S4E8: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Enoala Zanesco of Brazil

In this our 8th (eighth) episode of Season 4, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Enoala Zanesco of Brazil about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Enoala!

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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  1:04  
Hey everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges Conversations with! We're here at Central today. Welcome to Season Four. Proud and happy to welcome yet another guest from the country of Brazil.

Enoala Zanesco  1:25  
Brazil is with S, not with Z. 

Evan Franulovich  1:29  
Say it again. 

Enoala Zanesco  1:29  
We write Brazil with S, not with Z. 

Evan Franulovich  1:32  
That's true. Spelling wise, it would be with an S. Yeah, good point. But it still kind of sounds like a Z sound. 

Enoala Zanesco  1:40  
Yeah, it does sound like a Z, but it's with S. 

Evan Franulovich  1:42  
That's with an S. So take notice out there. Well, great. I'm so glad you're here. Thanks for coming. I want to start by just having you tell everybody who you are, your full name, maybe what your major is, and how long you've been here?

Enoala Zanesco  1:42  
So my name is Enoala Zanesco. Can you repeat your question please? 

Evan Franulovich  1:50  
What's your major?

Enoala Zanesco  2:06  
My major is the BTM - Business Technology Management program. And this is my fourth quarter here. So I've been here for a year and a half.

Evan Franulovich  2:17  
Year and a half. So in that time, did you do three quarters and take a vacation quarter?

Enoala Zanesco  2:23  
Yes, I just took the summer quarter. 

Evan Franulovich  2:25  
Ah, what'd you do? 

Enoala Zanesco  2:27  
I stayed here. I went to visit some friends in Florida. Did a lot of hikes, a lot of swimming. 

Evan Franulovich  2:34  
Nice. 

Enoala Zanesco  2:34  
I went to the National Park. 

Evan Franulovich  2:36  
Which one? 

Enoala Zanesco  2:39  
The Cascades.

Evan Franulovich  2:43  
Is it a big mountain or many mountains? 

Enoala Zanesco  2:46  
It's many mountains. 

Evan Franulovich  2:48  
So like North Cascades National Park? 

Enoala Zanesco  2:50  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:50  
So by my way, north of the city. 

Enoala Zanesco  2:53  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  2:53  
Cool. What'd you think? 

Enoala Zanesco  2:54  
It's beautiful. The water is very blue. It's stunning. 

Evan Franulovich  3:00  
Yeah, one of the least visited national parks, which is amazing to me, because it's such a pretty place. Go check it out, guys, if you're here. You must have a car then?

Enoala Zanesco  3:10  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  3:10  
Okay.

Enoala Zanesco  3:11  
Yes, we drove there. We stayed there too. 

Evan Franulovich  3:14  
Oh, yeah. 

Enoala Zanesco  3:15  
So we stayed in Forks.

Evan Franulovich  3:16  
Oh, you went to Olympic National Park. 

Enoala Zanesco  3:19  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  3:20  
Which is also a very nice place. What movie was filmed in Forks...? 

Enoala Zanesco  3:25  
The Twilight. 

Evan Franulovich  3:27  
Twilight. Now are you a Twilight fan?

Enoala Zanesco  3:30  
I used to be. My sister is obsessed with the movies, so I watched it because of her. 

Evan Franulovich  3:36  
Yeah? 

Enoala Zanesco  3:37  
It's very nice. So we stayed in Forks. We did all the Twilight things, we went to the beach where they shoot the movie, it was nice.

Evan Franulovich  3:50  
So there's a little museum now, right? 

Enoala Zanesco  3:52  
Yes, we didn't get into the museum. 

Evan Franulovich  3:55  
Oh, okay. 

Enoala Zanesco  3:56  
But we just walked around downtown Forks and took pictures. They have a big sign that says 'Welcome to Forks.' And 'This is the Twilight Zone.'

Evan Franulovich  4:07  
It's not a big city, right? 

Enoala Zanesco  4:09  
It's very little. I was expecting it to be a little bigger, but it's very small.

Evan Franulovich  4:16  
A gas station, maybe. You're not the first guest that I've had that has talked about Twilight. So if you guys are Twilight fans, Forks is about a 4-5 hours drive.

Enoala Zanesco  4:29  
Yes, if you take the ferry, then it's about three hours, or you can go around.

Evan Franulovich  4:36  
So is that what you guys did? 

Enoala Zanesco  4:37  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  4:38  
So when you took the ferry, where did you leave from? 

Enoala Zanesco  4:41  
From Redmond. 

Evan Franulovich  4:42  
Okay, Redmond. Took the ferry from.

Enoala Zanesco  4:49  
To be honest, I'm not sure. 

Evan Franulovich  4:51  
I think you must have taken the ferry from Seattle over to which city. I wonder.

Enoala Zanesco  4:58  
It's not. I didn't drive there. I was the passenger.

Evan Franulovich  5:04  
So did you get together with a few international student friends? No, I went with my boyfriend and his aunt. Oh, is your boyfriend also an international student? 

