Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!

S1E13: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Telvin Katuta Kameta of Kenya

Evan Franulovich Season 1 Episode 13

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In this our thirteenth (13th) episode, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Telvin Katuta Kameta of Kenya about his experience here at Seattle Colleges here in Seattle, Washington. 

1:26 - Introducing Telvin!

4:25 - Doing the application

5:52 - Why the U.S.?

7:08 - Why Seattle?

8:33 - Why Seattle Colleges?

11:02 - Living situation

16:11 - Visa process

24:23 - Culture shock and stuff to do

28:39 - Traveling about

33:19 - Kenyans in Seattle

34:34 - Last movie

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Evan Franulovich:

Welcome to Seattle Colleges International Programs and our show Conversations with! where we talk to people that help you understand how you too, can be an international student in the United States and why Seattle Colleges should be your first choice. We'll talk to students and staff and agents and government folks, all kinds of people about what you can expect when you're getting ready to apply or travel here, what you'll experience while you're with us, and how it can all lead to an amazing life. Don't forget to check out the Seattle Colleges International Programs website at intl.seattlecolleges.edu, where you can find a treasure trove of information about the school, the programs here and best of all, fill out and submit your application. Again, that's intl.seattlecolleges.edu. Hey, it's Evan Franulovich. here coming to you from Seattle, Washington again. And I'm really excited because today we have... we have Telvin Kameta with us, a student from...

Telvin:

Kenya.

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah, he's one of our international students from Kenya. So welcome.

Telvin:

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure being here.

Evan Franulovich:

That's great. You are our first student that has done a podcast from... from anywhere in your region, really. So that's very exciting.

Telvin:

It's a privilege.

Evan Franulovich:

Well tell us all about yourself, because you and I have barely talked. So I don't really know much about you. Tell us where you're from, what you're studying, just some of your background.

Telvin:

So I'll start off with my names. My name is Telvin

Evan Franulovich:

Well, let's go back just a little bit to where Katuta Kameta. I'm an international student at Seattle Central College majoring in computer science. And it's... I recently came in the year 2021 of September, and I have been you were getting ready to go to the United States. So, you're pursuing Computer Science at Seattle Central College. It's it's been a journey, to be honest. But sticking to more about me, it's also personally been a journey for me too. Beginning with the whole culture shock, and just moving away from my parents. Physically, it was it was a big move personally. But I believe I was prepared. And I was, you know, trained for these moments. And I put on my big boy pants and got on a plane, and... sitting around in your, in your city, and you're thinking to yourself, "I think I'd like to go to school in the United States." Or did one of your parents say, "Hey, I think you need to go to the United States." How did it evolve like...?

Telvin:

It's been a... it's been a long term plan from when I was a junior, when my parents first moved me away from [?] primary, which is the Kenyan system of the 844. And they moved me into the IB, which is the International Baccalaureate system where that truly changed my entire life. Together with my sister, once I've gotten into that system, your whole life just changes, be it your characteristics, be it how you look at the world, be it how you speak, be it how you present yourself, just the small minor details about you just change for the good. And with all that it does prepare you to come to Kenya... to come to the United States. And it gives you that hope and dream that yeah, it's very achievable. It's not, you know, a whole 1000 miles away, rather just an application away. But you still have to do though, the steps towards that.

Evan Franulovich:

Sure. So when you did your application, did you do it yourself? Or did you have an agent?

Telvin:

I did my application all by myself but the school does provide different university fairs where you you get the chance to go to the different universities that come to showcase themselves and you get the chance to talk to them. Plus, there are also some small groups in Kenya where - not really small but - I know one is Serv where they do care for children for free, absolutely free, for any students that want to study abroad. They do everything between the application to sending of the documents to helping you draft your application... Like everything, personally.

Evan Franulovich:

So when you say 'Serv', is that 'S e r v'?

Telvin:

'S e r v'. And I'm pretty sure there's another study, there's another study abroad cause and... yeah, so there are partners in Kenya that do actually help with coming to America, but the process can also still be done entirely by yourself. With the education system that you take, it's, that's, that's where I got all my training from.

