's the story of this choice?
Ilsiya Khalikova 2:04
Oh, actually, yes. Korea was the place that I was interested in, as I grew up loving, K dramas. And also, okay, pop music. I think it's one of my favorite genres. Also, I like the culture. And the people. I think I met a lot of Koreans and they will interesting people. That's why I thought that Korean might be an interesting choice for education. Also, as you know, K dramas are going big today. So I thought that media and communications is a good career path to choose in Korea.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 2:50
Yes, exactly. Why Media and Communications. I know, it's a promising career path. And you spoke about the dramas that you have loved watching and following. But you specifically, what fascinated you about it? Did you notice you had a specific talent that you can use there, or why this show is
Ilsiya Khalikova 3:11
I would say that I like creating content, and I'm into the creative stuff. I also like drawing. So basically, I think that imagination and creativity can help me in many ways, and in many life situations. I also think that media can have a strong influence on people in a positive ways. And in many topics, like sustainability, ecology, or some, you know, big events that are happening around the world. So I would love to be the person who can bring positive changes into the world, and help in some way by creating content, maybe videos, designs, and etc.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 4:09
I love that and you mentioned that you're really interested in drawing and all kinds of arts. What inspires you when you're being creative? Whether creating content, creating a new drawing or anything that requires creativity?
Ilsiya Khalikova 4:27
I think it will be kind of a basic answer, but I do get inspired by environment that surrounds me. It can be people sky, sunsets, especially food like any kind of thing. But also I get inspired by fashion and fashion style fashion designs. I would say that fashion can say a lot about a person and that's why A, most of my drawings can have this kind of fashion elements. And also, I try to implement it in my real life. So that I'm not only joven, but also trying to express myself through the clothing I wear. And maybe for other stuff. Also,
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 5:21
thank you I really, really like to add, nowadays, what is your daily routine there in South Korea? When do you wake up? What do you do? Do you eat local food? Or do you cook some food that is traditional of Kazakhstan? Are you totally immersed in the culture? Or do you keep some things that remind you of back home, tell me your daily schedule and routine, all of it,
Ilsiya Khalikova 5:50
the routine here is totally different from what I had in Kazakhstan, because the classes are different in the Orion environment. In generally, it's also different. I tried to, you know, go to some interesting places there to have nice meal times, and also to experience delicious food here. So I'd say that I try to immerse into the culture. It's essential if you go abroad, you need to like adapt to this new environment. So South Korean food is actually good. So if you need some recommendations, I totally recommend you to try Korean food. And I wake up at seven, sometimes ATM, or my classes are usually morning classes. That's why I'm waking up pretty early. But my schedule, isn't that kind of busy. So I have enough time to join classes that are extracurricular, to get to know the city to explore sites here. So I'm not that busy here, which is a good thing, I guess.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 7:10
Very, very cool. And did you find it a bit difficult to make new friends in a new place that you didn't grow up with the people? So you need to create friend friends from scratch? And if you did, what is your method? If someone you know, because some people might go to a new country, and then even after some years, they say, Oh, my God, I didn't make any new friends. I stayed isolated. So what do you recommend?
Ilsiya Khalikova 7:40
I think it's actually kind of a problem for international students, especially to make new friends and a totally different country. And at first, I had this kind of problem. And I think you can get over this, if you will try to get out of this comfort zone. It's tremendously complicated. Sometimes you don't know how to act, how to ask a question. But it's not about you mistaken. Because you're still trying to make friends. So the thing that I've learned here is that mistakes are okay, it's even better to make mistakes than doing nothing. So just try to communicate, try to explore places that could be interesting for you, where you can meet people with the same mindset, or join clubs, if you can, it's gonna be really cool to have friends that have same interests as you are plus, I'd say that if you know people that are from your country, that's good. But I would recommend you to explore some other nations to get to know people from different countries, so you could experience and kind of improve your English skills with other people than talking only to people you know, from your own country and use like your native language. I think it's a great practice. And it's going to be a great advancement for your language skills.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 9:18
Thank you. And what do you study right now? It seems to be a very interesting subject. Let's say someone listening wants to understand what it is What are the future careers possibilities? What would you say? Like what can they expect to be doing in the future? What skills can they develop if they study the same thing? You're studying
Ilsiya Khalikova 9:43
media and communication is quite an interesting sphere. I'd say that there is no particular career path that you can take, because it's a pretty wide range of different opportunities and possibilities for you. I personally Not only like photography and cinematography, so I do think that I will be making some kind of a content, which will involve movies, or creating scenes may be screenwriting, and stuff like that. So it's more about movies, and cinematography, cinematography. But also you can become influencer. You can work on social media platforms, you can make campaigns on these platforms. Also, there are many paths that you can take here. But the main point that I noticed that it's all about creatine, so if you're ready to use your imagination, if you like, art stuff, and you're ready to know how to work with equipment, I mean, camera equipment, you are willing to learn more about cinema world, and about its different aspects than media is the right path for you.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 11:10
Thank you. And you said that you're very interested in changing people's minds, their beliefs, and increase in the positivity and impact and the world? What kinds of things do you desire to change within humanity? Well, how do you want to inspire others? What do you think is missing that you can add?
