Master of Philology, lover of board games, and Odesa native Iryna Bazik kindly joins me to talk about her journey to becoming a Ukrainian and English teacher, fluent Mandarin speaker, and online content creator. Ira teaches us some Odesa slang, pushes back on Surzhyk haters, reveals her shocking first encounter with an American, proves that you don’t choose Mandarin, Mandarin chooses you, tells how Eurovision led her to Turkish, explores PhD plans, confesses her lifelong affinity for school and aversion to apps, shares how she (almost) got over perfectionism, relays the importance of focusing on being productive in difficult circumstances, and sketches out her 50-year plan.

https://www.instagram.com/bazikschool