Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!
Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!
S3E34: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student El Hassan El Maatougy of Morocco
In this our thirty-fourth (34th) episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Hassan about his experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States.
1:19 - Meet Hassan!
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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!' Again, we're here at North Seattle campus. Second time at North. Recently, we've done doing all of our podcasts at Central. So I'm excited to be at North. I want to welcome our guests from Morocco here. Do you want to tell everybody who you are, where exactly you're from in Morocco, maybe what you're studying, and how long you've been here?
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:32
Well, thanks for having me.
Evan Franulovich 1:33
Sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:35
My name is El Hassan El Maatougy, originally from Morocco.
Evan Franulovich 1:39
Yeah, yeah. Which city?
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:40
I live in the north of Morocco.
Evan Franulovich 1:43
Tetouan?
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:44
Tangier.
Evan Franulovich 1:44
Tangier.
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:45
But not exactly from Tangier. So it's a small town near Tangier called Larache.
Evan Franulovich 1:49
Oh, okay. So if I'm in Tangier, how far away from the city?
El Hassan El Maatougy 1:53
It will take you probably 40 minutes to get my town. Yeah, it's not so far. So we are part of of the north of Morocco.
Evan Franulovich 2:01
Right, right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:02
It's a beautiful small town.
Evan Franulovich 2:04
Yeah. If you haven't been in the north part of Morocco, I highly recommend it. I spend a bunch of time in Tangier, and it was awesome.
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:11
Well, Tangier is kind of cosmopolitan city for the time being, so it's like Marrakesh and Casablanca.
Evan Franulovich 2:19
Yeah, cool. And what are you studying?
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:23
Well, the plan while I first came to Seattle was doing my master's degree.
Evan Franulovich 2:29
Okay.
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:29
So I joined the Seattle Central in order to get some prerequisites in order to get transferred to UW University of Washington, so that's what I'm working on for the time being.
Evan Franulovich 2:43
Is it a short term certificate? Are you just taking classes at random?
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:47
It is a short term certificate, yeah. So spring quarter is my last quarter.
Evan Franulovich 2:53
Ah, congratulations! That's cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 2:55
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 2:56
And so how long total have you done? Because I know you can do a 3/6/9/12 month short term certificate.
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:02
Nine months. Yeah, so I started last summer, it was my first quarter.
Evan Franulovich 3:08
And if you do at least nine or 12 months, it qualifies you for OPT. Are you going to do OPT?
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:14
I would love to, but not quite sure. So most probably not.
Evan Franulovich 3:20
Right. So what kind of a master's degree you want to pursue?
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:24
International Studies.
Evan Franulovich 3:26
International Studies. Yeah, it's a good place to come get those prerequisites done. So how do you know which prerequisites you need to get done?
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:34
Well, that's the funny part, because I didn't know. Oh, so you have to make your research before doing that. First of all, you have to double check with your advisor.
Evan Franulovich 3:44
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:45
Either here at Central or an advisor back at the university that you are planning to transfer to.
Evan Franulovich 3:53
Right, right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 3:54
So I did both.
Evan Franulovich 3:55
Oh, good. That's very smart. Do you have multiple schools in mind, or do you have one in particular?
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:02
One I tried was SeattleU.
Evan Franulovich 4:06
Okay, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:08
And University of Washington.
Evan Franulovich 4:11
Oh, great.
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:11
But most probably, I'm transferring to UW.
Evan Franulovich 4:14
Right, right, the Seattle campus?
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:17
University of Washington.
Evan Franulovich 4:19
So they have three campuses, one in Bothell, one in Tacoma, and one in downtown Seattle.
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:23
Downtown Seattle.
Evan Franulovich 4:25
Yeah, cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:26
That's a really nice campus.
Evan Franulovich 4:27
Yeah, it's really nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:28
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 4:29
Now Seattle University, that's an interesting choice. They have transfer scholarships. Have you talked to them about finances and their program?
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:38
Yeah, I did. So most probably, we're just gonna work with that when the time comes.
Evan Franulovich 4:46
Yeah, you still have a little time. This is what, three months, maybe June?
El Hassan El Maatougy 4:52
Well, by the end of June, I'm done with my short term certificate at Central.
Evan Franulovich 4:59
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:00
And most probably I'm gonna start next fall.
Evan Franulovich 5:04
Right. Now, wait a minute, you just said at Central? Are you a central student or a North student?
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:09
Central student.
Evan Franulovich 5:11
So wait, oh, you just work at North.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:14
I work at North.
Evan Franulovich 5:15
Ah, gotcha. I forgot about that. So what you guys need to know is you can study at one campus and work at a different campus.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:24
That's something really good. I mean, it doesn't matter if you are a Central student, North student, or South.
Evan Franulovich 5:32
Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:33
If you have an opportunity, you can just roam around the three campuses.
Evan Franulovich 5:36
Cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:37
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 5:37
So where is your housing? Where do you live closer to north or closer to Central?
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:42
Central, just few steps from the campus.
Evan Franulovich 5:45
Ah, that's awesome.
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:46
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 5:46
So an apartment?
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:47
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 5:48
Cool. So what he does, he gets on the subway, yeah?
El Hassan El Maatougy 5:52
Take the link, takes me less than 15 minutes. Yeah, I love the transportations here in Seattle, it's really convenient.
Evan Franulovich 6:01
Yeah, I agree.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:02
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 6:03
And how many hours a week do they have you working?
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:07
It depends on the like shift, but most probably it's between 16 and 20 hours.
Evan Franulovich 6:15
Oh, that's perfect.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:16
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 6:17
And they pay over 20 an hour in Seattle area, which is more than a lot of states. So that's really great.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:23
Yeah, really great.
Evan Franulovich 6:25
I know there's a little off topic, but you just got back from Quebec.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:29
I did, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 6:30
How was it?
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:30
It was amazing. I have some family there, so I've been there more than four times so far.
Evan Franulovich 6:39
Oh, you've been there a number of times.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:40
Yeah, it's a beautiful city, so it works visiting as well.
Evan Franulovich 6:44
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:44
And then I went to Vancouver, BC as well.
