Study Abroad (Part 6)

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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Ah, sorry.
Well, hello. Hello everyone.
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It's your girl Gabrielle.
Welcome to a brand new episode
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of Hot topics. Let me tell you
what this show is about in case
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you are new to the show or maybe
you've been to the show and you
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forgot. So let me just remind
you. So, hot topics is a show
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where we like to have real talk
about real things. We like to
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talk about things in education,
employment, mental health,
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physical health.
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We've done episodes about
homeschooling living with
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disabilities, artificial
intelligence, self care. What
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else? Talking with tutors? So
we've covered a variety of
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different grounds but all with
the one purpose of teaching you
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something of learning you
something for you to be 1%
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better than how you were
yesterday. So that is the point
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of hot topics and today is no
different.
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So today is actually going to be
a continuation of a theme that
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I've been doing and that theme
is study abroad. So this is
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actually the sixth installment
of the study abroad theme. I'm
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bringing it back for the sixth
time. So I love it when I bring
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back topics and let me tell you
my guest who's going to help me
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with this discussion. His name
is Sameer Dossani.
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And let me tell you about him.
I'm gonna give you a brief
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synopsis about him. So, Sameer
Dossani is a health and
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nutrition coach specializing in
helping people reverse chronic
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disease and achieve optimal
health and wellness. Fabulous.
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Fabulous. Fabulous. All right.
So without further ado, I'm
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going to go ahead and bring
Samir to the stage. Hi, Samir.
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How are you doing today?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Doing well,
Gabrielle. How are you?
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Good, good.
Thank you for coming on hot
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topics and thank you for, for
helping me continue my study
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abroad theme that I've been
having. So thank you for, for
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coming on.
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Thanks for
having me.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: All right.
So let's, let's jump right into
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it. So you have, an amazing
story, an amazing journey and,
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and I'd love for you to, to
share it with our audience. So
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I'm gonna go ahead and pass the
baton. So tell us about your
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study abroad experience.
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, it's
interesting. I mean, I've, so
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I'm born and raised in the US.
But I, and I've, I've been to
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university three times. I have
degrees in sort of, well, I, I
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haven't finished the, the, the
latest one but I have degrees
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in, in things like philosophy,
religious studies, women's
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studies, just finishing a phd in
anthropology. And I've studied
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in three different countries.
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So the first degree was in
Canada at Mcgill University in
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Montreal. So that was, you know,
people think Canada is a lot
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like the US and to an extent it
is. But where I was and when I
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was there, it wasn't at all like
the US, it was very different.
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Of course, Montreal is the
biggest city in Quebec, which is
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the, the, the francophone region
of, of Canada.
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And then, yeah, so then I went
on to do my masters in
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Australia.
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You know, completely different
side of the world, completely
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different experience.
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Learning how to get along there
was, you know, wasn't always
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easy, but it was fun.
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And now I am just about to
complete a phd in South Africa.
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This is at a different point. So
those two things were sort of
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very early in my life, early in
my career and my, you know, I
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started undergrad when I was 18.
As most people do, I did my
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masters at the age of about 25.
No, sorry, 24.
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So, but you know, now I'm, I'm
in my forties and going back to
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school in South Africa has been
really interesting too.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So you've
definitely bounced around from
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country to country. So, you
know, one of the things that I
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picked up was every stage of
your academic career is in a
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completely different country,
right? So you did your undergrad
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in Canada, you did masters in
Australia, Australia. Yes.
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Excuse me and then now phd in
South Africa. So, so where are
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you right now as you're doing
this interview.
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SAMEER DOSSANI: You are talking
to me when I'm on holiday
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visiting my folks in Washington
DC. So, yeah, not too far away
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from where you are, I think. But
I'll be back in South Africa in
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September.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So are you,
I'm sorry, you completed your
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phd or you're still doing it?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: No, I have a
couple of weeks or a couple of
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months depending on which of my
advisor you ask to submit, to
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submit a graph of the thesis,
but I'm hoping to finish it in
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the next year or so.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Ah, ok.
Wonderful. Wonderful. All right.
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So let's go to the beginning.
All right. So how on earth did
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you end up in Canada?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: I had, I had
some choices. So, you know, I
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applied like most people do at
least when I was, you know,
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graduating high school in the
nineties, I think nowadays young
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people have a lot more of a
plan. At least many of them do.
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But I wasn't a young person with
a plan. I, I just applied to
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wherever I thought might be
interesting, including a couple
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of places abroad. So, mcgill was
the main one where I ended up.
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I think I also applied to the
University Of Toronto, maybe
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something in England too. My
memory is not that great about
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this, but my second choice. You
know, I ended up in mcgill, as I
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said in Montreal. If I hadn't
gone there, I would probably
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have gone to Columbia in New
York City. And at that time, you
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know, Colombia tuition is not
what it is today, but at least
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it was 25 to 30,000 a year.
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So 30,000 a year times 420,000,
I would have had to get student
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loans. I would have started my
life with, depending on how much
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my parents could lend me. I
mean, between 80 100 and 20,000
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in debt, right?
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And to me that was just limits
your options and, and especially
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looking back at the career I
had, I'm not sure I would have
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made the same choices if that I
did make, if I had, you know, a
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huge amount of student debt, it
would have been much more
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difficult for me to do the kind
of things that I did, which I, I
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was able to not prioritize sort
of pay and income and salary and
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so on and to prioritize life
experiences and, and, and
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contribution to society, the
things that I wanted to do in
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that career.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: And what did
you, what did you study?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: So, yeah. Yeah.
So I had a b, so I graduated
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with a Bachelor Of Arts with
honors in Philosophy And
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Religious Studies. And what I
really got into sort of towards
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the end, I think, for the first
couple of years, I was just a
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little lost. I didn't really
have a focus.
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But in the last couple of years,
what I really got into was this
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idea that a lot of the ideas
that are in Mahayana Buddhism.
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So that's a specific kind of
Buddhism are really similar to
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some of the ideas in Greek
philosophy. So I started writing
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these sort of comparative papers
between Greek philosophy and
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Japanese Buddhism, Chinese
Buddhism.
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It was really interesting. And
it was really fun and it's one
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of those things where, you know,
I think, I think for me, the
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point of an undergraduate
degree, especially now that I
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sometimes teach undergrads or at
least masters students and so
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on.
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The point of an undergraduate
degree or the point of school in
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general is really to teach
people how to become very good
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learners. And I think part of
that is really to just be able
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to get obsessed with the subject
and really take time and explore
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it. So that's what I did.
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And I was also really interested
in sort of what is today called
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sort of social justice work.
Although I don't think we use
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that terminology at that time.
So I was really interested in
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sort of globalization. I was
part of the, you know, these big
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anti globalization protest
movements in the 19 nineties led
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by students like myself.
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And I, I was able to sort of
pursue that as a career, not
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because it was related to my
degree, but because, you know,
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I, I had allowed myself to
discover, discover what it means
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to be passionate about
something. And being passionate
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about global economic justice
was, was certainly what I was
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all about, you know, 20 years
ago, 25 years ago.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: And you
wouldn't have accomplished that
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in Columbia or any other school?
Is it? I'm wondering, like, is
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it a very popular major? Is it
not that popular? I'm wondering
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how, I guess how was it that you
came to your college options?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah. It's a
good question. I mean, I, I
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think, you know, in the
beginning, looking back at the
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first year, the first year was a
bit of everything.
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So I took sort of intro to
social psychology was a popular
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class, you know how it is in, in
these bigger universities, you
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sit in an auditorium with like
300 people during the first
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year, whatever it is. So, for
me, the big ones were feminist
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theory was a big one in the
first couple of years. Social
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psychology.
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Greek philosophy or maybe it was
moral philosophy. I think it was
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moral philosophy. But we focused
a lot on, K and, and Plato I
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believe, or Contin Aristotle.
Sorry. So II I, you know, you
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take a little bit of everything
that was sort of vaguely of
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interest to you with a liberal
arts, bent and then you sort of
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explore and you see what you're
good at some things like I was
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told that I was really good at.
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So I need to continue it but
turned out not, I didn't have
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much passion for that. So, for
example, I was, you know, iii I
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in my first year of logic class,
which is another one of those
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things with 300 students.
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I think I got the top Mark in
the class and I didn't sign up
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for this year two class for. So
that was the 101. I didn't sign
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up for the 201 or whatever it
was. And the professor sort of
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called me to his office one day
and said, look, you got the top
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marks in the class.
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I want you to do the the 200
version, you know, so I did and
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it was really, really tough and
it wasn't really my head really
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wasn't in it either. So you
learn sometimes just by things
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that you have an aptitude for,
maybe they're not what you have
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a passion for. And so you need
to find the right balance. Does
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that make sense?
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Yeah. Yeah.
And so so all this was happening
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while you were in Montreal 100
percent.
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah. All this
was happening while I was in
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Montreal and I was also for much
of this time, I was working, I
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was doing a lot of volunteer
work with various social justice
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organizations and I was also
working at a bookstore for, for
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most of this, I would say for
almost the entire, well, at
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least the last three years.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So it's, oh,
so you were able to, to find
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work while you were over there?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: So, so most
places, I guess I can't speak
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for most places but in, in
Canada, Australia and South
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Africa, when you have a student
visa, you are allowed to work
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part time. So there's a certain
number of hours that you can
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work without worrying too much
and you can use your student
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visa as sort of the credential
to get your tax number or
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whatever it is you need.
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So, that's what I, that's what
I, I think I'm not gonna
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remember exactly, but I think if
you work less than 20 hours a
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week, it's no issue. You can
just do it on the same student
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visa, at least it was at that
time. And it, it still is the
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case. I know that's still the
policy in South Africa as well.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: That's,
that's good to know. It's also
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anyone, you know, who's, if
there, if there's any
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international viewers, you know,
you can work on a student visa.
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So that's a good point. So now
I, I wanna touch on a point that
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you mentioned earlier was you
are factoring in the cost of
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tuition, right? So you were
thinking about the cost of
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Columbia and you know, how much
you were thinking about?
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Well, how much student loans you
would have to take out, how much
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your parents would have to give
you. So you were factoring in
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all those things and then, and
you obviously chose to go to
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Montreal. So what, you know, so
what were this, how do I ask my
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question? Did you end up taking
out student loans in, in
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Montreal? How much did your
parents give you? How did the
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financial part work out?
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Yes. So, you
know, I guess most of your
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listeners are in, in the US,
Gabrielle. But, you know, for
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the rest of the world like,
university or college tuition is
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not like it is in the US, right?
So for many countries, like, I
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know if you study in Europe,
there's no real fee to speak of,
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there might be some now. But a
lot of those are incidental.
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So you might pay for books and
board and stuff like that. But
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the actual college fees, that's
something that's included in
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their tax system. There's no,
there's no system for like user
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fees, for university education
for a lot of countries. I'm
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thinking of countries like
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, that
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kind of stuff.
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Even many universities in, in
Southern Europe, Italy, Spain,
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et cetera, you won't have those
kind of high tuitions that you
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have in the US. Now, what's
happened since when I was in
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Canada? I'm trying to remember
the exact figure I paid, but it
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was in the order of 8000
Canadian per year. And at that
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time, the Canadian dollar was a
little bit weak. So put that in
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us terms, that may have been
6000 US.
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So between the difference
between 6000 US and 25,000 US
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or, you know, it's a massive
difference. So yeah, I ended up
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not having to take out a student
loans. I also qualified for some
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kind of scholarship program. I'm
not gonna remember all the
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details of it, but whatever
tuition I had to pay a lot of it
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ended up being covered and my
parents were able to help me out
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with the rest.
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So I ended up not going into any
debt at all. And I my, you know,
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again speaking from the South
African experience, so there has
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been a push to privatize
education in a lot of countries
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in the last 1520 years. But even
despite all of that, so
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university tuition in South
Africa is much more expensive
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than it has ever been.
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But it's still when I put it in
us dollars, I put the amount of
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money that I paid to register in
my phd program. It's like a
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couple 1000 maybe three or 4000
and that was a one off fee. So I
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only pay that once and then, you
know, I have to pay a smaller
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amount. It's in the hundreds of
dollars every year to sort of
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renew my registration.
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These are rough estimates, you
know, don't quote me on this
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stuff but, but almost every
other country is going to be an
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order of magnitude cheaper than
the US. So that may be something
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to consider.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: I mean, was,
was the difference made up for
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in other ways cause you still
have to get a visa. You still
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have to get a plane, you know,
over. Well, I don't know how you
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got to Canada but you still have
to get to Canada. You still have
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room board, all that good, you
know, all that stuff. So yeah,
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one of those costs made up in
other things.
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SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah. So for me
because I wasn't planning to
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sort of stay with my parents
like the room and board stuff
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would have been there anyway if
I was in, if I had gone to New
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York.
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So there are costs like I'm not
saying that it's it's zero but
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but it's just not, you know, you
educate, going to a university
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in the US is just so much more
expensive than anything else
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that even when you factor in
everything else, you factor in
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the plane tickets in those days
flying to Canada was a lot more
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expensive than it is today.
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Now flying to Canada is not
much, it's, I think it's roughly
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the same price as going from the
east coast to the west coast,
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you know. So it's not a huge
expense in that sense.
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But yeah, so there are costs but
it's not gonna, you, you're
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always gonna end up it's going
to be a net positive to avoid
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the US tuition everything.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Ok. Ok. All
right. So how did you, how did
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Canada come to mind? Like, do
you have family in Canada? Have
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you been there before? How did
it even enter your, your
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universe?