Evan Franulovich:

Okay, so you... so you said, "Okay, I'm gonna go to the United States", or did you consider other places? Did you think maybe Canada, maybe Australia?

Telvin:

Oh, yeah.

Evan Franulovich:

Why did you choose the United States?

Telvin:

Um... it's, it's a land of opportunity, to be honest. There's, there's a lot to be said about the United States and for it to be said.. and for it to, to have as much power and as much weight, you will definitely have that ambition and that urge to actually come and experience it for yourself. And I believe throughout the years, while I was also studying and everything that we were doing, it was it was in a wider, like, compared to what we were taught in the 844 system, our mind was was brought in internationally, which allowed me to think yes, United States, it's so close to me, and I definitely can't go there be one of them. I can go to Canada, I can go to Australia, and all these different countries and school day, I did have an option to go. But I still chose United States because it's the land of opportunity.

Evan Franulovich:

The land of opportunity. That's right. So but then the land of opportunity is a very big place. It's got Florida, New York, Los Angeles, California, Nebraska... Why Seattle?

Telvin:

Why Seattle... While doing my research, knowing that I'll be taking the course that I'll be doing computer science, Washington was the leading... one of the leading states in in the United States, which had very good computer science.

Evan Franulovich:

That's true,

Telvin:

You know, pathline... And big companies. I can just... Microsoft and Amazon at the center base of Seattle. And with all that comes computer science, and this is the home of it. And it's just basic. You have to be prepared. You have to do your research prior to it. So that, you know, be it the weather... I wasn't so happy about the weather. I knew this is where computer science is going to be taking me and I still had to come.

Evan Franulovich:

But you've been outside today?

Telvin:

I've been outside. Yes.

Evan Franulovich:

It's a beautiful day today.

Telvin:

Oh, yes. The weather does. It has its days. Very good days, rainy days. But when the sun does plan to come out, Oh, yes. It shines so bright.

Evan Franulovich:

Right. I mean, it's not Nairobi.

Telvin:

It's not Nairobi. It's not Mombasa. Definitely, it's it's beautiful - blossoming trees, beautiful people. Like it's, it was beautiful.

Evan Franulovich:

Nice. Okay, so you decided to come to Seattle but you know, Seattle has a lot of different institutions. They've got universities and colleges. Why did you choose Seattle Colleges? How did you hear about us? Because what I understand is we really haven't had much of a presence in Africa up till now. When they hired me, they said, "You're going to be in charge of Africa." So we haven't like gone to those fairs. So how did you hear about us, and...

Telvin:

This, this was, over online research. Because yet again, from my high school, we were taught be it doing your own research, because we always had four different stands, every single assessment that we do, we will broken it down into four be it... so the first one is doing your research, which is developing ideas, doing the action plan and doing your reflection. So in life, it's just always all those four concepts and with my research, I stumbled upon Seattle Central College, because personally, I also didn't get the best grades out there. And Seattle Central College was one of the... I can say few or many colleges that do accept, you know, a wide variety of it doesn't really matter what you got in high school as much... You still have to do your work but...

Evan Franulovich:

Sure. Yeah, yeah.

Telvin:

They'll still boost your your ability to come here and, you know, still have that second opportunity or still fast opportunity to pursue it.

Evan Franulovich:

That is one of the great things about coming to school at Seattle Center... Seattle Colleges

Telvin:

Can start afresh. Can start all over from here.

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah, not all students are at the top of their class. There's a lot of people in the middle where their grades are just...

Telvin:

...the bottom. And it's it's so okay, because it's, the community is amazing. It's a very, it's not, I wouldn't call it a big college where you're gonna meet 100 people a day. It's very community based, and they're still different types of characters, people that you'll still meet out there. And that's, that's the beauty of it. You get out there, learn and

Evan Franulovich:

So your classes are here at Central? adapt.

Telvin:

Yes.

Evan Franulovich:

So do you live near Central?

