S3E31: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Josefine Nilsson of Sweden

In this our thirty first (31st) episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Josefine Nilsson of Sweden about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Josefine!

Copyright © Seattle Colleges International Programs 2023. All rights reserved. For more information about being an international student at Seattle Colleges, please visit intl.seattlecolleges.edu

The theme music 'Bounce' is an audio file pursuant to the Pixabay License as defined in the Pixabay Terms of Service available at https://http://pixabay.com/service/terms/

Also, connect with us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) at
SeattleCollegesIntl

Transcript

Evan Franulovich  0:05  
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 everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' We are here at Seattle Central again. Yeah, we spent a lot of time at Seattle Central trying to get to North and South. But yeah, we're here today because we wanted to welcome our very first guest from the country of...?

Josefine Nilsson  1:25  
Sweden. 

Evan Franulovich  1:26  
Sweden! Our second Scandinavian guest. 

Josefine Nilsson  1:29  
I was only the second? 

Evan Franulovich  1:32  
We did Norway. We had someone from Norway on the show. But you're our first Swedish guest, welcome! 

Josefine Nilsson  1:37  
Same but different.

Evan Franulovich  1:40  
Big border, yeah. Well, welcome! Can you tell everybody who you are exactly, where you're from, maybe even what city you're from, what program you're here for, and how long you been here?

Josefine Nilsson  1:54  
Yeah, absolutely. So I'll say my name in Swedish. 

Evan Franulovich  1:57  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  1:58  
So in America, people call me Josefine, but the pronunciation in Swedish is  Josefine. So I grew up in a smaller town outside of Gothenburg called Hampstead, so before I moved here, I actually lived in Gothenburg for a year. 

Evan Franulovich  2:15  
Oh, okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  2:17  
I moved to Seattle in September last year, so I've been here since the fall quarter. And I'm enrolled in the Business Technology Management Program.

Evan Franulovich  2:26  
Popular course for the international students. 

Josefine Nilsson  2:29  
They have different ones. I know they have one that you can transfer to a university. 

Evan Franulovich  2:35  
Oh, yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  2:36  
But I'm doing the two year like career training program. 

Evan Franulovich  2:38  
Great, yeah. Because you already have a bachelor's degree? 

Josefine Nilsson  2:42  
I do. 

Evan Franulovich  2:43  
So where did you do your bachelor's degree?

Josefine Nilsson  2:45  
I did it in Sweden. Yeah, I went to university for three and a half years.

Evan Franulovich  2:52  
And so you finished over there, you got your diploma. And then how long between when you got your diploma there until you graduated?

Josefine Nilsson  3:00  
I graduated in January of 2019, so I worked for like almost six years. I worked as a kindergarten teacher for a couple years, and then I also taught like first grade for a couple years. 

Evan Franulovich  3:16  
Right. 

Josefine Nilsson  3:16  
But then I just felt like I want to do something new. I always wanted to study abroad. I did a semester in Miami, like an English course. 

Evan Franulovich  3:24  
Cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  3:24  
I took a gap semester when I went to university because I was, I don't know if I want to be a teacher. I really liked it, but Florida is so different from Seattle.

Evan Franulovich  3:40  
Well, very different from Sweden, too. Oh my gosh. 

Josefine Nilsson  3:44  
Yeah, and I wanted to do something new, so I moved to a new city. I do love it. It didn't  end up being what I wanted. So I was like, I want to do something new. I want to change my career before I turned 30. So this year, so I applied for school here and took a chance. 

Evan Franulovich  3:44  
How did you hear about us? 

Josefine Nilsson  3:46  
It's so funny, because I went through an agency when I applied for school here. So I was just like scrolling through colleges in America, and I found Seattle, and Seattle is such a metropolitan when it comes to like IT. 

Evan Franulovich  4:24  
Yes, it's true. 

Josefine Nilsson  4:25  
So I thought it's a great place to be. 

Evan Franulovich  4:28  
Good spot. No family here? 

Josefine Nilsson  4:31  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  4:31  
Wow. 

Josefine Nilsson  4:32  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  4:32  
So you're all by yourself. 

Josefine Nilsson  4:34  
I am.

Evan Franulovich  4:34  
Oh, scary. Were you nervous when you came over? I mean, you have been to Miami. 

Josefine Nilsson  4:39  
Honestly, I wasn't. I mean, it's always a little nervous, moving to new country and get to know new people. But overall, I was excited to do something new, you know? 

Evan Franulovich  4:52  
Yeah, yeah. So you were in Miami for six months. So what was that? I mean, it is a lot different. But what was the experience like? How is it living in Florida? 

Josefine Nilsson  5:04  
I mean, I was 21. 

Evan Franulovich  5:05  
So you were younger, free. 

Josefine Nilsson  5:08  
It was fun. I went with Education First.

Evan Franulovich  5:16  
Yeah, which is a Swedish company. 

Josefine Nilsson  5:18  
It is, yeah. So I was supposed to go to California, but they're like, Miami is so much better. Like, the weather is better there.

Evan Franulovich  5:28  
It's not, by the way.

Josefine Nilsson  5:29  
So they convinced me to go to Miami. So I went there. So I lived at school with like three other people sharing a bedroom. I couldn't forget it today. Oh my God. But it was so much fun. We had classes either like four hours in the morning or like in the afternoon, and then we just went to the beach, went to the clubs. It was like a vacation. I already knew English. So it's more like for me to just get away. 

Evan Franulovich  6:05  
So your English was at a pretty high level when you arrived in the States? 

Josefine Nilsson  6:07  
Yeah, yeah, I would say. But I would definitely also say being more confident in speaking English has definitely improved since I moved here, because I speak it every day. 

Evan Franulovich  6:18  
Sure, yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  6:18  
But of course, at times I'm still self conscious when it comes to pronunciation.

Evan Franulovich  6:23  
You've done great. 

Josefine Nilsson  6:24  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  6:26  
Well, that's really cool. So you came, you did your time in Miami, went back to Sweden, worked for those six years. And then you were like, 'Okay, change.' 

Josefine Nilsson  6:35  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  6:37  
So you found Seattle. What appealed to you, other than the entrepreneurial opportunities you might have here, about the state of Washington, about Seattle itself?

Josefine Nilsson  6:50  
It's so funny, when I moved here it was for a person. 

Evan Franulovich  6:55  
Oh. 

Josefine Nilsson  6:55  
Yeah, it didn't work out. That's life, you know? I never really like thought of Seattle. I mean, I heard of Seattle, when I think about Seattle it's Grace Anatomy. 