Enoala Zanesco  5:13  
No, he's American. 

Evan Franulovich  5:14  
He's from the US. What does he do?

Enoala Zanesco  5:16  
He's an electrical engineer. 

Evan Franulovich  5:18  
He works for Blue Origin. 

Enoala Zanesco  5:20  
For what? 

Evan Franulovich  5:21  
Blue Origin. 

Enoala Zanesco  5:22  
Rockets.

Evan Franulovich  5:24  
Oh, no kidding. That's good to know. Is that a big company here? 

Enoala Zanesco  5:28  
Yes, it's Jeff Bezos. 

Evan Franulovich  5:33  
And where is that company exactly? 

Enoala Zanesco  5:36  
It's in Kent. 

Evan Franulovich  5:39  
There you go. Aerospace engineers, I get a lot of people asking about being aerospace engineer students. That's a great thing to know.

Enoala Zanesco  5:47  
He does avionics, if I'm not wrong,

Evan Franulovich  5:50  
Probably. Cool. But you're in Business Technology Management. 

Enoala Zanesco  5:55  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  5:56  
Tell us about that. We've had other BTM students on, but maybe just refresh everybody's mind. What is BTM? What does it prepare you to do?

Enoala Zanesco  6:07  
BTM is a mix between business and IT classes. 

Evan Franulovich  6:12  
Okay. 

Enoala Zanesco  6:12  
So you take a lot of customer management classes, Business 101, and business law, so you get that foundation in business. But then you go to the IT side, so you take Excel classes, and you learn how to manage the few different apps, like teams. And I think the classes I'm taking now, it's cloud foundations. 

Evan Franulovich  6:43  
Cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  6:42  
So you learn how about manage the cloud. I forgot the word. 

Evan Franulovich  6:53  
That's all right. It's a two-year program, right?

Enoala Zanesco  6:56  
It's a two-year program. I think they have a certificate program too, but I'm doing the associates.

Evan Franulovich  7:01  
You're doing the whole associate. And then when you're done with the associates, do you go on to work on a bachelor's, or do you just go to work? 

Enoala Zanesco  7:09  
I can go to work on a bachelor's because I'm doing a transfer one. But if you want to just finish there and just get associates, you also can.

Evan Franulovich  7:17  
And do you plan on doing OPT? 

Enoala Zanesco  7:20  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  7:21  
Oh, cool. Do you have an idea of where you want to do your OPT?

Enoala Zanesco  7:25  
No, I haven't decided yet. 

Evan Franulovich  7:28  
We have a little time. 

Enoala Zanesco  7:29  
Yes.

Evan Franulovich  7:31  
All right, well, let's get back to where you're from. We know you're from Brazil, but where specifically in Brazil are you from?

Enoala Zanesco  7:38  
I'm from a very small city called Socorro. It's funny, because if you translate to English, it translates to help. It's the word help.

Evan Franulovich  7:39  
Yes, that's right. There's a lot of people in distress in your city?

Enoala Zanesco  7:53  
No, it's a very beautiful city. It's small, it's very touristic. So people go there to enjoy the small hotels. There's lots of waterfalls and mountains. It's really nice. It's on the country side. So if you like horses and small cities, it's a nice place to be.

Evan Franulovich  8:14  
It's not a big place? 

Enoala Zanesco  8:15  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  8:16  
I mean, Sao Paulo is so massive. 

Enoala Zanesco  8:19  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  8:19  
So to get there from Sao Paulo, you would take a train. Would you take a bus? 

Enoala Zanesco  8:25  
You can take the bus, or you can drive. It's a short drive. It's about two hours. 

Evan Franulovich  8:30  
That's not too bad. 

Enoala Zanesco  8:31  
And the way there, it's beautiful. 

Evan Franulovich  8:34  
Yeah, right. 

Enoala Zanesco  8:34  
You could take the scenic way.

Evan Franulovich  8:37  
Okay, so when you were young, you went to school, you went to public school or private? 

Enoala Zanesco  8:42  
Yes, I've always went to public school. My family has a farm, so I grew up in the farm. 

Evan Franulovich  8:48  
Oh, cool. What kind of farm? 

Enoala Zanesco  8:51  
They have dairy cows and pigs and fish. And they do like plantation stuff.

Evan Franulovich  9:00  
Do you plan to go back and work the farm eventually?

Enoala Zanesco  9:03  
No, it's not as big as it used to be before, because my grandfather was the one running it, and since he passed the uncles and my mom and my dad just took different routes. My dad still does work on the farm, but not his own farm. Okay, he just works for different people now.

Evan Franulovich  9:23  
Right. So you never considered going into agriculture, going into those animal?

Enoala Zanesco  9:29  
No, my mom is very into business. She has her own business. 

Evan Franulovich  9:34  
What kind?

Enoala Zanesco  9:34  
She had a clothing store. And when we were young, she would like go door to door to sell. So that was nice. She will put us in the car and would take us with her.