Evan Franulovich 6:47
Oh, when did you go?
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:49
Just before the course started.
Evan Franulovich 6:52
So did you take the train, did you drive?
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:54
We drove.
Evan Franulovich 6:55
Okay.
El Hassan El Maatougy 6:56
We just crossed the border, it was convenient.
Evan Franulovich 6:58
And how was it crossing the border?
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:01
It took us probably 40 minutes.
Evan Franulovich 7:03
So that's not too bad.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:05
Not too bad.
Evan Franulovich 7:06
Going into Canada, were the Canadian border police nice? Were they serious? Was it welcoming? Was it suspicious? What was that experience like?
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:20
Oh, from me, it went really fine.
Evan Franulovich 7:22
Oh, good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:23
You just need to answer their questions politely.
Evan Franulovich 7:28
Of course.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:29
And state the reason why you are visiting.
Evan Franulovich 7:32
Sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:33
And what is your status?
Evan Franulovich 7:34
That's easy.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:35
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 7:36
And then of course coming back into the United States?
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:38
That's the tricky part. So you'll have to have all your documents ready.
Evan Franulovich 7:43
Right, right. And were they nice?
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:45
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 7:45
Oh, good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:46
Super nice, they asked me to show my I-20.
Evan Franulovich 7:52
Okay, sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 7:53
That's it. Yeah, I told him that I'm an international student. I was visiting family here in Canada, and that's it.
Evan Franulovich 7:59
That's it. No problem. Well, I know, from an American perspective, when I've traveled into Canada, they're really super chill. They're like, yeah, come on in. You know, whatever. Coming back into the states, even for an American citizen, can sometimes be tricky. I mean, they're it's not tricky, but they're a little more serious. It seems like they're a little more who are you? What are you doing?
It is different crossing borders by car or like at the airport.
Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 8:16
The questions are different.
Evan Franulovich 8:32
Oh, so you so when you arrived at SeaTac, the airport, it felt different than when you crossed the physical border?
El Hassan El Maatougy 8:39
Yeah, the physical border seems different because they are asking you if you are carrying something.
Evan Franulovich 8:44
Oh, sure. Were you carrying anything exciting?
El Hassan El Maatougy 8:48
Some gifts.
Evan Franulovich 8:49
Some gifts, nice. I just got all this stuff in the back here.
El Hassan El Maatougy 8:56
Are you sure?
Evan Franulovich 8:57
Haha, 'Are you sure?' Yeah, that's really cool. I'm glad you had a good experience. It always makes me nervous. But everybody I've talked to has had good experiences.
El Hassan El Maatougy 9:04
You need to have your documents ready, I mean, as an international student, you can't travel without carrying your I-20, which has to be signed.
Evan Franulovich 9:18
Yeah, cool. All right, well, so let's talk about your short term certificate. First of all, a lot of people don't realize short term certificates are even available. How did you hear about it?
El Hassan El Maatougy 9:29
Well, as I told you before, I did my research before.
Evan Franulovich 9:35
This was research you're doing in Morocco?
El Hassan El Maatougy 9:37
In Morocco, before coming over here. It was a little bit tricky when I was in Morocco, because I didn't know how does it work. So I was like 'Let's enroll get everything ready and go there, then find out.' And when I arrived here, it's super convenient having an advisor, so if you are confused about something, or you don't know what's next and what to do, you just bring all this questions to your advisor and everything will be solved out.
Evan Franulovich 10:13
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 10:13
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 10:14
Take advantage of those resources, they are really great.
El Hassan El Maatougy 10:17
And if you dont know what to do, or what program are you planning to pursue, you just need to double check with your advisor and they would give you good advices.
Evan Franulovich 10:35
Yeah, they try to do a really good job.
El Hassan El Maatougy 10:37
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 10:37
So let's go back and so you're in Morocco when you were young, when you were a kid. Did you go to public or private school.
El Hassan El Maatougy 10:47
Public school.
Evan Franulovich 10:49
And did you imagine yourself one day like, oh, one day I'm gonna travel to another country and study? Was that always on your mind?
El Hassan El Maatougy 10:56
Yeah, it was always like a dream. I always wanted to come to the US, like get something from here. It's not like I want to be here, but at least I wanted to have this experience.
Evan Franulovich 11:08
Cool. Were your parents internationally oriented?
El Hassan El Maatougy 11:13
No, not really. I'm the only one in the family who likes traveling.
Evan Franulovich 11:18
Oh, really?
El Hassan El Maatougy 11:19
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 11:20
And when you first kind of pitched the idea to them that you're going to go to the US to study, were they supportive, or were they a little cautious? How did they react?
El Hassan El Maatougy 11:28
Well, I've been away from from family for the last 12 years, so for me going somewhere, it's just fine for them. Yeah, I'm a big boy.
Evan Franulovich 11:39
You're a big boy. Which brings me to, you are a non traditional student, and when I say non traditional student, that means you're older than most students that are starting their university degree. I was the same way, I'd been working for a year, and then I was in the military, so by the time I got around to starting university, I was already in my mid 20s.
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:00
It's never too late.
Evan Franulovich 12:01
It's never too late.
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:02
Yeah. I mean, it doesn't matter that. I just got my baccalaureate certificate, so I just want to go and join the college or university. I mean, that's what I did when I was home. I got my baccalaureate certificate, and then went to the University where I got my BA degree.
Evan Franulovich 12:23
Which school?
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:26
University in Morocco. So I'm a graduate student.
Evan Franulovich 12:30
It's called the University of Morocco?
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:32
No, Tetouan.
Evan Franulovich 12:34
Oh, Tetouan.
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:34
The Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tetouan. Yeah, I got a BA degree there. I started my career, I worked for 10 years.
Evan Franulovich 12:47
Oh, where'd you work? What'd you do?
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:49
I was in Dubai.
Evan Franulovich 12:51
That's right, yeah, what'd you do in Dubai?
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:53
Well, I worked for a couple of companies. So I started with Emirates Airlines.
Evan Franulovich 12:58
Ah, great.
