Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorce 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 life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health but when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all insecurities they will feel. It is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self worth and they will connect with the sisterhood of Rare Girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Rosa Garamou Mola. Rosa is the first girl from Ethiopia in this podcast. She is from Hawassa in Ethiopia and is now a model based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rosa is Miss Universal Women Ethiopia 2023 and Miss Glamour face Ethiopia 2022. She studied civil engineering, modeling and fashion design. She is also actively working in the UAE real estate market. Rosa loves to create fashion designs, traveling, music and spending time with her friends and family. Rosa, how are you today? Hello, Ziz. I'm fine. How are you? I feel blessed. I feel absolutely fantastic and very curious to know much more about you today. So I'll begin with this nice first question, which is Rosa, if your friends and the people who know you best could describe your personality, what would they say about you? Oh, and then, you know, in our country, like in our culture, talking about yourself is something like, you know, not good, but that if you're asking me, like my friends used to say about me like that I am a strong woman. The person never give up, succeed something. Yeah, most of them are damaged. Thank you so much. What is the meaning for you of a strong woman? What does a woman do? Maybe you're talking to some younger girls who want to be strong women. How do they become that? And what does that really mean? That means it's like being aware of yourself that to overcome, if anything's any problem, any struggle coming to in your way. So whatever anything's come on your way, you have to live on yourself and just go forward from doing nothing. You have to do something, change your life to be a great person and to succeed whatever you live to be. Yeah. I agree with you very, very much. And so I ask you this. There are many women who struggle with anxiety, with overthinking. So when something goes wrong, they cannot really easily take hold of their emotions to do what is needed to survive and thrive and prosper. So they keep thinking about what can go wrong. Did you deal with this? And what is your thought about what they can do so that they reduce that anxiety and overthinking? Okay. Yes. This happens in life. Like we are living in this world that it's a kind of, this world is this kind of a problem factory or some struggle factory without, it's never been okay. It's never been smooth in all over your life. So whenever there is some kind of situation like anxiety, overthinking or some struggle on your life, what I'm doing for myself is like the first thing I try to understand, I try to remind myself that the presence of God, there's a presence of God. So I'm going to like spiritually, I want to feel, I want to relax and you know, I have to be okay with myself first by like reminding the presence of God. After that, what I'm going to do is like, I want to list out what's exactly happening in my life and then I will find a solution for that. Whatever it is, I try to find a solution because there is always solution for any problem. So for the people who are suffering on some anxiety and some struggle on their life, I would have, I would like to say that there is always solution, there's always a better tomorrow. There's always something good coming in front of us. So we have to have some bright vision and then go for that and then you know, you have to stand up, you have to have some strong mentality to stand and to move forward. We have to move forward and never give up. I love that. Thank you so much. That was very, very inspirational. And so can you share your story? Because I'm very fascinated by people who move from where they were born, from their country to go start a life somewhere else. It's a fact that more than 90% of humanity or even 95 never almost move abroad. And if they do, it's maybe for a small vacation here and there, but to decide to start fresh and the difficulty of starting a new life abroad. How was that story? What motivated you and what helped you make that decision to move to Dubai? Okay, this is very good question that I want to talk about. It's not easy to move from one place, from your family, from your friends, from all your comfort zone and go to something somewhere different. So my inspiration was I always want to wider my circle, you know, I born there and I'm working and you know, I just want to be like international person. I want to meet different people all over the world. And that was my inspiration. I want to be, I want to be something international person. I want to meet people. I want to widen my circle. That's my inspiration. Plus, you know, I believe that for my career as well in modeling. So Dubai will be a great place to pursue my modeling career. If you want to care about like, when I came here, how I accept the situation, different variety. I will ask about the culture adaptation, but first, I'm really curious about something. You have ambition. You saw yourself as someone who is internationally growing and recognized and you wanted that, which I love very much. Most people are not that way. And earlier you spoke about religion and how speaking about yourself is bad. Well, also many people use religion to say no, if you're too ambitious, you think you're a big deal and if you have big dreams, it's bad. So many people think that being humble means to not become a star and to not live life really greatly and to not have big dreams. So what allowed you to both believe and be inspired by religion, but also want to be the international person who is successful, even though many people they might deep inside think that, no, it's bad. Don't be arrogant or don't be something like that. So how does that work? You know, I believe that in every move that in every move you're doing in this world, I believe that you have to be connected with something spiritually. So it helps you to boost and it helps you to know it's like a drive in power just to put you up. This is how I feel and how I am