Love this challenge from @lonistellina to learn more about each other💕 So here are my 3 facts about me (blogpost edition)⁣

🔸 My name "Uma" is not so well known in the Western world and was mainly popularized by the American actress Uma Thurman. However "Uma" originates in Sanskrit (ancient language) and means "mother". Uma is a given name in various cultures. In India, it is the name of the Hindu goddess, who is more commonly known as Parvati. She is considered the mother of all gods. In Hindi the meaning of the name Uma is: Bright.⁣
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Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages. In Sanskrit the word umā can further mean "tranquillity", "splendour", "fame" and "peace of the night". The goddess Devī, also called Uma, is regarded as the female principle of the divine; the embodiement of the energies of the Gods, Umā is the impersonation of ‘divine knowledge’.⁣
In Hebrew, Uma means "the nation," and is therefore sometimes used for girls born on Israeli Independence Day.⁣
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My mother read the book (in german) "Eine gute Partie", meaning "A good game" by author Vikram Seth, where she first saw the name Uma, fell in love with the name and in that moment had a vision she would have a little girl with that name. Years later she had me and chose the name Uma for her first and only child. And since my father was born and raised in the South of India, Kerala (also known as the land of palm trees) where the name is quite common, it felt like the perfect fit.⁣
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🔸 Most of you know, from watching my videos that I am fluent in english. As crazy as it sounds, I even feel more confident doing presentations in english, than in my native language, german. So I get asked all the time especially from native english speakers, how I learned to speak so well and why I sound so "American".⁣
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Besides the fact that in Germany we learn basic english from 3rd grade on, I gravitated towards the english language early on and loved watching movies and series in english, at first with german subtitles and later on without. I knew I wanted to live in the U.S and at age 15 I was able to do a high school exchange year and randomly ended up in a small town in Connecticut.⁣
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This year was by far one of the best experiences in my life, I had the best host family I could have ever asked for, a true American high school experience and not only was I fluent in American english after a few months, but I also started thinking and dreaming in english.⁣
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I think it’s fascinating how the brain works! Afterwards I finished my double degree in Germany (Abitur & International Baccalaureate) where I took all classes and majors in english and continued to expand my vocabulary. I love languages and am now learning Spanish, which I understand and speak on a very basic level (since I spent a lot of my early childhood in Spain), but I aspire to speak it fluently. Afterwards I would also love to learn Italian , Japanese, basic Chinese etc. ⁣
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What's a language you'd like to learn?⁣
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🔸 I love physical activities and am not afraid to try something new. In my early childhood I tried out many different sports. I tried gymnastics, played soccer, figure ice skating in the winter, learned the brazilian martial art Capoeira and in my free time would always ride around the park on a unicycle. I even joined a local circus and learned air acrobatics. ⁣
But all of these activities didn't stick with me for very long.⁣
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I always loved to dance, but it wasn't until I took my first higher level hip-hop dance class, that I found my passion. From that moment on I was obsessed and loved training with our dance crew. We trained 4-5 days a week, on the weekends often from early in the morning until late at night. Dance was my life for 7 years and besides the benefits it gave me at the time, more importantly it shaped my entire future.⁣
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As most of you know, most of the Appics team members are former dancers and this is actually how we met. Without dance, APPICS wouldn't be here, it's what connected us all in the first place and even though dance isn't the center of our lives anymore and we're focused on business, it always holds its place throughout this journey.⁣
It's the international language everyone understands. I can't wait for the first APPICS event, when we all get to meet in person and dance together 😜⁣
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During my exchange year in the U.S I also joined the cheerleading team, track & field and dance team. From a trip to Thailand, two years ago I developed a passion for Muay Thai and most recently started incorporating Yoga into my daily routine.⁣
So what’s left?⁣
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On my bucket list of activities is that I'd love to learn how to surf (in Hawaii) and push myself to go parachute jumping!⁣
What's one activity you‘d like to learn ?⁣
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Thanks for reading and getting to know me better. Share your #3facts so that we get to know you better 💗