Evan Franulovich  7:07  
Right? Of course. I get that a lot. 

Josefine Nilsson  7:11  
So I didn't know a lot about Seattle. I mean, I've been here before I moved here. Yeah, I saw similar programs at home, I saw it here. It's a great city. 

Evan Franulovich  7:26  
Right. 

Josefine Nilsson  7:26  
And I took shot.

Evan Franulovich  7:27  
So you followed somebody here. Did you apply for Seattle Colleges before you left Sweden? Or did you apply for it once you got here?

Josefine Nilsson  7:34  
Before. 

Evan Franulovich  7:34  
Oh, you did. 

Josefine Nilsson  7:35  
Yeah, so I was back home before I applied.

Evan Franulovich  7:38  
Gotcha. So you fill out the application, you get accepted. How long between when you got accepted and when you did your visa interview? How long did it take for you to get that appointment? 

Josefine Nilsson  7:51  
Um, I applied for school in January or February, and I had my visa appointment in May, because I traveled to Seattle in April, and if I was gonna go here, I had to have my passport. And when you go to the visa interview, you have to leave your passport and wait for it, they send it back to you with your stamp and visa and everything. So I actually waited a little bit so I could just go here and not have an issue. 

Evan Franulovich  8:34  
So you wanted to come here just to check the place out? 

Josefine Nilsson  8:37  
No, I had a boyfriend here. 

Evan Franulovich  8:38  
Sure. So you wanted to come hang out with him. 

Josefine Nilsson  8:40  
Yeah, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:43  
American boyfriend? 

Josefine Nilsson  8:44  
American boyfriend, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  8:47  
And you guys met in Sweden?

Josefine Nilsson  8:48  
Online a long time ago. 

Evan Franulovich  8:50  
Fair enough. Okay, but it is interesting. 

Josefine Nilsson  8:54  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:55  
You're not the first person, I've talked to who has followed somebody here. It is very common. That's great. So when you did your visa interview, I'm guessing it was Stockholm. 

Josefine Nilsson  9:06  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  9:07  
How'd that go? How long was it?

Josefine Nilsson  9:09  
It was super easy. The thing is if you look at the embassy, as usual there's no appointments for three months, and you freak out. Oh, my God. But for me, the tip I got was go in every day and check for cancellations.

Evan Franulovich  9:29  
Right.

Josefine Nilsson  9:30  
So when I booked my appointment, it was like a month before, I think. I went up there, I had all my papers. I think the longest time actually took standing in line outside, waiting to get into the place. 

Evan Franulovich  9:46  
Of course. 

Josefine Nilsson  9:48  
One thing that I had a problem with was that, since I'm gonna be here for two years, they have a problem in their system. So when I came there, they're said 'You only paid for 18 months.' The re-entry thing on my visa, my passport. So he's like, 'You won't have your visa for two years, and then you have to pay extra for it.' I was like, 'Oh, I didn't know that.' So I ended up not paying for it because I didn't have the money at that point.

Evan Franulovich  10:23  
But you can fix that down the road, right?

Josefine Nilsson  10:25  
No, because then I have to go back to the embassy. Yeah, I didn't understand that part. So after December this year, I'm not allowed to leave the country and come back. 

Evan Franulovich  10:36  
You'll have to stay. 

Josefine Nilsson  10:37  
So I have to stay until...

Evan Franulovich  10:41  
Unless you wanted to go back yeah and do the...

Josefine Nilsson  10:44  
It's just a hassle. Take a picture and have the appointment. So check that if you're going to be here in longer than 18 months. 

Evan Franulovich  10:51  
For sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  10:52  
That you paid for the right amount of time. 

Evan Franulovich  10:56  
Good advice. 

Josefine Nilsson  10:57  
Yeah, it was really easy. They asked me why I wanted to come here, how I was gonna pay for myself? And they're like, 'Yeah, you're approved.'

Evan Franulovich  11:06  
Easy peasy. 

Josefine Nilsson  11:06  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  11:07  
Wow. From the time you got your visa till the time you got on a plane, how long did it take?

Josefine Nilsson  11:12  
Um, I got my visa. I got my passport back a week after and I came here first week of September. So, June, July, August, September. 

Evan Franulovich  11:24  
Quite a few months. 

Josefine Nilsson  11:25  
Three months later, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  11:26  
So lots of time to prepare. 

Josefine Nilsson  11:28  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  11:30  
Did you go shopping? Did you buy special things just to come here? 

Josefine Nilsson  11:34  
Yeah. Snacks and stuff like from home. 

Evan Franulovich  11:38  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  11:38  
Because, honestly, I love America, but your candy is...

Evan Franulovich  11:44  
But you just go to IKEA and buy the candy. 

Josefine Nilsson  11:46  
They don't have everything. 

Evan Franulovich  11:47  
Oh, no! 

Josefine Nilsson  11:48  
I've been to IKEA once. 

Evan Franulovich  11:55  
Bring some snacks with you guys, If you're out there getting ready to come. Bring them! 

Josefine Nilsson  11:59  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  12:01  
I've seen in Seattle, we have some European focused stores. 

Josefine Nilsson  12:05  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  12:06  
Have you checked those out?

Josefine Nilsson  12:07  
I actually went to a store in West Seattle where my friend lives. We were walking around, and I found a Swedish candy. 

Evan Franulovich  12:17  
Wow!

Josefine Nilsson  12:17  
But it was a little bit old. Yeah, still craving. But for Sweden, they had several websites where you can order to America. 

Evan Franulovich  12:31  
Oh, sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  12:31  
You have to pay a little extra for the shipping, but it's worth it, especially for Christmas, like special kitchens.

Evan Franulovich  12:38  
Okay. So what is your favorite Swedish candy, what is it called?

Josefine Nilsson  12:44  
Oh, it's black licorice. 

Evan Franulovich  12:46  
You know, who makes good black licorice is Canada. 

Josefine Nilsson  12:50  
Really? 

Evan Franulovich  12:50  
So like, when I go on road trips, I've been on the Alaska Highway five times. So we'll stop at gas stations and they have black licorice that we don't have in the US. So if you get up to Vancouver, check it out, because you you might find some good black licorice.

Josefine Nilsson  13:06  
Yeah, the only licorice I found was Australian. 

Evan Franulovich  13:10  
They do have an Australian.

Josefine Nilsson  13:13  
It doesn't taste the same. They have licorice at IKEA.