El Hassan El Maatougy 12:59
Then I shifted dramatically to another field, which is the healthcare field.
Evan Franulovich 13:04
Oh, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:04
And by the way, this is one of my fields that I would like to get something like, probably certificate or diploma, because I want to pursue a different path.
Evan Franulovich 13:18
Okay.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:19
Yeah, so most probably, if my master's degree doesn't go well, I'm gonna shift to do something medically related.
Evan Franulovich 13:28
Nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:29
So yeah, as I told you, I've been working for the last 10 years. Um, as you said, I'm not like traditional student.
Evan Franulovich 13:38
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:39
I came back to school after 16 years.
Evan Franulovich 13:42
What's that been like?
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:43
Yeah, taking long break.
Evan Franulovich 13:45
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:46
It was challenging in the beginning, because my brain was kind of shut down.
Evan Franulovich 13:52
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 13:52
I had to reactivate it. So far, so good.
Evan Franulovich 13:59
Yeah?
El Hassan El Maatougy 14:00
I'm doing pretty good trying to keep my GPA at the highest level.
Evan Franulovich 14:05
Sure, yeah, if you can transfer that.
El Hassan El Maatougy 14:07
Yeah, that's another really important aspect that students should take into consideration. They should keep their GPA high they would like to pursue their higher education.
Evan Franulovich 14:19
Right. So you guys should know out there, if you're listening, if you're an older student, don't hesitate. We're going to talk about your visa experience, but when you go to get your visa, as long as you have a good educational plan that is logical, makes sense.
El Hassan El Maatougy 14:39
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 14:40
They can see how this is going to help make you a better person, how you're going to come back and make your country the best place ever. I mean, those are all great things.
El Hassan El Maatougy 14:49
When it comes to age related in my situation, I'm not young now, probably I'm gonna face some difficulties when it comes to asking for a visa and stuff, but this is not the case. I'm gonna tell you about my experience.
Evan Franulovich 15:11
Yeah, let's do it. So you applied to Seattle Colleges, how did you find Seattle Colleges, you did research, but did you want to come to Seattle specifically, or did you just look at schools all over the country?
El Hassan El Maatougy 15:11
I wanted to come to Seattle specifically.
Evan Franulovich 15:21
What did you know about Seattle that made you want to come here?
El Hassan El Maatougy 15:29
Well, the first thing, I made my research, and I was planning to go to New York, to be honest, because I always wanted to go to New York. Well, I've been in Dubai, so I just want something different.
Evan Franulovich 15:45
Something different, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 15:46
New York, I'll visit at some point. But studying, I need something greener.
Evan Franulovich 15:53
Yeah, it's green out here.
El Hassan El Maatougy 15:54
Yeah, so when I was doing my research, I came up with Seattle, all these lakes and trees, and I love being in the woods. And I said, 'Okay, that's that's gonna be the place.'
Evan Franulovich 16:08
Cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:09
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 16:10
So you applied, you get accepted, and then you got your I-20. How long from the time you got your I-20 until you were able to go to your interview?
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:20
It didn't take much time for me.
Evan Franulovich 16:22
It was pretty fast?
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:23
Yeah, probably I waited two weeks in order to get my appointment.
Evan Franulovich 16:29
That's super fast.
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:30
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 16:31
Wow. Is that the embassy in...?
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:35
The embassy in Casablanca.
Evan Franulovich 16:38
Oh, it's in Casablanca.
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:39
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 16:39
Okay, so you went to Casablanca for your interview. How long did the interview take?
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:45
Five minutes.
Evan Franulovich 16:46
Oh, it was pretty fast. Five minutes. What did they ask you? What kinds of things?
El Hassan El Maatougy 16:52
You just need to show confidence. I mean, the officer, funny thing, he started talking Arabic to me.
Evan Franulovich 17:02
Oh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:03
And not any Arabic, Moroccan dialect.
Evan Franulovich 17:06
Was he from Morocco?
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:07
No.
Evan Franulovich 17:07
He's an American guy?
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:08
He's an American guy.
Evan Franulovich 17:10
Wow.
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:10
Well, that's the the tricky part about those officers who are working abroad in different countries, probably one of the requirements they should be able to speak that language. So I was like, 'Oh, Moroccan dialect, that's something.' Let's make it easy for him, then I just switched to English.
Evan Franulovich 17:36
Oh, you did.
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:36
Yeah. He just asked for my documents. I provided him with my passport, my I-20, and he asked me, where, how, when, simple questions. I told you, it didn't take more than five minutes, and yeah, your visa has been approved. That's it.
Evan Franulovich 17:56
That's awesome.
El Hassan El Maatougy 17:57
Yeah. I mean, I was like, 'Oh, I'm not sure about the process.' Probably there will be so many questions.
Evan Franulovich 18:05
I know a lot of people are nervous. Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:07
But you just need to be prepared for any kind of questions. Probably ask you about where to go. Like, how can you support yourself financially ?
Evan Franulovich 18:18
Right, right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:18
Yeah. So you need to be prepared to answer all this questions. I was lucky, because I probably just have a luck. Something I didn't mention before, before I applied for an F-1 student visa, I had a B1/B2 visa.
Evan Franulovich 18:19
Oh, so you had a tourist visa.
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:37
Yeah, so I came to the US before.
Evan Franulovich 18:42
But when you applied to Seattle Colleges, you were back in Morocco?
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:45
Yeah, you have to.
Evan Franulovich 18:46
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:48
I came 2023 to the US as a visitor.
Evan Franulovich 18:53
Oh, okay.
El Hassan El Maatougy 18:53
Yeah, so maybe this is the reason why it didn't take him too much time to make up his mind and grant me the F-1 visa. It probably popped up in this system that I have already been there.
Evan Franulovich 19:09
That's a good point. Actually, a lot of people ask me when I'm on the road and I'm talking to students overseas or parents talk to me, they'll be like, 'Well, I don't want to apply to a community college, because I hear if I apply to a community college, I won't get my visa.' That's clearly not the case for you.
El Hassan El Maatougy 19:24
Not the case.