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00:16:47,950 --> 00:16:49,710
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, it's a
good question. I mean, in those
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days we had something, you know,
it was very, very common. I, I
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imagine it still is. That if you
go to school in the, on the east
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00:16:57,219 --> 00:17:01,409
coast, if you're, you know, if
you're sort of a middle class
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00:17:01,419 --> 00:17:06,119
person, you would do a sort of
tour of the eastern seaboard and
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00:17:06,130 --> 00:17:08,349
visit some of the colleges when,
usually when you're, I think
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it's the junior year that you
have to sort of figure your life
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out.
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So, maybe like the summer
between the sophomore and the
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junior year. My dad took me on a
trip so we started in DC. We
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went north, we went through
Philadelphia. So U Penn, we saw
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Columbia in New York, we saw a
bunch of schools in Boston. We
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went up to Vermont for some
reason.
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I think we checked out UVM. And
then up to Canada, we went to
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the University Of Toronto, as I
mentioned and we went to
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Montreal. Montreal just struck
me as a so, so I was, how much,
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how old was, must I have been 16
at that time? It was just a very
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different kind of place. The
vibe was so different than the
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rest of the US and Canada.
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And you know, I, I wanna say I
fell in love with it but it
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00:17:50,709 --> 00:17:52,959
wasn't really love, it was just
like fascination. It was like,
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oh, this is so different than
what I'm used to.
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And so that made me think, well,
you know, I, I'm looking for
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00:17:59,989 --> 00:18:02,109
schools to apply to, I didn't
actually know much about mcgill.
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I knew that it was, at that time
it was the top ranked school,
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maybe number two.
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In Canada. So it was, it had a
very good reputation. But aside
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from that, I didn't know much
about it but I didn't know that
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00:18:13,229 --> 00:18:17,010
much about any of the schools I
was applying to. Right. So for
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me it was a, it was a bit of a
gamble. But it turns it paid off
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00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,930
in Deb, in, in Spades because I
think the kind of cultures you
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00:18:24,939 --> 00:18:27,910
get exposed to the kind of world
you get exposed to, even for me
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as a Philosophy And Religious
Studies student.
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00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:32,869
You know, I was studying from,
one of my, one of my teachers
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00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,729
was at the time he was a Zen
monk who was in the process of
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00:18:35,739 --> 00:18:38,489
trying to not be a Zen monk
anymore. Still a very famous
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00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,410
guy. His name is Victor Hori.
One of the most, one of the top
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00:18:41,420 --> 00:18:43,930
scholars of Japanese Buddhism.
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There's a guy called Giovanni
Di, I'm blanking on his last
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00:18:50,270 --> 00:18:53,500
name, but he's an Italian guy.
Hegel scholar. Absolutely
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00:18:53,510 --> 00:18:56,489
brilliant philosopher. He's
written now, I, I've looked him
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00:18:56,500 --> 00:19:00,319
up recently. He's written, his
name is Di Giovanni. His, his,
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00:19:00,329 --> 00:19:05,880
he, he's written five or six
books on, on 19th century German
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00:19:05,890 --> 00:19:10,290
idealism, specifically on Hegel
and Khans and Marx.
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So it's like, you know, these,
these things that were not
331
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really also the perspective,
right? So I, I was going to
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00:19:17,989 --> 00:19:21,219
university, you know, a few
years after the Berlin Wall fell
333
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and there were really no
scholars of Marx in the US. And
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00:19:27,270 --> 00:19:29,310
this guy, this professor told
the story about when he first
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00:19:29,319 --> 00:19:30,390
started teaching Marx in Canada.
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It was highly controversial.
Although from his point of view,
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this is just another of five or
six philosophers that he teaches
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00:19:35,790 --> 00:19:38,140
in his course on German
idealism, right? There's nothing
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00:19:38,489 --> 00:19:42,079
overwhelmingly important in hi
in his view. And except that
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00:19:42,089 --> 00:19:44,150
he's part of this intellectual
tradition that needs to be
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regarded with some respect,
right?
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So anyway, so, so the fact that
you get a different intellectual
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culture. You get different sort
of political cultures and you
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get, you get access to the
different culture in general. I
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mean, just the, the debates when
I was in Quebec were about
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separatism were about what it
means to be French speaking as
347
00:20:03,260 --> 00:20:05,890
opposed to English speaking, as
opposed to speaking other
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languages.
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00:20:06,790 --> 00:20:09,650
There was a referendum on, you
know, so Quebec almost became
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its own country during my first
year there. I learned to speak
351
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French by watching The Simpsons
dubbed in French, dubbed in
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00:20:16,239 --> 00:20:18,849
Quebecois, like dubbed in this
particular dialect of French,
353
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which is really hard to
understand if you've learned
354
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Parisian French.
355
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So, you know, all this stuff, I,
I mean, I wouldn't trade it for
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the world. That's sort of what,
what formed me into the person
357
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that I am into and, and the
person that I am is a very open
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minded but sort of very critical
thinking kind of person. So I,
359
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I, since that time I've lived in
a half a dozen countries or
360
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more. I speak 10 languages.
361
00:20:40,369 --> 00:20:43,660
I've been able to really, you
know, I, I think I've been able
362
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to open myself up and enjoy the
world in a way that not everyone
363
00:20:47,609 --> 00:20:49,920
can, especially people who sort
of spend all their lives in the
364
00:20:49,930 --> 00:20:52,979
US, which, which was a, an
option for me. I, I could have
365
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spent my whole life here and
done pretty well, I think. But I
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chose a different path. And I'm
glad I, did.
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GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: You speak 10
languages fluently?
368
00:21:01,859 --> 00:21:05,160
SAMEER DOSSANI: I speak. So the
languages I speak fluently are
369
00:21:05,349 --> 00:21:07,910
English, French and German.
370
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And then Urdu, so Urdu and
Hindi. So those are kind of two
371
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,680
different languages then the
languages that I studied, but I
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haven't really, don't really
have enough practice speaking.
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So Arabic is there and then the
languages that I sort of pick
374
00:21:22,290 --> 00:21:25,750
up, I, I say I speak what I call
taxi and, and restaurant.
375
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So Indonesian, Thai Spanish
Portuguese. If you drop me in
376
00:21:29,699 --> 00:21:32,550
any one of those countries, like
in Brazil, it takes me like a
377
00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,849
couple of days to sort of reset
myself. But then I'm pretty good
378
00:21:34,859 --> 00:21:37,420
in Portuguese. So I wouldn't say
I'm fluent but, you know, I can
379
00:21:37,430 --> 00:21:37,790
get by.
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00:21:38,839 --> 00:21:43,750
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Wow. Wow. So
it's like, because it's because
381
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:47,410
you went to, to Canada because
you have this international
382
00:21:47,420 --> 00:21:52,109
exposure. It's like it set your
life on this, on this course,
383
00:21:52,150 --> 00:21:55,869
right. Where you're learning all
these different languages,
384
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:57,819
you're going to all these
different countries.
385
00:21:57,829 --> 00:22:01,099
You're actually not just
visiting these countries, but
386
00:22:01,109 --> 00:22:05,619
actually living there. Right.
And, and you're doing more than
387
00:22:05,630 --> 00:22:09,229
just living there, you're going
to school right? In these, in
388
00:22:09,310 --> 00:22:14,910
these different countries. And
so it's like, since you went to
389
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,630
Canada, your life just shifted.
390
00:22:17,250 --> 00:22:19,349
SAMEER DOSSANI: 0 100%. I mean,
it, it's also to do, I think
391
00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,109
everyone like, or a lot of
people when you get to college
392
00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,060
for the first time, like it is
a, it is a life changing
393
00:22:24,069 --> 00:22:25,640
experience. So I don't want to
overstate it.
394
00:22:26,020 --> 00:22:30,150
But I think my specific version
of that life changing experience
395
00:22:30,329 --> 00:22:33,829
set, set me on a particular
course. And that particular
396
00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:36,520
course was to learn more about
the world. The world is a small
397
00:22:36,530 --> 00:22:40,790
place, but we got, you know, 78
billion of us to learn from and,
398
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,229
and maybe to teach now too as
I'm getting older.
399
00:22:44,380 --> 00:22:48,270
And so I think it's really, it's
really important to, to be open
400
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,170
to those experiences and to, to
learn as much as we can because
401
00:22:53,130 --> 00:22:55,510
you know, language is a good
example, right? So there's so
402
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,930
many different, for example, I,
I saw the other day a post in
403
00:22:58,939 --> 00:23:02,089
Arabic has 10 different ways to
say the word friend, each with
404
00:23:02,099 --> 00:23:05,170
different connotations. And when
you understand that you
405
00:23:05,180 --> 00:23:07,640
understand, OK, what's important
about a specific society?
406
00:23:07,650 --> 00:23:09,770
What's important about a
specific culture that they need
407
00:23:09,780 --> 00:23:12,739
10 different ways to have an
idea that we in English only
408
00:23:12,750 --> 00:23:15,520
have one for. Well, it's
interesting stuff to think about
409
00:23:15,530 --> 00:23:19,310
and it, it, you know, I think as
long as you open your mind up to
410
00:23:19,319 --> 00:23:21,589
being a, being receptive to
these things and being willing
411
00:23:21,599 --> 00:23:24,560
to learn, you can really, you
can get a lot out of life.
412
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,660
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Absolutely.
Absolutely. So now let's, let's
413
00:23:29,670 --> 00:23:36,089
jump ahead. So now Bachelor's is
done you come back to America, I
414
00:23:36,099 --> 00:23:37,260
assume. Right.
415
00:23:38,479 --> 00:23:42,829
W what was the feeling coming
back home?
416
00:23:44,900 --> 00:23:46,770
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, I mean, so
remember we have summer
417
00:23:46,780 --> 00:23:49,479
holidays, we have other things
and Montreal isn't that far away
418
00:23:49,489 --> 00:23:55,140
from the, from Washington. So,
you know, it's hard for me to
419
00:23:55,150 --> 00:23:56,880
answer that question without
putting the whole thing in
420
00:23:56,890 --> 00:23:57,520
context.
421
00:23:57,530 --> 00:24:02,290
Like II, I had, I had a very
rushed move back home so I had
422
00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:04,680
to submit in order to graduate
with the kind of degree I I
423
00:24:04,689 --> 00:24:07,479
wanted, I or I was graduating
with, I had to submit a thesis.
424
00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,180
And because like a lot of kids
in their undergrad, you know, I
425
00:24:11,189 --> 00:24:13,750
was procrastinating. I was only
doing stuff at the last minute.
426
00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:20,199
So my last day in, in Canada I
went, so I, I had my, I printed
427
00:24:20,209 --> 00:24:20,979
off my thesis.
428
00:24:20,989 --> 00:24:24,510
I cleaned out my apartment which
was a huge mess. Thanks Eric, my
429
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,050
friend for having to clean up my
apartment that day. I put all my
430
00:24:28,060 --> 00:24:33,339
stuff in a U haul. I drove to a
political rally that I was gonna
431
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,229
we were protesting the US had
launched some bombs against
432
00:24:36,239 --> 00:24:37,130
Afghanistan.
433
00:24:37,430 --> 00:24:40,469
So we did a bit of a
mobilization and so on at the US
434
00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:45,270
Embassy. I get back in my U
haul. I drop off my thesis to my
435
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:50,199
advisor and I drive straight to
straight to Philadelphia for
436
00:24:50,209 --> 00:24:52,959
another for another
demonstration. This one is for
437
00:24:53,170 --> 00:24:56,760
political prisoners, including
Mumia Abu Jamal in Philadelphia.
438
00:24:57,390 --> 00:24:59,380
And then I get home and I'm
exhausted.
439
00:25:00,489 --> 00:25:03,260
So, and it takes me a little
while to recover from that sort
440
00:25:03,270 --> 00:25:07,260
of whirlwind experience. And
then what happens soon after
441
00:25:07,270 --> 00:25:10,630
that? So I, I'm talking with an
auntie of mine. So auntie in my
442
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,130
culture, like everyone who's
older than you, you call auntie
443
00:25:13,140 --> 00:25:16,719
and uncle, he's a friend of my
family and she's asking me, you
444
00:25:16,729 --> 00:25:17,319
know what I'm doing?
445
00:25:17,329 --> 00:25:19,050
And I said, look, I just
graduated with this degree, et
446
00:25:19,060 --> 00:25:22,339
cetera. And she says, well, why
don't you come with me to India?
447
00:25:22,349 --> 00:25:25,369
And you can be the sort of
unpaid intern that sounded like
448
00:25:25,380 --> 00:25:31,079
fun. So I did that. I went to
India and, and there, I just for
449
00:25:31,089 --> 00:25:33,619
a short, I think, you know, two
week project kind of thing.
450
00:25:33,829 --> 00:25:36,069
During those two weeks, I met
the woman who would later become
451
00:25:36,099 --> 00:25:37,219
my wife.
452
00:25:38,310 --> 00:25:40,479
So, you know, then we have a
love story there too. She's the
453
00:25:40,489 --> 00:25:45,680
one who she has a scholarship to
go to Australia. So, you know,
454
00:25:45,819 --> 00:25:50,030
within a few months she goes to
Australia in, I wanna say June
455
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:56,290
or July of 1999 by December. I,
I get my admission to the same
456
00:25:56,300 --> 00:25:59,810
university and we go over there
together to do our masters. So
457
00:25:59,819 --> 00:26:02,989
it wasn't much time in the US
before I go on to the next the
458
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:04,270
next study abroad journey.