Ilsiya Khalikova 11:33
Oh, I've been a part of many volunteering and charity projects in my home country, and I'm still a part of it. And in some of them, and there are many things that I would like to change. But the thing that I was, like, mostly concentrated on was my project with a study buddy, which was made to create a safe environment for every person to study to find a study partner, to get to know about different fields and paths. And we took a really interesting activity as mentorship program for students with disabilities. That was interesting. And at that time, I understood that inclusion and inclusive education is the topic that should be developed in every single country, we should talk about it, we should take action towards this topic, because there are still not a lot of like safe spaces. And schools classes for children that have disabilities or hardships with studying because of some medical conditions. So I think I would like to have more of this safe spaces, schools, some extracurricular activities for those children. And it would be really great,
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 13:09
thank you. And after, you know, the pandemic, and so many years of social isolation, many young people not going to school, etc, only doing it online. Do you feel that they have lost their ability to communicate in real life while without feeling awkward? And maybe studying the same topic as you can help them elevate that skill? Or do you think everybody is moving towards the metaverse where we'll live most our lives online? And so what matters is to learn how to deal with, you know, create media and do things like that, because that's the future of all human communication.
Ilsiya Khalikova 13:55
Wow, I think actually, we live in this world right now. Because there are many technologies like VR glasses, 3d and other stuff. But still, communication is important. And I think media can actually help people to socialize, to explore many other activities, because media is not only about creating things, there are many other things that you would need to learn about photography, also critical thinking, and maybe writing creative writing. So you would need to communicate a lot to work in teams to do group projects, to collaborate with people. So you will need to kind of adapt to this new environment and to socialize with people. So if you're willing to take that that's going to be really good for your social skills. But there are also many alternative paths that you can Take in Media course. Because yeah, you can work more in multimedia thing, both work on social platforms, creating designs, and other content. And it won't need like you to be with other people to communicate. But I still think that after pandemic, we need to socialize more, and to have more connections, because we still need conversations, we still need friends, and people who will understand us who will share the same interests as we have. So I would suggest you to be more open to this be more open minded. And if you're willing to socialize, media is a great career path.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 15:49
Thank you. And now that you're living in a totally different culture, with people from all over the world, et cetera, do you feel that such things give you a culture that is like being a cosmopolitan or a citizen of the world? Or do you feel that deep down? Maybe you should have been Korean? Or that you're 100%? From Kazakhstan, with the culture, etc? Or are you now a mix of many cultures?