Evan Franulovich  9:46  
What? So she would just carry boxes of clothes with her. 

Enoala Zanesco  9:51  
Yes. Beauty products and hair products, jewelry, all kind of stuff.

Evan Franulovich  9:58  
I think this kind of thing is back in the 50s or 60s, but people are still doing this.

Enoala Zanesco  10:06  
I think now it's not as big as it used to be, and because it's a small community, so you know everyone. So you go to the person's house that you already know, or you know their family, or you know someone that knows that person. 

Evan Franulovich  10:23  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  10:23  
So I remember, in each neighborhood, my mom would have a person in that neighborhood, would bring people to their house, and then she would go there and sell this. 

Evan Franulovich  10:35  
Is it kind of like Pampered Chef? Are you familiar with Pampered Chef? Pampered Chef is like when you bring together a bunch of your friends, and then you sell, like, kitchen wares?

Enoala Zanesco  10:49  
Yes, like Tupperware. 

Evan Franulovich  10:52  
Same kind of thing.

Enoala Zanesco  10:54  
She wasn't trying to get people to sell stuff, because I see that a lot.

Evan Franulovich  10:59  
Oh, kind of a pyramid marketing thing. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:01  
Yeah, it was not like that. She was the one selling.

Evan Franulovich  11:04  
She was the one selling. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:05  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  11:07  
That's pretty cool.

Enoala Zanesco  11:09  
She was really good. She raised us. When we were a little older, one of her sisters had a physical store in the city, and then she opened a small store in the back of her sister's store. 

Evan Franulovich  11:25  
Wow. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:26  
So she started there, and then she moved to a store of her own. 

Evan Franulovich  11:30  
That's cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:31  
She's still doing it.

Evan Franulovich  11:33  
So she was doing that while you guys were in school, I'm guessing. So you went to public school, you said the high school that you went to and graduated from. What's the name of that school?

Enoala Zanesco  11:42  
João Apocalipse.

Evan Franulovich  11:42  
Shout out. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:42  
It's in a different city, though. Yeah, when I was in high school, we moved to a different city.

Evan Franulovich  11:52  
Which city is it?

Enoala Zanesco  11:53  
Pedra Bela.

Evan Franulovich  11:53  
Oh, very cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  11:56  
They have a big rock, and there's a little church on top of the rock, and they have the biggest zip line in the Americas.

Evan Franulovich  12:05  
You mean as far as distance goes? 

Enoala Zanesco  12:07  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  12:08  
How far you go on the zipline? 

Enoala Zanesco  12:08  
I have no idea.

Evan Franulovich  12:08  
Have you been on it? 

Enoala Zanesco  12:11  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  12:11  
Oh, are you interested? 

Enoala Zanesco  12:13  
Yes, when I was there, they were building it. And then I think, because I was there every day you kind of don't give much attention to it. And now that I'm not there anymore, I miss it, and I feel like I missed the opportunity to ride it. But maybe when I go visit.

Evan Franulovich  12:31  
You go home fairly often?

Enoala Zanesco  12:35  
No, since I moved here, I haven't been home. 

Evan Franulovich  12:37  
Wow. 

Enoala Zanesco  12:39  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  12:39  
So are you missing home, or are you just enjoy it? 

Enoala Zanesco  12:40  
Yes, I'm missing home. I think I'm at the point that I need to go soon, because it's getting worse.

Evan Franulovich  12:47  
Yeah, I understand. But you were here during the summer. So one of the things when I talk to students from when I go travel around and I talk to students from Latin America or Africa, or Middle East, they're always wondering about the weather in Seattle. Let's talk about the weather so far, since you've been here, what do you think?

Enoala Zanesco  13:08  
I was expecting worse. Because when you talk with people about Seattle, they'll say, 'Oh, it rains all the time.' I don't think it rains all the time. 

Evan Franulovich  13:16  
It doesn't.

Enoala Zanesco  13:17  
It will rain a few days, but it is not bad, and it's not like I'm staying out in the rain, I have a car, I'm in the school, I'm in my house, I'm going somewhere, so the rain doesn't bother me that much, and it's not as cold as other states, because I've been to a few different states, and Washington is the best state by far.

Evan Franulovich  13:40  
It's super moderate, right? It's really easy. And the summer?

Enoala Zanesco  13:42  
It's beautiful. Seattle summers are the best.

Evan Franulovich  13:50  
Right. So I just came back from Africa, and I show people on a map, I go, this is where Seattle is, and they see how close we are to Canada and they just assume that it's freezing cold.

Enoala Zanesco  13:58  
It's completely different. I have a friend in Canada, and in the winter I'll see her posts and it will be like inches of snow. We have maybe two snowy days.

Evan Franulovich  14:01  
Now, have you gone up and gone skiing, snowboarding? 

Enoala Zanesco  14:16  
Yes, I'm trying to learn how to snowboard.

Evan Franulovich  14:20  
Cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  14:20  
It's hard. 

Evan Franulovich  14:21  
You could be on the Olympic team for Brazil. 

