Daniela Afonso“Everything comes from nothing when you give yourself the space and time” – kind of a big-bang-ish theory that Noran chose as a life philosophy.
A philosophy that led her to focus on her future goals and time to get out her worth of herself in the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom.
London is one of the places where this story takes place.
Where Noran, a spiritual person who believes in energy, the importance of time, and catching chances, decided to complete her master’s degree in Business Management and Business Psychology.
Blending cultures between the U.K. and Egypt.
Even though Noran is based in Egypt, her frequent visits to the U.K.’s largest metropolis guided her to meet SPEAK.
“The United Kingdom is a magnificent idea for me to connect between ambition and deal with different cultures”, she said once.
After being awarded the University of East London Change Day Award, Noran decided to take the path of creating a social impact that would widen her range of knowledge and experience.
Finding an opportunity to connect and create an impact
“I found SPEAK on the university career zone which is a huge platform for everyone who wants to make an impact. (A platform) that connects people from different backgrounds and cultures, so it is a chance to gain different life experiences, enlarge your knowledge and discover something new about yourself.”
Joining SPEAK as a buddy was a way to insist on the idea of connecting between ambition and dealing with different cultures, so she took the step and became a SPEAKer, not to learn a language, but to share it with other people, as a buddy.
The first language group she decided to lead as a buddy was an Arabic Basic I, in an online format.
“I enjoyed the experience a lot, it was amazing. I discovered a lot about myself and the participants’ cultures and backgrounds. We exchange habits, language tips, and lifestyle.”
Noran enjoyed the experience of creating an impact on people’s lives and helping others learn her language so much, that she is already registered to lead her second language group.
Inspiring others and herself
One of the participants in Noran’s group, a 60-year-old woman, once mentioned that she wanted to learn a new language because she uses language to get to know a country’s culture and people before doing a cultural journey in a specific country.
By being a buddy, Noran got to interact with different types of people, and she not only helped them to learn Arabic, but she also managed to exchange traditions, experiences, and culture.
What she usually does to make her sessions more interactive as a buddy is to “welcome and warm up the group with different social topics. I used to share at the end of every session a country tradition in order to know more about our countries and their culture. This idea was warmly greeted and it was interesting for the participants.”
Noran strongly encourages everyone who is thinking about becoming a buddy to join and live the experience on their own.
“It helps a lot to get out of the stressful days. On the spiritual level, it is very important to make an impact to lead others and learn from them the unexpected.”
Did Noran’s story inspire you? We have many blog articles where we share stories of Humans of SPEAK like Anna, The Ukrainian Helping Migrants & Refugees Integrate Into Lithuania, and Juliana, the SPEAK Fundão’s Founder who is Building bridges between Brazil and Portugal
By leading a language group in your local language, you share your language and culture with the world, as Noran is doing. You can also join a group as a participant and start absorbing new cultures. One way or the other is time for you to give yourself the space and time to take this opportunity and join SPEAK to start the exchange experience.
