Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother.
She is my superhero.
That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives and emotions about this world.
In these difficult times in human history, we need to bring the cultures of the world
together.
And when we listen to real people, to real lives of women from other countries, we connect
our humanity without our differences or stereotypes, and we get inspired by their stories to live
a better life.
That's what this podcast is all about.
My guest today is Valeria Vranja.
Valeria is a Moldovan girl living in Aarhus, Denmark.
She is studying at Via University College, Faculty of Global Nutrition and Health, as
well as being an eyebrow master.
Valeria loves reading books, watching movies and documentaries, as well as swimming.
Valeria moved from Moldova to Denmark independently.
She makes her own money and does not need financial help from her family.
And she is constantly working to grow her success, her emotional maturity and her self-development.
Valeria, how are you today?
I'm very fine.
It's just a bit rainy and sad outside, but yeah, I'm trying to enjoy it anyway.
Well, we'll create the good sunny vibes with this interview, I hope, and to begin this
conversation with a nice question that helps me to begin understanding you more.
If your friends could describe your personality in Moldova and your new friends in Denmark,
what would they say about you?
And would they say a different part of your personality when they speak about your essence?
So if we talk about my best friends, that we are friends for a longer time from Moldova,
I think they would say that I'm a very friendly and open person, but at the same time, I filter
very good the people and I'm also very caring about my friends and my family and I would
do everything for them.
I also think they would say I'm funny and I am a good communicator and I'm the one that
always helps them when they have some problems or maybe they need some pieces of advice for
something, I'm always there to help them.
I am a person that really is trying to develop herself and all the time I'm trying to inform
myself about different things also in my field of nutrition, but also in other things.
Thank you, Valeria, that is really interesting.
And I notice you spoke about your best friends saying that you're open, you're friendly.
Does this mean when you meet new people or maybe when you first went to Denmark you had
some kind of poker face or rest in bitch face where new people can think, oh my God, she
looks so angry or intimidating while in reality you are friendly or are you constantly smiling
even in the rain and people think you're open even if they don't know you yet?
That's a funny question because actually many people tell me that if they're just looking
at me, I really have this kind of face that you said, but when I start to talk with them,
it's completely different usually.
So it can happen when I'm just staying maybe alone thinking about something, but yeah,
if we start to interact and to talk, they see that it's not really like that.
Thank you, and I'm curious since you had the experience of meeting new people from a totally
different culture and country, when you meet new people, let's say in Denmark, what is
the most interesting thing for you that makes you think, oh my God, this is my kind of person.
I want to become friends with them or whatever.
Is it their energy that you feel like comfortable with them right away?
Is it their stories that they have life experience and you think I can learn from this person?
Is it that they have similar values and principles and thoughts to you?
Or do you find it hard to make new friends in Denmark that maybe people have their own
culture and are more close to making new friends at an older age compared to Moldova growing
up since children with your friends?
To be honest, it's a bit complicated for me sometimes with people from other countries,
but maybe it's not only about the country, but how you set the values and principles
in life because I tend to become friends with people that are more similar to me and we
can share the same ideas and the same thoughts.
And like I'm interested to meet also other new people and we are talking and everything,
but to become like really good friends, I need them to be on the same vibe, let's say.
It's also important energy because I want positive people in my life.
I want, yeah, like you stay with them and you feel just, you feel good, you know, not
people that are pessimistic or things like that because it influences you in a way.
Thank you.
And I'm sure it was a difficult decision to decide to move from Moldova to Denmark and
you're using your own money.
You are responsible for everything.
If at any point something needs to be paid, you make the money to make that happen.
How is that experience for you?
Do you like having responsibility and being independent and making all the choices or
maybe you think you have no choice if you want a better future, that's the only way
or how was that decision for you?
What motivated you to go into the unknown?
It's actually very good for me because I'm an independent person in general and I don't
really like to depend on others.
So when I was living with my parents, I was a bit annoyed with the fact that when I want
to buy something, I need to ask for money and I'm not coming from a very rich family,
you know, so it was not so easy and all the time you need to ask and maybe sometimes you
cannot do what you want because of someone else.