459
00:26:06,410 --> 00:26:08,699
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So you, you
were barely home, you were like
460
00:26:08,790 --> 00:26:13,050
the bus, you were home for a
little bit and then your auntie
461
00:26:13,060 --> 00:26:18,250
says, hey, come with me to India
and you're like, ok, so.
462
00:26:18,260 --> 00:26:19,770
SAMEER DOSSANI: Between that,
so, so that was, so the India
463
00:26:19,780 --> 00:26:24,020
trip was like May of 99 and then
from June to December, I was
464
00:26:24,030 --> 00:26:28,199
working for someone working as a
research assistant in the
465
00:26:28,209 --> 00:26:30,739
University Of Louisville,
Kentucky. So all these things
466
00:26:30,750 --> 00:26:33,219
and that's again, someone who I
met through that same India
467
00:26:33,229 --> 00:26:35,670
trip. So she said, you know,
you, you seem to be a very good
468
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:36,089
researcher.
469
00:26:36,099 --> 00:26:38,339
Why don't you come and work for
me at the University Of
470
00:26:38,349 --> 00:26:41,119
Louisville? And I could have, I
could have stayed there and done
471
00:26:41,130 --> 00:26:45,319
more there as well. But probably
as a, as a teacher at that point
472
00:26:45,329 --> 00:26:47,640
is I think what she was grooming
me for, but it was a good
473
00:26:47,650 --> 00:26:50,089
opportunity to go and just get
my masters done as well.
474
00:26:51,790 --> 00:26:54,079
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: All right.
And then you, I mean, you
475
00:26:54,089 --> 00:26:58,900
already jumped ahead but you
went to Australia because, you
476
00:26:58,910 --> 00:27:02,349
know, you, you followed your
wife there, at the time,
477
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,650
girlfriend at the time,
girlfriend, you followed her
478
00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:07,530
there to Australia and you
decided, you know, I'm just
479
00:27:07,540 --> 00:27:12,319
gonna do my masters here while
I'm at it. So it was kind of a,
480
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,650
it was by love, was it that she
ended up in.
481
00:27:15,670 --> 00:27:19,420
SAMEER DOSSANI: Australia, 100%
100%. The joke is I have a
482
00:27:19,430 --> 00:27:21,760
degree in women's studies from
Australia, but the joke is I
483
00:27:21,770 --> 00:27:23,300
went to study one particular
woman.
484
00:27:24,660 --> 00:27:27,630
Yeah. Yeah. So, so, but it was,
it was a great experience in
485
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,859
Australia, you know, very
different kind of experience
486
00:27:29,869 --> 00:27:34,939
because you know what mcgill is
located in downtown Montreal and
487
00:27:34,949 --> 00:27:37,160
it is a city of, I don't know
how many million people, but it
488
00:27:37,170 --> 00:27:39,660
is a big city, one of the
biggest cities in Canada, it is
489
00:27:39,670 --> 00:27:43,650
a cosmopolitan city. You know, I
used to play in, in punk rock
490
00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:44,000
bands.
491
00:27:44,010 --> 00:27:47,099
I used to, you know, I used to
be involved in jazz music a
492
00:27:47,109 --> 00:27:50,810
little bit. It was, it was just
a very urban kind of a scene.
493
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:54,329
But where I was in the suburbs
of Melbourne, Australia,
494
00:27:54,339 --> 00:27:56,689
Melbourne, Australia, first of
all is a smaller city than, than
495
00:27:56,699 --> 00:28:00,689
Montreal. But this particular
campus is like, it's very
496
00:28:00,699 --> 00:28:02,770
remote, I mean, you could be
anywhere in the world and it's
497
00:28:02,780 --> 00:28:04,459
just sort of isolated from
everywhere else.
498
00:28:04,630 --> 00:28:08,380
So the kind of experience that
you would get in like, I don't
499
00:28:08,390 --> 00:28:10,130
know what the US equivalent is,
like, like going to something
500
00:28:10,140 --> 00:28:12,239
like the University Of Vermont
Or University in upstate New
501
00:28:12,250 --> 00:28:14,890
York, something like that where
it's completely isolated from
502
00:28:14,900 --> 00:28:18,760
the world. That's what it was
in, in Australia.
503
00:28:18,770 --> 00:28:20,670
So it was just a different kind
of campus, different kind of
504
00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:27,540
vibe, different kind of work as
well because, I mean, I wasn't
505
00:28:27,550 --> 00:28:33,079
really used to, I don't know. I
mean, there's something about
506
00:28:33,089 --> 00:28:35,430
the work ethic in different
countries that tends to change.
507
00:28:35,819 --> 00:28:40,390
And so, you know, I, I was, I
think I was ok in mcgill but in,
508
00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,300
in Melbourne I was kind of a
star student.
509
00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:45,329
I was like, people, people were
passing around my essays to
510
00:28:45,339 --> 00:28:47,719
like, you know, this is the
model essay and we're going to
511
00:28:47,729 --> 00:28:50,989
copy it. And I was like that,
that's a bit weird for me. To
512
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,569
be, to be the model student.
That's not how I self, certainly
513
00:28:53,579 --> 00:28:57,339
not how I self identified at the
time. But I did, I did very well
514
00:28:57,349 --> 00:28:59,469
in that program and it was a lot
of fun.
515
00:29:00,969 --> 00:29:03,739
I was only partly interested in
the academics as we've
516
00:29:03,750 --> 00:29:06,459
discussed, like, you know, most
of it was about building out
517
00:29:06,469 --> 00:29:08,760
what turned out to be the most
important relationship of my
518
00:29:08,770 --> 00:29:09,219
life.
519
00:29:09,739 --> 00:29:13,339
So, you know, it was, it was a
good experience but the
520
00:29:13,349 --> 00:29:16,310
academics were only part of it
for the last half of my degree
521
00:29:16,319 --> 00:29:19,229
there. I was also editing the
sort of college magazine. So
522
00:29:19,239 --> 00:29:22,660
that was my job there. It was a
lot of good fun, but again, a
523
00:29:22,670 --> 00:29:25,119
lot of pressure, a lot of
deadlines, a lot of work.
524
00:29:26,729 --> 00:29:29,069
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So how is
Australia different from Canada?
525
00:29:30,189 --> 00:29:31,819
SAMEER DOSSANI: At the time, it
was just a very different place.
526
00:29:31,829 --> 00:29:34,410
So, so I know more about these
places because I, I, you know,
527
00:29:34,420 --> 00:29:38,079
I, in, in, in my career, since
then I've been back to Australia
528
00:29:38,089 --> 00:29:41,719
several times. But at the time,
I would say Australia was a
529
00:29:41,729 --> 00:29:44,650
cross between sort of us culture
and British culture and a little
530
00:29:44,660 --> 00:29:46,400
bit more towards the British
side of things.
531
00:29:47,540 --> 00:29:49,800
So it was a little bit weird for
me to get used to like the
532
00:29:49,810 --> 00:29:52,439
spellings and stuff. Now it's
gone more to the American side
533
00:29:52,449 --> 00:29:54,550
of things, which is, which is
different. It's all right.
534
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,979
I mean, the thing about
Australia also is that, you
535
00:29:56,989 --> 00:29:59,329
know, like I, like I'm saying,
every place has its own culture,
536
00:29:59,810 --> 00:30:02,510
once you sort of understand that
the things that are important in
537
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:09,930
Australia tend to be like sports
and beer and they have this
538
00:30:09,939 --> 00:30:13,050
concept of mateship. So, so sort
of friendship, but a certain
539
00:30:13,060 --> 00:30:14,479
take on friendship.
540
00:30:15,229 --> 00:30:17,189
Once you understand that these
are the things that the culture
541
00:30:17,199 --> 00:30:22,069
values very highly, Then you're
gonna do fine. But for us, so
542
00:30:22,079 --> 00:30:26,550
my, my, my wife is originally
from India. And I'm from the US
543
00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,339
like a and we're both kind of
workaholics or at least we have
544
00:30:30,349 --> 00:30:31,050
those tendencies.
545
00:30:31,060 --> 00:30:33,150
Like we want to be always busy,
we want to be always challenging
546
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,959
ourselves. The more laid back
attitude in Australia was a
547
00:30:36,969 --> 00:30:38,410
little bit of culture shock.
548
00:30:38,420 --> 00:30:41,280
But in a good way, on the flip
side, I mean, we were able to
549
00:30:41,290 --> 00:30:44,329
finish two year degree programs
in about, I mean, in my case, I
550
00:30:44,339 --> 00:30:45,979
think it was about nine months,
in her case, it was about a
551
00:30:45,989 --> 00:30:46,430
year.
552
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:50,589
So we were able to take a sort
of accelerated trash because we
553
00:30:50,599 --> 00:30:53,250
wanted to work, we wanted to
work really hard and we wanted
554
00:30:53,260 --> 00:30:55,079
to start our married life, we
wanted to work hard, get our,
555
00:30:55,089 --> 00:30:58,290
get our degrees and then, you
know, start earning some money
556
00:30:58,300 --> 00:31:00,959
so we could buy a house and
settle down and have a family
557
00:31:00,969 --> 00:31:01,780
and all that kind of stuff.
558
00:31:04,660 --> 00:31:08,369
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So it was a,
so it's a lot of a lot of
559
00:31:08,380 --> 00:31:12,859
different factors. So in that,
so you were already used to
560
00:31:12,869 --> 00:31:16,680
traveling abroad. So it wasn't
that intense for you this time
561
00:31:16,689 --> 00:31:21,270
around. And I would imagine like
Canada and Australia are pretty
562
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:23,760
similar culturally.
563
00:31:26,140 --> 00:31:28,300
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, I mean,
in, in the language, I mean,
564
00:31:28,310 --> 00:31:31,780
Canada, Australia, the US, these
are all you know, settler
565
00:31:31,790 --> 00:31:35,859
colonial states with a huge sort
of British influence. So there's
566
00:31:35,869 --> 00:31:39,550
not, yeah, culturally, there are
points of similarity. But at
567
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,260
that point, remember we're
talking about before the
568
00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:42,760
internet was what it is today.
569
00:31:42,770 --> 00:31:46,170
Long before the internet is what
was what it is today. So if you
570
00:31:46,180 --> 00:31:48,979
wanted to understand the place,
you know, immersion, like sort
571
00:31:48,989 --> 00:31:51,050
of living in, it was definitely
the best way to do it, I, I,
572
00:31:51,060 --> 00:31:54,089
there's no way I could have
prepared for life in Australia
573
00:31:54,099 --> 00:31:55,079
before I got there.
574
00:31:56,359 --> 00:31:59,510
And, yeah, once we got there it
was great, you know, shooting,
575
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:02,750
shooting, my partner has a, you
know, had a great friend there
576
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:04,560
who we spent time with her
family. We spent time in the
577
00:32:04,569 --> 00:32:09,609
mountains. It was really, you
know, just a really unique exper
578
00:32:09,819 --> 00:32:10,750
experience.
579
00:32:12,869 --> 00:32:15,209
Yeah, and I'm not sure. So, so
since then I, I tend to
580
00:32:15,219 --> 00:32:17,530
gravitate as I say towards the
big cities and I've lived in, in
581
00:32:17,540 --> 00:32:20,260
bigger cities most of my life,
so I'm not sure I'd want to do
582
00:32:20,270 --> 00:32:23,930
it again. But at the time, it
was absolutely an incredible
583
00:32:23,939 --> 00:32:28,050
experience of just being sort of
on our own someplace, you know,
584
00:32:28,060 --> 00:32:30,760
new young couple trying to,
trying to figure out the world,
585
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,410
trying to figure out each other
too.
586
00:32:33,459 --> 00:32:36,060
And, you know, in the meanwhile,
trying to, you know, help each
587
00:32:36,069 --> 00:32:38,989
other with our thesis as well.
This is the day when, you know,
588
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,739
if you didn't back up your, your
papers on like hard on like
589
00:32:43,750 --> 00:32:47,599
floppy disks, you could, your
computer would sometimes die and
590
00:32:47,609 --> 00:32:50,359
you'd have to start the whole
damn thing from, from scratch.
591
00:32:50,369 --> 00:32:55,380
And I remember, I think shooting
lost, like, I can't remember 20
592
00:32:55,390 --> 00:32:56,969
or 30 pages of her thesis.
593
00:32:56,979 --> 00:32:59,439
So of her master's thesis at one
point. And so we had to like,
594
00:32:59,449 --> 00:33:04,050
retype it like these kind of,
dramas, I suppose we ha, I don't
595
00:33:04,060 --> 00:33:06,099
know what the equivalent of it
is today. But, but, you know,
596
00:33:06,109 --> 00:33:09,550
those kind of things you really
learn from and, and it's sort
597
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,959
of, it also builds a
relationship to be going through
598
00:33:12,969 --> 00:33:14,560
the trenches of these kind of
things together.
599
00:33:15,819 --> 00:33:18,680
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And that's what you were
600
00:33:18,689 --> 00:33:22,819
doing. Right. So, it's like,
yeah, you were going to school
601
00:33:22,829 --> 00:33:28,209
but you're also, you know, try
and buy a house, you're building
602
00:33:28,219 --> 00:33:31,619
a new life. So, it's like, I
guess you didn't really have a
603
00:33:31,630 --> 00:33:35,900
lot of, well, I mean, when you
did your bachelor's it was just,
604
00:33:35,910 --> 00:33:37,390
I'm here for school and that's
it.