experiencing my life. I think something it could be something different things, but except doing something bad on somebody else. If it's good, if you are thinking good, yeah, it works like you have to connect spiritually with God and just go for it and you will definitely do it. Like succeed. This is how I experience in my life. Thank you for that. And now I really want to know because you moved from Hawassa to the capital of Ethiopia and then now you are in Dubai, which is very dynamic, very busy, very big kind of crowded, a different culture, different lifestyle. How was adapting and going from a more, let's say laid back and chilled African culture, which is that way where people have more time to a place where nobody has time and everybody is on a rush and everybody has big dreams and is ambitious and is trying to do things and people are different from different countries with different culture and different language. How was that adaptation and what's your advice to women who maybe need to travel and live somewhere else so that they do not suffer when they're adapting to a new culture? This is very good. You know what, for me there is a very good experience even inside in Ethiopia, which I went to university. It's not in my hometown somewhere, different city. It's called Lila. So in Ethiopia there is 86 kind of culture and language, more than 86. So this is different for me whenever I meet people in the university. It's totally different from what I know. So even in the dorm room, we fit six girls together and from different cities. It's totally different from what I know and what they know, it was totally different. So I have that mindset, meeting people from diverse areas, which even though it's very small, which is in one country, but I have something from there and my mindset was already good with that. So in the capital city, it's not that much different. When I moved to Ethiopia, the capital city is Addis Ababa. So actually, life in Addis Ababa was something like Dubai, by the way. Everybody's running, everybody's running, everybody don't have time. So when I came here, it's much bigger than Ethiopia. It's all about your mindset. It's not that much difficult. Yes, it could be difficult, but how you save your mind, you have to be open. You have to be open to meet people, respect others, and it will be easy. Thank you for that. That's absolutely wonderful. And from your answers, I noticed that you love meeting new people with diverse backgrounds. Why is that beneficial for you? Is it that you think you can learn different things from their life story? Is it because when you notice their culture and it's so different, it opens you and you become free from limitations because you think anything you thought is the correct way, actually just one choice from many different choices, people are so different. Is it because you're curious and you get bored easily and then people from different cultures seem exciting and new to you? Or what is the reason that you love meeting new people from diverse backgrounds? You know, I believe that this is our world. This earth is our world. So I am not just only from one place. So I just want to know different things, different backgrounds, different culture and people, the way of understanding, like it's different from one to another. So I'm enjoying knowing something new and different. That's why I'm like, I'm okay. I'm enjoying that. Enjoys me knowing different, knowing people, meeting different people. I enjoy the culture, you know, the food, language, the clothing, each and every culture makes me feel good. I like that very, very much. Why did you study civil engineering, which seems to be something that maybe your parents recommended so that you have a stable job? Because it's not the same as something a little bit more innovative and crazy, like fashion design, modeling, traveling, meeting new people that shows a creative side to you. While civil engineering is not really about creativity, it's about safe repetition of what works. So one was that decision and how did it go? What I mean is, did you decide first to do civil engineering and then you finished it to have a stable job? And then you thought, now it's my time to study modeling, study fashion design and go crazy or how was it? All right. You know, Academy of Academy I was like a very good student. So, you know, whenever you are very good in Academy family in the school, everybody's going to push you. This is your way. Like there is a social science and natural science. So you know, my score with my grade was very good to go to the natural science. So I have to be, you know, all of my family, most of the family back home, they believe that engineer, pilot, doctor is like a very good profession. Yes, it is very good profession. And you know, everybody wants their children to be like that. Everybody I like, I like the science and all kinds of stuff. That's why I think I was very good with that as well. But simultaneously, I'm also attracted to fashion and art industry from my childhood, by the way. I've been doing fashion design and catching like when I was 10, 11, like, so it's like a part of my life. So the education is also like part of my life. I've been doing Simon's place, the board. And so whenever I finished my my studying my city, I just opened my own fashion designing closing showroom while I'm working with the mega projects in the two of the other road construction highway. I've been working that I'm not so I believe that everybody can have some different like, you know, different tastes who can make it at the same time and you can you can manage it and Simon. Thank you. That's very, very interesting. And so I'm curious, if you would describe a week in your life in Dubai, when do you wake up? I don't know. Maybe you go do some yoga, you go to work, you go to modeling casting. How do you balance your life so that you're working on your ambitious dreams and not forgetting to take care of your life, of your body, of your friendships so that people can understand more about you? Yeah, most of the time, like for now, I'm doing the real estate market like almost for eight hours per day. So we're doing some exercise. If I have a time, I would like to make my yoga and something from like in the early night time, I will do that part. And for my modeling