Enoala Zanesco  14:24  
I don't think so. 

Evan Franulovich  14:26  
They must have a good snowboarder. 

Enoala Zanesco  14:29  
In Brazil? No, we never get snow. We are a very tropical country. There's snow around us, like in Chile.

Evan Franulovich  14:40  
Porto Alegre gets chilly down there. 

Enoala Zanesco  14:43  
It gets a little chillier, but it doesn't compare.

Evan Franulovich  14:49  
Well, see, then there wouldn't be that much competition to get on the team. That would be really great. 

Enoala Zanesco  14:54  
I gotta create the team. 

Evan Franulovich  14:56  
Well, before we go any further, I want to do this segment 'Getting to know you.' Let's just go through a few questions. All you got to tell me is, which one you would choose. All right, it's very simple. So, coffee or tea? 

Enoala Zanesco  15:08  
Coffee. 

Evan Franulovich  15:08  
Yeah? 

Enoala Zanesco  15:09  
Definitely coffee. 

Evan Franulovich  15:10  
Brazilian coffee is really good.

Enoala Zanesco  15:12  
It's really good. It's the best, I agree.

Evan Franulovich  15:15  
All right, mountains or the beach?

Enoala Zanesco  15:19  
Mountains.

Evan Franulovich  15:20  
I'm surprised. 

Enoala Zanesco  15:21  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  15:21  
Wow. Okay, early bird or night owl? 

Enoala Zanesco  15:25  
Early bird. 

Evan Franulovich  15:26  
Books or movies?

Enoala Zanesco  15:29  
it depends on kind of movie or what kind of book, but I would say movies.

Evan Franulovich  15:35  
Probably. I feel like movies because I can watch them, and then it's done. Yes, books take time. 

Enoala Zanesco  15:39  
And now with school, there's so much to do. 

Evan Franulovich  15:43  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  15:44  
I already have a lot of readings.

Evan Franulovich  15:46  
I'm sure you do. That's right. Okay, how about texting or phone calls? 

Enoala Zanesco  15:52  
Phone calls. 

Evan Franulovich  15:53  
Oh, that's good. I'm really surprised. I figured, because you're much younger than I am, I figure your generation would be more texting. But a lot of people have said phone calls, that's refreshing. Cats or dogs? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:04  
Dogs. 

Evan Franulovich  16:05  
You have dogs back home? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:06  
No.

Evan Franulovich  16:07  
On a farm I figure you'd have dogs. Cats?

Enoala Zanesco  16:12  
No cats too. We used to have a few dogs, but it's never your dog is just an outside dog. So I never had a dog that was mine.

Evan Franulovich  16:24  
You never bonded with a dog. All right, fair enough. City or country? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:28  
Country. 

Evan Franulovich  16:29  
Okay. Adventure or chill at home? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:32  
Adventure. 

Evan Franulovich  16:32  
You seem adventurous. Summer or winter? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:35  
Summer. 

Evan Franulovich  16:38  
And then cooking at home or eating out? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:40  
Cooking at home. 

Evan Franulovich  16:40  
Yeah? Are you good cook? 

Enoala Zanesco  16:42  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  16:43  
Really? What's your signature dish?

Enoala Zanesco  16:47  
I would say anything with meat, because back home, we eat a lot of meat. 

Evan Franulovich  16:53  
Yes, it's true. 

Enoala Zanesco  16:55  
So any barbecue dish.

Evan Franulovich  16:59  
Whenever I'm in Brazil, all I do is eat beef over and over and over again. 

Enoala Zanesco  17:03  
And I'm from the farm, so fresh meat, fresh milk, fresh cheese. 

Evan Franulovich  17:09  
All the time. 

Enoala Zanesco  17:10  
It's really good quality meat, fresh ingredients.

Evan Franulovich  17:14  
Cool, all right. Well, let's talk some more about when you were younger. You were in high school. Did you dream about being an international student? Or did it just kind of come up and you took advantage of the opportunity? 

Enoala Zanesco  17:27  
I always wanted to leave the farm. I didn't know where to go or what to do, but my mom said I was always saying that I wanted to live in a different country. She said that when I was a kid, I wanted to be a flight attendant, because I wanted to fly around. 

Evan Franulovich  17:48  
Sure. 

Enoala Zanesco  17:51  
But I didn't set anything, I didn't have a country. I didn't have that. I just wanted to leave, go somewhere. Yeah, and it's hard, because when you are from a small city, you don't know a lot of people that have done that. So the options are not there, or are harder to get to it. And then I had a cousin that she was an au pair a few years ago. And then when she came back, we had a conversation. I was like, maybe I'll try that. 

Evan Franulovich  18:28  
So you came as an Au Pair. 

Enoala Zanesco  18:29  
I came as an Au Pair, yes. And then I came right after covid. I remember that I was doing my application before covid, and then covid hit, and then everything shut down. 

Evan Franulovich  18:44  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  18:44  
I had to wait until covid was was better. So I came right after covid, as in Au Pair.