Evan Franulovich  13:16  
Oh yeah? 

Josefine Nilsson  13:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  13:17  
You just say it's not super fresh.

Josefine Nilsson  13:19  
Yeah, and it's not the best. 

Evan Franulovich  13:23  
Come on IKEA, get it together. That's funny. Well, let's go back a little bit. So when you were in Sweden as a young girl, did you go to public or private school?

Josefine Nilsson  13:36  
Public School, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  13:38  
Cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  13:40  
The thing is, in Sweden, we don't really have public and private school in that matter. Like we do, but it's not really a big choice for us, because we don't pay for school. So if you go to private schools, it still free. 

Evan Franulovich  13:56  
Well, I know in a lot of countries, they have the American School, and those are definitely tuition based institutions. They don't have that?

Josefine Nilsson  14:04  
I know before I moved, they had something that was called Swedish American High School, college or something, but you don't have to pay for it. I mean, if you want to get some private certifications. You have to pay, if you want to take a quick course or something. But other than that, the school is funded by tax money. 

Evan Franulovich  14:28  
Wonderful. Yeah, what a concept. 

Josefine Nilsson  14:30  
That's amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  14:31  
It is amazing. I mean, we don't see a lot of Scandinavian students coming over because they get free education. Yeah, sometimes they'll come for a short term certificate after they get their bachelor's degree, or to do a program like what you're doing. So, yeah, that's kind of cool. But you always knew you were interested in being an international student.

Josefine Nilsson  14:53  
Yeah, I love traveling. When I was younger, I'm very privileged that we always traveled abroad every summer. We lived two years in Thailand when I went to middle school. 

Evan Franulovich  15:06  
Why is that? 

Josefine Nilsson  15:07  
My parents, just like got tired of 9 to 5, the cold, everything, so they sold our house and we moved to Thailand.

Evan Franulovich  15:16  
Wow! 

Josefine Nilsson  15:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  15:18  
That must have been a big shocker for you. 

Josefine Nilsson  15:20  
Definitely.

Evan Franulovich  15:21  
You speak Thai? 

Josefine Nilsson  15:22  
No. I mean, I can understand a little bit when I was younger and, write my name and stuff. But no, it was many years ago, I was like 12 when we moved back.

Evan Franulovich  15:33  
Yeah, so it's you and you have brothers and sisters? 

Josefine Nilsson  15:36  
I have one younger sister and two older.

Evan Franulovich  15:40  
Oh, four kids total. 

Josefine Nilsson  15:41  
Yeah, four girls. 

Evan Franulovich  15:42  
Wow. Where are all those girls?

Josefine Nilsson  15:44  
They're old in Gothenburg. 

Evan Franulovich  15:46  
Oh, they are. 

Josefine Nilsson  15:46  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  15:47  
None of them had been international students?

Josefine Nilsson  15:50  
My sister when she went to high school, she went to a European exchange student program. So she did a semester in Paris. 

Evan Franulovich  16:01  
Wow. 

Josefine Nilsson  16:02  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  16:02  
Nice. Have they come to visit you yet? 

Josefine Nilsson  16:06  
They're actually coming in end of April.

Evan Franulovich  16:09  
Nice!

Josefine Nilsson  16:10  
I'm so excited. 

Evan Franulovich  16:11  
There you are. End of April, we will have already started our spring quarter.

Josefine Nilsson  16:16  
Yeah, my sister wanted to come here, over the years, but her fiance was like, I want to hike and stuff, so we should wait until the weather is better. 

Evan Franulovich  16:26  
Well, end of April is not going to be good enough for hiking. 

Josefine Nilsson  16:30  
No. But still get out in the nature and stuff. 

Evan Franulovich  16:33  
That's true. 

Josefine Nilsson  16:33  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  16:34  
And you know, honestly, if you go to the Olympic National Park, it's much lower elevation.

Josefine Nilsson  16:39  
It's on the list. 

Evan Franulovich  16:40  
You can go hit some of those trails, but anything up higher is going to still be snow bound.

Josefine Nilsson  16:45  
I know I did my research. I haven't actually done any hikes yet, but I'm really excited to get out there this summer. 

Evan Franulovich  16:52  
Summer is glorious, from about July on, you're good to go. Pretty much depending on where you go. Yeah, it's wonderful. Cool. And do you also paddle? Are you a kayaker or because you have 4000 kilometers of coastline? 

Josefine Nilsson  17:08  
I never done it.

Evan Franulovich  17:12  
Give it a shot. 

Josefine Nilsson  17:12  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  17:13  
Have you been on the ferries yet? 

Josefine Nilsson  17:15  
No, I'm gonna go to Bainbridge Island when they're here. Yeah, I'm gonna like do all day tours and stuff. 

Evan Franulovich  17:21  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  17:21  
I already had two friends here. 

Evan Franulovich  17:23  
Oh, you did? 

Josefine Nilsson  17:24  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  17:24  
Oh, that's great. Did they have fun? 

Josefine Nilsson  17:26  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  17:27  
Nice. 

Josefine Nilsson  17:28  
Yeah, definitely.

Evan Franulovich  17:29  
Okay. Well, cool. We want to encourage family to come visit students. So if you're out there and you're a parent, give it a thought. It's always nice to have guests, and we would love to host you here. I know there's a lot of craziness in the news right now, but honestly, let's talk about that. I don't want to get into politics too much, but we are on the West Coast. West Coast is pretty chill. I always tell students, it's pretty progressive politically. What's been your experience just in the short time you've been here? Have people been friendly, welcoming?

Josefine Nilsson  17:59  
I think people here are very friendly and very open minded. Haven't been around a bunch in America, so I can't speak for that. I feel like people here are very friendly and value diversity.

Evan Franulovich  18:19  
West Coast tends to be more progressive that way, for sure.

Josefine Nilsson  18:22  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  18:23  
I mean, there's a lot of struggle right now around the country, but I think West Coast is a really good place to be. That's cool. And so do you have plans you've been to Florida, you've been to Washington. Do you want to do a road trip on the West Coast? Or you have plans to do that kind of stuff?

Josefine Nilsson  18:39  
I've been to DC and New York. I actually did three weeks in DC, when I went to EF. A friend and I were so tired of South Beach, we wanted something genuine. So went to DC for three weeks. We need to do something else. Love DC! 

Evan Franulovich  18:40  
DC is a cool town. 

Josefine Nilsson  18:42  
Amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  18:42  
I mean, not in the summer.