Ilsiya Khalikova 16:21
To be honest, Kazakhstan is kind of a mix of many different cultures. Like, it was made, like historically. So I was also willing to explore other cultures. And here, it's quite, it can be complicated, but I think it's getting better as your experience other things and other stuff. So I think I'm kind of immersing into this, but slowly, so it takes time, but I think I'm still adapting, which is a good thing.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 16:54
Thank you. And are you someone who when you meet new people, you might feel shy at first and open up slowly? Or are you someone who is warm and friendly? From the very first second? I mean, do you have like a poker, serious bitchface? Where people feel intimidated? And like, why is he angry? Even if you're not? Or are you always smiling, open and treat people from the beginning as if your friends,
Ilsiya Khalikova 17:23
I'm trying to be like the second type? Because yeah, I think I have a more bubbly kind of personality. But I'm not sure maybe I'm quite introverted, at times, but I still like communication. So I'm trying to treat people with kindness kind of in the I'd say that it can be quite hard, especially in the new culture. But with time you keep adapting, and kind of understand how to treat people how to communicate. So it comes with experience and practice. But practice makes perfect. So I think, yeah, I'm trying to be like, more clients, and bubbly kind of personality.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 18:06
Thank you. And in the future, do you see yourself living more long term in South Korea? Or would you like to try other cultures what would be like your dream trajectory of various countries to visit and living not just as a tourist,
Ilsiya Khalikova 18:23
basically, there are many countries and places that I want to visit. Mostly, I like to visit Japan and other Asian countries. I learned about a lot of other Asian countries here. So I would like to experience that. And I think I would like to travel to Europe. Also, the culture here is also interesting. And there are many beautiful places to visit. Actually, yeah, I don't think I would like to settle in just one place for my whole lifetime. I like to travel to experience more to get to know people from all over the globe. And I guess I also like learning languages, so it would be nice to travel and to get to experience the culture plus, to improve my skills in those languages.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 19:20
That's interesting. So you love learning languages? What is your own unique method to improve grammar, vocabulary, accent etc. When you're learning a new language,
Ilsiya Khalikova 19:32
oh, learning English. I started learning English from the first grade. So it wasn't something that I was like into from the from the start, but with time I just understood that I needed to learn it to experience more things to communicate with people from different countries. So it was like inevitable for me. And I get to have a kind and kind of safe environment, I get to participate in contests. And I think if you participate in this kind of things, you will eventually improve your skills because especially if you have a nice tutor or teacher who can support you with this journey, then you will definitely see advances and great improvement. Also, there are many shows and dramas in like many languages, if you would like to learn Korean like rather than other languages, then there are many resources. And currently, I'm into this path because my Korean is still bad. And I'm just start, I just started to learn it like seriously taking this seriously. So if you enter this journey, I like me, I recommend you to get to experience cultural stuff, and to watch K dramas, maybe with subtitles. And to translate the music, if you like Kpop. I think it also comes to other languages. So I think if you're into TV shows and music, you need to get to experience this in the language that you want to learn, and then you will see a good improvement.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 21:32
Thank you. So What difference do you believe it makes for an exchange student who, let's say either choosing to only speak English and Alang in a country where English is not the native tongue compared to learning the native language.
Ilsiya Khalikova 21:49
To be honest, I'm trying to speak Korean here, but it's still difficult. So I do say things on English. And as this both languages are not my native, it's kind of complicated, even to like, you know, remember all the words in English, it's nearly impossible. But still, I think if you would like to practice the language, and also to show your kind of respect to locals, then you should try to speak on the local language. There are many resources, as I said, there are many things that can help you to learn that. So it could be enough to just know simple phrases at first. And then it's going to be great if you get a kind of a friend, or some kind of acquaintance that can help you to learn eyes. I know Koreans do like to speak to foreigners, so they would practice their English. And you can practice a bit of Korean. So to get this exchange, it's important to try to speak on the local language.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 23:01
Thank you so much. LC this was interesting, fascinating. And do you have any, like, life motivation or lesson or something, you think a lot more people should remember in order to feel happier, be more productive, motivated, or at least, to not be depressed?
Ilsiya Khalikova 23:23
Right? So I'd say that here, I just understood and kind of learned that you shouldn't be shy, or nervous. When you need to do something when you need to make friends and acquaintances. When you get into the complicated situation, then just try to ask for help. Try to communicate with people don't be afraid. Even if you think that someone will say, oh, like, you don't know how to speak properly, or you're on. You're not brawn, you're can make mistakes. But you're still trying to get a better communications to be more open minded and confident. And that's what makes you strong. Yeah. So don't think that not being able to understand the language, or to be shy is your weakness, just try to get out of this comfort zone. It can be really difficult for the first time but you shouldn't push yourself just take small steps. So eventually you will get to the point where you can communicate easily. So I would say that my advice kind of advice is to try to get out of your comfort zone and to be more confident.
Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 24:47
I agree. That's really wonderful advice. Thank you, Elsie. This was my privilege, my honor. A truly wonderful episode and I wish you more success.
Ilsiya Khalikova 24:58
Thank you. I will shoe success also thank you for inviting me
