E091 Oksana Zavisliak

Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 0:08 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 Oksana is obviously, Oksana is a student in short give a small town in Ternopil region in Ukraine. She is really into English. She has always been the best student and her English class and she also likes learning history, reading and sports. Oksana won various academic contests, Olympiads, and certifications. Oksana, how are you today? Oksana Zavisliak 1:07 I'm great. How about you? Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 1:09 I'm feeling positive, filled with the energy of life. And very curious about you. So I'll begin with this. You love the English language? Do you feel you have some talent that you were born with? That made you able to pick up the language quickly and easily? Or is it a lot of hard work, but that you enjoy it very much, Oksana Zavisliak 1:34 I would say that I have some talent in it. And I like learning languages. But I cannot say that it's just because of my talent. Of course there is efforts, a lot of efforts and hard work put in. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 1:55 Thank you and I understand what you're talking about. And you mentioned that you love learning foreign languages. I will tell you what it is for me the love for foreign languages is more about feeling that when you go to a place and you speak that language, you can feel and experience life like a local where you can experience the culture, the people, the atmosphere, not as a distant tourist, but as a part of that place and of that community. What is for you the biggest motivator or the exciting thing about learning languages, Oksana Zavisliak 2:37 I suppose I just like the process of learning. Of course, English can give a lot of opportunities as for traveling education, or simply watching TV shows, and so on. But I think the most enjoyable part for me is a process. Maybe I will change my mind when I when I visit English speaking countries. I haven't yet so it's in a future. But now I just enjoyed the process. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 3:14 I like that. What about the process is the most interesting or enjoyable part for you. Oksana Zavisliak 3:23 I like speaking the most I know many students feel like it's the most trustful, stressful part. And I agree at some point. But when you practice a lot, you feel more confident every time you speak. And for me now it's the most enjoyable part. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 3:47 Thank you. So are you in general and open and communicative person? Or has no problems interacting with new people making new friendships? Or are you at first more shy, a bit cold, and you only open up to people over time slowly. Oksana Zavisliak 4:10 I believe I'm the second type. Although I can't interact with people pretty well. But I feel more comfortable and more confident with people who I know and it's easier for me to open to them. And I don't like meeting new people because you have to learn about them their habits, their lifestyle and your temper. It's really hard. And I like just my a few friends that I have. And I really love them and I don't need more but at the same time I'm really open to meet new people. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 4:56 Thank you. And so most of your friendships seem to be friendships that are longer term where you have known the people for years. And so your friends, if they could describe your personality, what would they say about you? Oksana Zavisliak 5:15 I always ask them this question. And I would love them to tell something negative about me, because I can't judge myself as they can, because they see me from the site, right? And they usually just say, really positive things, and only futures to cons of me. But they say, usually that I'm really open minded person, and they have a lot of topics that they can talk with me. And I agree, because I like talking a lot. And I like in depth conversation. So yeah, they always saying that I'm really opened and have a good sense of humor, something like that. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 6:20 That's so interesting. And you said you like deep conversations with people? Why is that? Is it because you feel people their experiences is a way to learn about the world? So people are like books for you? Or is it just an emotion, a feeling of connection and bonding, that you cherish? Very much? Oksana Zavisliak 6:46 I think, first of all, it starts really suddenly, when someone says something, and I'm always like, I don't agree. And then just it's not arguing, but I just really confident about what I'm saying, always. And I have a lot of arguments to sell somebody, why am I right? I'm right. So I think it it happens suddenly. But for me, it's way to learn people's temper better. And also a person psychology. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 7:29 I like that. And you mentioned that you're confident about your ideas, your perspectives, your point of view, are you in general, a confident person? And do you feel that the use of nowadays with social media with years where people were at home for a while they didn't communicate much they studied remotely, that a lot of young people lost a lot of the confidence and and are more shy, and socially awkward? Or you think, No, as long as you're with friends, you've known for years, everybody is confident. So it's not an issue? Oksana Zavisliak 8:10 It depends on people and on situation. Usually, I'm really confident with closest ones. And I'm, I'm confident about my knowledge. I mean, I know that I will pass exams, for example. And the thing is, I don't just say it, I do something for it. And that's something that I really like about me. But I would say with that back No. People I don't feel that much confidence, Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 8:50 I understand. And so far to understand you even further, how do you feel about life and smaller town where you live in Thermopylae? Is that your style of life? You're like that relaxed atmosphere more with fewer people? Or are you a girl who dreams of big cities life with a lot of like movement, dynamism and energy and that way, Oksana Zavisliak 9:20 I suppose I like sit in life more. But the thing is, I've never experienced this. So I dream about moving to a big city. But I don't know how it's gonna feel because I live in a country I could say and there is Forest near me. And its nature. It's always fresh. There is always fresh air and it's beautiful outside, especially in the autumn, and I don't know how I feel about living in there. Big City, how I feel about it in a few years. But now, it seems to me like a big city is a lot of opportunities, and I want to move to it. But I don't know, it feels like me. I'm a bit nature person. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 10:20 Thank you. And you mentioned now twice the word opportunities, you said, English gives you access to more opportunities. You spoke about big cities, having an offering more opportunities. What is the kind of opportunities that is interesting for you? And what does it give you to have access to more opportunities? I understand this important, some people would say, No, it's more stressed. I like a column life where others say, it's more about the adventure, I want some excitement, while others say, I want a good life without opportunities, I will not have good home, a car, things like that. So what is the definition of the opportunities that interests you? And why is access to opportunities valuable for you, Oksana Zavisliak 11:15 I think opportunities are important to me because I want my life to be better and the best as it could be. And, for me, the best life is with a lot of opportunities with a great career with family, with university and so on. So for me, it's it depends on person. Because for some people opportunities are in the village in the country, for example, they can treat their health, somehow in the country. And it's easier for them to live here and they can work remotely. So they will have this opportunities, even in villages or small towns. But for me, I prefer offline communication, offline studying or fine work everything offline, because I started studying remotely when I was 12 when the Coronavirus type started. And now I feel like I'm just tired of it. And I want to try offline life as it was before. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 12:39 Thank you. That's so interesting. And then even more to understand you on a deeper level, you would like you said, you know you've studied online for way too long, you'd like to experience the offline world? What are some of the dreams that you dream about? In the future? What kind of profession would you love to have? You spoke about having family? Well, you're speaking English? would you love to spend a few years in an English speaking country? What would you love about that culture? What's fascinating, for example, about English speaking countries, compared to the culture of Ukraine? Oksana Zavisliak 13:26 First of all, I am not going to say about my future occupation, because just nobody knows that so far. And I still think about it, and consider many options. So I'll just keep it with myself. But I dream about studying in university, and for me, it doesn't matter over it will be whether it's abroad, or here in Ukraine. But I don't want to live in another country, English speaking country. For a few years, I think it's way too long for me. And I will try. I would like to try live there only few month. I think for me, that's enough to experience different culture and learn about new countries. But I don't feel like I want to spend a few years in a different country. I really love Ukraine. And if I will spend this few years it'll be just in university. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 14:35 Thank you. And I appreciate your love for Ukraine, your country. And so I have to ask you, how was February 24 for you? The day of the invasion. How did you hear that news? Did you believe it or not believe it how did you feel? And how did your life really change and the last seven months and maybe how did you change As a person, Oksana Zavisliak 15:01 my morning on this day started. And at 8am, I was lucky to not not to wake up at five, as many people did in Ukraine, I didn't hear anything. And first my thought that was art. This day, I had to go to school. And I remember my voice messages to my best friend, where I said that I'm not going to pack my bag today, because I'm too tired. And I'll do this tomorrow on February 24. And then they said, if I want to pack this bag, today, I will probably oversleep. And that what happened? I woke up saying just how how, again, I mean, aren't you tired of it, why you're always oversleep. And then my mom entered my room. And she said that the worst started. And I understand her. But she was really not angry, but just really touchy in this point. And she told me about this with a bit angry tone. And I didn't expect that we have, like, here some word basis or something. And my head of the class that that we have to evacuate, evacuate from our town. And I was shocked, I didn't know what to do. My grandpa was ill. And we didn't have an opportunity to take him with us. And I also had a cat and a dog, and I still have them. And my grandma lives also with me. So it was really hard to think about what to do next. But then it's just I remember just some moments of this day, I remember that I was really nervous. I read the news, every two minutes, it was just impossible to think about something else. I cried a lot, as many Ukrainians did. And then, on the sixth day of war, I understood that this will last way too long, and I need to do something. And then I started to learn English, again, to study to go cycling, and so on and started volunteering a bit. And that that's how I entered this life again, and I changed a lot, maybe I don't feel like this. But I think I grew up a lot and changed. My priorities changed very much. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 18:34 Can you talk more about that? You said your priorities changed? Did it change for you were you remember that every day is valuable every day could be the last unfortunately, and therefore, you try to have fun and feel good and be happy every day? Or how did they change? Oksana Zavisliak 18:56 I would say I started loving my country more and more. And also, I understood that you can earn a lot of money every day, you can study a lot and at one day, it'll just disappear and you will die and nobody will remember you and I don't live my tastes as if they was the last I don't have a lot of fun like four or five hours every day hanging out with my friends. I don't do that. And I can say that I live my days as if the were the last but at the same time I enjoy my life and I enjoy studying preparing for exams. I enjoy you're learning something new sport, doing sports and cooking and volunteering a bit sometimes. So I think I I now understand a lot of people from Ukraine because I always felt like there's a big difference between Western Ukraine and eastern and central Ukraine. And now, I started understanding better them. And there is a lot of refugees actually my time. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 20:23 Thank you. You mentioned sports frequently, as well as cooking cuisine. What kinds of sports are interesting for you? And how do you keep yourself in shape? If you love cooking? Do you not eat your own food, or you're more interested in cooking than eating? And how did that love for cooking develop? Oksana Zavisliak 20:47 It happens suddenly, I just started to love baking. And I can't say that I do it often. But sometimes a few times in a month, I find some recipe and just cook and I'm interested in eating it. But I always feel this balance, and I don't overeat. And about sports. I like cycling a lot. But it's getting cold, so it's hard to do it. And I also go for a walk with my dog every day. And sometimes they just simply do exercises and at home, I don't go gyms are something Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 21:38 that's really interesting, and I can feel for you and for every year cranium. It has been a really difficult not only seven months, but since 2014. And all I can say is lava okra uni. Oksana Zavisliak 21:55 Heroyam Slava! Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 21:56 Thank you Oksana. This was my privilege, my honor such a wonderful way to share your voice with the world, your life who you are. And thank you for participating in this podcast. Thank you