Josefine Nilsson  18:48  
Oh, yeah. I went there during winter, it was amazing. Because during the day, the weather was so nice in November, but the nights were super cold, but it was worth it. 

Evan Franulovich  19:20  
So where'd you go? What'd you see while you were in DC? 

Josefine Nilsson  19:23  
All the tourist stuff. 

Evan Franulovich  19:24  
 Did you go to the White House? 

Josefine Nilsson  19:27  
Yeah. But I was so disappointed, because they were doing some construction work, so you can barely see it.

Evan Franulovich  19:32  
It's way over there. But you must have gone to the mall and saw the Lincoln Memorial.

Josefine Nilsson  19:38  
I did all of that. 

Evan Franulovich  19:39  
The Smithsonian Museum? 

Josefine Nilsson  19:43  
No.

Evan Franulovich  19:45  
 Next time, it's a big museum.

Josefine Nilsson  19:48  
I definitely want to see the Grand Canyon. 

Evan Franulovich  19:52  
Oh, yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  19:53  
It looks so cool.

Evan Franulovich  19:54  
Honestly, if you take a vacation quarter, and if you are here, you can take a vacation quarter after you do three quarters. A road trip from here all the way down to Arizona, is amazing. It's really great. The Great American Road Trip, it's for real. Yeah, done it many times. And if you get down to Arizona, you just keep going to Tucson to see my kids. They live down in Tucson, so they'll show you around. Well, cool. So you are here now. Let's get into your program a little bit. Say it again, what's the major? 

Josefine Nilsson  20:29  
Business Technology Management. 

Evan Franulovich  20:32  
So we have a lot of international students in that program. Do you know any other international students in your cohort of students?

Josefine Nilsson  20:41  
I know one, I have one friend.

Evan Franulovich  20:44  
Only one?

Josefine Nilsson  20:46  
Yeah, because most of my classes are online, or hybrid. I only have one or two classes a week on campus. So it's been really hard to make friends that are in school as well. 

Evan Franulovich  20:58  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  20:59  
But yeah, I do have friends. 

Evan Franulovich  21:01  
Yeah, of course. We understand after COVID, a lot of classes went online, and then they're slowly bringing more in person and a lot of hybrid classes. So we want people to get on campus. We want people to meet. Do you know much about the activities that are put on by the...?

Josefine Nilsson  21:19  
I know, I know. 

Evan Franulovich  21:20  
Those are really cool. I highly recommend, there's a talent show coming up. They just went on a tubing. Yeah, you've seen snow before, but you know, for students that haven't, it's amazing.

Josefine Nilsson  21:31  
I can imagine, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  21:33  
Great way to meet people. There's also on campus, they have the Spring Festival, they'll have it at each campus so you can check it out. Yeah, have you been to the other campuses at all?

Josefine Nilsson  21:45  
I've been to South. 

Evan Franulovich  21:50  
You've been to South? 

Josefine Nilsson  21:51  
Yeah, because I went with a couple of students to the MLK celebration. 

Evan Franulovich  21:55  
Cool. What do you think South? 

Josefine Nilsson  21:55  
Really cool. 

Evan Franulovich  21:59  
Yeah, it's a little more traditional. 

Josefine Nilsson  22:01  
Yeah, it's definitely more American.

Evan Franulovich  22:07  
Right, I agree. We have three campuses, if you're not aware. We have North, Central and South. We are in central. South is like lawns, and they have a Chinese Garden, and it's really nice out there, very tranquil, comparatively. Where Central is downtown part of the city.

Josefine Nilsson  22:25  
It's definitely in the middle of everything.

Evan Franulovich  22:28  
It's the middle of everything, that's right. Cafes and music and crazy people out there. 

Josefine Nilsson  22:32  
It's cool area. 

Evan Franulovich  22:33  
Yeah, I really like Capitol Hill. And North is kind of a combination of the two. It's a little bit of traditional campus, but also in the city. 

Josefine Nilsson  22:43  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  22:44  
So if you get a chance to go to North, they have a spring festival coming up in April. I don't know, I can give you the dates. It's a really fun festival to go to, and it's only two subway stops away, so it's really easy to get there. Well, let's talk about housing real fast. Oh, I didn't get to your program. I want to go back to go back to that. So are you living in an apartment? You have homestay? 

Josefine Nilsson  23:08  
I live on my own. 

Evan Franulovich  23:09  
On your own? 

Josefine Nilsson  23:10  
Yeah, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  23:11  
How hard was it to find an apartment?

Josefine Nilsson  23:13  
It wasn't hard to find one. It was hard to find an affordable place. I was looking at on campus housing, but it was cheaper for me to get off campus. 

Evan Franulovich  23:30  
I've heard of some people like going to University District and finding studios that are pretty reasonable. Where did you end up with settling which part of the city?

Josefine Nilsson  23:40  
I'm here in Cap Hill. 

Evan Franulovich  23:41  
Oh, cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  23:42  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  23:42  
Oh, so you're really close.

Josefine Nilsson  23:45  
It's just like seven minute walk. 

Evan Franulovich  23:47  
Oh, that's awesome. 

Josefine Nilsson  23:48  
It's great because it takes more like 25 minutes to walk to Pike Place Market from home. 

Evan Franulovich  23:53  
Oh, that's not bad.

Josefine Nilsson  23:55  
I love living close to everything. 

Evan Franulovich  23:57  
Right. Are you on the street car line by chance? You know the street car that goes down the street? Not ringing a bell? 

Josefine Nilsson  24:07  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  24:07  
Okay, that's cool. We have subways, we have street cars, busses. 

Josefine Nilsson  24:13  
Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I have the bus eight just stops outside of my place. 

Evan Franulovich  24:17  
Oh, nice.

Josefine Nilsson  24:18  
It's great, because where I live, I feel like all the busses connect in some way, so I'm very lucky.

Evan Franulovich  24:24  
In my opinion, Seattle is one of the better cities in the US. I mean, we have so many public transportation options. You really don't need a car if you come. I mean, it's always nice to have a car, but you can take Amtrak to all the way to LA and wherever you want to go.

Josefine Nilsson  24:41  
Yeah, you really don't need a car. 

Evan Franulovich  24:44  
That's great. Okay, so let's get back to your program. Tell us about what your program is preparing you to do exactly?

Josefine Nilsson  24:53  
That's really interesting. Because when I started, I didn't really have an idea what I really wanted to do. 