Evan Franulovich  18:51  
Right. For two years? 

Enoala Zanesco  18:53  
For two years. And I was like, 'I'll go there. I'll learn English, and maybe I'll go to school or do something there.'

Evan Franulovich  19:00  
Did you choose Seattle, or were you just sent here?

Enoala Zanesco  19:03  
No, when I first moved here, I moved to Maine.

Evan Franulovich  19:07  
Oh, you were in Maine? That's the other side of the country. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:09  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  19:09  
It's really nice.

Enoala Zanesco  19:10  
It's beautiful. It's really nice. 

Evan Franulovich  19:13  
It is cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:15  
I came during the winter.

Evan Franulovich  19:18  
Oh my gosh. That must have been a huge change for you. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:21  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  19:24  
You're leaving Brazil in the summer, arriving in our winter. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:28  
Yeah, I left in February. 

Evan Franulovich  19:30  
Oh, my God. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:31  
It was peak winter, which was nice. It was new, I've never seen snow before. So it was nice, but it was something that I didn't plan, I had the dream in the back of my hand.

Evan Franulovich  19:47  
So which city in Maine? Were you in Bangor? 

Enoala Zanesco  19:50  
I was in Kennebunk. I was close to Portland. I was almost sent to Portland, Oregon.

Evan Franulovich  19:56  
Right, wrong place. Go to Maine. 

Enoala Zanesco  19:59  
And when I was living with my family was like, it's not Oregon, and I have to go back to the lady and say 'Hey, it's Portland. Maine.'

Evan Franulovich  20:06  
Yes. So you went to Maine, you spent all two years there?

Enoala Zanesco  20:10  
I spent one year there. 

Evan Franulovich  20:12  
Oh, okay.

Enoala Zanesco  20:13  
And then I moved to New Jersey. 

Evan Franulovich  20:15  
Oh. 

Enoala Zanesco  20:16  
Because my family left the program. So I moved to New Jersey. And then I finished.

Evan Franulovich  20:23  
They assign you a new family?

Enoala Zanesco  20:25  
Yes. So it's like a matching platform. You talk with the families. The families talk to you, and then you choose them, and they choose you. 

Evan Franulovich  20:36  
It's complicated. 

Enoala Zanesco  20:39  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  20:39  
But you had good luck. You found families you really enjoyed.

Enoala Zanesco  20:44  
Yes. And then on my second year, I moved here, to Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  20:50  
So three families. 

Enoala Zanesco  20:51  
Yes, yes, and then I finished my program in Seattle.

Evan Franulovich  20:54  
In what age group did you take care of them?

Enoala Zanesco  20:58  
My first year was toddlers. 

Evan Franulovich  21:01  
Okay. 

Enoala Zanesco  21:01  
The second year was two toddlers, and then here in Seattle it was teenagers. 

Evan Franulovich  21:05  
Ah. 

Enoala Zanesco  21:05  
So I did a lot of driving.

Evan Franulovich  21:07  
A lot of shuttling them. Which you prefer toddlers or high school?

Enoala Zanesco  21:13  
It depends on their mood. Teenagers are nice. You can have conversations with them. 

Evan Franulovich  21:18  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  21:18  
It's like a best friend kind of thing, but they can be very difficult. 

Evan Franulovich  21:23  
Yes, they can. 

Enoala Zanesco  21:24  
And toddlers are so cute, but they're a lot of work too. 

Evan Franulovich  21:29  
So your English is quite good, by the way, so you probably didn't have to do any English classes. 

Enoala Zanesco  21:36  
I did. 

Evan Franulovich  21:37  
Oh, you had to start in the Institute of English? 

Enoala Zanesco  21:39  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  21:40  
That shocks me. You took which language proficiency exam. Duolingo, IELTS, and you applied.

Enoala Zanesco  21:48  
I don't remember, but it wasn't Duolingo. It was a different one. The website was blue. 

Evan Franulovich  21:57  
But your score was such that you had to do at least...

Enoala Zanesco  22:01  
Yes, they placed me on the third level. 

Evan Franulovich  22:04  
What? 

Enoala Zanesco  22:05  
Yeah, and then on my first week of classes, I was like, 'I don't think my English is that little.' Because the professor would ask me and my classmates to write about your home, and then I'll write like a full page, and my friends will write two to three sentences. Which is  okay. Because English is not about who is smarter, it's about which level you are. 

Evan Franulovich  22:31  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  22:32  
I don't think this is my level. And then I spoke with the school, and then they placed me on level four.

Evan Franulovich  22:38  
Oh, they just bumped you up. 

Enoala Zanesco  22:39  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  22:39  
Cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  22:39  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  22:40  
And you felt like level four was really where you belong.

Enoala Zanesco  22:42  
Yes, because I was good in conversations, but grammar and doing like a sentence or something like that, spelling. So that helped a lot. 

Evan Franulovich  22:57  
Well, that's good to know. So do you feel like from then till now, your English has just improved a lot?

