Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really 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 people of the world together. And when we hear the voices of women, when
we listen to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our cultures without
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 Feriel Zidane. Feriel is from Algeria and
she studies in the mathematical high school, which is the best school in her country. Feriel
is a programmer and a game developer. She is also an artist and an online teacher of
English. She really, really loves learning languages. Feriel, how are you today? I'm
fine. Thanks for asking. I'm happy, honored, and privileged to have you here and very curious
about you as a girl. So I'll begin with this nice, simple first question, which is if your
friends, the people who love you and know you most, can describe your personality, what
would they say about you? So it's a big honor to be with you today. And I think my friends
and my family think that I'm a little bit shy girl, but in another part that I'm a person
who loves learning and discovers some of the things and everything. But yeah, that's it.
Thank you. I'm curious about this because I like to support the confidence of women,
their ability to share their perspective without shyness. And I respect your shyness, of course.
But what perspective or what within you makes you a shy person? Is it because you see shyness
as a virtue, as a good thing, and therefore you're shy? Is it shy because you don't like
the negativity of judgment if people would judge you? Or is it shy because you don't
know those people, so you don't open up to them? Or what is the source of your shyness?
So the source of my shyness is not that I'm afraid of the judgment of the people, but
just it's like, I don't like talking to people a lot. I love being in my own world, but I'm
shy and strong at the same time. And I hate to talk a lot, but it's the reason or the
source of my shyness. Thank you. And so I have to ask you, because
you love being in your own world, do you have a rich world inside? Are you a girl with a
big, big imagination, who has stories, creatures, all kinds of art and creativity and deep thoughts
within your inner world? Can you share a bit about that world that is inside you that not
many people can see or know about? So my own world is full of art, as you said,
full of books, full of, yes, that's it. I can, when I talk to myself, I feel more comfortable,
I can express my feelings or my, just talking to myself. And art is the music of my heart
and you know that books are my friends. I love that. First, I'll begin with art.
What is interesting to you in art in general? Are there some pieces of art where you think,
wow, I would not have thought of that, this is new and therefore interesting? Or is it
when it makes you feel emotions, you love that experience of feeling new emotions, deeper
emotions, feeling nostalgia and resonance and excitement and shock? Or what about art
is the most interesting thing for you? So about art, art is just like a message.
I can deliver my thoughts, my feelings through art. When I draw something or a painting,
I can express all my thoughts. I can deliver to the others messages. So it's just a message,
a very, very strong message to whom understand the art is an important point. And art is
alive. And I'm kind of people who want more than one style or one life because art just
another life. And I'm people who like to live more than one life, just like this idea.
Tell me more. That sounds so interesting. Why is it important for you to live more than
one life? And how does that relate not only to art, but to books?
We don't live in another world, just like I love how to say it. Sometimes we don't like,
we have some bad moments in our lives. So live in another world. It's not just by painting
something or practicing something you love, but when you leave another world, you are
going to forget the bad moments, the bad, some human has in his life, some bad moments.
So live in another world, just like a very pretty thing.
That's wonderful. You said pretty as a word. Is beauty something that is a very big part
of your life? What does pretty mean to you? Is it that when you are in a pretty atmosphere
and place, you feel balanced? Is it that beauty makes you feel complete or it makes you feel
the right emotions? Or why is it important for you, things that are pretty or prettiness
in general?
So it's not just my idea. I mean, I love something. Beauty is the beauty of heart in general.
We can say there is no conditions of beauty. And this is why I use this word. I appreciate
everything is beauty. Every single thing beauty. I appreciate it. And everyone can be pretty
with his own way.
Thank you. I love that. And as an Algerian girl and woman, what is your attitude? What
makes you unique compared to different women from other countries, from North Africa, from
the Mediterranean, from the Arab world? What about your culture or you? Of course, every
woman is very different and unique, but also women from the same country tend to share
some similarities. So can you speak a bit about Algerian girls in 2023? Are they very
modern, medium, traditional, mixed with all kinds of cultures? Or how are they?
So it's a large, large subject, but I'm going to give you a summary. Algerian girls is girls
who want to change their lives, who want to be independent, to fight because, you know,
but the Algerian girls are very modern and medium, very modern, modern, sorry. And they
want to share their thoughts, their everything they want to. And as you know, as an Algerian,
we have a rich culture. We love traditions and we love everything traditional and modern
at the same time. We are conservator. We can say people we love and special, of course.
The girls, Algerian girls are very, very, very respectful girls. They have a big, big,
big, big ideas to change the world. They want to make the world listen to their voices.
They want to, this is the most important thing. And at least our Algerian girls are amazing
and we are very, very strong. As you know, with the French colonialism, we were with
the men, we shake our hands, we put each hand on the other. And we were very, very, very
strong at that moment. And this is the best thing of the Algerian girls. And as Muslims,
we are very, very, very respectful. And, you know, this is the most important thing in
Algerian girls. And we gave a lot for Algeria and we will give this our, you know, our title.
That's all. Thank you. That's so interesting. And I'm
proud of you. And I encourage all Algerian girls and women to follow all their dreams,
to be absolutely the best they can be. And to ask you even more about language learning.
Why is it interesting for you to learn languages? And is it somehow related for your love to
live many lives and to have a rich world of creativity inside you?