Evan Franulovich  25:01  
Yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  25:01  
I knew I wanted to change towards a office setting, like I wanted to do some kind of administration work, but I wasn't really 100% sure. So while taking courses here, I have kind of like, figured out what I want to do. I think I wanna get into HR. 

Evan Franulovich  25:23  
Cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  25:25  
Since I have a background in education, I have a bachelors, so I'm leaning towards that. There's a bunch of different things that you can do with the program. 

Evan Franulovich  25:37  
Cool. How did you come to this epiphany that HR seems like a place for you?

Josefine Nilsson  25:44  
It's so funny. 

Evan Franulovich  25:44  
Is there a particular class? 

Josefine Nilsson  25:45  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  25:46  
Okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  25:46  
It's so funny, because with my program, you have a certain classes that you have to take to graduate. So I took a class where you have to figure out what do you want to do with your life.

Evan Franulovich  25:46  
This the one that's kind of specific for international students?

Josefine Nilsson  25:55  
Not the orientation class to American college. I don't remember the name now. 

Evan Franulovich  26:16  
Okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  26:17  
Anyway, so we have a bunch of guest speakers. It's actually with Ms. Chandler in her class. So we had, I don't remember his name, he works in Elearning here. 

Evan Franulovich  26:30  
Okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  26:31  
Anyways, he was speaking about his experience working in HR. And I was like, I never thought about that. The more he went on talking about what he did and his journey. I was like, that is what I want to do. And when I started class, I was like, I already been to school, I know how to write a resume. I just had to take the class. 

Evan Franulovich  26:56  
Yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  26:56  
It's so funny that I came to the epiphany during class.

Evan Franulovich  27:03  
I taught a resume writing class when I was in China as a professor. Not every country is the same. As far as you know, in Europe, it's a CV, you have certain things you can do. And in the United States, we don't use the same kind of criteria necessarily. What did you see were the big differences between, CV's in Europe versus resumes in the United States?

Josefine Nilsson  27:28  
Um, I think when I have written a CV back home, I state where I worked and like everything that, I did at the job, but I feel like here you put all of your skills. 

Evan Franulovich  27:44  
Wow, interesting. 

Josefine Nilsson  27:45  
But think they're pretty similar. 

Evan Franulovich  27:47  
Pretty similar?

Josefine Nilsson  27:47  
Yeah, it's not a big difference.

Evan Franulovich  27:49  
So one thing I noticed that was different was, you guys will attach photos to your CV, whereas in the US, we don't do that as much. 

Josefine Nilsson  27:58  
Yeah, I heard.

Evan Franulovich  28:00  
Although, occasionally...

Josefine Nilsson  28:02  
I understand why. 

Evan Franulovich  28:03  
Oh, really? Why? 

Josefine Nilsson  28:05  
Because people discriminate, like how you look and like gender names and like all of that.

Evan Franulovich  28:12  
It's true. 

Josefine Nilsson  28:13  
I know you don't have to submit a photo, In Sweden but people do it. 

Evan Franulovich  28:19  
People do it. Yeah, and I am starting to see more younger Americans that are going into the job market attaching photos. Yeah, it's getting more common, I think. And you guys might disagree with me, put a note in the comment section.

Josefine Nilsson  28:36  
But I never thought, because we talked about that during class, that in America you don't attach photos, because I did it at my first resume that I submitted this class. 

Evan Franulovich  28:45  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  28:45  
We started talking about I was like, since I have a privilege of being white and all of that. For me, I never thought about it. But for someone else, you can easily just be discriminated, by the color of your skin. Why would you even need a picture? It should be your skills. 

Evan Franulovich  29:07  
And not just race, but I am getting ready to turn 58 years old. I mean, I look pretty young, but I'm not as young as the young people. 

Josefine Nilsson  29:18  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  29:18  
So they might see my photo and go, 'Oh, we don't want an old guy.' 

Josefine Nilsson  29:18  
Yeah, absolutely. 

Evan Franulovich  29:22  
Age discrimination or gender. I mean, there's all sorts of ways people can discriminate. I mean, people are always going to find a way to discriminate if they really want to. But yeah, having a photo on there, at least you can avoid that very first cut. 

Josefine Nilsson  29:39  
Yeah, of course. 

Evan Franulovich  29:41  
Cool, interesting. I think those cultural kinds of things are really interesting. Do you guys write letters of interest in addition to resumes, Is that something you guys do as well? Or do you just send your resume? 

Josefine Nilsson  29:55  
No, usually like a cover letter. 

Evan Franulovich  29:56  
Oh, you do send a cover letter. 

Josefine Nilsson  29:57  
Yeah, it's called like a personal letter. 

Evan Franulovich  30:01  
Okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  30:03  
It's like a cover letter. 

Evan Franulovich  30:05  
Sure, kind of introducing yourself. 

Josefine Nilsson  30:07  
Why you want to have the job, and your background in detail.

Evan Franulovich  30:12  
And as it relates to the job you're applying for.

Josefine Nilsson  30:15  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  30:16  
That's pretty common all over the place, but I've never been to Sweden, so I had to ask. Well, great. So what's been your favorite class so far? I know you've only been here since the fall of it so far. What's been your favorite class? 

Josefine Nilsson  30:30  
It's so funny, because when I started here one of the first classes I took was the Applications class. You learn about all the Microsoft Office apps. 

Evan Franulovich  30:46  
Sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  30:47  
Excel, Word and all of that. And I hated Excel, we're not friends. And then I took the data analysis and visuals class with Roberts, and it's so much fun.

Evan Franulovich  31:03  
Really? 

Josefine Nilsson  31:04  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  31:04  
So you must use Excel a lot in that class.

Josefine Nilsson  31:06  
Yeah, every assignment, and it's been so much fun. 

Evan Franulovich  31:11  
Really? 

Josefine Nilsson  31:11  
Yeah, it is so funny, because I've been complaining so much about Excel to friends and family, and you never thought I would say I love Excel.

Evan Franulovich  31:21  
Yeah. Have you been on LinkedIn? Are you on LinkedIn? 

Josefine Nilsson  31:25  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  31:25  
So on LinkedIn, there's this woman called Miss Excel. Do you know this person? 

Josefine Nilsson  31:30  
No, I don't. 

Evan Franulovich  31:30  
Oh, you should check it out. Shout out to Miss Excel. But she's a woman who lives in Arizona, and she does like these little dances, and then she introduces a concept. I mean, she does a lot of the different products, but she really focuses on Excel a lot, and she kind of makes it fun, I gotta say, because I'm not an Excel fan either.