Enoala Zanesco  23:03  
Yes, and working with the teenagers also helped a lot.

Evan Franulovich  23:07  
Right. I find talking with toddlers to be helpful, though. I just came back from Belgium, and I always love talking with little kids in French, because it helps me a lot.

Enoala Zanesco  23:18  
This was how I learned English because I didn't have any English before moving here. My English was very little. I knew the basics from shows and movies, but I think I had two conversations in English before I moved here.

Evan Franulovich  23:36  
Well, your English is amazing. 

Enoala Zanesco  23:38  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  23:38  
That's pretty wild. 

Enoala Zanesco  23:40  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  23:40  
So it's been at least three years now? 

Enoala Zanesco  23:44  
Yeah, this is my third year. I'm in the end of my third year.

Evan Franulovich  23:48  
So I've been studying Portuguese now for about three or four years on Duolingo, but I don't live with a family or have people to talk to, and I find now that I can least have rough conversations when I go to Brazil. 

Enoala Zanesco  24:02  
Oh, nice. 

Evan Franulovich  24:03  
Nothing like what you're doing. It's amazing. 

Enoala Zanesco  24:05  
So I think that my English was kind of like that. And because I got small kids, that was good, because I would read a lot of books for them and watch a lot of cartoons. And the oldest girl, she was four. 

Evan Franulovich  24:23  
Yeah.

Enoala Zanesco  24:23  
So she was speaking already, so she'll help me. I would say something wrong, she would correct me. And it's nice because they're also learning. 

Evan Franulovich  24:32  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  24:32  
So I think getting that first year with the family and small kids that really bumped my English too.

Evan Franulovich  24:40  
 See, that's what I need to do. I just need to go be an Au Pair in Brazil.

Enoala Zanesco  24:44  
just go spend two to two to three months there and don't have any friends that speak English. Yes, go just for Portuguese. And then you'll be forced.

Evan Franulovich  24:52  
I'll be forced to learn, which would be great. I would love that. Okay, so you finished your au pair. Work, and then you decided to just apply to be a student, or did you go home first.

Evan Franulovich  24:52  
No, I applied right away. Oh, so you looked for a change of

Evan Franulovich  25:07  
status. Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about the change of status. A lot of people have been going through that process lately. It seems like how long did it take your whole change of process, change of status from the time you submitted your documents. So you applied here, got your I-20 I'm guessing? 

Enoala Zanesco  25:26  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  25:27  
Then applied. Did you use a lawyer?

Enoala Zanesco  25:30  
Yes, I used a friend that is a lawyer. She doesn't work specifically with immigration things, but she knows a lot, so she helped me through the process. And it took me, I think, two months. 

Evan Franulovich  25:47  
That's it? 

Enoala Zanesco  25:47  
Yeah, I applied, and then two months later I was approved.

Evan Franulovich  25:51  
That's super fast. You know, I've heard stories where it goes on for nine months to a year. 

Enoala Zanesco  25:56  
Yeah, I think I got a good moment there, because they were, they're trying to rush stuff, I guess, because I had friends that were waiting for over six months.

Evan Franulovich  26:07  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  26:07  
And then I applied, and then it was approved right away, because I applied in February, and I started in the summer.

Evan Franulovich  26:14  
That's great. 

Enoala Zanesco  26:15  
I waited like two months, and then I started.

Evan Franulovich  26:17  
So when you do a change of status, do you still have to go in and do an interview?

Enoala Zanesco  26:22  
No, you don't just send your papers. 

Evan Franulovich  26:24  
That's so great. So you didn't have to go in and be asked questions and all that?

Enoala Zanesco  26:30  
No, you have to answer a lot of questions. They have a big list of questions that you have to answer because they they want to know what, why you want to stay, why you want to apply if you have someone helping you or you're paying by yourself. In my case, my family, my host family, were my sponsors. 

Evan Franulovich  26:49  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  26:50  
So we had a very nice relationship. And the girls were older already, so I kept living with them. The girls were in full time school, so they didn't need me anymore.

Evan Franulovich  27:02  
That's great. 

Enoala Zanesco  27:03  
So they were my sponsors. Otherwise you have to prove have a proof of income.

Evan Franulovich  27:12  
Okay, so you got it, you got your application approved, you got your F-1 visa, and then you were able to stay. You continued living with your family? 

Enoala Zanesco  27:26  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  27:26  
Where do they live within Seattle? 

Enoala Zanesco  27:28  
In Capitol Hill. 

Evan Franulovich  27:29  
Oh, so right here.

Enoala Zanesco  27:30  
Yeah, I bought a scooter so I would scooter here.

Evan Franulovich  27:34  
So handy. Wow, that's really great. Are you planning to stay there until you're done with school. 

Enoala Zanesco  27:42  
Yeah, I'm not living with them anymore. I moved out. Now I'm living in Kirkland.

Evan Franulovich  27:46  
Oh, very cool. Kirkland is a little further away. 

Enoala Zanesco  27:48  
Yeah, yeah. But my classes are only two days a week, and it has been this way for the past three quarters. 

