I´d like you to meet Anisca (or Anne), one of those few people I know, that can be called an inspiration without exaggerating. She traveled half of the world, and speaks numerous languages; she´d like to work on an international leve,l and to gain experience attended various events and programmes within the field. One of Anne´s biggest interests is Eastern Europe (post-Soviet dimension to be exact), which she´d like to explore more, but to get a better idea of who is this special girl – read the following interview of hers, where she discusses her experiences abroad.
How many countries have you visited so far?
Quite a lot actually! One of my biggest passions is traveling, so I kind of lost track. I pretty much have been in every European country and around Asia and Africa, but I have never been to Australia or Central Asia or the Caribbean’s. Especially Central Asia, Iran and Georgia as well as Indonesia and Sri Lanka are places that I would love to go to in the future!
Which had the biggest impact on you? Why?
I think South Korea and Romania/Moldova had the biggest impacts on me. South Korea because while I was living there I got very interested in East Asian cultures, and East Asian thought and it was a very busy place, always crowded but people were very caring, thoughtful and warm, attentive towards each other and also very interested in foreigners and curious about you. It was a very different place from home but after a while it felt so pleasant and cordial, even if I did not know the language very well. It showed me that you can accommodate yourself even if your surroundings are very different than the ones you are used to because eventually people are good-natured and welcoming.
In Romania and Moldova I experienced that your well-being and happiness is not dependent on material things. People in the villages there live a very simple and quiet life, mostly without internet connection and sometimes without electricity and running water and still get along very well in their daily lives. I learned there to be more down-to-earth and less success and achievement-centred.
How many languages were you able to speak whilst in those countries?
I speak German, English and Romanian and I also studied Spanish and French in school. I actually started studying Russian because while I was backpacking in Ukraine I had no idea how to even read Cyrillic letters so it was quite a struggle to communicate and go around places because only very few people could speak English. That was when I decided to go back to Russia and Russian-speaking countries only when I would have some good command of Russian.
You mentioned to me that you´re passionate about Eastern Europe. How come?
I was living in Romania for a year after my High school graduation and that’s how I got very interested in Eastern Europe, also through traveling around several countries such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia-and Herzegovina etc. Since then I think Eastern Europe is a great place to travel and to experience all the different cultures, cuisines and places that are just incredibly beautiful and not too far away from home but still feel somehow special and different.
What are your plans after recieving a Master´s degree?
First of all, I would like to travel for some months after the completion of my MA dissertation in May to just relax, go on some new adventures and explore new places. Then, I would like to go to Russia or the post-Soviet space and work there either for a policy centre or international organization for one or two years. I have studied Russian now for almost three years and I would like to actively use and practise it on a daily basis, so I think going there would be very useful and also a good opportunity to experience Russian (or Russian/post-Soviet influenced) culture and life.
My ultimate dream goal for the future (after working a little bit) would be going into the foreign affairs and diplomatic service because I am very interested in external and foreign policy as well as international relations and activities relating to these areas.
Can you name some of the events (programmes) you attended that helped you make up your mind about your future profession?
Different international youth conferences (Student Forum Maastricht 2013+2014 and Russian Trilateral Youth Forum in Moscow 2015), professional courses on gender equality promotion and policies, BA in European studies, MA with a focus on international relations and security studies. Also I studied abroad at Seoul National University in South Korea and had a voluntary year abroad in Romania after high school.