and for friendship, this kind of stuff, I would use my weekend. I would use my weekend. And whenever it is in all the weekdays, if there is something I will own, I'm like, I'm only if it's in modeling, if something else going on, I can do that as well, because I can manage this, the real estate work and I can manage also the modeling parts as well. So it's all about managing your time and arranging your time. Because whenever you have like advanced information about what's going to do on this week, I can arrange my time and I will do my best for it. Thank you for sharing that. And yes, it's very, very interesting that you are now part of the growing and exciting real estate market in Dubai. So to you, what are some things that interest you about the real estate work, as well as do you believe it's a good and viable choice for girls who have other ambitions who are coming to Dubai, for example, for modeling or to start a kind of other business in order to take care of their needs before they have enough money to move on and start their different life or how was your opinion and experience with it? Is it harder than you expected? Is it different than you expected? Tell me more. Of course, yes. Like if that's what I said before, it's about how you set your mind. It's about your mindset. The people, they are expecting something more. Whenever they come here, it will be so difficult for them to live and survive here. So there is always clarity. There's always rejection, especially whenever you are in a real estate world. There's a lot. A lot of rejection. What you have to do is just stay patient. Do exactly the same what you did yesterday. Just keep going, doing your perfect doing you. You have to do whatever you have to do on something. So it's about the patient and mindset. Thank you very much for that. And earlier you spoke about how, because you were a good student, there was the path for you to do civil engineering as a natural progression because of the expectations of society. Well, let's say there are girls who are listening and they are living a life that they don't feel they choose. It's because they're living to the expectation of other people. Maybe they worry about disappointing their parents who wanted them to be a doctor or a lawyer or something like that. And they think, no, but I want to do something. I want to be like a fashion designer or I want to be an artist. And inside they feel bad, but they think that other people will judge them. And then if they make a mistake, other people think we told you stay the safe path. It's much better. What's your advice to them so that they'll be brave? Because I believe every woman has her own heart that desires her big dreams that often are outside of the comfort zone and something stop her. But what is your advice so that they will go for their big dreams and those girls can live their life with their full happiness? You know what? You have to feel yourself and understand what exactly you want, what you want in your life, what you want to be in your life. So maybe the people they invite forced by family, by the society to be someone else. So they forget what they feel inside. Maybe they will stay in that path because they have to respect some parts, family or society. But whenever they find some ways to pursue or to reflect what they want to be, they have to use that part and opportunity. This is what I advise for the people. Thank you. And I'm also curious because you love meeting people from all kinds of countries. Usually girls with that desire become cabin crew and work like that. So why did you not have that dream and become cabin crew and you are pursuing other ways to be happy? Is it because you wanted more stability? Is it because cabin crew doesn't give you enough time to do the castings? Is it because you wanted to network inside Dubai so that you make your fashion brand in the future more successful? Or why not cabin crew? You're right. For the person who wants to travel a lot, wants to meet different people, I think this would be proficient to be cabin crew. But as you mentioned before, yes, I want to have my own big fashion design clothing brand. So I want to work on it and I'm able to feel like I would be cabin crew in my life. So I prepare to work on the real estate industry and fashion industry, like something connected with some active industry, which is like it's not limited by time. So you have to do like it's a big company internationally. So there is a lot of limitation with time. You have to do something else. So my interest and my desire just to be on the fashion world, you have to meet people, you have to be active, you have to be in the event, this kind of stuff. You have to make connection with those kind of things. So for me, it's better to stay on this journey. Thank you so much for that answer. I appreciate your time. And for us to finish, is there something that you think more women should remember or advice that you can give them so that they live more happy and they become more strong women and they live their own life on their terms? Anything maybe you learned recently or something you understood after all the ups and downs of going from Ethiopia to Dubai, or just might be something you read that you think you should remember and every woman will benefit from hearing. Yeah, it's like what I can say always, they give priority for themselves and what they want. And second, they never lose hope on their journey. Third, they have to keep going instead of doing nothing. They have to do something. Doing something make a change always. So they have to have a desire and ambition for the future. And after all, they have to remember the presence of that. This is what I learned in my life to be successful, to be happy and to move forward. Thank you so much, Rosa. It was my privilege and my honor to have you in this podcast to share your voice and your story. I wish you all the success to be internationally recognized, to make all your dreams come true. And thank you again for participating. Thank you, Algiz. It's a pleasure to meet you and to have this interview with you. I'm sure that there's a lot of people, they find something, something good from what we talked about today. I'm happy. I am sure it will inspire many, many women and people in general. Thank you again. Thank you.