605
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,640
And now you're doing your
master's, it's like, I'm, but
606
00:33:40,650 --> 00:33:44,130
it's, I'm here for school, I'm
here for marriage. I'm here to
607
00:33:44,170 --> 00:33:48,189
build my life. So it's like,
that's one of, I'm assuming
608
00:33:48,199 --> 00:33:51,229
that's one of the reasons why
you did the accelerated program
609
00:33:51,530 --> 00:33:55,650
in Australia was let's get the
school thing over with and focus
610
00:33:55,660 --> 00:34:00,260
on my new life as a, as a
husband, as a homeowner.
611
00:34:01,569 --> 00:34:03,310
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, that's all
part of it. I mean, another big
612
00:34:03,319 --> 00:34:05,530
part of it is that I was still
sort of had a foot in, in the
613
00:34:05,540 --> 00:34:08,000
movements in the US and sort of
the political organizing in the
614
00:34:08,010 --> 00:34:12,879
US. So, you know, this was,
probably stuff before your time,
615
00:34:12,889 --> 00:34:13,310
Gabrielle.
616
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,330
But there were these massive
protests in Seattle that I was
617
00:34:15,340 --> 00:34:20,270
involved in similar protests in
Washington DC and so on. So, you
618
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,820
know, I was on these, you know,
I, I was trying to be involved
619
00:34:23,830 --> 00:34:26,810
in this organizing in the early
days of email was how we were
620
00:34:26,820 --> 00:34:28,850
doing it. There certainly wasn't
zoom or anything like that.
621
00:34:30,039 --> 00:34:33,608
And at the same time and, you
know, and, and I was anxious to
622
00:34:33,618 --> 00:34:36,638
sort of get back to either the
US or Canada where I could be
623
00:34:36,648 --> 00:34:37,839
part of those movements again.
624
00:34:39,279 --> 00:34:41,099
There's stuff in, in Australia
too, like, I don't want to say
625
00:34:41,108 --> 00:34:43,509
there's nothing like we did a
demonstration. I think it was a
626
00:34:43,519 --> 00:34:47,989
pe summit of the year 2000. But
it wasn't, it wasn't the kind of
627
00:34:47,999 --> 00:34:51,118
vibrant political community that
we had in, in places like New
628
00:34:51,128 --> 00:34:54,599
York, Washington DC, Montreal,
Seattle, Vancouver.
629
00:34:54,608 --> 00:34:59,449
Like the, the movement was very
hard, far ahead of where it was
630
00:34:59,459 --> 00:35:03,560
in Australia. And I, I didn't
want to be, I did, I didn't
631
00:35:03,570 --> 00:35:06,820
want, it felt like a step down
like going, going to Australia.
632
00:35:06,830 --> 00:35:09,669
I felt like, OK, these guys need
another 10 years to get their
633
00:35:09,679 --> 00:35:12,070
act together and I don't have
that kind of patience. So I
634
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,149
wanna go to where things are
strong. Does that make sense?
635
00:35:16,439 --> 00:35:19,600
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So there was
a lot of political movements
636
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:26,060
also happening and that also
influenced your stay in
637
00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:27,330
Australia or.
638
00:35:27,340 --> 00:35:30,179
SAMEER DOSSANI: For sure, for
sure. No, it was, it was a, it
639
00:35:30,189 --> 00:35:33,629
was a, I mean, we tried to get
involved there and we did get
640
00:35:33,639 --> 00:35:36,060
involved there, but it was just
an impetus to sort of get, get
641
00:35:36,070 --> 00:35:38,790
out and get back to places where
we knew the community and the
642
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:40,370
movements a little bit more
intimately.
643
00:35:42,219 --> 00:35:46,629
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: I mean, did
you ever go back to DC? I mean,
644
00:35:46,639 --> 00:35:49,800
I, I, your parents had to meet
your wife, right. So, did you
645
00:35:49,810 --> 00:35:51,000
ever go back to DC?
646
00:35:51,699 --> 00:35:55,120
SAMEER DOSSANI: We did, we did
so. So the Masters, we finished
647
00:35:55,129 --> 00:36:03,790
in the year 2000 and we went
back to DC in 2001. I got a job
648
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,199
doing exactly what I wanted to
do. So being part of this anti
649
00:36:06,260 --> 00:36:10,260
globalization movement, and I
think I started that job
650
00:36:10,270 --> 00:36:14,939
February or March of 2001 in
September 2001 as you know, the
651
00:36:14,949 --> 00:36:18,389
whole landscape changes. We have
the 911 attacks and suddenly it
652
00:36:18,399 --> 00:36:21,679
becomes a very, very different
political landscape.
653
00:36:21,689 --> 00:36:24,489
And then that was an impetus to
sort of, I don't know if that
654
00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:27,149
was the only impetus, but that
was one impetus to sort of say
655
00:36:27,580 --> 00:36:31,399
when opportunities came up
abroad. I sort of took that. So
656
00:36:31,409 --> 00:36:36,739
I had the opportunity to become
a CEO of a, of a sort of NGO in
657
00:36:36,750 --> 00:36:40,600
the Philippines at the ripe old
age of how old would I have
658
00:36:40,610 --> 00:36:41,679
been? 27.
659
00:36:42,949 --> 00:36:46,270
So for me, that was a big deal
to become A CEO at age 27 was a,
660
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,370
was kind of a big deal and I was
happy to do that.
661
00:36:50,510 --> 00:36:54,270
Going to the Philippines had its
own difficulties, its own
662
00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,429
issues. But again, if I hadn't
had so much time abroad, I
663
00:36:57,439 --> 00:36:59,040
probably wouldn't have been as
open to the idea.
664
00:37:01,129 --> 00:37:03,090
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Right.
Because you're, you're already
665
00:37:03,100 --> 00:37:06,149
used to it. You know, you speak
all these other languages,
666
00:37:06,159 --> 00:37:11,070
you're used to being around
different cultures and, and
667
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,540
different types of people and,
and languages and you're already
668
00:37:15,550 --> 00:37:19,790
used to being around different.
So it's, it's, it's like you're
669
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:22,409
a chameleon. Would you consider
yourself a chameleon.
670
00:37:22,429 --> 00:37:24,600
SAMEER DOSSANI: A little bit? I
mean, I think there's a, I think
671
00:37:24,610 --> 00:37:27,580
that can be a bit overstated in
the sense that, you know, people
672
00:37:27,590 --> 00:37:30,270
use the term global citizen and
all this kind of stuff. Like I,
673
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:33,020
I, you have to be aware of the
privilege that you're bringing
674
00:37:33,030 --> 00:37:35,229
to, especially doing the kind of
work that I'm doing.
675
00:37:36,159 --> 00:37:38,729
Or that I was doing at the time,
you have to be aware of the kind
676
00:37:38,739 --> 00:37:40,399
of privilege that you're
bringing to any particular
677
00:37:40,409 --> 00:37:43,860
situation. So you can't suddenly
say, oh, I'm a, I'm a Brazilian.
678
00:37:43,870 --> 00:37:45,879
I come from Rio because I've
been living here for two weeks
679
00:37:45,889 --> 00:37:47,080
now. That's not how it works.
680
00:37:47,290 --> 00:37:50,979
But you can, you know, the
mistake that I see a lot of
681
00:37:50,989 --> 00:37:55,020
people from the US make is
they're sort of, if they say
682
00:37:55,030 --> 00:37:57,000
they grew up in New York and
they're sort of allowed in your
683
00:37:57,010 --> 00:37:59,290
face. New Yorker, some of my
best friends are allowed in your
684
00:37:59,300 --> 00:38:00,790
face. New York, New Yorkers.
685
00:38:00,989 --> 00:38:03,780
But the problem is if you have
that personality, like
686
00:38:04,010 --> 00:38:07,270
everywhere you go, you're just
alienating people because
687
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,469
they're not used to that,
they're not used to loud in your
688
00:38:09,479 --> 00:38:12,179
face. New Yorkers. So you have
to learn how to tone it down.
689
00:38:12,189 --> 00:38:15,639
You have to learn how to listen
rather than just speak and
690
00:38:15,649 --> 00:38:17,110
demand to be heard, right?
691
00:38:17,689 --> 00:38:19,820
And you have to understand that,
you know, language is an issue.
692
00:38:19,830 --> 00:38:22,120
Culture is an issue and not
everything that's even if you
693
00:38:22,129 --> 00:38:24,870
speak the language, you're not
going to understand everything
694
00:38:24,879 --> 00:38:26,020
that is being communicated to
you.
695
00:38:26,030 --> 00:38:27,909
There are levels of
communication that are beyond
696
00:38:27,919 --> 00:38:31,429
language that you need to be
really quiet and sit in your
697
00:38:31,439 --> 00:38:34,149
space and really begin to
understand. So as long as you,
698
00:38:34,159 --> 00:38:36,540
you know, if you ask me what the
secret to being the kind of
699
00:38:36,550 --> 00:38:39,439
comedian that you describe is,
it's about being a good
700
00:38:39,449 --> 00:38:41,000
listener, it's about being
patient.
701
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:45,919
So if you can do those things
and it's about being open, you
702
00:38:45,929 --> 00:38:49,870
know, and, and not things are
not always going to go your way
703
00:38:49,879 --> 00:38:51,800
and you have to be OK with that,
right?
704
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,699
So once you're, once you sort of
accept that and you're willing
705
00:38:55,709 --> 00:38:58,270
to take a step back and you, you
don't want immediate
706
00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:01,899
gratification from every
conversation or even every meal
707
00:39:01,909 --> 00:39:04,330
or whatever, every, every
experience that you're having,
708
00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,669
then you're going to do a lot
better because you're, you're
709
00:39:07,679 --> 00:39:10,860
entering a space where you can
put your own personality aside.
710
00:39:10,870 --> 00:39:12,750
Not that you abandon your
personality, you can still be
711
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,239
the loud in your face, New
Yorker, but just, just take a
712
00:39:15,250 --> 00:39:19,129
step back and just be quiet and
just listen to what's going on
713
00:39:19,139 --> 00:39:23,239
around you because I promise you
the people who are, there's
714
00:39:23,250 --> 00:39:25,209
levels that you don't
understand. But if you make an
715
00:39:25,219 --> 00:39:27,060
effort to understand them,
you're gonna be a better person
716
00:39:27,070 --> 00:39:27,679
in the end too.
717
00:39:28,879 --> 00:39:31,209
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Absolutely.
Absolutely. All right. I wanna
718
00:39:31,219 --> 00:39:36,530
make sure we get to your phd.
All right. So, how on earth did
719
00:39:36,540 --> 00:39:39,729
you end up in South Africa for
your phd? Right.
720
00:39:39,739 --> 00:39:41,389
SAMEER DOSSANI: So, so I had a
career in which we sort of
721
00:39:41,399 --> 00:39:44,520
briefly touched on places of it,
but I work for a number of
722
00:39:44,530 --> 00:39:48,159
large, nonprofit organizations,
some of which you have heard of,
723
00:39:48,169 --> 00:39:51,959
some of which you haven't
probably haven't. So, Amnesty
724
00:39:51,969 --> 00:39:55,320
International was there for a
little while. Then I worked for
725
00:39:55,639 --> 00:39:58,070
a International Action Action
Aid International, moved its
726
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,790
headquarters from London to
Johannesburg.
727
00:40:01,209 --> 00:40:04,830
Yeah, back in 2004, I wanna say,
maybe 2009. They don't have the
728
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:09,030
year. Exactly. Right. But I was,
I, I, originally, when I started
729
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:11,260
working for them, I was in
charge of, sort of Asia work,
730
00:40:11,270 --> 00:40:15,360
Asia policy work. So I was based
in Asia and then at a certain
731
00:40:15,370 --> 00:40:17,280
point, I was in charge of global
work.
732
00:40:17,489 --> 00:40:20,879
So I had to move to
Johannesburg. So that's how we
733
00:40:20,889 --> 00:40:23,310
ended up there. And then, you
know, these big organizations
734
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,429
are always going through
layoffs. One year, the layoff
735
00:40:26,439 --> 00:40:28,699
sort of, you know, affected the
whole policy department,
736
00:40:28,709 --> 00:40:32,600
unfortunately. So, we have the
choice, do we move somewhere
737
00:40:32,610 --> 00:40:33,989
else or do we just stick around?
738
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,580
At that point? My daughter was
of an age where I was really
739
00:40:36,590 --> 00:40:39,770
reluctant to sort of move her so
quickly. We had just moved to
740
00:40:39,780 --> 00:40:44,520
Joburg and I didn't want to just
move her again. So, I started a
741
00:40:44,530 --> 00:40:47,419
phd originally just as a way to
sort of stay in Joburg.
742
00:40:47,429 --> 00:40:50,100
But also because I had some
academic interest that I felt
743
00:40:50,110 --> 00:40:54,219
like I felt like 20 years in the
ngo sector, there's stuff I
744
00:40:54,229 --> 00:40:57,969
wanted to write, stuff I wanted
to say theories I wanted to
745
00:40:57,979 --> 00:41:02,649
engage with, that I hadn't had
the chance to, to do fully. And
746
00:41:02,659 --> 00:41:05,699
I had a supportive friend who
was a professor, a very well
747
00:41:05,709 --> 00:41:09,050
known professor in South Africa
who sort of encouraged me to,
748
00:41:09,060 --> 00:41:12,149
you know, think through what it
means to write a phd thesis.