Josefine Nilsson  31:50  
But I think it's also like, Robert is such a great teacher. I had him in the marketing foundations class as well. The way he teaches, he makes it fun and it's easy to understand as having no knowledge from the beginning at all. So I think it also depends on how the teacher is building their classes. 

Evan Franulovich  32:10  
Absolutely 100% true.

Josefine Nilsson  32:12  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  32:12  
And no matter what subject. Teachers make a big deal. I don't think I've met this teacher, so I'm not sure who that is. 

Josefine Nilsson  32:17  
Mr. Natoli. 

Evan Franulovich  32:18  
Unfortunately, I don't get to interact with much of the faculty being in marketing. Yeah, I should get out there more and just start shaking my hands. Well, there you go. You can look for his name when you're searching to for classes to register for. And you're getting ready to start spring quarter, how was the process of getting on and finding classes and registering for classes, was it challenging/easy?

Josefine Nilsson  32:45  
I think I have gotten the hang of it now. Something I wished when I started here was have a plan from the beginning. 

Evan Franulovich  32:55  
Have a good plan, yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  32:58  
Look up when the classes are only on spring, or is the class all year round? 

Evan Franulovich  33:07  
Right. 

Josefine Nilsson  33:08  
Because I did fall quarter, and I was like, 'I need a plan.' So I met with my advisor, and we were starting to look and build a plan. And I was like, I have four classes that only go through fall, so I have to take 20 credits in fall... 

Evan Franulovich  33:25  
Oh my gosh. 

Josefine Nilsson  33:26  
...to be able to graduate next summer. And that could have been avoided if I had, a solid plan and taken maybe one of those classes last fall. 

Evan Franulovich  33:37  
Oh, sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  33:38  
But I didn't know, I thought all classes went like all year round.

Evan Franulovich  33:42  
And maybe one of those classes isn't available at one of the other campuses? Because you can take classes at any of the three campuses. Did you look to see if it's North?

Josefine Nilsson  33:52  
I don't think they are.  

Evan Franulovich  33:56  
Yeah, If you are looking for a particular class and you notice at the campus you're at, that maybe it's not available. Check the other campuses. You never know. I'm sure your advisor would have point that out. Well, that's good. Yeah, self advocacy, doing your own plan. There's a catalog and electric catalog.

Josefine Nilsson  34:12  
You can check everything it's on the website. 

Evan Franulovich  34:15  
And you can look at it even before you leave your country, before you get here, which is a really smart idea. Yeah, I went to community college when I was young, and I'd never even talked to an advisor. It didn't occur to me that I talked to an advisor. So it's great to have it, but I just used the catalog, and I just charted everything out for myself, and it's helpful.

Josefine Nilsson  34:36  
Yeah, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  34:37  
 Good advice. Good to know. Oh, it's Trivia Time. All right, this is the part of the show where we ask you five trivia questions. You get them all right, get on the wall of fame. If you get any wrong, it's okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  34:52  
You're making me nervous now. 

Evan Franulovich  34:53  
I know, there will be no Swedish candies for you if you get them wrong. All right, first question: In the city of Seattle, we have a team that plays baseball professionally. What is the name of that team?

Josefine Nilsson  35:11  
Mariners. 

Evan Franulovich  35:12  
Yes, the Mariners. That's really good. And one of the student activities for the spring is going to a Mariner's game. 

Josefine Nilsson  35:20  
Oh, yeah, I saw they had one in the fall, but I couldn't go because I was moving in that day.

Evan Franulovich  35:25  
For sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  35:28  
I'm really excited for the baseball. 

Evan Franulovich  35:29  
And it's super cheap if you go with the student group. 

Josefine Nilsson  35:33  
I heard. 

Evan Franulovich  35:33  
It's really fun. I honestly haven't been with the student group, but I've been on my own a bunch of times. Actually, baseball is one of our cheaper activities as far as just going to a game. 

Josefine Nilsson  35:45  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  35:46  
All the seats are great, so I highly recommend it. So nice job. Question number two: In 2026, we are going to host six games in the Seattle area for what sport?

Josefine Nilsson  36:00  
Soccer. 

Evan Franulovich  36:01  
Yes, football, if you're from Europe.

Josefine Nilsson  36:05  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  36:06  
Sweden's got a tough team. The women are always tough.

Josefine Nilsson  36:11  
Yeah, I never watch soccer. The only time I watch soccer is during the World Cup. 

Evan Franulovich  36:18  
You'll be here for it. 

Josefine Nilsson  36:20  
Yeah, it's gonna be really fun. 

Evan Franulovich  36:22  
So we'll hope Sweden comes and plays in Seattle. 

Josefine Nilsson  36:25  
And that they win. 

Evan Franulovich  36:26  
And that they win, yeah, of course. They probably will, they're pretty tough teams. Especially the women's team.

Josefine Nilsson  36:32  
Yeah, it's gonna be fun.

Evan Franulovich  36:33  
Good job. All right. Question number three: We are on the West Coast, and there are three states along the west coast. What is the state between us and California? 

Josefine Nilsson  36:46  
Oregon. 

Evan Franulovich  36:47  
Yes, it's Oregon. Bonus question: What's the capital of Oregon? What city is the capital of Oregon? That's a really tough question.

Josefine Nilsson  36:59  
I guess it's not Portland. 

Evan Franulovich  37:01  
It's not Portland. 

Josefine Nilsson  37:01  
I have no idea.

Evan Franulovich  37:02  
It's Salem, Oregon. That doesn't count, so don't worry. Yeah, Salem, Oregon is the capital. But this one does count. Question number four: What is the capital of the state of Washington, the state you're living in?

Josefine Nilsson  37:17  
Is it Olympia? 

Evan Franulovich  37:18  
Yes, it is. Wow. That's a really hard question. Good job!

Josefine Nilsson  37:23  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  37:24  
Nice. Last question: What was the last movie you saw in the theaters?

Josefine Nilsson  37:32  
Oh, the last movie I saw. What's it called...?

Evan Franulovich  37:41  
She might miss this one,

Josefine Nilsson  37:42  
Yeah, I have no idea. Oh, it was a movie about some guy under the water and some guy got stuck there doing some construction work, and died and got back.

Evan Franulovich  37:58  
Is it 'Breathe'? 

Josefine Nilsson  37:59  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  38:00  
That just came out, right? 