Evan Franulovich  27:55  
Gotcha. 

Enoala Zanesco  27:57  
Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is nice. You can choose. 

Evan Franulovich  28:02  
Really great. 

Enoala Zanesco  28:03  
So it's only two days a week. 

Evan Franulovich  28:05  
So when you go, you drive into town?

Enoala Zanesco  28:08  
I drive to my former host family house, park there, get the scooter and come here.

Evan Franulovich  28:15  
That's very cool. That's a really good idea. So I'm guessing you must live with your boyfriend then in Kirkland. 

Enoala Zanesco  28:21  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  28:21  
That make sense. Very cool. Wow. All right, so let's talk about your program. Well, you must have done two quarters of Institute of English. 

Enoala Zanesco  28:35  
I did one. I was in level four, and then I did really well, and then I had to skip. 

Evan Franulovich  28:40  
Oh, they just let you graduate. 

Enoala Zanesco  28:42  
I was the best in my class. 

Evan Franulovich  28:43  
Fantastic. So your first quarter, what kinds of classes did you take? 

Enoala Zanesco  28:48  
I took English 101, Customer Management, and I think business 101.

Evan Franulovich  28:57  
So Customer Management seems like an easy class to me, is it? 

Enoala Zanesco  29:02  
Yeah, you just do a lot of research on companies and what they do and how they treat their employees, and they kind of set like a foundation to have a good set of customers. You need to work on your personnel, like your employees. So if they're good, the customers will come and how to manage that, they teach you how to treat your customers. 

Evan Franulovich  29:32  
Cool. So if I'm a student coming in from outside the country, and I take this class, should I expect exams? Or do I have to write papers? What did you have? 

Enoala Zanesco  29:41  
It's more reading and discussing with your classmates. It's not a lot exams or anything. 

Evan Franulovich  29:48  
Okay. Everybody takes English 101. Let's talk about that class, because I've never really asked about the nuts and bolts. What do you do in English 101, what kind of things? 

Enoala Zanesco  30:00  
Reading and writing. 

Evan Franulovich  30:02  
Reading and writing? 

Enoala Zanesco  30:03  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  30:03  
Like stories, like American literature? 

Enoala Zanesco  30:03  
I think it depends on your professor. 

Evan Franulovich  30:06  
Okay. 

Enoala Zanesco  30:08  
My professor was Ryan. He's amazing. He's really good. 

Evan Franulovich  30:13  
Shout out to Ryan. 

Enoala Zanesco  30:14  
Yeah, he's intense, but he's good. So he would give us literature, or he'll give us an article from something that he was interested about politics or anything like that. 

Evan Franulovich  30:28  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  30:28  
So you would read it, and then he will ask you, what did you understood out of it? And you would write papers and do research.

Evan Franulovich  30:28  
And with English 101 it's followed by English 102? 

Enoala Zanesco  30:34  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  30:35  
I didn't take one 102.

Evan Franulovich  30:39  
Oh, you didn't take 102. They're not required?

Evan Franulovich  30:45  
No, for the BTM program, it is not required.

Evan Franulovich  30:51  
So it's only 101. Interesting. Okay, so of the classes you've taken thus far, which has been your favorite class?

Enoala Zanesco  31:04  
English was really nice because I like reading. 

Evan Franulovich  31:08  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  31:09  
But I think it was business law was my favorite one.

Evan Franulovich  31:14  
Really? Why? 

Enoala Zanesco  31:16  
I don't know. It's just nice to understand how a business work, and what do you have to do to get to a certain level. So business law is very interesting. I also thought about being a paralegal. 

Evan Franulovich  31:31  
Oh, sure. 

Enoala Zanesco  31:32  
But it's too much reading, like, it's very specific. And I was like, 'Oh, maybe not that much.' 

Evan Franulovich  31:38  
So I took business law at a community college too. And it was a lot of case law. You know, we would review a lot of case law. Is that what you guys do? 

Enoala Zanesco  31:45  
Yes, and the professor was also very good. He was a retired lawyer.

Evan Franulovich  31:51  
Oh. 

Enoala Zanesco  31:51  
So he had a lot of examples from his personal life. 

Evan Franulovich  31:55  
Cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  31:55  
It was really nice. And interesting, we got to go to court or to watch here to hear a court session. 

Evan Franulovich  32:05  
How was that very different than Brazil?

Enoala Zanesco  32:07  
Yes, it was very nice. The courts buildings are really nice. Yes, they're outside and inside. They're very fancy.

Evan Franulovich  32:17  
Have you ever been to a trial or a court thing in Brazil? 

Enoala Zanesco  32:21  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  32:21  
So this is totally new for you. Wow. Now I know the US is based on case law. Brazil is common law, or, do you know? 

Enoala Zanesco  32:30  
I think it's both. 

Evan Franulovich  32:32  
A little bit of both? 

Enoala Zanesco  32:33  
Yeah, but I think I'm not sure. 