Telvin:

I actually don't live too near. I live about 30 to 40 minutes away, which is a whole commute. And I enjoy it because I take the train every day see the beautiful city from near the Soto train station. It's, it's amazing, and...

Evan Franulovich:

So that means you go south?

Telvin:

I always go south.

Evan Franulovich:

Okay, I go north,

Telvin:

I always go south. So...

Evan Franulovich:

And you have an apartment? What do you have?

Telvin:

I do have my own, I have a house, it's a big house and it's a shared space.

Evan Franulovich:

Oh cool.

Telvin:

So, for example, you can have a big five bedroom house that a particular person owns. And each and every bedroom is owned by each different individual. But you will have space shared with the bathroom, the kitchen. And yeah...

Evan Franulovich:

That's kind of cool. Are the other people in the house students?

Telvin:

They can be... I haven't really communicated with them as much as I would like... But yes, they are working, the students and I know one of them is a reserve army. And they're just the all sorts of characteristics that you meet. And it is it's just so random. And your mind just has to be to be willing to, to accept and learn. And...

Evan Franulovich:

Well, how did you find out about that housing option?

Telvin:

The housing option... online.

Evan Franulovich:

All online, ok.

Telvin:

Everything online. So I did my own research from online. Plus, I also got a bit of help from the school's website, where we have a housing resource whereby you go into the website, say that you're looking for a house, and there are different websites where the school advertises these different websites, so that they are reliable to for students to actually and they are affordable for students, because they are people who have been there and the people who have given positive feedback... You know, and there's good history with them. And the school does provide amazing resources in that part. When it also comes to food and pantry, cooking for myself, it's kind of been tough with the whole time planning as a student but with meal planning and... it's all about planning. Meal planning and school resources too in the pantry. It's it's been amazing.

Evan Franulovich:

So how old were you when you arrived?

Telvin:

I was 20 years old.

Evan Franulovich:

20 years old. So you've been here a couple years. So you must be getting close to transferring to your next institution.

Telvin:

Oh yes. I am about 40... about 40 credits. I should be further ahead but I'm about 40 credits away to complete my associate's degree here so that I'm able to transfer into the last two years of college to... rather, the last few years of uni. So I'm just trying to get around the different credits that I'm still yet to get and, and at the same time, I'm also still looking at the different universities as I'm meant to do like my applications.

Evan Franulovich:

Right. Sounds like you do your research, so that's good.

Telvin:

Yeah. So it's... yeah.

Evan Franulovich:

Did you... Usually, it only takes a couple years to finish up an associate's degree but you've been here that amount of time... Did you start in the Intensive English Program, and then start doing college classes after that?

Telvin:

No. I began... I... before leaving Kenya, I did my SATs which is one of the exam... international exams that is required, which is either SATs, which is all definitely available in Kenya, or specific locations and I know there is another one for TOEFL which I just recently found out when I was doing the whole application but... I did SATs and I got my minimum requirements for my English, so I didn't have to do... I just went straight into college classes.

Evan Franulovich:

Straight into college classes. That's really

Telvin:

And then there was... the first quarter was a small cool. introduction class into research and college life, just how a student is meant to carry themselves with assignments and what to do, how not to cheat, you know, how to write your essays, and just finding yourself first and identifying yourself first, before actually taking that long walk into the college life. In that class, the introduction class into college really, it helped me understand myself more than... more than I did before. Yeah.

Evan Franulovich:

Well, a lot of our students, especially around the Middle East and Africa, they are concerned with the visa process. So can we go back and talk a little bit about your experience, you know, they worry about the interview. In fact, I just had a, I had a girl who was in... who was in Kenya, actually. And she went to her visa interview, and she didn't pass her interview. So she's going to have to try again. Tell us about your experience, the application process, going to the embassy, I assume or consulate and then you doing the interview. Tell us your experience.

Telvin:

The experience... It was, it was quite a rush, I can It was a rush on my end. I did... I did my... I got my say.

