hello savi, everyone were looking forward for your interview! and thank you so much.
also thanks Yue that helped me, (she did most of things haha😅) so this is technically her interview, not mine.
Hi Parsaa,
Just had some time during a break to attend to Part I of the interview. I have seen some of the other interviews taken by your young colleague Yue and others. Apologies, but I do not know how she achieved the nice lay out of questions in bold and answers in italics. I lack the technical skills to provide such formatting and coding to make the text an "easy read". Perhaps this is something that can be remedied by either you or Yue.
Many thanks in advance and I will turn my attention to Part II as soon as I have found another spare moment.
As ever!
12:44 PM
1: How long have you been a member of PPG and is it like what you expected?
Less than a month ago, I accepted whatever fate had in store for me and registered as a new member of this penpal site. I used to be a (somewhat inactive) member of Trav Buddy – a former website which I used for sharing travel tips across the globe – and was seeking somewhat similar on this site. I was pleasantly surprised to already have had similar exchanges on daily life, music and learning Latin American Spanish. That is an enriching experience and I am grateful to my conversation partners.
I was humbled and felt rather surprised to receive your invitation for an interview. I briefly wondered whether it was part of a ritual sacrifice that novices on this site have to endure. But I rely on the clemency of you (and your accomplice Yue) to survive this virtual Inquisition.
2: Which parts of PPG do you like the most?
Private conversations have been the most captivating features of this penpal site so far. They enable more regular and (at least to me) more meaningful contact than hastily encounters in a chatroom.
My presence on this website is on a family and work permitting basis (in that chronological order 😉 ). This also makes structural contributions to the forum difficult. I do enjoy some of the forum threads and have been invited by Christine to provide a contribution to the PPG University (a debt which I intend to discharge in the near future).
3: You said on your profile that you have a wife and two daughters. Are they also member of PPG or will they become a member soon?
Although my wife and I hope to jointly benefit from any (travel) recommendations that I may receive from other members, my wife is not a member of this website. We both do wish to learn Latin American Spanish. Perhaps this appetite may be also something that can be nurtured on this website.
My daughters are currently 7 and 4 years old. I feel fortunate that they are currently not yet (directly) exposed to any kind of social media. They rather play outside with their friends or construct large replicas of Western and Oriental palaces in the living room instead of grabbing an iPad or mobile phone. I cherish these moments and misinform myself that this situation will be enduring for the foreseeable future.
4: What is your job? Do you have a complicated work?
Shakespeare once said “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” To make matters worse, anyone who is involved in the global financial markets has become a pariah in the wake of the credit crunch in 2008. Unless I am granted a safe passage during my time on this website, I will tell this penpal community that I work at a local bakery.
It often appears that work in the global capital markets and other financial segments is complicated. This is a false impression which originates from the seemingly incomprehensible financial terms and intricacies of heavily structured transactions. I have survived this “ordeal” so far despite being incapable of making proper pancakes for my daughters (fortunately my wife is more skilled in this area and she keeps us alive – despite being a lawyer too).
5: What do you think is the most important for parents as a good tip?
I have a deceivingly simple tip: try to genuinely listen to your child and understand the world from their perspective (rather than turning to your own projections and matured views on how life should be).
A common occurrence in ordinary life: if a young child is in despair, it may truly believe his/her world is shattered. If you genuinely engage in a talk with him/her – rather than mere downplaying of the situation – you will build a relationship of trust. Your child will find a safe refuge with you and feels taken seriously when sharing their anxieties and (inevitable) setbacks in life.
Always take your child seriously and provide proper space for a child to develop in their own pace.
12:49 PM
© Penpal-Gate😊