Evan Franulovich 19:25
And we have over 1000 international students in Seattle Colleges, and they're getting their visas. So I don't think that's actually true. You just need to be really prepared, like you had said.
El Hassan El Maatougy 19:37
Have a plan.
Evan Franulovich 19:38
Have a plan.
El Hassan El Maatougy 19:38
Educational plan. It doesn't mean that I applied for a community college, that I'm just gonna be there. I mean, okay, I'm going to community college to get my prerequisites.
Evan Franulovich 19:50
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 19:51
Then I'm gonna transfer to UW or Seattle U.
Evan Franulovich 19:57
That's a plan that makes sense.
El Hassan El Maatougy 19:58
Yeah. You have to have a plan.
Evan Franulovich 20:03
I think that's great. So you had a pretty easy interview there. What was I gonna ask you...
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:14
That was the easiest interview I have ever had.
Evan Franulovich 20:18
That's good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:18
I mean, it was easier than the first interview I had when I got my B1/B2 visa.
Evan Franulovich 20:25
Oh, you had to do an in person interview.
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:27
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 20:27
Oh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:27
In order to get a tourist visa to come to the USA, you have to go through an interview aswell.
Evan Franulovich 20:32
And that was a harder interview.
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:34
Hard, very hard.
Evan Franulovich 20:35
Really?
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:35
I was asked more than 10 questions at that time.
Evan Franulovich 20:39
Wow.
El Hassan El Maatougy 20:40
Yeah. So that's the reason so you don't know either you are applying for a tourist visa or an F-1 student visa, so you have to be prepared for everything.
Evan Franulovich 20:53
So he did say that he went as a tourist to the United States, went back to Morocco. I am in agreement with you. What I hear is that it's no guarantee that you'll get your visa. But if they see a pattern of you leaving your country, returning to your country, leaving your country, returning your country, that's a good thing. They like to see that you don't plan to live here forever. They want to see how you're going to go home.
El Hassan El Maatougy 21:17
And there are so many students who are on B1/B2 visa, and they wanted to change the visa status to F-1, I was advised not to do this. In order to change your status to F-1 visa, it's advisable to go back to your country.
Evan Franulovich 21:38
Yes, and I have talked to students at Seattle Colleges who've handled it both ways. Some elect to apply for a change of status while they're still in the United States. Some I've talked to have decided they're going to go home and apply and then go through their visa process there. There's no right or wrong answer here. You might want to talk to an immigration attorney, we don't usually offer visa advice. Ultimately, it'll be your decision how you wanted to approach it, and you might want to talk to a lawyer to see how they feel Is your best approach.
El Hassan El Maatougy 22:12
So many students can get it it, without going back to their countries.
Evan Franulovich 22:18
Right, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 22:21
We don't know how long it'll take. So it could take up to a year.
Evan Franulovich 22:24
It takes time.
El Hassan El Maatougy 22:25
Yeah, that's what I was taught.
Evan Franulovich 22:27
It's just unpredictable. I've talked to students where they got it very quickly, and others that were like after a year, they were still waiting. So we just don't know. Could have to do with the nationality, could have to do with who's in power. You know, things have changed a little bit since we're in a new administration, but people are still getting their visas. And clearly you did, but research, plan, these are all great advices.
El Hassan El Maatougy 22:32
Yeah, the whole process for me didn't take a month.
Evan Franulovich 22:59
Oh, nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 23:01
From acceptance to getting my visa, the whole process didn't take a month.
Evan Franulovich 23:08
That's awesome, yeah. And once you got your visa till the time you got on an airplane, how long did it take?
El Hassan El Maatougy 23:15
That's funny, because I thought probably it's gonna take time. So the plan was joining spring quarter.
Evan Franulovich 23:29
The one before summer.
El Hassan El Maatougy 23:30
Yeah, and it didn't take one month. And I was like, okay, so the plan was joining spring quarter, and I got everything ready now, so it's different summer. And I just logged into my portal, I would like to differ to summer quarter, and 'Okay, you are in.'
Evan Franulovich 23:52
No problem. That's cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 23:55
From the time I applied, it took me one month to be here in the USA.
Evan Franulovich 24:02
That's pretty fast.
El Hassan El Maatougy 24:03
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 24:05
That's really great. I wouldn't count on that. If you're the listener out there, I would prepare yourself for a longer period of time. But it can happen quickly.
El Hassan El Maatougy 24:14
It can happen quickly if you would like to come.
Evan Franulovich 24:16
Right. And if you get it faster than you can do what he did, where you can defer or change the starting quarter, that's not a problem. Usually, you have to go on to your student account and request a deferral till wherever you want to go. Now you should know that you can defer once for free, but if you end up having to defer again, they do charge you a $50.
El Hassan El Maatougy 24:43
True.
Evan Franulovich 24:43
At least as of this recording, it's $50. If you can only defer once, that's best, because then you don't have to worry about that.
El Hassan El Maatougy 24:50
I did it one time.
Evan Franulovich 24:51
Yeah, perfect. So you had been to the States before, so coming back, probably not a lot of culture shock. You knew what to expect?
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:02
Not really.
Evan Franulovich 25:04
I mean, Seattle's a little different, I guess.
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:06
It is, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 25:07
Not radically different.
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:10
Well, there are a lot of differences, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 25:14
Like, what? From the East Coast, you mean?
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:17
Yeah, from the East Coast.
Evan Franulovich 25:19
How do you feel like East Coast and West Coast differ?
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:23
The weather.
Evan Franulovich 25:24
The weather for sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:26
But I love summer time here in Seattle. It's the best.
Evan Franulovich 25:30
It is the best. Yeah, for sure. It won't be too hot, not too cold. Yeah, sun is shining most of the time.
El Hassan El Maatougy 25:36
Yeah, culturally different, but I love the fact that it is kind of cosmopolitan as well. So many people from around the world.
Evan Franulovich 25:46
Right. And I feel like the West Coast part of the United States is a lot more progressive, so people from other countries are very welcomed here. Have you felt like you've been welcomed? Do you have many friends who are domestic students? Do you have many American friends?
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:04
You mean, here in Seattle?