Evan Franulovich:

It was it rush! passport during I did my whole password during the whole COVID period which was... it was just wow. But once I got the passport, the application was smooth from there. I went online, I got the required document... there are certain documents that you're meant to get. Like the I-20 form.

Telvin:

The I-20 form, which is but even before that, there are some documents for applications so that you can actually go to the embassy. Um, I'm not quite sure but I guess it's like a... I don't know if it's I 90... it's not I-90 for that. I might be mistaken. But...

Evan Franulovich:

I know you go on the State Department website. And then you can...

Telvin:

Yeah, there's two certain documents you're meant to pay for just so that it's like an application fee for your visa. And then once that's done, you move forward with it. You do your details, personal information, contact information. And it will all be done under one thick document. And that's that's your golden ticket right there. And once you've gotten that, beyond that, it's setting your time to meet the... to go to the embassy, which is it's a long waiting time. So if you're planning on...

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah, how long was your waiting time?

Telvin:

The waiting time? I think it was about three, four months, ... three, four months. By the time I did my application, then the waiting time to book the interview to come to Nairobi to go to the embassy it was three months.

Evan Franulovich:

Oh my gosh.

Telvin:

And in those three months, it was about... it was shy a few days before the opening day of Seattle Central College. So when I say intense, it was... it was a rush. It was intensive rush. And yeah, I did my paperwork. I did. It was still the COVID period. So I had to do my whole COVID tests and results and you know, and...

Evan Franulovich:

But you were at the embassy in person sitting with an interviewer?

Telvin:

I was sitting with the interviewer, but before before all that you're meant to have all these different, your financials with you. You're meant to have your acceptance letter from the school, you're meant to have your I-20 It's as good as the acceptance letter, but it's it's a whole different you know,

Evan Franulovich:

Probably your passport.

Telvin:

Your passport, you're meant to bring you're meant to also bring... Yeah, just a couple of documents, but it's a file, it's a whole file. And once you're there, be confident. Be clear with your words. If you actually do not understand their question, be very genuine and say, kindly rephrase or, like, repeat that again. Don't think that you know too much, but go there well versed with your information about where you're going, just just know your information have the information at hand, because they ask you very random, very random questions.

Evan Franulovich:

What did they ask you specifically?

Telvin:

Um, I remember one question is, like, "Why? Why are you going? Why you're going to study?" Or rather? A complicated question was, "What's one reason that will make you come back to Kenya?" So you're gonna go there, you're gonna finish your studies. But what's that one reason you're gonna have so that you come back to Kenya? And I had to give my reasoning, had to be polite, it had to be very genuine. And yeah, I just said I needed to come back and build Kenya for with the amount of knowledge that I'll have gained from there. And...

Evan Franulovich:

And did you find out right away, right then that you got the visa? Or do they wait, make you wait a day or two?

Telvin:

I actually got a yellow paper. A yellow paper is like, it's like, you're good but there's a document missing. So just take this. This is like your ticket to come back in. So it's, it's like right in the middle. It's not a red paper, or it's not a green paper, just a yellow. When I received my yellow paper. I was told to, to refine a couple of... I think it was a financial document. Just go back, make sure this is in order, and then come back to us.

Evan Franulovich:

That's great.

Telvin:

And I did so. And with all that that was done, handed in my passport, I forfeited my passport, came back to it two days later, and had my visa, and I had my visa stuck on it left the embassy.

Evan Franulovich:

That's really cool.

Telvin:

Yeah. And I'm not even kidding... Three, three days later, on a flight to Qatar to Seattle.

Evan Franulovich:

Three days later! That is pretty intense.

Telvin:

About three days... my visa stuck on the passport.

Evan Franulovich:

So were you nervous? Or were you excited?

Telvin:

I was... the interview, I was so nervous. Because the two people in front of me, the three people in front of me, they looked so confident and but they all got yellow slips. And you could see them. It's not that it's like a box where you can you it's hidden, but you could see them being handed the red slip, and you can't really do, you can't do much about it. Once you're there, you're there. Please be be genuine and be passionate about what you're going there for. And beyond that, it's...