749
00:41:13,199 --> 00:41:15,649
And, you know, now I'm at the
tail end of that process, it's
750
00:41:15,659 --> 00:41:18,209
been a lot of work. So, you
know, the process I'm describing
751
00:41:18,219 --> 00:41:21,459
sort of started in 2017, 2018.
We're now five years out from
752
00:41:21,469 --> 00:41:23,969
that. And like I told you, I'm
just about to submit a draft. So
753
00:41:23,979 --> 00:41:27,280
it's a hell of a lot of work.
But it's been really fascinating
754
00:41:27,290 --> 00:41:30,889
to have this time to both engage
with these theories.
755
00:41:30,899 --> 00:41:33,639
But also to hear, you know, hear
from my peers here from other
756
00:41:33,649 --> 00:41:36,590
students here from master
students about what people are
757
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:40,550
thinking about with regard to
these things these days. And,
758
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,389
you know, in general, what I'm
writing about is sort of the
759
00:41:42,399 --> 00:41:44,750
history, it's a history of the
world kind of paper.
760
00:41:45,229 --> 00:41:48,580
But it's specifically focusing
on colonialism and also
761
00:41:48,590 --> 00:41:52,449
indigenous peoples in Southern
Africa. So it's, it's really
762
00:41:52,459 --> 00:41:55,489
fascinating. It's a fascinating
time to be in this space and
763
00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:59,540
there's a lot of discoveries
being made and I think working
764
00:41:59,550 --> 00:42:02,629
at the phd level, you really,
yeah, it's like you have your,
765
00:42:03,270 --> 00:42:05,350
you have your finger on the
pulse of all those discoveries
766
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,040
that are happening a lot of
times.
767
00:42:07,050 --> 00:42:09,760
It's hard to, you know, I if you
just sort of get your
768
00:42:09,770 --> 00:42:12,149
information from the internet or
if you're doing your own studies
769
00:42:12,159 --> 00:42:15,409
independently, there's so much
material out there, you don't
770
00:42:15,419 --> 00:42:18,500
really know what's the, what's
the really cutting edge stuff
771
00:42:18,510 --> 00:42:19,000
and what's like?
772
00:42:19,010 --> 00:42:23,159
Ok, this is, this is OK, but
it's not that interesting. But
773
00:42:23,169 --> 00:42:25,439
when you're part of an academic
community, that's a whole
774
00:42:25,449 --> 00:42:28,040
different story, you really do.
There really are good, good
775
00:42:28,050 --> 00:42:30,340
filters for like, oh my
goodness. This is amazing stuff.
776
00:42:30,350 --> 00:42:34,179
I need to focus on that. Versus,
I'm not really sure this fits
777
00:42:34,590 --> 00:42:36,179
in, in the current picture we're
trying to paint.
778
00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:42,820
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So it's like
you're, you're learning more
779
00:42:42,830 --> 00:42:47,590
about the world everywhere you
go, it sounds like, 0 100%.
780
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:49,610
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, 100%. I
mean, this is so, so, you know,
781
00:42:49,620 --> 00:42:52,129
these days doing a phd, it's,
you're part of a global
782
00:42:52,139 --> 00:42:56,679
community of academics who are
in, in my case, I'm part of a
783
00:42:56,689 --> 00:42:59,000
global community of academics
who are focusing on post
784
00:42:59,110 --> 00:43:04,830
colonial theory, right? And it's
really fascinating to be part of
785
00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:06,810
that community. Yes, many of
them are in South Africa, but
786
00:43:06,820 --> 00:43:08,770
some of them are in the US, some
of them are in Canada, some of
787
00:43:08,780 --> 00:43:09,429
them are Australia.
788
00:43:09,439 --> 00:43:12,669
Some of them are, you know, in
in India or in other countries,
789
00:43:12,679 --> 00:43:16,449
right? So it's, it's been really
fascinating to, to see these
790
00:43:16,459 --> 00:43:18,729
conversations unfold and
hopefully, you know, I can
791
00:43:18,739 --> 00:43:21,189
contribute to those
conversations too in some ways
792
00:43:21,199 --> 00:43:23,610
by publishing a few academic
articles and ultimately by
793
00:43:23,620 --> 00:43:25,409
publishing my, my dissertation.
794
00:43:28,419 --> 00:43:30,629
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Well, you're
already used to writing all
795
00:43:30,639 --> 00:43:38,830
these thesis theses. So, you
know, it's nothing new. So now
796
00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:43,270
in, in thinking about it because
you're doing and just hearing
797
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:46,429
you talk this whole time, it's
like you're, there's a lot of
798
00:43:46,439 --> 00:43:53,020
moving that you're doing. So,
how are you funding all of these
799
00:43:53,030 --> 00:43:53,560
trips?
800
00:43:55,409 --> 00:43:58,189
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah. So, in the
beginning, as I mentioned, it
801
00:43:58,199 --> 00:44:02,770
was a bit of relying on or
asking my parents for a loan or
802
00:44:02,780 --> 00:44:07,340
for a gift basically to sort of
get it going. But then, you
803
00:44:07,350 --> 00:44:10,330
know, for the last 20 years I've
had a career and, it hasn't been
804
00:44:10,340 --> 00:44:11,639
the best paying career in the
whole world.
805
00:44:11,649 --> 00:44:15,030
So I went to a high school where
I was going to school with like
806
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:18,659
Rockefellers and, and you know,
the daughters of vice presidents
807
00:44:18,669 --> 00:44:21,219
and, and so on. So it's a very
elite school and I look at some
808
00:44:21,229 --> 00:44:24,290
of my peers who made money in
Wall Street and so on or, or
809
00:44:24,300 --> 00:44:26,530
whatever it may be like, I can't
compete with that, but I don't
810
00:44:26,540 --> 00:44:27,649
really need to compete with
that.
811
00:44:27,989 --> 00:44:30,800
I had a salary job for 20 years
that allowed me to put some
812
00:44:30,810 --> 00:44:34,750
savings away. And I'm using
those savings in part to finance
813
00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:38,510
these moves and in part to
finance, in part also to invest
814
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:40,510
in my, my new business, which is
health coaching, right?
815
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:46,070
So in part, to sort of say, I'm
going to, you know, I, I put 20
816
00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:49,820
years into a career, I've had a
salary job for 20 years. And I,
817
00:44:49,830 --> 00:44:52,679
I no longer think I can make the
best contribution by continuing
818
00:44:52,689 --> 00:44:54,709
to do sort of work for other
people. I want to work for
819
00:44:54,719 --> 00:44:59,100
myself and I also want to finish
my phd at the same time. That's
820
00:44:59,110 --> 00:45:00,399
where I am right now in this
journey.
821
00:45:01,979 --> 00:45:04,600
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So in the
beginning, it's like you were
822
00:45:04,610 --> 00:45:09,889
relying on your parents, but as
you kind of came into your own
823
00:45:09,899 --> 00:45:14,689
and you, you, you, you got into
your career, you were, you were
824
00:45:14,699 --> 00:45:19,020
funding yourself, right? You
were using putting money away,
825
00:45:19,030 --> 00:45:25,030
you used your savings and you
know, and you use that to, you
826
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:30,320
know, do all this moving and all
these trips and especially with
827
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:34,469
going to school in other
countries where the tuition is
828
00:45:34,479 --> 00:45:35,500
actually cheaper.
829
00:45:36,850 --> 00:45:40,679
You are able to afford to go to
all these schools 100%.
830
00:45:40,689 --> 00:45:41,860
SAMEER DOSSANI: I mean, I think,
I think when you're talking
831
00:45:41,870 --> 00:45:44,590
about postgraduate level and
especially phd level, I think
832
00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:46,909
the economics ever changes in a
place like the US because I
833
00:45:46,919 --> 00:45:50,010
think, I don't think many people
pay, they certainly don't pay
834
00:45:50,020 --> 00:45:52,840
the kind of tuition you pay for
a bachelor's for a phd.
835
00:45:52,850 --> 00:45:56,060
Like it's, it comes under grants
and other things. So I think
836
00:45:56,070 --> 00:45:58,620
the, the funding thing, like the
difference between the US and
837
00:45:58,629 --> 00:46:02,629
abroad is, is less the higher up
you go. But yeah, 100% what you
838
00:46:02,639 --> 00:46:05,520
said is correct. I, I've used,
the savings I've made from
839
00:46:05,530 --> 00:46:07,879
having a salary for, you know,
20 years.
840
00:46:09,090 --> 00:46:11,850
I use that to fund, not so much
the moves, the moves have been
841
00:46:11,860 --> 00:46:16,120
paid for by the companies I work
for pretty much. But yeah,
842
00:46:16,129 --> 00:46:18,459
things like the university
tuition and so on my daughter's
843
00:46:18,469 --> 00:46:22,080
tuition just getting, you know,
you know, supporting a family.
844
00:46:22,659 --> 00:46:25,800
I've used those savings to do
all that right now and in, and
845
00:46:25,810 --> 00:46:26,840
invest in a new business.
846
00:46:28,860 --> 00:46:30,510
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So you must
be a good saver.
847
00:46:32,899 --> 00:46:36,679
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah. I mean, I
think, I think, I don't know, to
848
00:46:36,689 --> 00:46:38,820
be honest, I'm probably not a
great saver but I, I think it's
849
00:46:38,830 --> 00:46:41,870
just a matter of being a little
bit disciplined when you are
850
00:46:41,879 --> 00:46:45,169
making that. You know, because
if, let's say, for example, you
851
00:46:45,179 --> 00:46:48,879
get out of college and you have
a job making whatever it is
852
00:46:48,889 --> 00:46:51,159
70,000 a year, let's say for the
sake of argument, right.
853
00:46:51,290 --> 00:46:53,389
Chances are very high, you've
never seen that much money in
854
00:46:53,399 --> 00:46:56,399
your life. Like, even, you know,
at least if I had got a job
855
00:46:56,409 --> 00:46:59,159
making 70,000 my first year out
of college, I would never have
856
00:46:59,169 --> 00:47:01,939
seen that kind of money in my
life. And I think it's about the
857
00:47:01,949 --> 00:47:05,689
discipline to say, ok, that
doesn't mean I'm gonna upgrade
858
00:47:05,699 --> 00:47:09,229
my car and my house and my,
whatever it is.
859
00:47:09,949 --> 00:47:12,949
What it means is there's a
percentage of this that I'm just
860
00:47:12,959 --> 00:47:15,550
gonna put away right away. In
fact, I'm not going to see it.
861
00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:18,060
I'm gonna give the bank orders
or give the, whatever that one
862
00:47:18,070 --> 00:47:18,919
of my paycheck comes in.
863
00:47:18,929 --> 00:47:22,300
X percent of it goes into an
account and if you do that,
864
00:47:22,310 --> 00:47:27,040
every paycheck, you know, every
payday, you know, week after
865
00:47:27,050 --> 00:47:29,949
week, month, after month, year
after year, it builds up
866
00:47:29,959 --> 00:47:33,250
eventually to the point where,
you know, you do have savings
867
00:47:33,260 --> 00:47:35,780
and if they're being invested
wisely, you have savings that
868
00:47:35,790 --> 00:47:39,580
are growing. And that's, that's
a great place to be. And it's
869
00:47:39,590 --> 00:47:43,780
not, not that difficult these
days. You know, I'm not saying
870
00:47:43,790 --> 00:47:44,459
it's easy.
871
00:47:45,540 --> 00:47:48,580
And, you know, university
degrees are no longer the kind
872
00:47:48,590 --> 00:47:50,979
of guarantees of, of, sort of
good jobs that they once were.
873
00:47:51,709 --> 00:47:54,389
But I think most of us, if you
have a plan, it's not hard to
874
00:47:54,399 --> 00:47:56,000
sort of have a financial plan as
well.
875
00:47:57,110 --> 00:48:02,050
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Of course,
of course. So just to, to, to,
876
00:48:02,060 --> 00:48:09,379
to tie it all in a bow. So now
all of your education, all of
877
00:48:09,389 --> 00:48:16,360
your secondary education, it's
was all in other countries. So
878
00:48:16,370 --> 00:48:22,370
now, is it safe to, so what
would you tell someone who
879
00:48:23,739 --> 00:48:24,969
that's trying to save money?
880
00:48:24,979 --> 00:48:27,040
Because, I mean, that's
essentially what you were trying
881
00:48:27,050 --> 00:48:32,469
to do is looking for the cheaper
option? Right. So, you want to
882
00:48:32,479 --> 00:48:38,139
avoid student loans? So, is it
safe to say if you wanna save
883
00:48:38,149 --> 00:48:40,689
money, go to another country?
884
00:48:41,689 --> 00:48:43,620
SAMEER DOSSANI: I think, I think
if you're in the U Si think
885
00:48:43,629 --> 00:48:45,750
that's still probably true.
886
00:48:47,110 --> 00:48:49,060
You have to do your own research
and look at, you know, the
887
00:48:49,070 --> 00:48:51,379
specific places you want to go
there are these private
888
00:48:51,389 --> 00:48:53,399
universities that have opened up
all over the world that can be
889
00:48:53,409 --> 00:48:56,139
very expensive. So, you know,
it's gonna vary from place to
890
00:48:56,149 --> 00:48:56,659
place.