Evan Franulovich 26:05
Yeah, yeah. Have you made friendships?
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:09
I'm normally good at making friends. So for the past, 6-7 months I've been here, I've made a couple of friends domestically and international. Yeah, so that's cool.
Evan Franulovich 26:27
You said that you'd been up to Vancouver. Did you go with one of these friends? Did you take their car, or do you have your own car?
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:33
Well, the funny part when I came to Seattle, I started looking for a Moroccan community sort of to hang out with.
Evan Franulovich 26:41
Sure, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:42
Looking for Moroccan restaurants.
Evan Franulovich 26:44
And we have some.
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:47
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 26:48
Do we? Are they any good?
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:50
Well, I found one.
Evan Franulovich 26:51
Oh, good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 26:52
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 26:54
Well, we had Hafsa. Did you listen to her? So Hafsa is from Morocco, and her brother owns, I think it's a brother. Sorry Hafsa if got that wrong. She has family in Seattle that have a restaurant near Capitol Hill, near Central and it's a Moroccan restaurant. So it's got to be pretty legit.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:12
Oh, probably I had no chance to experience that.
Evan Franulovich 27:16
I'll check that out.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:16
Yeah. I will, definitely. So that's what I was looking for when I first came here. So I met one Moroccan guy.
Evan Franulovich 27:26
Oh, good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:27
Who has been living here for probably 12 years.
Evan Franulovich 27:30
Oh, wow.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:31
He's quite familiar with everything.
Evan Franulovich 27:33
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:34
And he introduced me to the rest.
Evan Franulovich 27:36
Nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:37
Yeah, so I had to find Moroccan community or just one person.
Evan Franulovich 27:44
Sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:45
And you are fine.
Evan Franulovich 27:46
Connect.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:47
Yeah. So we travelled together to Vancouver.
Evan Franulovich 27:50
He has a car. All right, that's always a good way. If you don't have your own car, make a friend who does have a car.
El Hassan El Maatougy 27:58
Sometimes it's really convenient to have a car here.
Evan Franulovich 28:01
Because you said you like the outdoors. And while you can grab a bus and take it up to the pass, either for skiing or snowboarding or in the summer, you can go hiking. Yeah, it's always great to have a car, because there's a lot of trailheads where you have to hike to or drive to.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:16
It's quite fast here in order to visit different parts of Seattle.
Evan Franulovich 28:20
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:21
You know, how many islands are here?
Evan Franulovich 28:23
So many.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:24
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 28:24
And it's a big state. I mean, I think the state of Washington is probably bigger than Morocco.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:29
Yeah, it is big.
Evan Franulovich 28:30
It's a big state.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:31
I love it so far.
Evan Franulovich 28:35
So you were here last summer, did you go camping in the mountains? Did you go hiking in the mountains?
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:42
We've been to... I forgot the name of the island.
Evan Franulovich 28:47
Whidbey Island.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:47
Whidbey Island, yeah. So we drove couple of minutes, we took the ferry.
Evan Franulovich 28:54
Take the ferry, cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:56
We've been there.
Evan Franulovich 28:57
Yeah, that's a nice area.
El Hassan El Maatougy 28:58
It is really nice.
Evan Franulovich 29:01
Did you drive up through deception pass? Do you remember going to deception pass?
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:07
Um...
Evan Franulovich 29:07
Does that ring a bell?
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:09
Not really, no. But roaming around Seattle everywhere.
Evan Franulovich 29:16
Everywhere, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:17
Lake Washington, Tacoma, Renton, Bellevue. So many beautiful areas are around.
Evan Franulovich 29:29
Lots of opportunity to get out there and see things, that's for sure. Um, what's been your favorite thing that you visited?
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:36
You mean, here in Seattle?
Evan Franulovich 29:37
Yeah, just Seattle.
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:39
I just love being in the woods.
Evan Franulovich 29:40
Okay, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:42
Lake Washington.
Evan Franulovich 29:44
Yeah, Lake Washington is very nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:47
Those fancy areas there.
Evan Franulovich 29:50
Pretty fancy. Yeah, there's some money down there, for sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 29:53
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 29:54
Well, cool. Let's talk about your short-term certificate briefly. You know, there are five different categories of short-term certificates. One's called Global Business. One's called MBA Prep. One's called Computer Science. One's called Communications. Which of those did you do?
El Hassan El Maatougy 30:15
I'm doing the communication one.
Evan Franulovich 30:17
Oh, you're doing the communication one.
El Hassan El Maatougy 30:18
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 30:19
And so, how does it work? So you can just take whatever class you want to or their limitations.
El Hassan El Maatougy 30:25
That's what I was told at the beginning, that there are certain classes you have to stick okay to. But this is not the case. Afterwards, I was able to choose whatever classes I want.
Evan Franulovich 30:39
Awesome.
El Hassan El Maatougy 30:39
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 30:39
You don't have to tell me all of them, but you know, maybe one or two, like, give me an example of the kinds of classes you've taken.
El Hassan El Maatougy 30:47
As I told you before, the plan is doing my master's degree. So I had an opportunity to talk to an advisor back at the University of Washington. So I told him, this is the plan, I'm taking some prerequisite classes at Central and I'm planning to transfer here, and that's what I'm planning to pursue. So what classes do you want me to take?
Evan Franulovich 31:13
Oh, good.
El Hassan El Maatougy 31:14
He said, If you are looking to do your master's degree in International Studies. Just focus on taking as much as you can, sociology classes, anthropology, English.
Evan Franulovich 31:30
Cool. So you don't have to worry about taking math classes, necessarily, or any of that stuff.
El Hassan El Maatougy 31:37
You don't need math.
Evan Franulovich 31:40
I mean, this is really good advice, though. This is nice that you did that. Yeah, talk to your advisor at the school you're gonna go to. They kind of help lay it out for you.
El Hassan El Maatougy 31:47
And also, what kind of classes, because you can't transfer if you are in a community college taking art classes, but you are pursuing something different. They will not accept that.
Evan Franulovich 31:47
No, of course.
El Hassan El Maatougy 31:47
You have to focus on classes that you are planning to transfer.