And I mean, it's obvious when you're young with your parents.
But now I'm actually really happy and comfortable because now I have my own money.
I manage them in the way I want.
I decide if I want to buy something or to spend them on going somewhere in another country
for a weekend or not spending them at all because I will save them.
So yeah, I actually really like it very much.
And in general, to make my own decisions and to manage my own apartment and everything.
I'm very happy for you and I'm sure it feels amazing.
And I'm curious, since eyebrow master, what you do is a big part of your independence.
Is it something you do because you love it, you see maybe yourself as an artist and the
faces are your canvas and you're creating art in every way or did you find you have
a talent for it and therefore you're being logical and pragmatic to use it for your independence
or you wanted to do it for yourself at first and then you thought, wow, I like this.
I can do it well.
I can do it then for others.
How was the story and how is your experience when you're doing eyebrows?
So I'm not doing it so often now, let's say.
But yeah, it started before coming to Denmark because the summer when I decided to come,
I thought that it's a good idea to make a course to be able to make my own eyebrows
as well because unfortunately in European countries it's a bit complicated to find
a good master and it's usually Eastern European girls that are doing qualitative work.
So I decided to learn it also for me, but I thought it's also a good opportunity to
make also some extra money because there are girls that are searching for it and yeah,
I can just do some extra money for me besides the job that I will need to have.
Thank you.
And since you don't do it that often, I imagine most of your time is busy studying global
nutrition and health.
Why this field?
When did you discover your interest in it?
How was the choice to choose this compared to any other topic or subject you could have
chosen?
So I liked to cook a lot.
Also with my father, we cooked a lot together.
And then when I was in high school, I kind of started to be interested more in medicine
stuff, let's say.
To be honest, I forgot a bit how I arrived to choose nutrition.
I really don't remember how it happened.
But yeah, I think this cooking stuff with also the medicine and also like nutrition
is a big part of our life and it really influences a lot.
So I thought that it's better to help people to prevent some diseases and some problems
than to treat them.
200%. And I noticed you spoke about cooking, how you used to cook with your father.
I imagine you still love cooking.
What fascinates you most about the act of cooking?
Is it maybe do you love to please people somehow and you make something tasty and they eat
it?
Is it useful and validated or it's for you like a meditation where you can stop your
thoughts and just feel in the moment, enjoying the different sensations and smells while
you're cooking?
Or it reminds your family and home and it feels good because of that?
Or what is so interesting for you about cooking?
I think it's a part of everything you said together because I also like to prepare food
for someone and to see that they enjoy it.
I also like when I make it and I see that I managed to do a great job and I enjoy it.
Or sometimes I just I'm in a very cooking mood and yeah, I can start to make like three
dishes for the whole week.
And I think it's also about my family because I guess when I cooked with my father, it was
not only about cooking, but maybe also about spending time with them and then to prepare
it for my brother and for my mom.
So maybe it also reminds me of my family because I also used to cook many times some traditional
food that we cooked at home.
Thank you.
And it's interesting you're speaking about traditional food.
So for you, if you could describe to the world, what is the culture of a young Moldovan girl?
What characteristics do you have?
And I'm sure that when you went to Denmark, you noticed what is different between the
culture there and it helped you understand the Moldovan culture even more by contrast.
So let's say someone never visited Moldova.
They're curious to understand how are the people, how are you a girl your age in 2023
almost already?
Are you 100% Moldovan and what does that mean?
Or because of Hollywood, you're a bit of a mix of US with some British London attitudes
with some Korean K-pop vibes with some anime Japanese influences and you became a mix of
the world?
Or how would you describe it?
I think I'm quite a traditional girl, let's say.
And even if I live the third year now in Europe, I still have some big roots from my country
and I think I don't get very influenced from other cultures even if I'm interested to get
to know them.
So our people are very open, are very friendly.
When you go to someone's place to visit them, it's always a lot of food because I guess
food is a big part, let's say, of our gatherings and of family gatherings and social events
that we have.
Maybe for other people to understand better, it's similar to other Eastern European countries,
for example, Ukraine.
We even have many common dishes because in the past we were in the Soviet Union so we
had a big influence from that time also in the food, in culture, in the way of thinking.
So it's both good and bad, the influence.
I am proud of how our people are.
I still think that we need to improve some things in the way we are thinking.
But at the same time, I think that our traditional way of thinking and the roots we have are
really unique and they have good influence on our people.
Thank you.
Three things that are related.
You said there are some things that could be improved.
What does that mean?
You said you're a traditional girl.
Can you explain what does that mean in 2022?
And now in Denmark, would you live in Western Europe for the rest of your life or plan to
return to Moldova or why or why not?
I'm really curious about this.
So when I said about improvement, it's about the older generations in our country.
Because how I said the influence that we had from the Soviet Union is also in some cases
not the best.
Some people are very conservative, like too much, and they are not really open to changes.
And also we have some problems with the political things and the direction people choose to
go, which is not the best.
And many people, unfortunately, are not really informed well.
But I really see a big difference in my generation, for example, and many of my friends also moved
in other countries to study.
And you can really see a huge difference in the way we think and we perceive the life.
But in the same time, we have this traditional way of thinking in us.
It's a bit complicated to explain.
I think it's like a mix between some European way of thinking to be a bit more open minded,
to know more things, to inform yourself about everything you hear, not just to believe,
for example, what someone is telling you, but in the same time, not to go too far away
with these things and to be realistic and to take the things correctly.
I'm not sure about moving in another country, moving back or staying here.
Still, I think I'm trying to figure out, but I have time because I'm doing my university
now and then I'm thinking about a master.
So I'm trying to let the time show me what I should do, because how I said, I like some
things in my country, but I like some things here.
So it would be nice to have, you know, a country that is perfect and have a mix of everything
you want, but unfortunately it cannot be like that.
So I'll just try to figure out, to prioritize the things and to understand what it's most
important to have.
Thank you.
That's very, very wise.
And from your perspective, are you a person who is decisive?
Do you make decisions easily?
Are you confident about life, about your plans, about how you look, et cetera?
Or do you find it difficult to make decisions?
You hesitate a lot and think, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, and of the consequences.
And sometimes maybe because of social media or whatever, there is comparison to other
people which reduces self-confidence.
What's your perspective on that?
It's a bit complicated for me to make decisions.
I guess it's because I am an over-thinker and I analyze everything a lot.
I'm analyzing what is happening now, what can happen in consequence of the decision
I'm making.
So and obviously I understand it cannot be perfect, but in the same time, I am a bit
afraid of some risks that this decision can have.
I don't know if social media influences me very much.
I'm also trying to filter the information and what I get on my social media feed.
And even sometimes maybe I can see some perfect life on someone's Instagram.
And for several seconds you are thinking, oh my God, I also want like that, why I don't
have.
But then I'm trying to remember that a big part of this is not really true or it's not
really how we see it.
So yeah, I'm trying to calm down and not to take this in my mind for too much.
Thank you.
And to finish, you said you're living abroad now for three years.
If you could go back to your early teenage Valeria and give her some advice about life
that maybe other girls can be inspired by, what would you say to your younger self?
What are some things you learned about the world and life or some things maybe you thought
before that are wrong and you want to say that to your young yourself?
What would be that advice?
I think I would say to myself younger to try to be more prepared for differences that I
can find out in other countries because it's a bit complicated for me sometimes to accept
how different people are or how different some cultures are.
So yeah, and maybe also that it's not really how you plan and how you thought it will be
in the end, but you should try to adapt and not to take the things maybe too emotionally
or too seriously because it will pass anyway.
And maybe something it seems like a very big problem now, but in one year or maybe later,
it will seem like nothing.
So yes, I think this is the most important you need to have in your mind.
Thank you so much Valeria.
This was my privilege, my honor, such a wonderful way to share your experience, your opinions,
your wisdom with the world, I wish you success.
I wish you the perfect master's degree and thank you again for participating.
Thank you for inviting me and I hope people that will listen to this podcast will take
something interesting from it and maybe inspirational.