Evan Franulovich:

That's all really good advice. So what we tell students, if you're out there listening, you know, show up to your interview, well prepared, like understand your financial plan backwards and forwards,

Telvin:

And be there maybe even 45 minutes before time.

Evan Franulovich:

Be early. Yes, that's really great. Have all your documents together in one easy to find... They want to they want to really see that you have a good plan, like I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this and then I'm going to come they really want to know about you coming back. So that's interesting. You said that,

Telvin:

It's all about the plan. And I think I've mentioned throughout this whole interview about planning, planning and planning, like there's always, even if one point doesn't work, believe me, they you always have to have a plan B. And that plan B has to have a plan. It has to have a follow through plan.

Evan Franulovich:

So you said your sister is in the United States as well. Is she older or younger than you?

Telvin:

She's older than me.

Evan Franulovich:

She's older. Okay.

Telvin:

She she came two years before me.

Evan Franulovich:

That must have helped you a little bit, right?

Telvin:

Yeah, it helped me majorly.

Evan Franulovich:

Right, cause you know what to expect.

Telvin:

She threw everything at me, you know, like, this is what you're gonna do for computer science. These are all the assessments and this is what you need to look out for once you get to college. It's gonna be this busy so you need to find this advisor. Please talk to them, be best friends with them. I got the insights of it and and getting here it was it was actually it was beautiful. Oh, yes.

Evan Franulovich:

You mentioned earlier... you mentioned culture shock. So you must have had a vision in your mind about what the United States would be like and then when you actually get here to experience it what was the difference between what you thought it would be and what it actually was?

Telvin:

In in laymen terms, it was a movie. It was...

Evan Franulovich:

A movie?

Telvin:

It was whatever you see in the movies, is exactly what you see in like just expected. Like I wouldn't say expect expect nothing but expect it. It's like... the different vast of students you can easily get in a class, you can walk in a corridor, you find someone speaking one language, you walk literally few feet down the, you know, you find someone else speaking a different language, you turn, it's all different and you really have to be 100% present, 100% sober to actually be there. You know, and, and just appreciate it. If you come and just like judge and you won't find the beauty of it, because there's always a beautiful side to the story and there's always the bad, but if your head is always shaped to find the positive, the bad will always be at the back totally forgotten. It's always the beautiful side.

Evan Franulovich:

Nice. And people have been friendly? Americans have been...

Telvin:

Absolutely friendly.Very friendly. They're passionate about about helping, really very, very passionate about helping,

Evan Franulovich:

Have you traveled outside of Seattle too, like out into the countryside? Have you gone up to the mountains? Have you seen the snow?

Telvin:

I haven't... I've seen the snow. The first new experience was in Michigan when I went to see my sister. But outside Seattle, I haven't done much exploiting, just going to Michigan. Visited my sister and come back, and beyond that, not not much. Maybe just the different parks. The different holidays I've experienced here. It's it was it was good.

Evan Franulovich:

Well what do you do for fun within Seattle?

Telvin:

Within Seattle? It's eat.

Evan Franulovich:

Eating. Good eating here.

Telvin:

Food, food, food food. There's a lot of food. I do shopping. Oh my god, thrift shops everywhere.

Evan Franulovich:

Thrift shops are great.

Telvin:

It's literally... I think people back at home will understand the word 'Congoaire'. In Nairobi, it's usually'gikomba' they say 'gikomba' it's, it's like a rural market where people go buy clothes for cheap, cheap, cheap is literally thrift shop of Kenya.

Evan Franulovich:

Right. That's cool.

Telvin:

That's thift shops... I will also get electric scooters, they're just...

Evan Franulovich:

Just cruise around?

Telvin:

Just cruise around.

Evan Franulovich:

Are you into sports? Have you seen any of the sports...

Telvin:

Oh yes, I do go to the field. There's a field, which is always... okay, not really always but during the evening hours always occupied. And they always have a system. It's like a certain time you'll always find people playing Frisbee. And as the time fades away, you'll find switching of sports to football with just a section.