So I love speaking a lot of languages because to communicate with the others, to make new
relations with the others. But I said that I'm shy and I don't want to do more relations.
But I want to know about the others, but to know their thoughts and to I want to because
we end this life, we have just one life. So we have to do every single thing that we love.
We have to enjoy our moments, to make our times, to make our future selves proud of
us. And for learning languages is my passion. And when I learn a new language, I feel just
it has a relation with living another very sorry, lots of words, because when you are
going to when you learn another language, you're going to live another life, another
you just feel that you are in another country, really. And that's it. Learning languages
is my passion. It's just a way to discover the world, to read more books, original books,
because some books are translated, but the original books are, as I said, I love reading
books, books. So to read the original books in their language, it's an amazing thing,
believe me. And this is why I love learning languages. And it has a relation with living
another word, just like when you learn a language, you are going to live another one.
Thank you. That's absolutely great. And I know you're an English tutor and you speak
English properly. How is the state of English language speaking in Algeria that I know it's
the third or some people argue it's the fourth language within the country? How are other
girls your age when it comes to speaking English? And why did you decide to become a tutor and
to teach others? So as an Algerian girl, I'm going to represent
the other Algerian girls. So the Algerian girls want really, really, really to speak
in English and they have that they want really to speak in English because they want to be
open-minded. And as I said, as a teacher, online teacher, I found that a lot of people
and in my age and we are the others are very, very, very interested to learn English. And
that was I was very, very happy because I saw that we can change the word and we have
the capacity because we have we are we want to do something in our lives. Yes. And and
as you know, teaching English, English is just like a patient. And my mother is a teacher
of English, so she learned me how to speak. And yes, that's it. And I love keeping people
seen. And, you know, just like when you see someone learn another thing and he's so happy
or going to be happy at the same time. And yes, I love to give to the people help and
to push him to to learn and to discover. Yes. Thank you. That is very, very kind. And as
a girl who made it to the best high school in Algeria, and I know it's a difficult experience,
maybe other girls want to learn about your productivity method. They say, oh, my God,
I have so many things to do already in high school. I have so much to do. I don't have
time to improve English and to study and have perfect exam situations and go to the best
high school and all that. What are you doing in order to achieve so much? How do you not
burn out? What is your method? So what is your advice for all girls all over the world
so that they can be more productive, more effective and create their dream future and
become leaders, become super successful in a way that satisfies them, not the way that
social media says they should become? So in my dictionary, I don't have the word
impossible or I can't or it's so hard or I'm a girl, I can't do it. Just a man can do it.
No, it's not an excuse. We should control ourselves. We should control. It's just like
it's not an excuse to have a lot of works and to it just like you have to when you want
something, you have to reach it. You have to fulfill it. When you have a dream, you
have to fulfill it because it just we have one life and Allah give you this life to work,
not to play, not to stay, not to sleep, because when you did, you are going to sleep all the
time. But when you are when you are in this life, you are when Allah put you in this life,
you have to work. You are in this life for the reason it just like you have to work just
work, just work and to do several things, just the best thing, just we should work hard.
No, you're you have to you have to work hard. You have to know your goals and to achieve
your goals. This is the most important thing. And as a girl, I want to say that to be a
girl, it's not a shame to be a girl. It's not a force to be a girl. It's not a mistake
to be a girl is just legal. It's a positive point and avoid every bad thing. You have
to just do the good things because, you know, you have just to make your life happy and
to do just the best things. And to be a girl is not a shame or a mistake. You have to be
proud of yourself. You have. And I want to advise the others, the men and the boys to
respect the girl. And it's the most important thing, because in this world, we saw that
girls, the men don't respect girls. And this is what I hate, because we are a human like
you and why it's not our it's not a mistake to be a girl. And it's the best thing to be
a man. You have to respect us and you have to love yourself to be proud of yourself at
the same time. And yeah, we are special, strong and pretty. And in the same time and you know,
we have to keep our head. Yeah, we have to keep our mind the scene and yeah, gives men.
We have to give ourself the best thing. Yeah. And girls are the best thing at the same time.
You have to be proud of yourself and to do everything you love and you want to do. And
you have to improve yourself to to improve everything. For example, to improve your English
because it's the word language. Now the word technology, language. Yeah, that's it. And
this is my advice to all the other girls. You have to be proud of yourself. You have
to love yourself. It's not a shame to be a girl. And you have a lot of gives you just
only one life and you have to enjoy it. You have to do just what you love and the good
thing at the same time. And that's it. You don't have to wait a minute to do these things
to you. And yeah, you have to do it with your own self. You have to fight this love. This
life is not easy. You have to fight. That's it. And that's what I want to say. That's
all. Thank you so much, Feriel. That's a positive
and empowering message for all girls and all women. I really wish they hear it, that they
follow it. They can believe in it because it's absolutely true. And I wish you success
in everything you do. I'm proud of you and of the initiative that you take. And you're
helping others to improve English, which gives them a lot of opportunities and makes their
life much, much better. I thank you for that. And thank you again for participating.
Thanks to you also, because it's a big honor to be with you and to participate in this.
There is a project and to share as our title is to share the people, lives and stories
and to. Yes, it's a big honor. And yes, thank you a lot for your time. And then that it
was really, really big honor to me.