Evan Franulovich 32:08
Sure, sure. I mean, unless you just want to have fun with some art, you know, then take an art class. But it does cost money, and it does take time.
El Hassan El Maatougy 32:17
We are here to gain some kind of programs and certificates.
Evan Franulovich 32:21
Yeah, cool. So you have had family come to visit you since you've been here. Have they decided they want to come see you and see where you're living?
El Hassan El Maatougy 32:34
Probably, if I gain my master's degree, then they'll come over.
Evan Franulovich 32:41
What does your family do for work?
El Hassan El Maatougy 32:45
Well, my brother believing in Spain.
Evan Franulovich 32:47
Oh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 32:49
I have so many relatives in Spain.
Evan Franulovich 32:54
Sure, it's really close.
El Hassan El Maatougy 32:57
So my brother is running his own company.
Evan Franulovich 33:00
Nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:02
My youngest brother is working for him. So they are doing pretty well.
Evan Franulovich 33:08
Are there like, 'Finish your masters, then come work with us?'
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:11
Ah, not really. What they are doing is totally different from what I want.
Evan Franulovich 33:18
Okay. Well, what do you want? Like, in the end, are you going to start your own company?
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:23
I love traveling. I love communication. And the reason why I wanted to do this master's degree probably because I wanted to be part of some kind of consulate, embassies.
Evan Franulovich 33:38
Cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:38
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 33:42
So you would apply to be a civil servant for the Moroccan government?
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:47
Yeah, for the Moroccan government.
Evan Franulovich 33:50
Are those positions difficult to get? Are they fairly easy to get?
El Hassan El Maatougy 33:53
Difficult to get. You have to be really knowledgeable.
Evan Franulovich 34:04
Nice, good luck.
El Hassan El Maatougy 34:05
And that's the reason why I came here. Just getting a certificate, diploma or master's degree from abroad.
Evan Franulovich 34:13
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 34:14
It helps a lot.
Evan Franulovich 34:15
For sure. Well, cool. Look for him in the embassy here, the Moroccan embassy in the US. Do you guys have a consulate on the West Coast, or is it only back in Washington, D.C?
El Hassan El Maatougy 34:15
In Washington, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 34:15
Have you been there?
El Hassan El Maatougy 34:30
Oh, I don't need it yet.
Evan Franulovich 34:32
No, probably not. But you know, it's always nice just to stop by and say hi to your country.
El Hassan El Maatougy 34:37
Yeah, I'm planning to. Most probably I'm gonna roam around a little bit in the USA. I just don't want to stick in Seattle. So I just want to see more places.
Evan Franulovich 34:49
All right, cool. Well, we talked a little bit before we got started about soccer, so I want to go back there soccer, or football, as we call it. Africa Cup is gonna to be in your neighborhood, it's going to be in Morocco.
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:02
Next year.
Evan Franulovich 35:03
Are you going to go home to watch some games?
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:07
I hope so.
Evan Franulovich 35:08
Yeah?
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:08
I'm not sure if I will be studying or not, because it's going to be on next year 2026 at the end of the year. Most probably, if I'm free, I will hop definitely. Yeah, that's gonna be the first African Cup I will be watching.
Evan Franulovich 35:30
And Morocco has a tough team.
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:33
We have a pretty good team for the last couple of years. We did great last World Cup.
Evan Franulovich 35:41
And the World Cup this time is going to be right here in the US.
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:44
We have already qualified.
Evan Franulovich 35:45
Oh, you have already qualified. So definitely, wow.
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:48
So if I'm here next year, which I hope so, I will definitely go and watch live.
Evan Franulovich 35:54
There's going to be six games here in Seattle, hopefully Morocco will be one of those teams.
El Hassan El Maatougy 35:59
It would be really convenient. If my team is going to be here in Seattle or even in Vancouver.
Evan Franulovich 36:05
Vancouver is real close. San Francisco is not too far away.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:09
San Francisco, LA, Boston, New York. Yeah, but I will. It's just for the sake of the experience and cheering up for my team.
Evan Franulovich 36:21
Right, of course, bring a sack of money because the tickets are not inexpensive. I don't know if you've looked, but tickets are hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:29
Depends on which team are you going to to watch.
Evan Franulovich 36:33
Maybe, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:34
Brazil versus USA.
Evan Franulovich 36:36
That's going to be a big money game.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:38
Oh, my God, you won't get the ticket, I think.
Evan Franulovich 36:40
But if it's Morocco versus like the Faroe Islands or something like that, probably not.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:46
Who's gonna go and watch?
Evan Franulovich 36:48
I would go for sure.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:51
Don't make the tickets go higher, expensive.
Evan Franulovich 36:55
Definitely.
El Hassan El Maatougy 36:56
Yeah, it's gonna be a really nice experience next year, African Cup and World Cup.
Evan Franulovich 37:03
Morocco doesn't play in the Asia Cup at all.
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:06
No.
Evan Franulovich 37:06
Because when I was in Jordan, they are in the Asia Cup.
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:06
They are having their own tournament.
Evan Franulovich 37:12
So North Africa stays with the Africa Cup.
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:15
African Cup, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 37:17
Nice.
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:18
World Cup is for the world, and African Cup for Africans.
Evan Franulovich 37:25
I'm gonna be in Morocco on the 5/1/25-5/3/25 somewhere in there. So I fly I'm going to Tunisia first. I'll be in Tunisia for about four or five days, and then I fly into Casablanca. So I'll be Casablanca first, visit Rabat as well, and then I'll end my trip in Marrakesh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:48
Wow.
Evan Franulovich 37:49
Any soccer games happening in that time period? Is there like local games?
El Hassan El Maatougy 37:55
Yeah, just the Moroccan team.
Evan Franulovich 38:00
Yeah, I'd love to go see those guys.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:02
Yeah. Well, we have Moroccan championship.
Evan Franulovich 38:05
Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:06
And we have some pretty tough teams. They are playing together, competing like crazy. And if you are going to be in Casablanca, probably attend one of the derbies there.