Evan Franulovich:

When you say football you mean 'soccer'.

Telvin:

Soccer.

Evan Franulovich:

Okay. Yeah, sure. Yeah.

Telvin:

They call it 'soccer'.

Evan Franulovich:

Hey, when's Kenya going to get into the World Cup? Come on.

Telvin:

Come on. Kenya...

Evan Franulovich:

There's so many other countries from Africa that are making it.

Telvin:

Maybe if I go back and play for them.

Evan Franulovich:

Right? I think so.

Telvin:

Mabye. But yeah, it's it's been good.

Evan Franulovich:

That's great.

Telvin:

A lot of sightseeing. World's first Starbucks.

Evan Franulovich:

Oh, yeah. Good.

Telvin:

Space Needle. Like train... like just even having just going by the train every single day. It's not something you experienced. Because in Kenya, there's just one train - Mombasa to Nairobi. And it's like a whole six hour.

Evan Franulovich:

Oh, yeah, it's a big country.

Telvin:

Yeah. So it was good.

Evan Franulovich:

From Seattle you can go to Vancouver, British Columbia and on the Canada side you can go by train. Have you been to Canada yet?

Telvin:

Are you serious?

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah, they just started that. There's a Amtrak train you can catch here in Seattle and then take you right up into Canada.

Telvin:

Do you need any sort of like document?

Evan Franulovich:

Well, you have to have a passport and I don't know what the rule is for Kenyan citizens with Canada. I don't know if you need a visa or not to go to Canada, but if you I mean you could apply for a tourist visa and then you can go visit. It's really...

Telvin:

Because I've had I have a couple of friends who you know instead of coming to America, they went to Canada And they've been telling me and I recently they also told me that there's a ferry... Is it a ferry or cruise ship that goes......round Yeah. From here to Canada... like Whoa.

Evan Franulovich:

Ferry. Yeah, you can catch the ferry, I think in here in Seattle actually... it'll take you to Victoria or...

Telvin:

I was also trying to learn into like do they actually need the visa?

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah but I don't think it's very difficult to get and then with your i 20 you need to have the International Programs office sign it to...

Telvin:

I went back to Kenya. I think it's still valid. I went back to Kenya. I think the signature is valid for like a... is it a year or six months?

Evan Franulovich:

I think it's a year.

Telvin:

It's a year. Yeah. So it's still...

Evan Franulovich:

Still valid, yeah. Yeah, so just get your visa. We recommend all our international students one of the great reasons to go to school in Seattle is we're right close to Canada. So you can have two country experience. You can get some of your you know, there's a lot of international students that want to go but you know, they don't want to go by themselves. So it's easy to make friends.

Telvin:

I'm gonna try that in class. I'm also trying to maybe come up with like, a Unity Fair tabling, where I'm trying to plan for students, staff, or any member of Seattle College if they want to try and come to Kenya.

Evan Franulovich:

Cool.

Telvin:

There's there's a whole infan... what's the word?

Evan Franulovich:

I don't know.

Telvin:

Let me let me try and get that email. One second...

Evan Franulovich:

The Unity Fair is coming up here in the spring, and you're gonna have a table just promoting travel to Kenya?

Telvin:

Oh, yes, I'm gonna try and promote travel to Kenya. So it's it's getting an itin...

Evan Franulovich:

Itinerary.

Telvin:

Thank you. For about 10... 10 days, 10 to 12 days trip of Kenya. And I'm pretty sure that we will extend it to different East African countries that are just bordering, but the main goal is to continue a trend or bring something new because I don't think there's in the history of Seattle has ever been someone trying to bring students or their staff members to their country. You know, like in a in a majority in a big number. And I would really love to be the first because I've I vote for Kenya. Always. I vouch for Kenya. It's it's beautiful. Culture, food, street life...

Evan Franulovich:

Okay, food. Let's talk food very quickly. We're wrapping up here soon. But I'm going soon. Like, what's the one dish I really need to try when I'm in Kenya?