891
00:48:57,820 --> 00:49:00,060
But in general, you know,
studying abroad is a great
892
00:49:00,070 --> 00:49:04,649
option for, not just for the
price tag, the price tag is, was
893
00:49:04,659 --> 00:49:07,820
a, is a big piece of it, to be
honest. But not just the price
894
00:49:07,830 --> 00:49:10,929
tag, it's just the experience as
well. Like, you know, I had an
895
00:49:10,939 --> 00:49:13,530
experience when I was working at
Amnesty International that I got
896
00:49:13,540 --> 00:49:14,149
to visit.
897
00:49:14,350 --> 00:49:17,820
You know, the, the, the Dublin
Ireland branch of Amnesty
898
00:49:17,830 --> 00:49:20,659
International and looking at how
that city. So Dublin and
899
00:49:20,669 --> 00:49:23,659
Ireland, how it's built around a
university which is Trinity
900
00:49:23,669 --> 00:49:27,750
College. It's a really
fascinating sort of place,
901
00:49:27,760 --> 00:49:30,010
fascinating culture and it made
me think, hey, maybe this is,
902
00:49:30,020 --> 00:49:32,320
you know, if, if I had it to do
again, maybe I would have
903
00:49:32,330 --> 00:49:34,600
applied here because it's a very
different kind of a field,
904
00:49:34,610 --> 00:49:34,850
right?
905
00:49:35,669 --> 00:49:37,629
You know, in, in retrospect, of
course, I wouldn't change
906
00:49:37,639 --> 00:49:40,340
anything. I love what I did, but
there's, there's many, many
907
00:49:40,350 --> 00:49:45,580
options for people who are
interested in, in exploring. And
908
00:49:45,590 --> 00:49:48,060
you know, the world's a beau
big, beautiful place and, and so
909
00:49:48,070 --> 00:49:52,000
so get out there and explore it,
beautiful, beautiful.
910
00:49:52,469 --> 00:49:55,350
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: All right.
So we're, we are starting to
911
00:49:55,360 --> 00:50:02,250
wind down a bit. So I like to
ask my guests to share any words
912
00:50:02,260 --> 00:50:07,330
of wisdom with our audience. So
do you have any words of wisdom
913
00:50:07,340 --> 00:50:08,310
that you'd like to share?
914
00:50:09,189 --> 00:50:11,479
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yeah, I mean,
the words, wisdom on this
915
00:50:11,489 --> 00:50:14,169
subject are really not to be too
attached to your own identity.
916
00:50:14,179 --> 00:50:18,699
Like I think, I think we I see
this in folks in the US, not
917
00:50:18,709 --> 00:50:22,810
just the US, but especially the
US where we're so we're so
918
00:50:22,820 --> 00:50:26,689
attached to who we are as like
Americans or whatever.
919
00:50:26,979 --> 00:50:30,260
You know, you know, ex kind of
American or ex kind of us
920
00:50:30,270 --> 00:50:34,699
citizen or however you want to
put it, that we forget that, you
921
00:50:34,709 --> 00:50:37,969
know, fundamentally what are we,
we are animal animals, we are
922
00:50:37,979 --> 00:50:40,689
mammals, we are humans and
there's so much we share in
923
00:50:40,699 --> 00:50:42,739
common with other people, but
there's so so much that we have
924
00:50:42,750 --> 00:50:43,969
to learn from other people too.
925
00:50:44,340 --> 00:50:47,689
So I think exploring with an
open mind, being willing to
926
00:50:47,699 --> 00:50:52,659
learn new languages, learn, you
know, new skills. I really think
927
00:50:52,669 --> 00:50:56,570
that's what's, you know, looking
ahead at what I I sort of need
928
00:50:56,580 --> 00:51:01,649
from my students going forward.
It's really that intellectual
929
00:51:01,659 --> 00:51:06,610
curiosity combined with pretty
sharp, critical thinking skills,
930
00:51:06,620 --> 00:51:06,780
right?
931
00:51:06,790 --> 00:51:08,489
So we need both of those. You
need to be intellectually
932
00:51:08,500 --> 00:51:12,070
curious about what's going on in
the world. But you also need to
933
00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:15,340
be think very critically about
and not accept everything that
934
00:51:15,350 --> 00:51:18,459
everyone is telling you. So, so
I mentioned earlier, you know,
935
00:51:18,469 --> 00:51:20,560
you even if you can speak the
language, there are things going
936
00:51:20,570 --> 00:51:23,810
on that you probably can't
understand which is true, but
937
00:51:23,899 --> 00:51:27,360
someone's point of view is not
the gospel truth, right?
938
00:51:27,610 --> 00:51:31,320
So, for example, I'll tell you a
quick story. We were on a a
939
00:51:31,330 --> 00:51:35,919
holiday, we were on a ship a
couple of years ago. And my wife
940
00:51:35,929 --> 00:51:38,600
knew that I speak Portuguese and
there was a Brazilian couple
941
00:51:38,610 --> 00:51:40,120
there. So I was speaking with
them.
942
00:51:40,129 --> 00:51:42,229
I was helping my, my wife to
communicate with them translate
943
00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:45,699
and so on. And these are people
who had a very specific point of
944
00:51:45,709 --> 00:51:48,489
view, they are from a region in,
in Brazil that was kind of
945
00:51:48,500 --> 00:51:53,179
conservative. So, my wife at a
certain point asked me, you
946
00:51:53,189 --> 00:51:55,699
know, so, so they were talking
about the imprisonment of the
947
00:51:55,709 --> 00:51:56,919
person who is now the President
Lula.
948
00:51:56,969 --> 00:51:58,870
I don't want to get into
Brazilian politics but, but this
949
00:51:58,879 --> 00:52:02,709
is just, just a side story. So
my wife says, but I thought, you
950
00:52:02,719 --> 00:52:05,219
know, I thought Lula was good
and most Brazilians support him.
951
00:52:05,229 --> 00:52:08,209
And I, and I had to explain,
like you have to understand the
952
00:52:08,219 --> 00:52:11,020
person you're talking to is
coming from a particular region
953
00:52:11,290 --> 00:52:14,270
which has historically been anti
this guy, anti the Workers
954
00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:17,600
Party, which is his political
party. And therefore, you
955
00:52:17,610 --> 00:52:20,409
shouldn't be surprised by what
they're telling you, but what
956
00:52:20,419 --> 00:52:21,629
they're telling you is not the
gospel truth.
957
00:52:21,639 --> 00:52:23,709
It's just just one opinion and
you have to get a lot more
958
00:52:23,719 --> 00:52:27,030
opinions before you understand
what the quote unquote Brazilian
959
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:31,389
view on this because just like
there's no us view on any one
960
00:52:31,399 --> 00:52:34,419
political figure here, there's
no one Brazilian view on any
961
00:52:34,429 --> 00:52:37,209
political figure there. You have
to get a diversity of views
962
00:52:37,219 --> 00:52:40,110
before you can come to your own
judgment about what you believe.
963
00:52:42,350 --> 00:52:47,120
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Absolutely.
Absolutely. Well, Samir, thank
964
00:52:47,129 --> 00:52:50,540
you so much for, for sharing
your words of wisdom and thank
965
00:52:50,550 --> 00:52:54,209
you for, for coming on my show.
This was definitely an
966
00:52:54,219 --> 00:52:56,159
enlightening conversation.
967
00:52:57,729 --> 00:53:01,479
So now we're going to jump to
your promo. I wanna make sure
968
00:53:01,489 --> 00:53:06,280
people can find you. But, I
guess it's part of your promo
969
00:53:06,290 --> 00:53:11,790
you sent over a video. So I'm
going to play that video right
970
00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:12,159
now.
971
00:53:12,169 --> 00:53:13,530
SAMEER DOSSANI: You, you can
only play the first couple of
972
00:53:13,540 --> 00:53:15,610
minutes I think you can, you can
cut it a minute too if you like.
973
00:53:17,840 --> 00:53:21,239
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Ok, well,
let's, let's, let's see. Well,
974
00:53:21,250 --> 00:53:23,919
actually, no, let's actually,
before we do that, I'm, I'm
975
00:53:23,929 --> 00:53:26,949
gonna do your pro your stuff
first and then we'll do the
976
00:53:26,959 --> 00:53:32,179
video. So people have a context
of the video. All right. So let
977
00:53:32,189 --> 00:53:39,000
me just jump into your, your
information. All right. So you
978
00:53:39,010 --> 00:53:44,520
guys, you could find Samir
Dosani. He is all over the web.
979
00:53:44,790 --> 00:53:50,340
He you can learn more about his
business, which I'll have him
980
00:53:50,350 --> 00:53:53,560
tell you about in a minute. But
his website is just his name
981
00:53:53,570 --> 00:53:59,560
Samir Dasani.net. You could also
follow him on YouTube. It is
982
00:53:59,570 --> 00:54:03,709
Meet Heels. That's the account
name. He's also on Twitter and
983
00:54:03,719 --> 00:54:08,090
TikTok with it is just his name
Samir Dasani. He's also on
984
00:54:08,100 --> 00:54:11,899
Instagram. It is Sam three R.
985
00:54:11,909 --> 00:54:15,800
That's the account name and he's
also on LinkedIn, which is just
986
00:54:15,810 --> 00:54:22,459
his name and Facebook. It is
Samir Dasani health coaching. So
987
00:54:22,469 --> 00:54:27,780
I encourage you guys to follow
him on all of those accounts. I
988
00:54:27,790 --> 00:54:32,629
also encourage you to go to his
website Samir Dasani dot net.
989
00:54:32,639 --> 00:54:35,989
All this information of course
is scrolling below at the bottom
990
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:39,669
of the screen from my video
people.
991
00:54:39,719 --> 00:54:43,570
But if you are listening to this
on a podcast, I did not forget
992
00:54:43,580 --> 00:54:48,040
about you. This information is
in the description with the
993
00:54:48,050 --> 00:54:52,959
direct links to these accounts.
So I encourage you my audience
994
00:54:52,969 --> 00:54:57,189
to go to all of these accounts
and follow him everywhere and
995
00:54:57,199 --> 00:55:02,110
just stay in touch with him. So
Samir I'm gonna have you talk
996
00:55:02,120 --> 00:55:04,560
about your business. So please
tell us about your business.
997
00:55:05,370 --> 00:55:06,590
Tell yourself to us.
998
00:55:06,929 --> 00:55:09,489
SAMEER DOSSANI: Sure. Well, I
mentioned in 2017, I had the
999
00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:12,860
opportunity to begin a phd and
what I did when I began a phd,
1000
00:55:12,870 --> 00:55:15,050
it was the same year that I got,
I myself got a certain
1001
00:55:15,060 --> 00:55:17,810
diagnosis. So as we get older,
all of your viewers may not be
1002
00:55:17,820 --> 00:55:20,709
there yet, but maybe their
parents could identify with this
1003
00:55:21,590 --> 00:55:23,760
as we get older, you know, the
body tends to break down in
1004
00:55:23,770 --> 00:55:25,060
certain predictable ways. Right.
1005
00:55:25,070 --> 00:55:29,100
And I had a, my best friend, had
a cancer diagnosis. I was
1006
00:55:29,110 --> 00:55:32,100
getting diagnosed with, diabetes
prediabetes, that kind of thing.
1007
00:55:32,429 --> 00:55:36,020
My wife was going through kidney
stone issues and thyroid issues
1008
00:55:36,030 --> 00:55:38,969
and many things. My daughter was
also suffering a lot from asthma
1009
00:55:38,979 --> 00:55:42,500
and so on. So I got admission to
the Science And Technology
1010
00:55:42,510 --> 00:55:46,379
Department, at the University Of
ST Stellenbosch in South Africa.
1011
00:55:46,699 --> 00:55:48,320
But I didn't go to that library.
1012
00:55:48,330 --> 00:55:50,330
I went to the medical library
which was next door. The, the
1013
00:55:50,340 --> 00:55:52,870
day I got admission, you know,
and I went to the medical
1014
00:55:52,879 --> 00:55:56,860
library. I spent eight hours
maybe longer. Just going through
1015
00:55:56,870 --> 00:55:59,389
all the medical texts I could
find on health, nutrition,
1016
00:56:00,330 --> 00:56:04,510
studies of randomized control
studies and so on. And I really
1017
00:56:04,520 --> 00:56:06,939
discovered that I had been lied
to about health and nutrition
1018
00:56:06,949 --> 00:56:08,120
for all these years.
1019
00:56:08,669 --> 00:56:11,820
And that day I sort of stopped
being a vegetarian of any kind.
1020
00:56:11,850 --> 00:56:14,879
I started adding more meat to my
diet. I reversed all of my
1021
00:56:14,889 --> 00:56:18,439
health problems within a matter
of weeks. It made me so angry
1022
00:56:18,449 --> 00:56:21,389
that I decided to, you know, get
my own health and nutrition
1023
00:56:21,399 --> 00:56:24,280
certification. So we didn't talk
about that. But that was an
1024
00:56:24,290 --> 00:56:27,260
online program based in the UK
that I got a health and
1025
00:56:27,270 --> 00:56:29,520
nutrition certification from in
2021.
1026
00:56:29,830 --> 00:56:31,919
And I've been a health coach
ever since that I help people to
1027
00:56:31,929 --> 00:56:34,469
reverse their chronic disease,
had all kinds of success
1028
00:56:34,479 --> 00:56:38,790
stories. People with pulmonary
embolisms in both lungs as a
1029
00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:41,719
result of COVID thought they
would never be able to sort of
1030
00:56:41,729 --> 00:56:44,909
walk around freely again or
exercise within a few months of
1031
00:56:44,919 --> 00:56:46,750
working with me. They're,
they're, you know, starting a
1032
00:56:46,760 --> 00:56:50,159
new career, starting a new life,
a all the medications and so on.