Evan Franulovich 38:19
Very much want to. Yeah, I just didn't know if it was the right season. Like, if they don't play at the beginning of May, like, their season runs from December.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:19
The season is going on.
Evan Franulovich 38:22
Okay, cool. So I'll definitely have the opportunity.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:30
You chose the perfect timing to be in Morocco.
Evan Franulovich 38:39
Weather wise?
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:40
Weather wise. It's gonna be really cool.
Evan Franulovich 38:43
Nice, cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:44
Not hot like summer time, because it probably starts June.
Evan Franulovich 38:49
Right.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:49
But April, May are the best.
Evan Franulovich 38:52
Well, if you're in Morocco and you're a student and you want to meet me while I'm on the road, there's some education fairs happening between the 3rd of May and the 9th of May and I will be there. You can send me a message, we can meet in person, which would be awesome, and then maybe you can come and be a student.
El Hassan El Maatougy 38:52
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 38:55
You hear that? That means it's Trivia Time. This is the part of the show where we ask you five questions. If you get them, all right, you're an awesome guy. If you don't, we'll make fun of you, mock you, merciless.
El Hassan El Maatougy 39:27
I'm gonna do my best.
Evan Franulovich 39:29
All right, here's the first question. This will be right in your wheelhouse. The city of Seattle has its own professional soccer team. What is the name of that professional soccer team?
El Hassan El Maatougy 39:38
The Sounders.
Evan Franulovich 39:39
Yes, the Sounders. See? You're one for one. Good job. All right, question number two: In Seattle, we're surrounded by three national parks, lot of beauty, lot of hiking. Can you name one of those national parks?
El Hassan El Maatougy 39:55
Hmm... Green Lake?
Evan Franulovich 40:01
Green Lake is a city park. I'm talking about national parks, kind of like Yellowstone or Yosemite. There's three of them in the Seattle area.
El Hassan El Maatougy 40:09
Well, there is one in Capital Hill, I just forgot the name. I've been there a couple of times, and there is one just couple of miles away from Capital Hill, which I've been to.
Evan Franulovich 40:21
Okay, so big national parks. We have the Olympic National Park as you look across the water.
El Hassan El Maatougy 40:28
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 40:29
Mount Rainier National Park. It's the big mountain you see up to the south. And then North Cascades National Park, which is up towards Canada. You should check it out.
El Hassan El Maatougy 40:38
Yeah, so many amazing beautiful parks.
Evan Franulovich 40:41
A lot of great parks, for sure. All right, no big deal. Question number three: Since you've been to Canada, as an international student you have to do something with your I-20 before you can cross the border. What do you got to do?
El Hassan El Maatougy 40:57
Travel signature.
Evan Franulovich 40:58
Yes, you got to get a signature. Don't forget, really important.
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:02
If it is not signed, you will be in big trouble.
Evan Franulovich 41:06
Big trouble.
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:07
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 41:08
Question number four: If I am a student here at Seattle Colleges, I have to carry so many credits to maintain my visa status. How many credits do I have to take?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:19
12.
Evan Franulovich 41:20
12, that's right. And of those, how many have to be in person?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:25
7.
Evan Franulovich 41:27
Good job. All right, final question: What was the last movie you saw in the theaters?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:34
Conclave.
Evan Franulovich 41:35
You did?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:36
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 41:36
What'd you think?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:38
It was amazing.
Evan Franulovich 41:38
It was a good movie, right?
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:40
The reason why I wanted to watch Conclave, was just the scenery. Oh, my god.
Evan Franulovich 41:46
Very nicely done.
El Hassan El Maatougy 41:47
The story was a little bit... But the scenery and the shooting was like, wow.
Evan Franulovich 41:56
The word that's escaping him, I think, is production design. So the production design in Conclave was amazing.
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:02
I don't know how they did that.
Evan Franulovich 42:04
They just built it on a soundstage. Can you imagine?
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:07
It looks so real.
Evan Franulovich 42:08
Looks like they're in the Vatican.
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:10
Yeah, at some point I thought, 'Okay, this is the Vatican.'
Evan Franulovich 42:13
It's not. It was on a soundstage.
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:17
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 42:18
Good movie. If you haven't seen Conclave, check it out. It was one of the best ones last year, in my opinion, for sure. Good for you, do you go to the movies often?
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:26
I do. I love going to movies. Conclave was my last.
Evan Franulovich 42:35
Yeah, there's a lot of theaters in the city of Seattle. It's a pretty good market for films.
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:40
Yeah, before Conclave, I watched Dune.
Evan Franulovich 42:44
Oh, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:44
Part one, and part two.
Evan Franulovich 42:45
Yeah? Dune, what do you think?
El Hassan El Maatougy 42:49
Amazing.
Evan Franulovich 42:50
It's amazing. The music is gorgeous. The cinematography is just wow. You know, a lot of that was shot in North Africa. Have you been out to the Sahara? Have you been on the sand?
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:06
Just the Moroccan Sahara. Yeah, I've been to Marrakesh and I've been to Agadir.
Evan Franulovich 43:10
Does it look like that? I mean, I'm gonna find out soon, but does it look like Dune?
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:15
It does.
Evan Franulovich 43:16
Really?
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:16
Yeah, some parts.
Evan Franulovich 43:18
Have you seen any sand worms?
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:20
Um, once.
Evan Franulovich 43:23
One big sand worm.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:24
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 43:28
Cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:28
It's a good experience.
Evan Franulovich 43:29
Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:30
I mean, you are going to Marrakesh you said?
Evan Franulovich 43:32
Yeah, going to Marrakesh. I'll end my trip in Marrakesh, starting Casablanca.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:36
Wow. You will be surprised.
Evan Franulovich 43:39
Uh huh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:40
Yeah. I'm not gonna give you any any hints, you know what I mean?
Evan Franulovich 43:45
Yes, yeah. Well, I've been to Morocco before, but I've been to Tangier, like I said earlier, which was really great. But I haven't been out to Tetouan, which is kind of East, kind of south and east.
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:56
I love Tetouan.
Evan Franulovich 43:57
Is it nice?
El Hassan El Maatougy 43:58
This is where I studied.
