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,
their 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 Sohi Ribose. Sohi is from
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and currently lives in München-Gladbach, Germany. Sohi finished
her master's degree in international management at the University of Applied Sciences in München-Gladbach
and currently works as a junior marketing manager. So he loves badminton, drawing, dance,
playing the ukulele, photography, and personal improvement activities. She enjoys nature
and long walks, deep conversation with people, music, and watching movies. So he is a graduate
of Westminster University with a first-class honors, an Erasmus exchange scholarship holder,
and the German academic exchange service DAAD scholarship holder. Sohi, how are you today?
Hello, Aziz. Thank you very much for inviting me. I'm doing so great and I'm happy to be
part of your next episode. I am lucky, honored, privileged, and very
curious to know more about you as a person. So I'll begin with this. If your friends,
the people who know you, could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
Wow. Many people say different things because when you ask this question, one thing came
up to my mind when I was working back in Uzbekistan. One guy was telling me that I'm like a firework
and I was like, what does it mean? And then he's like, when you are cheerful, you are
really cheerful. Like when you are upset, you are like so upset and you leave all the
emotions to its fullest. And there are also some people who tell me that I'm quiet and
some people who know me, like when I describe myself like I'm an introvert or something,
they were like, no, you are not. So I don't really know the exact description, but many
people see me in a different way, I would think.
Thank you. And would you agree that you're an introvert and that you're a firecracker
who feels all the emotions intensely? Is this something you know and you feel is true about
yourself?
Okay. So I never have thought about it, how I am as a personality, but I've made lots
of personality tests. So every time I do it, it depends on my mood and my mood is not like
the ones which change every day, but the ones, I mean, like the seasonal, like sometimes
you have hard times in life. And then when I do my test, it comes out very differently
the result. But when I'm in a very good, having nice, great time and then I do it, then it
becomes differently. So I think, yeah, I can agree that I feel all the emotions to its
fullest and yeah, but last time I remember I said that I like this cozy, homey time as
well as sometimes I like socializing, but it might be getting tired if I keep doing
it because I feel like I'm missing out some of my personal things that I want to do on
my own and I want to just rest, have a cozy environment and work on those.
Thank you. That's really interesting. And it makes me think, you moving from Uzbekistan
to Germany, was there a culture shock? How did you adapt to the language, the people,
the culture? Did you feel even, and some people say when they moved to Germany, no matter
how they try, it's impossible to make real friends there. Everybody keeps somehow of
a distance. What's your experience? What is your evolution and adaptation to Germany?
I think that people from Central Asia or Asia itself, I think they love tight connection
and they are always friendly, but maybe in Europe people like to keep distance, like
at the beginning at least. So it was of course a bit awkward. Like if I look back right now,
I feel like I was naively too much friendly to everyone. And that was okay, of course.
And here it doesn't mean that people are not friendly. They are, but they keep the boundaries
or sort of a distance at the beginning. I just felt like it sometimes could be too much
to them if you are too much friendly. So yeah, then later on I also started to adapt to that
culture and understand. So yeah, then you give them a space.
I understand that I can imagine all that difference between someone from Central Asia and someone
in basically Central Europe. And to understand even more about you as a person, what inspires
you? What moves you and gives you all those emotions that you need to feel alive?
I love art by its own means, I would say. And I like trying different things. So I know
some people who have a hobby and then they are so good and so professional about it,
but like all they have, for example, a friend of mine has very much interested in basketball.
So whatever he has is all about basketball. So like his t-shirts and everything, he's
so good at it, but I will get bored if I keep doing the same thing. So I like trying new
things, but it also has its drawback because you are not excelling at any of them in a
very good way. But still, I think I love trying new things, which is good. And yeah, when
I said art, I love drawing. I love music, listening, dancing to the music, and also
trying to play on ukulele. I wouldn't say I'm so good, but I just like the process and
photography, of course.
Thank you. What do you like most about art? Is it that you like your own evolution as
a person, how every day you can experience a new part of you based on how you're playing,
what photography you're creating, et cetera? Or is it the new emotions and the ability
to move you in a way that is beyond the physical? Or is it because it's always new and fresh
and therefore never boring? Or is it because it expresses your personality that deep down
you see yourself as an artist and therefore you feel at home in the world when you're
doing artistic activities? Or what is it for you?
Your questions are really interesting. I like them, but they are the things that I never
thought of. So for example, I like drawing when I don't do it quite often, but people
are like, oh, you draw so well. But I think I do it only when the inspiration comes and
when probably when I just want to have my silent time. The other, like the photography
is when I want to have fun and creativeness, as you said, it's something new. You can try
out new outfit. I also learn and evolve as you said, because the last photo shoot that
I have was more about learning. So yeah, I really like you understand how you look when
you work with the professional photographers and they tell you like, oh, your head is bending
too much or something like that. So you see it with a fresh and professional eye. I think
all you mentioned is what gives me in the art. And I like also visiting the museums,
but not everything about which is art, but it gives me like, I learn, I like learning
there as well, like something, getting something new and feeling like you, your leisure time
is also something which is contributing for your growth.