1033
00:56:50,500 --> 00:56:53,020
So, it's been really remarkable
to be able to help people
1034
00:56:53,050 --> 00:56:56,479
reverse their chronic disease.
And yeah, I'm hoping, hoping to
1035
00:56:56,489 --> 00:57:00,560
really scale it up. I'm about to
launch a new course on sort of
1036
00:57:00,570 --> 00:57:04,070
mineral and vitamin deficiencies
that people have. So you can
1037
00:57:04,080 --> 00:57:07,520
check and, and how to reverse
them with diet. So you can check
1038
00:57:07,530 --> 00:57:09,810
out Samir Dasani.net and you'll
get all the information on that
1039
00:57:09,820 --> 00:57:10,600
course coming up.
1040
00:57:11,750 --> 00:57:14,840
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Beautiful
and with that said, now we're
1041
00:57:14,850 --> 00:57:18,409
going to get it to your video.
So now we have, we did, we did
1042
00:57:18,419 --> 00:57:20,729
the set up to your video. So
it's.
1043
00:57:20,739 --> 00:57:22,959
SAMEER DOSSANI: A, it's a funny
video if I can just say so. So
1044
00:57:22,969 --> 00:57:25,679
like I said, most of us think
that fruits and vegetables are
1045
00:57:25,689 --> 00:57:28,649
good for us. There's a guy
called Uncle Roger who's been
1046
00:57:28,659 --> 00:57:31,090
sort of blowing up on the
internet. Hilarious guy.
1047
00:57:31,459 --> 00:57:35,469
Malaysian based in the UK, he
has a line of vegetables are sad
1048
00:57:35,479 --> 00:57:39,050
and this video is about how I
agree with him all Right.
1049
00:57:39,060 --> 00:57:42,419
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: So I will
play that now. No need.
1050
00:57:42,439 --> 00:57:44,580
Vegetable, vegetable tastes like
sad.
1051
00:57:45,270 --> 00:57:47,850
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yes, indeed,
Uncle Roger is right. Vegetables
1052
00:57:47,860 --> 00:57:51,750
taste like sad. Why is that?
Let's get into it before we do.
1053
00:57:51,760 --> 00:57:53,350
My name is Samir and I'm a
health coach who works with
1054
00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:56,199
people who want to thrive while
incorporating more animal foods
1055
00:57:56,209 --> 00:57:58,969
into their diet. If you'd like
to book a strategy session with
1056
00:57:58,979 --> 00:58:00,129
me, the link is below.
1057
00:58:00,550 --> 00:58:03,729
So the last time I raised this
question, it was largely about
1058
00:58:03,979 --> 00:58:06,780
ancient history, meaning my work
as a, as an anthropologist
1059
00:58:06,790 --> 00:58:10,149
interested in paleoanthropology
and so on. So if we look at the
1060
00:58:10,159 --> 00:58:13,550
fossil record, we can discover
that humans evolved to be hyper
1061
00:58:13,679 --> 00:58:17,250
carnivores. And the first time
we incorporated plant foods on
1062
00:58:17,260 --> 00:58:18,600
any kind of scale.
1063
00:58:18,629 --> 00:58:20,949
So I, I mentioned a paper that
talked about people eating
1064
00:58:20,959 --> 00:58:24,379
acorns in North Africa and it
was pretty miserable, right? We
1065
00:58:24,389 --> 00:58:28,550
have toothless skulls in the
fossil record to show exactly
1066
00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:32,219
how miserable it was. All right.
Today, let's get a little bit
1067
00:58:32,229 --> 00:58:36,659
deeper into another angle. So
what is a vegetable and why
1068
00:58:36,669 --> 00:58:38,919
would this vegetable elicit so
much sadness?
1069
00:58:39,540 --> 00:58:42,389
So I think it's super important
to emphasize in the beginning
1070
00:58:42,399 --> 00:58:45,570
that most of the things we call
vegetables simply did not exist
1071
00:58:45,580 --> 00:58:48,590
in their current form 1000 years
ago or in some cases much more
1072
00:58:48,600 --> 00:58:52,139
recently, right. Tomatoes were
cultivated by the Aztecs maybe
1073
00:58:52,149 --> 00:58:53,060
in the 13th century.
1074
00:58:53,070 --> 00:58:57,719
Ce so less than 1000 years ago,
carrots, broccoli, cabbage.
1075
00:58:57,729 --> 00:59:00,949
These were all cultivated in
Central Asia, probably around
1076
00:59:00,959 --> 00:59:05,389
600 ce. So that's roughly 1500
years ago. If that sounds like a
1077
00:59:05,399 --> 00:59:09,699
long time ago. Remember that our
genes are at least 250,000 years
1078
00:59:09,709 --> 00:59:15,060
old. Right. And you know, that
kind of a time scale in general,
1079
00:59:15,070 --> 00:59:18,489
unless there's a huge pressure
is not going to be enough, to
1080
00:59:18,500 --> 00:59:21,199
turn us from carnivores into
vegetarians, right?
1081
00:59:21,850 --> 00:59:24,419
We don't know everything about
what early humans were eating,
1082
00:59:24,429 --> 00:59:27,330
but as I say, we know that they
ate a lot of meat and we know
1083
00:59:27,340 --> 00:59:29,770
they didn't, they weren't eating
broccoli because broccoli didn't
1084
00:59:29,780 --> 00:59:33,550
exist, right? Ok. So the next
question is OK.
1085
00:59:33,560 --> 00:59:35,889
So we've sort of defined what a
vegetable is and I should say
1086
00:59:35,899 --> 00:59:38,040
fruits, by the way, are also in
this category, fruits are also
1087
00:59:38,050 --> 00:59:41,989
relatively modern constructs as
we'll get into in a minute. So
1088
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:45,020
the next question is, do you
think the purpose of a plant is
1089
00:59:45,030 --> 00:59:48,209
just to feed you? Do you think
that a carrot is just there to
1090
00:59:48,219 --> 00:59:50,040
be delicious for you or spinach?
1091
00:59:50,050 --> 00:59:53,879
Is there to, to eat with with
your Paneer or something? Right?
1092
00:59:54,229 --> 00:59:57,770
No, obviously that's not the
case. Plants are life forms and
1093
00:59:57,780 --> 01:00:00,229
like any species on earth, they
want to live long enough to
1094
01:00:00,239 --> 01:00:03,989
reproduce. And how do they do
that in a dangerous world? Will
1095
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:05,919
they wage chemical warfare?
1096
01:00:06,280 --> 01:00:08,989
Plants produce chemicals to
avoid predation, mostly
1097
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:12,750
predation by insects. Right.
There are thousands of such
1098
01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:16,360
chemicals and very few of them
have been studied. Some people
1099
01:00:16,370 --> 01:00:18,510
will talk about the, you know,
you need to eat organic
1100
01:00:18,520 --> 01:00:22,199
vegetables because these have
fewer pesticides. But as this
1101
01:00:22,209 --> 01:00:26,790
paper explains very clearly, the
vast majority of pesticides.
1102
01:00:26,800 --> 01:00:31,139
So that's 99.99%. The vast
majority of pesticides you're
1103
01:00:31,149 --> 01:00:35,790
exposed to are naturally
occurring in the plant. Now,
1104
01:00:35,800 --> 01:00:39,469
those pesticides, those toxins
were designed to kill insects
1105
01:00:39,820 --> 01:00:42,199
and just to be clear in the
dosage, you're gonna get them
1106
01:00:42,209 --> 01:00:44,350
even if you eat, you know,
unless you're eating hemlock or
1107
01:00:44,360 --> 01:00:47,389
something that's actually
poisonous, you're not gonna be,
1108
01:00:47,399 --> 01:00:49,219
you're not gonna die from eating
broccoli, right?
1109
01:00:49,229 --> 01:00:51,889
I'm not saying that and, and
that would be a ridiculous thing
1110
01:00:51,899 --> 01:00:54,790
to say, but what happens when
you're consuming just a little
1111
01:00:54,800 --> 01:00:58,659
bit of poison every day? The
short answer is we don't know.
1112
01:00:58,679 --> 01:01:00,879
So some people would argue it's
a good thing that there's a
1113
01:01:00,889 --> 01:01:03,979
hermetic effect of eating these
poisons, hermetic.
1114
01:01:04,010 --> 01:01:06,360
The easiest way to think about
it is, you know, that which
1115
01:01:06,370 --> 01:01:08,899
doesn't kill me, makes me
stronger. So if I have a little
1116
01:01:08,909 --> 01:01:11,639
bit of poison, then that builds
up my strength. Overall, there's
1117
01:01:11,649 --> 01:01:14,620
some evidence to suggest that
that might be the case, but the
1118
01:01:14,629 --> 01:01:15,899
evidence is kind of tenuous.
1119
01:01:15,909 --> 01:01:18,100
I can get into that in another
video. If you like, if you
1120
01:01:18,110 --> 01:01:21,699
consistently overconsume certain
plant foods. For example, if
1121
01:01:21,709 --> 01:01:25,110
you're eating those cruciferous
vegetables every day, we do tend
1122
01:01:25,120 --> 01:01:28,739
to see bad effects over
consumption of cruciferous. As I
1123
01:01:28,750 --> 01:01:31,889
mentioned, can mess up the
thyroid, cruciferous vegetables.
1124
01:01:31,899 --> 01:01:34,330
Are your broccoli, your cabbages
and so on everything for that
1125
01:01:34,340 --> 01:01:37,830
mustard family. And the
goitrogen in that class of food
1126
01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:42,350
and that's one class of anti
nutrient or plant toxin. The
1127
01:01:42,360 --> 01:01:46,149
other classes are oxalates. So,
Sally Norton has a great book
1128
01:01:46,159 --> 01:01:49,489
out about oxalates right now.
And also lectins.
1129
01:01:49,500 --> 01:01:51,979
So there's a doctor, Doctor
Steven Gundry, you can find him
1130
01:01:51,989 --> 01:01:54,840
on YouTube, you can read his
books, his books have good
1131
01:01:54,850 --> 01:01:59,040
information about lectins. The
most famous lectin is gluten. By
1132
01:01:59,050 --> 01:02:01,870
now, I think we've all heard
about gluten. Almost everyone
1133
01:02:01,879 --> 01:02:04,899
knows someone who's has a gluten
sensitivity or gluten allergy or
1134
01:02:04,909 --> 01:02:07,770
even has celiac disease. In
which case, ingesting gluten can
1135
01:02:07,780 --> 01:02:08,590
be life threatening.
1136
01:02:09,449 --> 01:02:13,570
Does that mean you can't eat
plant foods? Not necessarily.
1137
01:02:13,800 --> 01:02:16,419
First of all, there's some
plants that the there's some
1138
01:02:16,429 --> 01:02:19,389
plant foods that the plant wants
you to eat, namely the fruits,
1139
01:02:19,399 --> 01:02:21,979
right? So fruits are there to
kind of tempt animals to take
1140
01:02:21,989 --> 01:02:24,620
them. And the hope is that they
will go and drop the seeds
1141
01:02:24,629 --> 01:02:28,719
somewhere and give life to a new
generation of plant, right?
1142
01:02:29,050 --> 01:02:31,719
The problem is that most of the
fruits we have today are also
1143
01:02:31,729 --> 01:02:35,419
modern innovations and they
contain far more sugar than they
1144
01:02:35,429 --> 01:02:38,979
would naturally. Right? Sugar is
a driver of all chronic
1145
01:02:38,989 --> 01:02:41,580
diseases, including heart
disease, cancer, and dementia.
1146
01:02:42,320 --> 01:02:44,879
Not all fruits are equal in the
sense that they don't all have
1147
01:02:44,889 --> 01:02:49,149
the same sugar levels. I'll put
a list to download. I'll put a
1148
01:02:49,159 --> 01:02:52,030
link below to download a list of
fruits by their sugar content.
1149
01:02:52,179 --> 01:02:55,669
And I should just say that, you
know, if you're healthy, then
1150
01:02:55,679 --> 01:02:58,879
does it make sense to try
avoiding whole fruits? Probably
1151
01:02:58,889 --> 01:03:01,739
not even the higher in sugar
ones.
1152
01:03:02,239 --> 01:03:05,969
But because so few of us are
healthy, I do advise my clients
1153
01:03:05,979 --> 01:03:10,699
to avoid the those fruits that
are higher in sugar. You can
1154
01:03:10,709 --> 01:03:13,820
also do things to remove so you
can process the food in a way
1155
01:03:13,830 --> 01:03:16,979
that you remove some or most or
in some cases, all of the
1156
01:03:16,989 --> 01:03:18,669
toxins. Actually, it's really
hard to get rid of all the
1157
01:03:18,679 --> 01:03:21,290
toxins, but you can get rid of
most of them.
1158
01:03:21,629 --> 01:03:25,189
Cooking in general, pressure
cooking in particular, even
1159
01:03:25,199 --> 01:03:28,899
something like salty food can
remove some of the toxins.