Josefine Nilsson  38:01  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  38:02  
Was it scary? 

Josefine Nilsson  38:03  
It was really bad. 

Evan Franulovich  38:05  
It was a bad movie. 

Josefine Nilsson  38:06  
Yeah, I was so disappointed. 

Evan Franulovich  38:08  
All right, wait for a video before streaming it. 

Josefine Nilsson  38:11  
Yeah, don't pay for it.

Evan Franulovich  38:13  
Well, good advice. Nice job. Where did you go? Which theater did you go to? 

Josefine Nilsson  38:18  
The one in Bellevue. 

Evan Franulovich  38:19  
Oh, cool. That's kind of out of the way for you. 

Josefine Nilsson  38:22  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  38:22  
Because you're here in Capitol Hill. 

Josefine Nilsson  38:24  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  38:24  
But you can go anywhere to go see a movie. It's true. We got a lot of movie theaters.

Josefine Nilsson  38:28  
They have one in... a 50 minute walk from here. 

Evan Franulovich  38:38  
Yeah, yeah, and there's literally one right across the street from us. Yeah, they play a lot of art films in there. 

Josefine Nilsson  38:46  
Oh, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  38:47  
All right, what's your favorite Swedish film?

Josefine Nilsson  38:51  
My favorite Swedish film...? 

Evan Franulovich  38:55  
'Wine is my life as a dog.' Have you seen this movie? 

Josefine Nilsson  38:58  
I have not.

Evan Franulovich  39:02  
The director's name is Holstrom, something like that. 

Josefine Nilsson  39:07  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  39:08  
Lance Holstrom, or pretty famous Swedish director that I can't remember. Great movie, highly recommend it. We don't get very many Swedish films over here, but every once in a while you'll see them in the small independent houses. 

Josefine Nilsson  39:25  
Yeah, it's great.

Evan Franulovich  39:27  
Now we can stream everything, so it doesn't matter. Well, what do you do for fun, just out of curiosity, while you're around town?

Josefine Nilsson  39:34  
I love reading, visiting cute bookshops. I love just walking, grabbing a coffee, hanging out with friends, live music. There's so many live performances here, concerts, if you move here, your favorite artist is probably gonna come here. 

Evan Franulovich  39:53  
Probably gonna come here. 

Josefine Nilsson  39:53  
Yeah, the music scene is amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  39:56  
It's really great. Home of Nirvana, Pearl Jam. A lot of good bands. What was the last kind of live band you saw play? 

Josefine Nilsson  40:08  
I saw Fantagram a month ago. 

Evan Franulovich  40:12  
Cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:13  
They were amazing live.

Evan Franulovich  40:15  
And how much were tickets for that? Just out of curiosity.

Josefine Nilsson  40:18  
I think I paid like $60 or $70 for the tickets.

Evan Franulovich  40:23  
That's not bad. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:24  
Yeah, that's like the cheaper side of tickets here.

Evan Franulovich  40:27  
I mean, if you go to the clubs to watch... I saw a band called Bad flower, which I love, I think those are only like, $15 or $20 bucks. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:35  
Yeah, that's really cheap. 

Evan Franulovich  40:36  
It's really cheap, yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:37  
If you want to go to a bigger artist here. 

Evan Franulovich  40:40  
Right. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:41  
I went to see Sabrina Carpenter, and I didn't get tickets when they originally sold. 

Evan Franulovich  40:47  
Yeah. 

Josefine Nilsson  40:48  
I had to pay like, almost $400.

Evan Franulovich  40:49  
Oh, that's terrible. I heard people paying that much for Taylor Swift.

Josefine Nilsson  40:56  
I went to Taylor Swift as well. But in Sweden, so I didn't pay the crazy American prices.

Evan Franulovich  41:03  
Well, I have tickets to go see Simple Minds. Are you familiar with Simple Minds? 

Josefine Nilsson  41:07  
No.

Evan Franulovich  41:07  
Super popular band in the 80s and 90s. I mean, they're still popular, but probably most young people aren't as familiar with them, but if you saw the movie 'The Breakfast Club.' 

Josefine Nilsson  41:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  41:18  
You know in the end of the movie, he walks across the field. 

Josefine Nilsson  41:20  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  41:20  
That's Simple Mindset singing, so I'm pretty excited about that, but it was a little more expensive for those tickets. 

Josefine Nilsson  41:26  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  41:27  
But you don't have to pay big money. Lot of great bands, you can pay a lot less. 

Josefine Nilsson  41:32  
Look out for when they release the tickets and get a first time price. 

Evan Franulovich  41:36  
Right, exactly. What was the last book you read, just out of curiosity?

Josefine Nilsson  41:45  
I read a book by Elsie Silver. It's called Wild Rose, I think. 

Evan Franulovich  41:53  
Novel? 

Josefine Nilsson  41:54  
A romance book.

Evan Franulovich  41:58  
Oh, I don't read novels too often, but I just finished a book the other night that I really liked called the midnight library, highly recommended if you're out there. Yeah, it was really good. It's kind of this philosophical book about, what if I had taken a different path in my life? What might that have looked like?

Josefine Nilsson  42:15  
Oh, that's interesting. 

Evan Franulovich  42:16  
It's kind of cool. 

Josefine Nilsson  42:16  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  42:18  
Well, great. Well, we usually end the show. Great job on the wall of fame. What we usually do is ask you to say a few words in your first language. You know, probably a lot of people out there haven't heard Swedish before. I've only heard it a couple times. So this will be kind of it. When I was an exchange student in Europe, I was in Belgium, but my host family had a place down in South France. And when I was there, there's tons of Swedish students on hanging out on the beach, so I hung out with a lot of those guys. So we got to hear a little Swedish, but not much. So yeah, it could be like advice, or it could be just saying hi to your family, or whatever you want to say, as long as it's not dirty or will get us in trouble.

Josefine Nilsson  43:03  
Yeah, okay. *Josefine message in Swedish*

Evan Franulovich  43:12  
There it is. 

Josefine Nilsson  43:14  
Should I say what I said? 

Evan Franulovich  43:15  
Sure, if you want.

Josefine Nilsson  43:16  
I said, 'Hi. My name is Josephine. I think you should come to Seattle and study.'

Evan Franulovich  43:21  
We are a community college. Does it feel like just any other school, or does it feel very different?

Josefine Nilsson  43:30  
I feel like it's like any school. 

Evan Franulovich  43:31  
Right, right. 

Josefine Nilsson  43:33  
People are very friendly here, and I love the atmosphere when I come to school. 