Evan Franulovich 43:59
Yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:00
I spent four years in Tetouan.
Evan Franulovich 44:02
It's kind of in the mountains?
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:03
It is in the mountains. Yeah, there are mountains there, but it's on the Mediterranean Sea.
Evan Franulovich 44:10
Oh, can you actually see the...? I thought it was inland a little bit, but it is on the coast?
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:16
Four kilometers from the coast.
Evan Franulovich 44:19
Okay.
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:19
Yeah, it's pretty close, and you can see Spain from there.
Evan Franulovich 44:27
Yeah, cool. Well, if you're out there and you've never taken the trip from the Spanish side to the Moroccan side, it's well worth doing. It's really cool.
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:38
Morocco is beautiful.
Evan Franulovich 44:41
It is amazing.
El Hassan El Maatougy 44:41
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 44:42
The food is awesome, looking forward to it. Well, nice job. We always end the show with two things. First of all, if you could say like 15-20 seconds in your first language, a lot of people have heard Arabic before, but you may not have heard this variety of Arabic, so listen closely.
El Hassan El Maatougy 45:18
*El Hassan El Maatougy message in Moroccan*
Evan Franulovich 45:30
Nice, great job. Final question: You've been here for a while now. You've traveled a lot. You're a non traditional student. You've got experience under your belt.
El Hassan El Maatougy 45:40
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 45:41
Young kids back in Morocco, or maybe Algeria, Tunisia, they're thinking about coming to a non Francophone country. Maybe they're a little nervous. What advice would you give them?
El Hassan El Maatougy 45:51
Well, there are a couple of things they should work on before coming over, but the only advice I can give is just work on your English language, because as Francophone countries, we normally start learning English really late.
Evan Franulovich 46:11
High school.
El Hassan El Maatougy 46:12
Yeah, high school. I think for the time being, they put it on secondary school. But still, there is no need to come here and start learning language and spend a lot of money. So just work on your English before coming over here to pursue your education.
Evan Franulovich 46:28
That's really good advice actually. You can, by the way, you can come here and study English, but it will cost you money and it will take you time.
El Hassan El Maatougy 46:37
Yeah, money and time. Just be prepared, work on your English and come here and do your higher education.
Evan Franulovich 46:45
Right. Your English is great. Did you speak English this well when you arrived, or was it just really improved a lot?
El Hassan El Maatougy 46:55
Well, my English has improved during my academic career and my work experience.
Evan Franulovich 47:04
Did you use English in Dubai quite a bit?
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:06
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 47:07
Gotcha.
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:08
For the last 10 years, living and working in Dubai, it was only English.
Evan Franulovich 47:20
Right, right. It's true. When I was in Dubai, I had a hard time finding actual locals, like Arabs.
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:28
That's what happened to me when I first went there.
Evan Franulovich 47:30
Like, where is everybody?
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:32
What are the locals?
Evan Franulovich 47:34
They're not here, they're not in town. A lot of Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Asians.
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:42
In general, Pakistan, Bangladesh.
Evan Franulovich 47:45
For sure. I mean you can find locals, but it is hard.
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:48
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 47:49
It takes time.
El Hassan El Maatougy 47:50
It takes time. You just need to go to fancy places to find them.
Evan Franulovich 47:53
Yes, just look for the nice cars. They have really nice cars in Dubai.
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:00
I was mesmerized when I first went there.
Evan Franulovich 48:03
So I've only been to Dubai in February, when the weather's perfect. You were there 365
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:10
My God, the first time I went to Dubai was November.
Evan Franulovich 48:13
Oh.
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:14
That's when I first got my job offer, and the company booked my ticket and I flew. Even if it was November...
Evan Franulovich 48:23
It's a nice time, right?
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:24
It's a nice time, but I can tell you the first time, when I arrived there and I went outside of the airport.
Evan Franulovich 48:32
It's like hitting a wall.
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:33
Oh, yeah, what's this heat?
Evan Franulovich 48:34
Yeah, it's not like that in Morocco, right?
El Hassan El Maatougy 48:38
It's not. We have four seasons. Summertime is pretty hot in Morocco, but still comparing with the UAE, it's really warm.
Evan Franulovich 48:49
Yeah, not to talk about Morocco too much, but I think if you're an American tourist, and you've only been to like Europe, Morocco is a good start. It's a good country to visit. It's like Africa Lite. It's a good way to kind of ease your way into a different culture that you're not maybe used to. Because when you go to France or Italy, it feels a little bit like...
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:15
We have everything. I don't want to promote Morocco. But yeah, we have everything. Yeah, you won't regret it.
Evan Franulovich 49:25
And you wont regret coming to Seattle either. Come to Seattle.
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:28
You will not. Seattle is the best.
Evan Franulovich 49:31
I love Seattle. It's definitely one of my favorite cities. I'm not from Seattle originally. I grew up on the Oregon coast. Have you been down to Oregon?
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:39
No.
Evan Franulovich 49:39
Oh, you're welcome in Oregon. Check it out.
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:42
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 49:43
I know the train goes to Portland and it goes to Eugene, so you can get on the train pretty inexpensively and just zip down there.
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:51
I love traveling, and I love exploring new places and new areas.
Evan Franulovich 49:55
Yeah, yeah.
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:55
I will definitely go for it.
Evan Franulovich 49:57
I recommend it.
El Hassan El Maatougy 49:58
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 49:59
All right. Well, thanks for coming on the show today. So great to talk to you.
El Hassan El Maatougy 50:02
Thanks for having me. It was pleasure talking to you too.
Evan Franulovich 50:05
Absolutely.
El Hassan El Maatougy 50:06
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 50:07
Don't forget to like, share and subscribe and come back every Wednesday for interviews like this. We interview students, staff, agents, other universities to talk about that transfer process. So a lot of great information here. No matter where you end up going to school, of course, we hope it'll be Seattle Colleges. It's a great place to start. Thanks so much again. We'll see you soon. Take care.
Bye, bye!
El Hassan El Maatougy 50:35
Bye, bye!
Evan Franulovich 50:35
'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