1160
01:03:29,500 --> 01:03:32,010
Unfortunately, when you do that,
so you cook food, you process
1161
01:03:32,020 --> 01:03:34,969
it, you pressure cook it,
whatever good stuff, whatever
1162
01:03:34,979 --> 01:03:37,219
nutrients was there in the
vegetables, you're removing that
1163
01:03:37,229 --> 01:03:37,810
as well.
1164
01:03:38,360 --> 01:03:41,659
So here's a paper that looks at
the data on how cooking and
1165
01:03:41,669 --> 01:03:45,479
reheating food depletes vitamin
C in vegetables in a hospital
1166
01:03:45,489 --> 01:03:47,580
setting, right? And the
interesting thing is they're
1167
01:03:47,590 --> 01:03:50,639
finding people actually getting
scurvy in a hospital setting
1168
01:03:50,649 --> 01:03:53,649
because of lack of vitamin C,
which is, you know, very rare
1169
01:03:53,659 --> 01:03:54,659
and bizarre thing to see.
1170
01:03:55,820 --> 01:03:57,689
So if you don't cook your
vegetables, so it's kind of a
1171
01:03:57,699 --> 01:04:00,530
catch 22. Right. If you don't
cook, cook your vegetables,
1172
01:04:00,540 --> 01:04:03,090
you're gonna get a dose of
poison. Right. Potentially
1173
01:04:03,100 --> 01:04:05,820
harmful plant toxins. Yes. It's
a small dose. But it's still
1174
01:04:05,830 --> 01:04:06,600
poison. Right.
1175
01:04:07,350 --> 01:04:10,449
And if you cook them, you'll get
far less of the poisons, but
1176
01:04:10,459 --> 01:04:13,780
you'll get no nourishment from
it. So, you know, to me, that
1177
01:04:13,790 --> 01:04:17,580
sounds like an extremely sad
situation. If vegetable taste
1178
01:04:17,590 --> 01:04:25,250
likes munch, two tastes like
terror with that. I'm Samir, I'm
1179
01:04:25,260 --> 01:04:27,770
a health coach, a phd student.
I'll see you next time.
1180
01:04:30,739 --> 01:04:37,050
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Wow, that
was a wealth of information that
1181
01:04:37,060 --> 01:04:43,550
you shared there. So that's, you
know, that's a taste of what you
1182
01:04:43,560 --> 01:04:49,219
offer. So, to my audience,
watching or listening, if you're
1183
01:04:49,229 --> 01:04:54,179
interested in any of that, if
you want to explore more, hit
1184
01:04:54,189 --> 01:04:57,889
up, Samir, just gonna put up his
information one more time.
1185
01:04:58,280 --> 01:05:01,290
Hit him up. You guys, the
information is on your screen.
1186
01:05:02,149 --> 01:05:05,479
If you are listening to this on
a podcast, the information is in
1187
01:05:05,489 --> 01:05:09,820
the description, but I will just
share his website. It is one
1188
01:05:09,830 --> 01:05:15,090
more time. Samir taani.net. It
is just his name.net. You can't
1189
01:05:15,399 --> 01:05:19,370
miss it. Did you wanna share
your podcast at all?
1190
01:05:20,159 --> 01:05:21,360
SAMEER DOSSANI: Sure. It's
called Recovery And
1191
01:05:21,370 --> 01:05:23,879
Transformation. If you're on,
you know, you can get it
1192
01:05:23,889 --> 01:05:26,239
wherever you listen to podcasts.
It might be a good idea to put
1193
01:05:26,250 --> 01:05:28,800
my name in there too. So, if
you, if you search Recovery And
1194
01:05:28,810 --> 01:05:31,669
Transformation and Samir Dasani,
you'll definitely get it.
1195
01:05:31,679 --> 01:05:33,800
There's some, and all of the
episodes, almost all the
1196
01:05:33,810 --> 01:05:35,739
episodes are on YouTube as well.
1197
01:05:37,100 --> 01:05:40,209
And some of those YouTube
episodes have sort of, graphics
1198
01:05:40,219 --> 01:05:42,989
and stuff to making it easier to
follow. So you can either get
1199
01:05:43,000 --> 01:05:46,239
them on YouTube or you can find
it wherever you Apple Podcast,
1200
01:05:46,250 --> 01:05:47,800
Spotify. All the usual suspects.
1201
01:05:48,070 --> 01:05:51,070
I've had some good discussions
there with you know, one of the
1202
01:05:51,080 --> 01:05:54,649
themes that came up was about
nutrition in India and how, you
1203
01:05:54,659 --> 01:05:57,919
know, this idea of India as a
vegetarian country is a not
1204
01:05:57,929 --> 01:06:01,679
accurate and b a lot newer than
people think and has to do and
1205
01:06:01,689 --> 01:06:04,800
is tied in with British colonial
history as well, for example.
1206
01:06:06,469 --> 01:06:09,560
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Wonderful.
Absolutely, wonderful. All
1207
01:06:09,570 --> 01:06:14,729
right. So the podcast again. So
Samir, you know what, let's,
1208
01:06:14,739 --> 01:06:17,520
let's, let's create a banner I
just wanna make, have the
1209
01:06:17,530 --> 01:06:24,540
visual. So, podcasts, Recovery
And Transformation, recovery,
1210
01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:32,879
transformation, trans formation.
1211
01:06:34,679 --> 01:06:35,129
That's it.
1212
01:06:36,149 --> 01:06:39,270
SAMEER DOSSANI: Yep. This is,
I'll put it, I'll put, I'll put
1213
01:06:39,280 --> 01:06:43,899
a link to the speaker and the,
if you like sorry, this is where
1214
01:06:45,830 --> 01:06:49,209
a and the Apple Podcast is here.
1215
01:06:51,219 --> 01:06:52,800
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Beautiful,
beautiful. Oh, you're on
1216
01:06:52,810 --> 01:06:57,040
speaker. Ok, great. All right.
Thank you so much for that. I'll
1217
01:06:57,050 --> 01:07:01,330
make sure to add that to that
description. All right. So it's
1218
01:07:01,340 --> 01:07:05,689
up on the screen. You guys, if
you know, you need a visual aid.
1219
01:07:05,699 --> 01:07:09,320
The podcast is called Recovering
Transformation.
1220
01:07:09,709 --> 01:07:15,310
So it's, of course, you could
find all that on the all those
1221
01:07:15,320 --> 01:07:18,590
accounts that we gave earlier,
but you could search for it
1222
01:07:18,600 --> 01:07:21,830
directly recovering
transformation and then just
1223
01:07:21,840 --> 01:07:27,219
type in his name and then OK,
and you gotta run and the
1224
01:07:27,229 --> 01:07:31,280
information is there. So I
encourage you to subscribe to
1225
01:07:31,290 --> 01:07:34,459
his podcast while you're at it.
All right, Samir. I know you
1226
01:07:34,469 --> 01:07:38,020
gotta go. I know we're over
time. Thank you for, thank you
1227
01:07:38,030 --> 01:07:38,979
for coming on the show.
1228
01:07:39,159 --> 01:07:40,330
SAMEER DOSSANI: Oh, thanks for
having me. It's been a great
1229
01:07:40,340 --> 01:07:41,979
discussion. Hope we can do it
again sometime.
1230
01:07:42,540 --> 01:07:44,489
GABRIELLE CRICHLOW: Awesome.
Awesome, of course, of course.
1231
01:07:44,679 --> 01:07:45,989
All right, I'll let you go.
1232
01:07:49,280 --> 01:07:53,060
All right, you guys thank you
again for tuning in to another
1233
01:07:53,070 --> 01:08:00,340
episode of hot topics. So let me
get my information up on the
1234
01:08:00,350 --> 01:08:05,060
screen. All right. So you guys,
let me take this time to remind
1235
01:08:05,070 --> 01:08:11,010
you who is covering hot topics.
So, where is hot topics coming
1236
01:08:11,020 --> 01:08:16,509
from? All right. So hot topics
is a production of my tutoring
1237
01:08:16,520 --> 01:08:19,410
company. A step ahead tutoring
services.
1238
01:08:19,720 --> 01:08:26,270
So if you are looking for any
kind of tutoring, any kind of
1239
01:08:26,279 --> 01:08:31,109
academic help, whether it's one
on one tutoring, test, prep,
1240
01:08:31,120 --> 01:08:36,910
college counseling, editing and
proofreading, if you're, if you
1241
01:08:36,919 --> 01:08:40,359
have a child who's struggling
with getting the homework done
1242
01:08:40,649 --> 01:08:45,240
or any kind, struggling with any
kind of learning disability or
1243
01:08:45,250 --> 01:08:50,439
just falling behind in school or
just promotion and doubt or all,
1244
01:08:50,450 --> 01:08:56,850
you know, just one complaint
after another hit us up, we can
1245
01:08:56,859 --> 01:08:57,600
help you.
1246
01:08:58,100 --> 01:09:04,819
Our website is www dot A step
ahead tutoring services.com. You
1247
01:09:04,830 --> 01:09:13,859
can also call or text us at
3477622838. It is a lot of
1248
01:09:13,870 --> 01:09:17,259
information so I won't run
through all of it. But the
1249
01:09:17,270 --> 01:09:21,569
information is on the screen
right now. If you are a video
1250
01:09:21,580 --> 01:09:25,839
person, if you are an auditory
person and you're listening to
1251
01:09:25,850 --> 01:09:28,549
this on a podcast, the
information is in the
1252
01:09:28,560 --> 01:09:29,379
description.
1253
01:09:29,799 --> 01:09:33,470
I will encourage you guys to
find us on social media and
1254
01:09:33,479 --> 01:09:37,770
follow us on our multiple social
media accounts. So just type in
1255
01:09:37,779 --> 01:09:41,700
a step ahead tutoring services
and we will pop up, just look
1256
01:09:41,709 --> 01:09:44,689
for the pencil with the gray and
black tip.
1257
01:09:44,700 --> 01:09:49,290
And that is so I encourage you
guys to follow us on social
1258
01:09:49,299 --> 01:09:52,810
media and stay in touch with us
and learn more about our
1259
01:09:52,819 --> 01:09:56,799
services. But if you are looking
for any kind of tutoring
1260
01:09:56,810 --> 01:10:02,660
service, whether that is in
person, if you happen to be in
1261
01:10:02,669 --> 01:10:06,990
the New York City area or
online, we do extend throughout
1262
01:10:07,000 --> 01:10:10,770
the United States. We are
opening up to international
1263
01:10:10,779 --> 01:10:11,589
clients as well.
1264
01:10:11,600 --> 01:10:14,810
So if you happen to be listening
or watching this in another
1265
01:10:14,819 --> 01:10:19,330
country, hit us up. Let's see
what we can do for you. But yes,
1266
01:10:19,339 --> 01:10:23,629
so we have virtual services. We
have in-person services for our
1267
01:10:23,779 --> 01:10:27,470
New York City community. But if
you are looking for any kind of
1268
01:10:27,479 --> 01:10:31,709
tutoring service, please reach
out to us. I will give the
1269
01:10:31,720 --> 01:10:33,109
website once again.
1270
01:10:33,120 --> 01:10:38,250
It is www dot A step ahead
tutoring services.com. So reach
1271
01:10:38,259 --> 01:10:44,689
out to us if you're looking for
any kind of tutoring service, I
1272
01:10:44,700 --> 01:10:50,149
also want to take this moment to
remind you, please drop a
1273
01:10:50,160 --> 01:10:53,790
comment in the comment section
below. So wherever you are
1274
01:10:53,799 --> 01:10:58,689
watching this video, leave a
comment, leave a comment in the
1275
01:10:58,700 --> 01:11:02,529
comment section or in the
comment thread, let us know your
1276
01:11:02,540 --> 01:11:04,509
thoughts about this episode.
1277
01:11:04,870 --> 01:11:09,169
What did you learn? What didn't
you learn any questions? You
1278
01:11:09,180 --> 01:11:13,740
know, or you know, if you are
annoyed and just whatever it is,
1279
01:11:13,950 --> 01:11:19,160
you know, leave your comments in
the comment section below of the
1280
01:11:19,169 --> 01:11:23,879
video. If you're listening on a
podcast, drop a rating, you
1281
01:11:23,890 --> 01:11:25,330
know, drop a rating.
1282
01:11:25,890 --> 01:11:30,089
You could also you leave your
comments in, in some podcast
1283
01:11:30,100 --> 01:11:35,450
platforms. So you know, Spotify,
good pods, give us a comment,
1284
01:11:35,459 --> 01:11:40,129
give us a rating or whatever it
is. However, you are taking in
1285
01:11:40,439 --> 01:11:46,359
the sound of my voice, however,
you are receiving my spirit, I
1286
01:11:46,370 --> 01:11:51,100
guess, you know, you know, give
us your feedback, we definitely
1287
01:11:51,109 --> 01:11:54,359
will appreciate that and it
helps our algorithm.
1288
01:11:54,459 --> 01:11:57,069
So it helps people find us
online as well. So take a
1289
01:11:57,080 --> 01:12:01,529
moment, you guys, you know, 1 to
2 minutes, you know, drop a
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01:12:01,540 --> 01:12:04,790
comment, drop a note in the
comment section, give us a
1291
01:12:04,799 --> 01:12:08,600
rating as well, so take a moment
and do that for us. Thank you.
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01:12:10,040 --> 01:12:14,339
All right, you guys that is it
for today. Thank you for joining
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01:12:14,350 --> 01:12:18,279
me on another episode of hot
topics. I look forward to you
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01:12:18,290 --> 01:12:23,859
joining me next time. Thank you
again and I am signing off. Bye.