Evan Franulovich  43:37  
Yeah, yeah. It's cool. I mean, a lot of people don't know what is community college, 'Is it like a high school?' It's not like high school, it's university work. I'm glad you're having a good experience. Last question, of course, there's a lot of students overseas that are maybe thinking about coming to the United States. Maybe they're really thinking about it now, given different kind of environment that we're living in, but what would be your advice, or what would you say to those students based on your experience? You've been here, you've gone through the process,

Josefine Nilsson  44:09  
I would say, when you apply for school do it on time. Have your all your papers in order, find housing, and then enjoy it. 

Evan Franulovich  44:22  
Then enjoy it. 

Josefine Nilsson  44:23  
Yeah, just come here, meet people. I met a bunch of people through Facebook. 

Evan Franulovich  44:28  
Oh, cool. That's a great idea.

Josefine Nilsson  44:31  
Whatever you into, there's groups for it. 

Evan Franulovich  44:33  
For sure. 

Josefine Nilsson  44:33  
I think the main thing, especially when you move alone is being shy, but you have to just have to put yourself out there. 

Evan Franulovich  44:42  
It's tough. 

Josefine Nilsson  44:43  
You just got to do it and you'll have the best time. Like it's just going to be so much fun.

Evan Franulovich  44:48  
Right, right. Yeah, you can get here up to 30 days early before your classes start. So I highly recommend getting here as early as possible. 

Josefine Nilsson  44:57  
Just walk around your neighborhood. For me, one of the things that has taken a long time is just like the grocery store. What should I buy? What kind of brands? I mean, everything is so different from home. Just finding a store that you're like comfortable with, you know? Find things that's comforting. Find some spots that feel like home for you, have a routine. 

Evan Franulovich  45:26  
Yes, I agree. Definitely go to orientation. 

Josefine Nilsson  45:32  
You have to.

Evan Franulovich  45:34  
It is required. 

Josefine Nilsson  45:39  
Definitely meet people there. 

Evan Franulovich  45:40  
Definitely meet people. I think that's the big power. 

Josefine Nilsson  45:43  
Absolutely. 

Evan Franulovich  45:44  
I mean, they'll give you great information, don't get me wrong. 

Josefine Nilsson  45:46  
And the best thing is when you're an international student, four or five weeks before school starts, they make a Facebook group... 

Evan Franulovich  45:55  
They do. 

Josefine Nilsson  45:56  
...with all the people, so you can say, 'Hey, anyone want to meet at that orientation?' 

Evan Franulovich  46:00  
That's a great idea. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:02  
Yeah, so you don't feel like completely alone.

Evan Franulovich  46:04  
For sure. Yeah, you can meet a lot of people before you even get here. Yeah, that's really great. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:08  
Yeah, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  46:09  
So if you are getting ready to come, look for that invite. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:13  
I think I sent an email to you.

Evan Franulovich  46:16  
And then definitely join the Facebook group, let people know who you are, when you're getting here, and look for people, it's a good idea. Any other Swedish students on campus? Have you met anybody else? 

Josefine Nilsson  46:26  
I have not. 

Evan Franulovich  46:27  
I think you might be one of our only Swedish students. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:29  
Because when I applied for school here, I went through an agency, and they told me that there was going to be another Swedish student here, but maybe they go to South or North.

Evan Franulovich  46:38  
Yeah, they could go to North or South. I haven't looked, it's not my territory. Johan might know. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:42  
I haven't really met any Scandinavian students here. 

Evan Franulovich  46:45  
Not too many. We had Norwegian students. I haven't met any Finnish students. Yeah, it's not super common, but we're glad you're here. 

Josefine Nilsson  46:54  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  46:54  
We love it! All right, guys. Well, thanks so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. She's gonna be one of our student employees. Am I right? 

Josefine Nilsson  47:04  
Yeah, just got a job. 

Evan Franulovich  47:06  
Helping us here in the marketing department. 

Josefine Nilsson  47:08  
So excited. Yeah, it's gonna be so much fun. 

Evan Franulovich  47:09  
So you had to interview, you had to apply, you had to get a social security card. 

Josefine Nilsson  47:14  
Yeah, I'm waiting for my appointment because I can't start working until I have a social security number. 

Evan Franulovich  47:19  
How long does it take to get that card? 

Josefine Nilsson  47:21  
It takes between two to four weeks after your appointment. 

Evan Franulovich  47:24  
That's not too bad. That's pretty fast. 

Josefine Nilsson  47:26  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  47:27  
Well, cool. So you're waiting. Do you know how long has it been?

Josefine Nilsson  47:33  
I don't have my appointment till next week. 

Evan Franulovich  47:35  
Okay. 

Josefine Nilsson  47:35  
Because they don't have a lot of time slots.

Evan Franulovich  47:38  
Right, right, right. Jobs are not guaranteed on campus, but a lot of people want them. So if you are interested in working here on campus, by all means, walk around, talk to other students. They know where the jobs are, get a resume in. You have to apply for jobs, go through interviews, but if you get hired, awesome. We pay over 20 bucks an hour. It's great. 

Josefine Nilsson  48:01  
It's great. 

Evan Franulovich  48:02  
It's much better than a lot of parts of the country, for sure. But Seattle is an expensive place to live, so it helps. 

Josefine Nilsson  48:07  
Yeah, have some savings with you. 

Evan Franulovich  48:09  
It's always good. And be ready. You know, if you want to find a job, try to have money to hold you over until you can find one, because it might take a few months. 

Josefine Nilsson  48:19  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  48:20  
We do have a number of jobs coming up. So if you're listening to this podcast in spring and summer, they need like five more international ambassadors. So if you're a current student, look for those jobs. If you're coming those are things to think about.

Josefine Nilsson  48:33  
They always post on their Instagram stories or like Facebook stories. 

Evan Franulovich  48:36  
That's good to know. I didn't know that. Cool. All right, don't forget to join us every Wednesday right here at 'Conversations with' where we interview all sorts of people to help you understand the process of being an international student, maybe why you might want to consider Seattle Colleges or coming to Seattle, we would love to have you. Please Like, Share and Subscribe. Thanks again. 

Josefine Nilsson  49:00  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  49:00  
Have a great weekend! 

Josefine Nilsson  49:02  
Bye!

Evan Franulovich  49:05  
Bye!

'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, TikTok or YouTube at Seattle Colleges Intl, that's Seattle Colleges Intl. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai