Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Ornelah Nzonou of Togo

In this our forty-third episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Ornelah Nzonou of Togo about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Ornelah!

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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.

Evan Franulovich  0:50  
Hey everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' We're here at Central but I actually have a North student. I'm very excited about that, because this is our first guest from the country of Togo. 

Ornelah Nzonou  0:50  
Togo. 

Evan Franulovich  0:50  
Very exciting. Can you introduce yourself to everybody? Tell them who you are, where you're from, what you're studying, and maybe how long you been here.

Ornelah Nzonou  1:33  
Hello, everyone! My name is Ornelah Nzonou. I am an international student from Togo, West Africa. And my native city is Lomé, the capital, the biggest city. And I'm here at Seattle Colleges, studying computer science. And I've been here for six months.

Evan Franulovich  1:55  
Nice. So tell me about your hometown, Lomé is a big city? Bigger than Seattle?

Ornelah Nzonou  2:03  
No, it's not that big. Just a small, vibrant city.

Evan Franulovich  2:08  
Okay, cool. How many people total in your country? 

Ornelah Nzonou  2:11  
Oh, I think we are about to hit eight millions.

Evan Franulovich  2:15  
Well, Seattle has about 4 million, so we're about half the size of your country. Have you traveled around the country?

Ornelah Nzonou  2:26  
All over the country, not really. I went to a city up, that's my mom's hometown, it's called Atakpamé. It's a very green city, just like Seattle, there's a lot of heels. Yeah, it was fun. 

Evan Franulovich  2:43  
Yeah. 

Ornelah Nzonou  2:43  
I went to Kamina, it's in the same region. I never really went to the north, I just stayed in the middle. 

Evan Franulovich  2:51  
Have you been to your neighbor like, Benin?

Ornelah Nzonou  2:54  
Yeah, I went to Benin, it was a great experience. 

Evan Franulovich  2:56  
Was it?

Ornelah Nzonou  2:57  
It was great. The food is nearly like our food. There's a lot to discover. We're not the same on every level. I also went to Ghana for a weekend. 

Evan Franulovich  3:19  
Just to Accra? 

Ornelah Nzonou  3:19  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  3:22  
So in Nigeria, in Ghana, when I visit there, they're crazy about their Jollof rice. Do you guys have your own version?

Ornelah Nzonou  3:29  
No, we don't. I think everyone has a kind of Jollof rice, we don't brag not that much about it. The whole competition between Ghana and Nigeria, it's crazy everywhere.

Evan Franulovich  3:46  
So do you have a dish that is super important to you guys? What's the number one dish that you guys have? 

Ornelah Nzonou  3:55  
I'm gonna tell you this, if you have the occasion to come across that dish, you will take me. It's called Akume. 

Evan Franulovich  4:04  
Akume? 

Ornelah Nzonou  4:05  
There's a lot of soups. I think the best soup with Akuma will be Ademe. 

Evan Franulovich  4:11  
Well, what is Akume?

Ornelah Nzonou  4:12  
Akume is a corn based paste. We all have it in West Africa, but I think we have different names. 

Evan Franulovich  4:19  
All right. 

Ornelah Nzonou  4:26  
So Akume is just vegetables, and you have a lot of meat, a lot of protein. Most of time, if you go to a very big event, you have goat meat, you have smoked fish. We used to say we have all the animals in the soup. We also have Fufu. 

Evan Franulovich  4:47  
I've had Fufu.

Ornelah Nzonou  4:49  
Fufu is so common, so I didn't want to say that one.

Evan Franulovich  4:53  
Yeah, and it's good food. And have you found any place in Seattle where you can get similar?

Ornelah Nzonou  5:02  
Not yet. I mean, I kind of do it at home.

Evan Franulovich  5:06  
Okay. You're good cook?

Ornelah Nzonou  5:10  
Try me next time. I'll bring you guys something.

Evan Franulovich  5:13  
We need to have a potluck here, and just have all the students bring their own dish. 

Ornelah Nzonou  5:17  
Yeah, they'll be great. 

Evan Franulovich  5:19  
We'll talk to the international ambassadors about doing that, because that's a great idea. 

Ornelah Nzonou  5:21  
That's a great idea. 

Evan Franulovich  5:24  
And then, of course, I'll have to come and sample everything. Well, let's go back. So you're from Togo, you're sitting there, was a young girl, in a public or a private school?

Ornelah Nzonou  5:37  
Oh, I actually graduated from high school, and the year that followed, I really didn't know what I was going to do. So I took some course at the school, it was a private school, but then I stopped, and then I was kind of thinking about going to law school. Yeah, I actually started law school.

Evan Franulovich  6:01  
Really? 

Ornelah Nzonou  6:01  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  6:03  
So wait a minute, so you finished high school in Togo, and then you started university? 

Ornelah Nzonou  6:09  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  6:09  
Ah, gotcha, gotcha.

Ornelah Nzonou  6:11  
Gotcha. The starting wasn't really... I was doing the process of the visa thing, and I was also starting school. So it was really a 50-50 chance. So if I didn't get the visa, I would have just continued my law school.

Evan Franulovich  6:11  
Well, I mean, computer science is very different, so why the switch?

Ornelah Nzonou  6:35  
Law school wasn't... let me say, Mom, I love you, but it wasn't really my choice. My mom was like, 'Oh, you're gonna be great at this. You're gonna love this.' I was like, 'Okay, let's do this.' And when I had the chance to choose something completely different, I was like, I'm gonna take the risk, I'm gonna do something that is quite interesting. 

Evan Franulovich  6:56  
Cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  6:57  
Yeah, I've switched from law to computer science. You can do it, it's not easy. 

Evan Franulovich  7:05  
So when you applied, did you apply as a major for going into law, or did you apply as a computer science major? 

Ornelah Nzonou  7:15  
Oh, actually, I applied for computer science. 

Evan Franulovich  7:19  
Oh, cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  7:19  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  7:19  
Good, good, good. Yeah, yeah. North is a good place to go for computer science. I know a lot of international students go there. So you applied, how long did it take before you got your acceptance?

Ornelah Nzonou  7:31  
Oh, I think few weeks. We have to do an English proficiency test.

Evan Franulovich  7:40  
That's true. 

Ornelah Nzonou  7:40  
Yeah, I think they have some preparation classes for English, so I did all of that, and I sent the documents. It took me one week and a half. They said it will take two weeks maximum, but it took less than that, it was very fast. 

Evan Franulovich  8:09  
Yeah, that's great. I'm glad it happened fairly quickly for you. One thing a lot of students from Francophone countries ask is about the English proficiency. So which test did you take? 

Ornelah Nzonou  8:21  
I took the Duolingo test. 

Evan Franulovich  8:23  
Oh, you did? 

Ornelah Nzonou  8:24  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:24  
And you just did it from home?

Ornelah Nzonou  8:25  
Yeah, just the home, I just had my computer. I think it's the same thing for all the tests. But you have to be in an environment. You have to be very quiet, you have to be looking at the camera, just because it's a test. Every time I had to type and stuff, they'd be like, 'Girl, you have to put your head up. We need to see what you're doing.' 

Evan Franulovich  8:48  
Interesting. 

Ornelah Nzonou  8:49  
It scored like a real test. There's gonna be someone watching you.

Evan Franulovich  8:54  
So it's reading, writing, and then there's a spoken part. This is the speaking part with an actual human being? 

Ornelah Nzonou  9:02  
I don't think so. 

Evan Franulovich  9:03  
So it's like, AI or something?

Ornelah Nzonou  9:05  
I think there is some questions. And the speaking part is more about you saying something. I hope I remember well, they'll ask you a question about something in general and you have to speak a few words. Yeah, it's kind of a little speech.

Evan Franulovich  9:21  
Okay, fair enough. And my understanding is that Duolingo is fairly inexpensive, is that true?

Ornelah Nzonou  9:28  
Yeah, yeah. And that's why I chose it, because it was less expensive. 

Evan Franulovich  9:39  
For sure.

Ornelah Nzonou  9:31  
Because since the visa was really a second part of my life, I was like, 'I'm not gonna invest so much in this, if it's not going to end up well.' So my mom was like, 'No, you can do the TOEFL.' I was like, 'Girl, I'm going to school. I have all the things.' I was exaggerating.

Evan Franulovich  9:49  
TOEFL is expensive, I think. 

Ornelah Nzonou  9:51  
Yeah, it's more expensive. 

Evan Franulovich  9:58  
If you do take a Duolingo test, and a lot of our international applicants do. I recommend making sure you're connected to a really reliable power source, because if something happens, it can be a real pain in the act. So if you have brown outs in your area... I had some students from Mali that were doing it, and their power went out.

Ornelah Nzonou  10:21  
Oh, that happened in Togo a bit, I got lucky.

Evan Franulovich  10:27  
Make sure you're in a good spot, at a good time. You know you're gonna have reliable power, that's really important. But cool, so your score was high enough where you didn't have to do any Intensive English when you got here?

Ornelah Nzonou  10:38  
No, I got C1, that's the intermediate level.

Evan Franulovich  10:44  
So have you taken an English 101 course since you've been here? 

Ornelah Nzonou  10:47  
Not yet, because I came late. I was quite shocked by everything that was happening, so I didn't take the rights courses. So my first quarter, I didn't take English 101, and this quarter I was late. This quarter, the spring quarter, I didn't take English. I'm taking English 101 in Fall.

Evan Franulovich  11:09  
You're already registered. 

Ornelah Nzonou  11:10  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  11:11  
Cool. So what did you take your first quarter?

Ornelah Nzonou  11:13  
Oh, the first quarter. I was all about me taking classes, because I was in a rush and everything. So I took HTC 101, it was a class for orientation to college. 

Evan Franulovich  11:25  
Oh, yeah, yeah. 

Ornelah Nzonou  11:26  
That's a great class. 

Evan Franulovich  11:27  
Is it? 

Ornelah Nzonou  11:29  
It's a great class. I would like to advise everyone, if you're just an international student and you just came, I know you have plans for your degrees and everything, you had classes to take, but if your advisor tells you 'Oh, you could take this class' take it. It's a great class, because since I was new to the country, new to the environment, new to everything, new to Canvas and everything, so that class... I had a teacher, she's super nice. She helped us navigate canvas, the campus, the resources, the library, everything and the class is all about learning about the college. There's nothing else, just describing things that you could do. You learn about things.

Evan Franulovich  12:16  
That's great. You said Canvas, people that are listening who haven't left their country yet might not know what that is. 

Ornelah Nzonou  12:26  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  12:30  
Can you explain to them what Canvas is? 

Ornelah Nzonou  12:24  
I think Canvas is kind of a platform, if I could say. You have all your courses there. You have access to a lot of things about your classes, assignments, everything is on there. Mostly you have to know how to go around Canvas for your classes. Mind you, sometimes during my first quarter, I missed some assignments because I didn't know that they were there. So yeah, you have to know how to manage Canvas.

Evan Franulovich  12:52  
Yeah, that's a really good point. So taking this class helps you understand Canvas, because it's everything really. Not just at our school, but many schools use Canvas, or they'll use some equivalent. I've heard of like Blackboard is another version. Cool. So by the time you got your acceptance and your I-20, how long did it take from then until you actually got your appointment? 

Ornelah Nzonou  13:20  
Oh, it took one week, because my mom was all about, 'You have to get this down.' So I went to the US Embassy sites in my country. Actually, it took one week to set up everything but the actual appointment for the visa interview took one week more, so I would say two weeks. 

Evan Franulovich  13:40  
That's it? That's crazy.

Ornelah Nzonou  13:42  
When I tell you it was all rushed out, I was here, and I was like, how did I get here? Because everything was so fast.

Evan Franulovich  13:49  
Yeah, because students from Nigeria, sometimes they have to wait 100 days. Sometimes it's like three, four months or something. So that's really fast. So you guys are lucky in Togo. 

Ornelah Nzonou  13:49  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  13:55  
That's really awesome. And then when you went to your interview, how did it go? I mean, you were there for how long? What kinds of questions did they ask?

Ornelah Nzonou  14:09  
Actually, there was a line. When I tell you there was a line, it was a line. The line was quite long, because after everybody keeps going in and coming out, at some point it will be your time, it will be your turn. I was a little bit stressed, but not that much, because your whole family is gonna be like, 'Oh, this is serious.' I just turned 18, and my Mom was like 'You take everything as a joke, this is not a joke.' I was like, 'Girl, give me some time.' People going to tell you this is really serious, it is serious. Take it like a normal thing, don't pressure yourself. I got there, I saw the visa officer, she was a woman, also very nice. The first question she asked me, 'Do you speak English?' Since we are in a French speaking country. I said, yes. And the interview went well in English. Yeah, it was good.

Evan Franulovich  14:14  
Your English is quite good. So did you take a lot of English classes when you were in school? Your parents speak English? I mean, how did that happen? 

Ornelah Nzonou  14:15  
My mom does speak English. But actually, I had an English environment, because I was going to church, and the church was bilingual. 

Evan Franulovich  15:26  
Gotcha. 

Ornelah Nzonou  15:27  
The church was originally from Nigeria. So when they moved to Togo, we needed translators, so I was one of the translators at my church. I was in English environments all the time, so that's why my mom was 'You should go do the  interview well.'

Evan Franulovich  15:44  
Yeah, no kidding, that's great. That came in really handy. So there's a good way to improve your English.

Ornelah Nzonou  15:49  
If you're in Togo, please. I know we have English classes since middle school, not that much of English, but the basics. And people really neglect English. I hate to say this bit, you guys have to take English seriously. I'm not saying it's like the best thing ever, but it's gonna open doors for you. I'm not saying, not necessarily the US or anything, but it's just a plus. You speak two languages, and more is great. Just take English seriously, you never know what could come your way.

Evan Franulovich  16:15  
You never know. That's true for anywhere in French speaking West Africa or even Central Africa, Cameroon and whatever. Practice your English, guys. And if you practice your English before you come, it'll actually save you time and money.

Ornelah Nzonou  16:26  
Wow, that's true. Because I've seen the the ESL classes, no way, it's so long. Depending on your level, it could take you up to six months, depending on your level, to just get your English better. And you'll be in the country, and you'll just be learning English.

Evan Franulovich  17:04  
Well, we have five levels in our Institute of English, the third, fourth and fifth level are called college bridge, and you can take some college classes at the same time as you're doing your English instruction. So that's pretty good, but we want you to be as high level before you get here, because we want you to save time and money. I mean, if you want to take English classes, that's cool. We have them available. Don't let it hold up your time to get here. And also you should know that English classes are only here at Central. North and South don't have an institute of English. So if you want to go to North, that's fine, but you have to do your English classes here first, then transfer over to North. Now you are a North student, but you said before we got started, that you're working at or going to work.

Ornelah Nzonou  17:59  
Yeah, at South Seattle College. 

Evan Franulovich  18:02  
That's so cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:02  
Yeah, we have to work as an international student. We have to work on campus. 

Evan Franulovich  18:08  
Yep. 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:08  
So since I didn't find something at North, I kind of had to go through the rest of the campuses. 

Evan Franulovich  18:14  
Right. 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:15  
So I came here, and then I went to South, the first one to offer a job. So yeah, I took the job despite the distance.

Evan Franulovich  18:25  
I mean, it's not impossible. I've taken the bus out there many times. 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:28  
Yeah, and it actually helped me to discover the city and stuff.

Evan Franulovich  18:32  
So how did you find the job? Did you just walk around asking people, or did you see it on a board or something? 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:38  
No, actually, I met someone, and the person works there, and he actually told me that you could just come and talk to the staff. And I was like, 'Okay, talk to the staff. That's gonna be hard for me, because I don't talk.'

Evan Franulovich  18:54  
She does a little. 

Ornelah Nzonou  18:55  
Oh my goodness. So in there, I told him about my situation, 'I'm an international student, I can do more than this hours.' Okay, we get something for you, and I got the job. Yeah, so I'm gonna start in July. 

Evan Franulovich  19:11  
But you're also taking the summer off, you're not taking any classes. Cool. So other than work, what do you plan on doing over the summer?

Ornelah Nzonou  19:22  
I plan on discovering the city like for real. And actually, I'm learning Spanish, so I'm gonna put a little bit more into it. I need to get to the next level, because I've been on A1 in Spanish for a while now. I need to just speed it up, because I love Spanish culture and everything. 

Evan Franulovich  19:39  
Well, have you taken it as a class? 

Ornelah Nzonou  19:41  
Yeah, I did in my first quarter since I didn't really have choices. I was like, this is your sign, get to it, learn Spanish. You have to be better at that.

Ornelah Nzonou  19:45  
Like they would think it would be fairly easy for you. You know, French and Spanish are similar. 

Ornelah Nzonou  19:55  
I know, but I'm procrastinating. Actually, during the quarter I was taking the class, I was like, 'Oh my god, I was living my life in Spanish.' And when the quarter was over, I was like, 'Okay, let's take a break, focus on the math classes.' So I'm like, this summer is about discovering Seattle, the good places, the nice places, and speaking more of Spanish.

Evan Franulovich  20:22  
Well, we have a lot of students from Latin America.

Ornelah Nzonou  20:25  
Yeah, I met some people.

Evan Franulovich  20:27  
Do you use Duolingo, or you use any apps?

Ornelah Nzonou  20:33  
Yeah, I started with Duolingo, but it's quite slow. I downloaded another app. Oh, my God, I forget the name. I think it's link Q or something. Yeah, it was link Q something. It was created by the guy that speaks a lot of languages. Yeah, it's quite personal, they send you emails like, 'Yeah, this is your goal. You have to do this.' And I go to that for two weeks now, I'm going to go back.

Evan Franulovich  21:03  
Oh, good luck. Because Spanish is super useful here. I mean, over 25% of the US population is Spanish speaking. So, yeah, definitely comes in handy.

Ornelah Nzonou  21:13  
I love learning more languages. I don't have to translate everything in my mind, you feel more comfortable when you're speaking the people's language, instead of just having other things in your mind.

Evan Franulovich  21:27  
I agree. Do you have any plans for travel over the summer other than just discovering the city? 

Ornelah Nzonou  21:34  
Not at all.

Evan Franulovich  21:37  
Well, we have the train, so it's pretty easy if you wanted to go to a fairly close city like Portland, Oregon is really interesting. You can actually go to Vancouver, if you can get a visa for Canada as a tourist. That's kind of fun. Just make sure you get your I-20 sign if you do that. But yeah, Seattle is a great place. You can spend all summer discovering Seattle, that'll be cool. And you'll be working, what's the job that you're going to be doing? 

Ornelah Nzonou  22:03  
Events stuff. 

Evan Franulovich  22:05  
Okay, who was it you talked to then?

Ornelah Nzonou  22:08  
Oh, my God, I feel like you know the person. 

Evan Franulovich  22:10  
I probably do. 

Ornelah Nzonou  22:10  
Really? It was Patricia, and then I spoke to James.

Evan Franulovich  22:19  
One of the guys...I don't remember who it was I was talking to.

Ornelah Nzonou  22:28  
The person I talked to the most was Patricia. 

Evan Franulovich  22:33  
Okay, cool. I'm glad you got that job. Just so you guys know, if you want to work as an international student, you could definitely do it, on campus or at our district office too. It's another place you can look for work. The nice thing about Seattle Colleges, we have three campuses and the district, lots of places to look. Where did you look at North just out of curiosity? 

Ornelah Nzonou  22:55  
Oh, I look at the library, the art gallery. And also, I wanted to be a French tutor, since I speak French, but they already had someone. There is a Tourist Awareness Center. 

Evan Franulovich  23:10  
Yeah. 

Ornelah Nzonou  23:10  
I looked there also. And when I came here, I looked at the art gallery. Actually, the art gallery of Central didn't reject or anything, so I was still waiting on them. 

Evan Franulovich  23:21  
Cool. Sophia Bruscado from Brazil, she was a past guest of mine on the show. She worked at the art gallery up here, so we've had international students work at the art gallery. 

Ornelah Nzonou  23:32  
You can definitely work. 

Evan Franulovich  23:34  
Yeah, definitely at the gyms. That's a great job, from what I understand. Cool. All right, so you haven't traveled outside Togo before, this was your first time to the US? 

Ornelah Nzonou  23:44  
Yeah, this is my first time in the US. 

Evan Franulovich  23:45  
Wow, were you nervous? 

Ornelah Nzonou  23:47  
Kind of. Mind you, I never took a plane before, because going to Ghana, you just had to take your car and you get there in few hours. How's this gonna go? 

Evan Franulovich  24:08  
'How is this gonna go?'

Ornelah Nzonou  24:10  
It wasn't that much. I was stressing for nothing, it was okay. But actually, in the plane, after a few hours, because the first flight took me 11 hours. 

Evan Franulovich  24:11  
Wait a minute. Where'd you go? 

Ornelah Nzonou  24:22  
11 hours straight from Lomé, Togo to the US. I think it was Dulles.

Evan Franulovich  24:32  
Oh, gotcha. Was that on Air France? 

Ornelah Nzonou  24:35  
No, it was Ethiopia Airlines. 

Evan Franulovich  24:37  
Ah, yeah. That's a long time. 

Ornelah Nzonou  24:43  
I'm gonna confess something, I cried. I realized I'm not gonna see my family for a while. I didn't realize that before getting there, because I was playing the you know, 'It's okay.' My mom was like, 'Are you okay?' I was like, 'Yeah, what you mean?' And when I got there, I cried. And I was like, 'Yeah, but it's okay, you will see them.'

Evan Franulovich  25:08  
You see them online. Do you think they'll try to get a tourist visa and come over and visit?

Ornelah Nzonou  25:13  
Yeah, I think maybe for my graduation. 

Evan Franulovich  25:16  
Yeah, for sure. Come on over! 

Ornelah Nzonou  25:20  
My mom is gonna be like, 'I need to see this.'

Evan Franulovich  25:22  
And if you do, I want to meet you. That's really great. So you took 11 hours to get to Dulles, and then you switch planes. How long was your layover? 

Ornelah Nzonou  25:36  
Oh, it wasn't that long. Yeah, I think I had to take a flight to San Francisco, it was 30 or 50 minutes, and I've never been around airports, so I was like, Okay, what am I...? Thank God I speak English, because I had to ask around, what do I do? What's the next thing? Because the connecting flights and everything is totally messy. So I had to run around, and actually I thought I was going to get my my luggages when I get to Seattle, but that wasn't the case. I had to take my luggages back at Dulles. Yeah, it was weird a bit. 

Evan Franulovich  26:25  
Stressful. 

Ornelah Nzonou  26:26  
I was like, 'You're not gonna miss the flight. What are you going to do? What do you know here?'

Evan Franulovich  26:32  
Yeah, if you guys are getting ready to come to the US, make sure you ask, are the bags checked all the way through to Seattle? Yeah, because in some cases, you have to pick them up. And I think you check them in transfer. Yeah, I've had to do that too.

Ornelah Nzonou  26:47  
Don't make the same mistake as me.

Evan Franulovich  26:50  
When you arrived here, did you already have your housing set up?

Ornelah Nzonou  26:56  
Actually, I didn't have to do for housing or anything, because I came to live with my aunt.

Evan Franulovich  27:04  
How nice is that? 

Ornelah Nzonou  27:05  
Lucky me! 

Evan Franulovich  27:06  
So she picked you up at the airport. 

Ornelah Nzonou  27:07  
Yeah, it was so emotional. 

Evan Franulovich  27:09  
Oh, that's so cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  27:11  
Flowers and everything, I cried once again.

Evan Franulovich  27:16  
It was great. That's really cool.

Ornelah Nzonou  27:18  
I think I'm very lucky. 

Evan Franulovich  27:20  
For sure. 

Ornelah Nzonou  27:21  
Yeah, just all the international students are here, and most of them are just by themselves. I know it's quite hard to live by yourself. I'm just happy I have my aunt, she's nice.

Evan Franulovich  27:35  
So did you only apply to Seattle Colleges? 

Ornelah Nzonou  27:37  
Yes, I did. Actually, if I had to bring up the whole university abroad to my mom, she wouldn't have accepted. Because if I had to apply somewhere else, it would just mean I would have to live by myself. You just can't live by yourself. And back in back home, I can do a lot of things, and here I was, 'You don't let me go outside but you let me take three planes to go to a different continent.' They're just trying to protect us and everything. 

Evan Franulovich  28:14  
Right, which is understandable. But your aunt, she's pretty chill about you going out and exploring?

Ornelah Nzonou  28:21  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  28:21  
Good job. 

Ornelah Nzonou  28:23  
She's younger than my mom, she's chill. She studies and she works at the same time. 

Evan Franulovich  28:32  
Oh, that's great. 

Ornelah Nzonou  28:34  
But yeah, she taught me how to go on the busses, the public transport and everything. So it's on me to discover the city, and I'm getting it done, I'm getting there. 

Evan Franulovich  28:45  
How do you like in the public transportation?

Ornelah Nzonou  28:47  
Yeah, so far it's good, very easy. And since I'm under 18 you can ride for free, because I'm considered youth.

Evan Franulovich  28:58  
Do you live in the north part of the city? 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:01  
Yeah, Lake City, I live north. 

Evan Franulovich  29:04  
Near Northgate? 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:06  
Yeah, they're close. 

Evan Franulovich  29:08  
Do you walk to school? 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:12  
I take the bus, and then sometimes I stop at the Northgate station, because there's a bridge and you can walk on the bridge. So sometimes I walk on the bridge, but during the winter, I couldn't, it was so cold.

Evan Franulovich  29:29  
Definitely colder than Togo. 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:30  
Oh, I switched from Togo to Seattle during the winter season. Oh, my God. What did you do that? Because it was a shock. 

Evan Franulovich  29:40  
Okay. 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:41  
During that quarter, I definitely didn't walk. I just took the bus straight to school, and when I got down, I just take the stairs to my classes.

Evan Franulovich  29:50  
Well, it is colder than Togo, I will admit that, but it's not too bad, is it? 

Ornelah Nzonou  29:55  
No, not that much. I'm getting used to it, but actually it's definitely going to be a shock. 

Evan Franulovich  30:01  
For sure. 

Ornelah Nzonou  30:02  
But you get around it.

Evan Franulovich  30:07  
The summer is coming and the weather outside looking pretty good.

Ornelah Nzonou  30:11  
My teachers during my first quarter, they're like, just wait for the summer, it's great. 

Evan Franulovich  30:19  
Summer is the best. 

Ornelah Nzonou  30:20  
They were right. It's very chill now, it's not too hot. We had a very hot day, and then the next day was so cold. 

Evan Franulovich  30:30  
In my opinion, the big difference between here and West Africa, is we don't have the humidity, it's just pleasant. I'm so hot when I'm in Nigeria. 

Ornelah Nzonou  30:48  
West Africa, in the heat. We complain a lot about the heat. We kind of get around it, you get used to it. 

Evan Franulovich  30:56  
Okay. 

Ornelah Nzonou  30:57  
If you keep coming back to Seattle, stay in West Africa for a while, you're gonna get used to the weather. But sweating coming back, it's always gonna be a reset point.

Evan Franulovich  31:10  
Well, you talked before we started rolling about not knowing a lot of people, are you aware of the student activities that happen on the campuses?

Ornelah Nzonou  31:23  
Yeah, last time I saw a distress day out. 

Evan Franulovich  31:27  
Yes?

Ornelah Nzonou  31:27  
Yeah, at the Volunteer Park. I didn't go.

Evan Franulovich  31:32  
That's okay. They have like, 3-4-5, events every quarter. For instance, we just had recently the talent night. Did you come to the talent night? 

Ornelah Nzonou  31:42  
No, I didn't. Most of the time. I think about the distance, I think the talent was here.

Evan Franulovich  31:47  
Yeah, it was at Central, but there was a bunch of north students. 

Ornelah Nzonou  31:50  
I saw it on my Canvas dashboard.

Evan Franulovich  31:53  
Well, they'll do it again next year. 

Ornelah Nzonou  31:56  
I am a great introvert, so sometimes I think I just overthink about going out. How am I going to make friends? Am I going to get to people? 

Evan Franulovich  32:10  
Well, here's one thing you can do if you have a hard time making friends, is you can use us. I'll connect you, I know a lot of students now, so I can definitely connect you with people. But sometimes it's just as easy as walking up someone and saying hi. 

Ornelah Nzonou  32:25  
Actually, the thing that has been making me just closer to people is my classes. Yeah, because some classes, I have a math class, and it's very interactive. The professor just make us talk and like everytime you have an idea, you have to share and everything.

Evan Franulovich  32:46  
Yeah, for sure, and that makes the pain more pleasant when you have friends around you for something like math. 

Ornelah Nzonou  32:52  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  32:54  
Do you find that the American school system is a lot different than what you experienced in Togo?

Ornelah Nzonou  32:59  
Yeah, it is different. The difference is quite different. 

Evan Franulovich  33:04  
In what way? 

Ornelah Nzonou  33:04  
I would say the whole technology thing, the whole canvas thing. Maybe because I didn't really do university back in my country, but the whole thing of having a software platform where you have assignments and everything, I think most of the assignments we have in my country were hand reading, you just write, and we didn't have to go... Actually, you could go around the system without a computer. Yeah, I think so. I won't talk about something that I haven't experienced, I think maybe the university level needed technology and stuff.

Evan Franulovich  33:45  
But what about the way that the instructors deliver material or teach the class, do you find that it's different?

Ornelah Nzonou  33:53  
Yeah, it is. My first quarter to my professor said, 'Oh, don't call me a professor. You can just call me Zach.' I was like, 'Really?' You have to be very formal, but here it's more like, 'Just call me by my first name.' That was different, it was quite hard for me. The professor wasn't worried that, he was like whatever you want to call me.

Evan Franulovich  34:01  
Just call me Bob, whatever.  I got you. Oh, it's Trivia Time. So this is the part of the show where we ask you five questions. If you get them all right, you'll be on our wall of fame if you get anything wrong, the shame that'll come at night. 

Ornelah Nzonou  34:50  
They'll come for me. 

Evan Franulovich  34:51  
You'll be fine. Okay, first question is: There is a capital in every state in the United States, what is the capital of the state you live in now? 

Ornelah Nzonou  35:05  
I'll say Seattle.

Evan Franulovich  35:07  
No, I'm sorry, Seattle is not the capital of Washington. The capital is Olympia. 

Ornelah Nzonou  35:12  
Oh, my. 

Evan Franulovich  35:13  
It's a tough one. But you know, you can take Amtrak down to Olympia. It's really cheap, it's a nice little city to look around if you're interested. It's a lot of fun. Second question, what is the largest city in the state of Washington?

Ornelah Nzonou  35:33  
Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  35:34  
It is Seattle. Good job! 

Ornelah Nzonou  35:38  
Oh, at least I got one. 

Evan Franulovich  35:41  
Here's the third question: There are two countries that border the United States, what are they?

Ornelah Nzonou  35:49  
Canada, Mexico? 

Evan Franulovich  35:52  
Yes, Canada and Mexico. 

Ornelah Nzonou  35:55  
Mexico, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  35:57  
So if you want to, you could travel to Mexico to practice your Spanish. That would be cool.

Ornelah Nzonou  36:03  
I'm thinking about going to Cancun. So cool, right? I just have to just take more classes before, get down with my classes before thinking about enjoying.

Evan Franulovich  36:14  
And would someone from Togo need a visa to go to Mexico? 

Ornelah Nzonou  36:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  36:17  
But that'd probably be pretty easy to get, I would think. Remember, if you go to Mexico to get your I-20 sign all that good stuff. Yeah, that would be really cool. And I think if you watch the airfares carefully, they sometimes have pretty good sales. 

Ornelah Nzonou  36:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  36:30  
Cancun would be cool. All right. Question number four: World Cup is supposed to be in the United States next year and Togo may come. We also have a domestic team, a local soccer team. Do you know the name of our soccer team?

Ornelah Nzonou  36:55  
The soccer team of the US? 

Evan Franulovich  36:57  
Of Seattle. The city of Seattle, has a team. 

Ornelah Nzonou  37:00  
I'm so not into football. I'll just come up with something, dolphins?

Evan Franulovich  37:10  
Not the dolphins. That's a great guess. First one I've heard. It's the Sounders, the Seattle Sounders. Have you been to a baseball game yet?

Ornelah Nzonou  37:20  
No, no, no. 

Evan Franulovich  37:22  
Well, we need to get you out to it. So the student activities they do take college students out to a baseball game in the spring. So they'll do it again next year. It's really cheap, it's super fun, it's very cultural. 

Ornelah Nzonou  37:35  
I really have to go out. I really have to change things. 

Evan Franulovich  37:41  
So I want to put this on your calendar, so put it in the back of your mind. Yeah, in the fall, we have the Halloween party at the end of October 31. 

Ornelah Nzonou  37:50  
At Central? 

Evan Franulovich  37:53  
It's usually at Central, I think they've all been at Central. But in my opinion, the Halloween party is one of the funnest activities, it's a dance, it's food, it's dressing up in costumes. It's definitely worth your time going and you'll meet a lot of people so and it's both domestic and international students, which is cool. Have you had much interaction with domestic students?

Ornelah Nzonou  38:17  
Yeah, because most of my classes, I'm like, the only international student there. 

Evan Franulovich  38:22  
Oh, you're the only one? 

Ornelah Nzonou  38:24  
Yeah, most of the time. 

Evan Franulovich  38:25  
Wow. That's interesting. 

Ornelah Nzonou  38:26  
I've just taken two quarters. 

Evan Franulovich  38:28  
Sure, sure. 

Ornelah Nzonou  38:29  
I had friends, not friends, but like classmates, I would say, from they had like origins, but they were actually Americans. I had one from Mexico. 

Evan Franulovich  38:40  
Oh, cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  38:41  
I can't believe I forgot her country. I think was Belgium, but like, she's been here in the United States for a while.

Evan Franulovich  38:49  
Wow. Do you find that the domestic students are curious about you being an international student? Are they shy? 

Ornelah Nzonou  38:56  
No, I won't to say shy, but I mean, everybody's in their own corner. And most of the time when we have to talk is because the professor asking us to do something together, we don't actually talk about ourselves. I get it because I'm a shy person, so I totally get someone be in the in their places. But most of the time when we get to a point like, 'Oh, where are you from?' They're quite curious, it's just the right amount.

Evan Franulovich  39:22  
And I'm guessing you have you met... most Americans don't know where Togo is. I mean, they're really like Togo, where is it?

Ornelah Nzonou  39:32  
I know. We aren't very famous, but we have vibrant cultures. You have to learn more about us. 

Ornelah Nzonou  39:39  
Check it out. 

Evan Franulovich  39:40  
Yeah, get a map out if you don't know where Togo is, and find it.

Ornelah Nzonou  39:43  
Quite small there. Yeah, you'll find us.

Evan Franulovich  39:47  
Which is bigger, Togo or Benin, they look the same size. 

Ornelah Nzonou  39:49  
Benin is bigger. 

Evan Franulovich  39:50  
It is. 

Ornelah Nzonou  39:51  
Benin has like the opposite of Benin speaking.

Evan Franulovich  39:53  
Okay, gotcha. Well, it's right next to Benin. And there's a little clue for you near Nigeria and Ghana, right next to Ghana. Yeah, you can just drive on in. That's very cool. So let's see question number five: What was the last movie you saw in a the movie theater?

Ornelah Nzonou  40:05  
I thought you were just going to stop when you said movie theater. Oh, actually, movie in the US? 

Evan Franulovich  40:22  
In the US. 

Ornelah Nzonou  40:23  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  40:25  
Not yet. 

Ornelah Nzonou  40:23  
The Barbie film. Yeah, it was a comedy thing. When it came out, I really wanted to go. I went with my friends, it was super nice. We just laughs all the way. 

Evan Franulovich  40:25  
It's ridiculous. 

Ornelah Nzonou  40:26  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  40:31  
I liked it though, I thought it was good.

Ornelah Nzonou  40:39  
I actually had plans of watching The Lion King. 

Evan Franulovich  40:45  
Oh, yeah. 

Ornelah Nzonou  40:46  
And also, I've seen some things online with, going to school and being an introvert is not easy. Give me some time, maybe I'll bring you guys more experience.

Evan Franulovich  41:00  
All right, fair enough. That sounds good. I highly recommend going to a theater in the United States, because it's such a cultural experience. I used to live in Belgium and going to a movie theater in Belgium, it's a little different. And I lived in China, China was definitely different. 

Ornelah Nzonou  41:15  
You've been all around the world. 

Evan Franulovich  41:17  
I've been around a little bit. Yeah, I am very lucky thankfully. Maybe I'll get to Togo soon, that would be really cool. I mean, I'm gonna be in Ghana in September, so it's right there. I should just drive across. Is it easy to get across the border? Is it pretty safe?

Ornelah Nzonou  41:32  
Kind of depends on who is there. Okay, sometimes the offices get quite... mostly, if you someone that knows around, that can get around the whole bird of stuff, it will be easy for you. Yeah,

Evan Franulovich  41:46  
Togo compared to Ghana, which is safer? 

Ornelah Nzonou  41:48  
Safer? 

Evan Franulovich  41:49  
Or you think they're about the same.

Ornelah Nzonou  41:51  
No, actually, I don't know about how the whole Ghana thing is, but Togo is quite safe. Okay, we don't have noise. Literally, that's why you guys don't hear about us. We don't make any noise. We are so peaceful. One of the thing I heard, if you're gonna hear about a country, it's gonna be their war, or it's gonna be politics, or it's gonna be the economy, we do have those problems, but it's not at the higher level, you know? So, yeah, it's quite safe, everyone's chill. You have bad things, just as in any country. If you don't hear by it, believe me, it's because it's not happening that much.

Evan Franulovich  42:31  
That's great. All right, cool. Well, those are the five questions. Good job.

Ornelah Nzonou  42:36  
I only got one of out of eight. 

Evan Franulovich  42:38  
That's not bad, though. I mean, you know you got one, that's good. 

Ornelah Nzonou  42:41  
The walk of shame. 

Evan Franulovich  42:42  
We'll get you out, and about so you can learn more. 

Ornelah Nzonou  42:45  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  42:49  
We're wrapping up the show. I always like to end by asking you to speak in one of your native languages for about 10 to 20 seconds. I mean, we know you're a French speaker, but you said you also speak another language. 

Ornelah Nzonou  43:04  
Yeah, we speak another language in Togo is a Ewe/Mina. 

Evan Franulovich  43:08  
Cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  43:09  
What would you like me to say?

Evan Franulovich  43:11  
You can say whatever you want. You can say hi to your friends and family back home. You can encourage students in your region if you want, whatever you feel like.

Ornelah Nzonou  43:44  
*Ornelah's advice in Ewe/Mina* I just told him to come.

Evan Franulovich  43:53  
That's awesome. It sounds like there is a little French.

Ornelah Nzonou  43:58  
Actually, I think some people master the higher level. But around the country, we usually just mix it with French, because you can't get the complicated words that much. 

Evan Franulovich  44:09  
Yeah, that's very cool. The final question, you've been through it now, you've got your visa, you've traveled to the US, you've got settled in, started your classes. So what advice would you give to someone who's back home somewhere in the region, thinking about being an international student? 

Ornelah Nzonou  44:30  
I will first start with the French speaking countries, and I've brought this out, but I'll just say it again. Try to take English seriously, and if you are really planning to come to the US take the English classes there, because we do have English classes, and that's a chance for us. That's a great thing, because some people don't have access to English. And also, if you do like me, maybe you've started school somewhere. Just try it, don't be scared or anything. And if you're gonna live here by yourself, I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be quite difficult for you. I guess you just make friends. Just don't be like me, make more friends. And people are very nice, by the way. People are very nice, I haven't had any bad experiences. Before getting getting here, I was getting lost. And I asked someone on street and she was like, 'Oh, right here.' She almost came here with me. 

Evan Franulovich  45:34  
That's cool. 

Ornelah Nzonou  45:36  
Just do everything you need to do. Take the step. Don't be scared.

Evan Franulovich  45:44  
Don't be scared, just come on, 

Ornelah Nzonou  45:46  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  45:46  
Well, we're gonna set you up with some people, we will get you plugged into the community. And you know, don't be shy, that's great advice. But if you are a little shy, I totally get it, I've been there. Just reach out for help, we've got lots of people, especially your international ambassadors,

Ornelah Nzonou  46:05  
Yeah, my advisor, they've been so helpful.

Evan Franulovich  46:09  
Yeah, for sure. Cool! Well, it's so great to meet you and to talk to you. 

Ornelah Nzonou  46:14  
Yeah, it was great. 

Evan Franulovich  46:18  
And I'm looking forward to going to Togo very soon I hope I'll be there in September.

Ornelah Nzonou  46:25  
Don't forget to try the dishes at all. People will tell you the at comments, don't worry.

Evan Franulovich  46:32  
Okay, very cool. All right, guys, don't forget to join us every Wednesday, right here on 'Conversations with!' Please share, subscribe, like, we want to get the word out for everybody so they can get good information about being an international student. Take care guys, thanks for joining us. Bye, bye.

Evan Franulovich  46:56  
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.