I really enjoy how I feel there are two different sides to your personality, a professional
girl who needs to get things done and be very active and stoic somehow. And there is a person
who is more of an artist flowing with emotions and fully chaotic. And there is a balance
of the two that maybe one is for survival and progressing in your career. And the other
one is to feel alive in every way. And I'm really interested in your more emotional side.
As someone who loves to progress, to feel new emotions, who loves art, often as you
said that you like to experience new things, but university work, all those kinds of responsibilities
can get boring because they're repetitive and more routine. So how do you deal with
that? What motivates you to keep going without getting into a kind of midlife crisis? Or
how do you keep yourself, for example, when you are at university to excel, do all the
homework, spend all that time where you needed to focus on non-artistic things? How did you
get that discipline? How did you not feel like you're dying inside? How was that whole
experience?
So thank you very much for your kind words about my personality. And I really get that
question because recently I have been into that condition. I don't know if it is a right
word to define it midlife crisis, but maybe it is. So I've been really wondering like,
so what, what am I doing? The meaning of whatever I'm doing. Thankfully, I love writing and
reading the self-improvement books and I love planning. So like rewriting my goals, realizing
what I really want to do and against what people, the society is expecting from me.
I think this is the thing which helped me move on. And also the support from your family
members, like they believe in you and like looking at your achievements and again, evaluating
where you are going. I think you really need to have a goal and so that you wouldn't be
wondering and thinking about the purpose and meaning of your life. So yeah, I like doing
this constantly and checking. And at university and also at school, I think everything was
about defining the goal, like where I'm going. I would describe it that way.
Thank you. And you spoke about living your life authentically against what society tells.
Well, as someone from Central Asia, did you feel that when you are back home, it was more
difficult to go against what society tells because everybody knows you and you know everyone
and they could judge you if you're too different compared to go into Germany or any other part
of the world where you are a foreigner, a stranger, nobody knows you. So you can be
anything you want freely and fully without society expecting anything of you because
you're somehow separate from that fabric of society. Was this relevant to you? Or even
when you went to Germany, you still felt that back home's expectations were still very alive
and relevant in your life, even though you were far away?
Yeah, the first and last time since I came to Germany and went back to visit Uzbekistan.
It has been after five years. And of course, I realized a lot of differences and things
and we couldn't agree on one point of view. But since now I know the culture, I also show
understanding and respect towards the traditions or vision. For example, just a case just to
give a more precise example. Since I like planning everything, I had my plans and I
wanted to finish some stuff, but then my mother would be like, oh, let's wait for it. She
was more chilled, like she was more relaxed. But I was like, I have like five weeks, like
two weeks of home office and three weeks of vacation time. And I really need to do my
plans and finish everything each time. So yeah.
Thank you, Sohi. And one of the things that you love is long walks in nature and deep
conversations with people. What is the most interesting thing to you about those deep
conversations with people? Do you love that connection that you feel on the same wavelength
and therefore as a central Asian girl, you love that sense of community? Or is it because
you learn from their problems, mistakes, life struggles, experiences, and therefore you
develop yourself as a person? Or is it that you don't feel alone when you have deep conversations
with people and when you go with nature, you forget the stress of work and all the problems?
Or what is the most exciting and interesting to you about people, especially when you're
having deep conversations with them?
So I like walks because it's one relaxing, two healthy. Of course, I exercise as well,
but like walking and then having some friends together, it's, I think, yeah, very calming.
I don't know. I just like it. I don't know the reason, but how it makes me feel is that
yeah, I just enjoy it and it's very nice to learn about people and get connected, exchange
experiences.
Thank you, Sohi. And I'm curious, maybe some people don't have friends from your country,
from Uzbekistan and therefore to ask you since you have been in Europe and there, how would
you describe the attitudes, mindsets, even culture and personalities of younger generation
girls in Uzbekistan in 2023? Are they traditional? Are they mixed and cosmopolitan because of
Hollywood movies and Japanese anime and K-pop or how would you describe them and their uniqueness?
So you can meet different people. Like right now it has become very, I think, culture wise
or mindset wise, very diverse. Like before it was that you couldn't see many people wearing
hijab, for example. But right now it's, yeah, I could see a lot of them. Last time I went
and also many people, as you said, I have realized that they are much into this K-pop
culture, if I can say so. And yeah, some of them were looking like Europeans. So yeah,
I'm very happy that it became more diverse and also it differs region to region, I would
say. In the capital, you could see many different people, styles, lifestyles, their preferences
and everything. But I would say in regions, they are still more traditional.
Thank you so much, Sohi, for participating in this project and sharing your voice and
your personality, perspectives. And thank you for everything. I wish you success at
your work. I wish you success in your future. And I wish more people in the world to know
about the uniqueness of people from Uzbekistan and from other parts of Central Asia. Thank
you again. Thank you too, Aziz, for inviting me. And
I really loved your questions. They are very interesting and also made me think. So yeah,
and I'm very fascinated about your podcast. So I wish much success to your work and you.
And yeah, have a great start the next year. Thank you for listening, everybody. And goodbye.
Thank you, too. And Happy New Year.