Telvin:

It has to be Ugali. It has to be Ugali.

Evan Franulovich:

And what is Ugali?

Telvin:

Ugali... It's maize flour. Okay, that's yeah, it's just maize flour. You put it in hot boiling water, the water has to be boiling. As you stir it up, stir it up, as it gets thicker and thicker and thicker until it becomes it's not really too solid, but it's nice and soft. And then you just take a scoop of it. Take it with your kale is Yeah, which is what we call Sukuma wiki. Kale. And some chusi, which is now some source or stew, and just have it.

Evan Franulovich:

Sounds good. Is there... Is there any good Kenyan restaurants in Seattle? Or East African restaurants?

Telvin:

I've been to one Kenyan restaurant is called Safari in Jama.

Evan Franulovich:

Is it pretty good?

Telvin:

And I live... I live about I take eight minute walk to the restaurant. I live eight minutes away from the restaurant, which Life's been good.

Evan Franulovich:

So it's good food? They do a good job?

Telvin:

Oh, yes, they do a good job. Yeah.

Evan Franulovich:

Have you met many other Kenyans? I know we have other Kenyan students here at Seattle Colleges. Have you That's cool.

Telvin:

So students who have friends from U-DUB, we met up at met them? Yes. I have. Maybe a handful. Okay, maybe a handful to you know, it's starting to spill over to the other hand, but a handful. Excuse me. I met a couple, I was actually able to meet a couple through clubs, clubs and events. I was also able to meet a couple through social gathering with other a social gathering and introduced me to... appreciate college mates. it.

Evan Franulovich:

That's cool.

Telvin:

And yeah, it's it. You get the opportunity to meet them as much as they live north and south, like so far north so far south. But the central, it's so rare, but it's it's beautiful once you've actually seen and talked to them.

Evan Franulovich:

Yeah. Well, we're really trying to make an effort to attract more people from that part of the world. You know, whether it's Tanzania or Malawi or Congo.

Telvin:

All are welcome. All will be welcome with full arm and support.

Evan Franulovich:

I agree. Well, gosh, last question... What's the latest movie you've seen here?

Telvin:

Oh, I'll... the last movie I went to see was at the AMC Theater, which was the 'Ant Man and Wasp'...

Evan Franulovich:

You saw 'Ant Man'.

Telvin:

I saw 'Ant Man and Wasp' on the debut... the premiere.

Evan Franulovich:

What did you think?

Telvin:

It was... Amazing.

Evan Franulovich:

Okay, cool.

Telvin:

It was amazing.

Evan Franulovich:

I have not seen it yet.

Telvin:

What?? You have to. I just can't wait for the whole trilogy to just keep on keeping on.

Next up:

John Wick.

Evan Franulovich:

John Wick, yeah. It just came out this weekend. So... I'll have to check it out, I guess.

Telvin:

Definitely.

Evan Franulovich:

Well shoot, it's been really great visiting with you. Thanks so much for coming on.

Telvin:

I appreciate it so much.

Evan Franulovich:

Share your story with some of the people back in East Africa when I'm there soon, probably in about a month or so. So

Telvin:

I really hope they receive this message with open arms, open mind and just do the work. Do the planning, do the research and believe in me. You might be the next person.

Evan Franulovich:

Seattle Colleges! Cool. All right. Well, thanks so much. Have a great week.

Telvin:

I appreciate it.

Evan Franulovich:

Talk to you later.

Telvin:

You too. Thank you.

Evan Franulovich:

Conversations with! is painstakingly crafted for you by the Seattle Colleges International Programs department and supported by the lovely folks here on our campus. This show is produced and edited by me Evan Franulovich. We welcome your emails and questions about coming to Seattle Colleges. Please reach out to us via our website or just give us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts as this helps others discover the show. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, or YouTube at SeattleCollegesIntl, that's SeattleCollegesIntl, and be sure to check out all of the shows here on Conversations with! Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.