Evan Franulovich  32:36  
You aren't sure. Fair enough. 

Enoala Zanesco  32:38  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  32:39  
Well, cool. So you've been doing your coursework. What do you do for fun when you're not studying?

Enoala Zanesco  32:46  
I really like to sleep. 

Evan Franulovich  32:47  
Me too. I love it.

Enoala Zanesco  32:50  
I'm a good sleeper. I would go for a walk. I would just chill at home, go meet some friends and nothing too exciting. 

Evan Franulovich  33:00  
You're not going out to concerts. Or have you been to concerts?

Enoala Zanesco  33:05  
Yes, I've been to a few concerts. I went to see Sabrina Carpenter, I went to see Morgan walling. I went to summer and a few others.

Evan Franulovich  33:22  
Pretty cool. We have a lot of great concerts that come to Seattle. You guys should know this.

Enoala Zanesco  33:28  
I just went to Billy Idol's two weeks ago.

Evan Franulovich  33:31  
Yeah, that's a little bit before your time, right?

Enoala Zanesco  33:36  
I knew a few songs, but it was an older crowd.

Evan Franulovich  33:40  
And it was him, right? Yes, it wasn't a tribute kind of thing. 

Enoala Zanesco  33:43  
No, it was him. 

Evan Franulovich  33:44  
Because I saw the other day. I saw Imagine Dragons in Coldplay, and I thought those guys are going to be here together, but it's a tribute band, so it's not them. 

Enoala Zanesco  33:54  
I think Imagine Dragons were here last year. 

Evan Franulovich  33:56  
Probably. 

Enoala Zanesco  33:56  
Yeah, I didn't get go, my friends did. I think we're gonna have Maroon Five in a few weeks.

Evan Franulovich  34:05  
Yes, I've seen them in concert. I saw them early on in their career. I guess you can call it. Amazing. They were really great. I'm sure they've only improved since then. Are you going to? 

Enoala Zanesco  34:20  
I think so. Yeah, probably we'll see. 

Evan Franulovich  34:23  
Very cool. Oh, do you hear that? That means it's Trivia Time. This is the part of the show where we ask you five questions that has to do with schooling or Seattle area. If you get all of them right, you're on the wall of fame. If you don't get them all right, well, you'll cry yourself to sleep tonight. All right. Question number one: We have three campuses for Seattle Colleges. Each campus has their own animal associated with it. What is the animal associated with Seattle Central?

Enoala Zanesco  34:55  
Tiger? 

Evan Franulovich  34:55  
It is a tiger. Great. And just as a bonus question, do you know the other animals?

Enoala Zanesco  35:00  
It's tree frogs, for North Seattle and Otters for South Seattle College.

Evan Franulovich  35:06  
Yes, great job! Impressive. Okay, cool. Question number two: How many quarters per year at the school? 

Enoala Zanesco  35:16  
Four. 

Evan Franulovich  35:17  
We have four quarters, great. And how many quarters do you generally need to do before you're allowed to take a vacation quarter? 

Enoala Zanesco  35:26  
Three. 

Evan Franulovich  35:26  
Yes, good. All right. Question number four: Now, we have a professional baseball team in the postseason. They have been very successful, and now they're in the playoffs. What is the name of our professional baseball team. 

Enoala Zanesco  35:42  
It's the Mariners. 

Evan Franulovich  35:43  
Yes, it's the mariners. Very good. Well, you're from Brazil, and of course, football, or soccer, is super popular there. We have our own professional soccer team here. 

Enoala Zanesco  35:57  
The Sounders. 

Evan Franulovich  35:58  
Have you been to a game?

Enoala Zanesco  35:59  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  36:00  
What do you think? 

Enoala Zanesco  36:00  
It's nice. I like the stadium. I like them. I really like hockey. The Kraken are my favorites.

Evan Franulovich  36:09  
I mean, the Kraken sells out pretty regularly, right? It's hard to get tickets sometimes.

Enoala Zanesco  36:15  
Yes, but the nice thing about having a nice host family, they have season tickets. 

Evan Franulovich  36:22  
Season tickets, nice. 

Enoala Zanesco  36:24  
I got to go to a few of them. 

Evan Franulovich  36:26  
So that's the secret. Guys get a host family with season tickets, and that's pretty cool. 

Enoala Zanesco  36:30  
It helps a lot. 

Evan Franulovich  36:31  
Yeah, now hockey is probably not huge, I'm guessing in Brazil. 

Enoala Zanesco  36:35  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  36:36  
Not at all. But yeah, football is big

Enoala Zanesco  36:39  
Is soccer closer to hockey, right? Because you have a small disc that could be a ball.

Evan Franulovich  36:52  
Yeah, I suppose.

Enoala Zanesco  36:55  
It's intense. 

Evan Franulovich  36:56  
Sure. Why not. And the last question is, what was the last movie you saw in the movie theaters?

Enoala Zanesco  37:08  
I think it was Moana 2. 

Evan Franulovich  37:09  
Okay, it's been awhile. Nice. What'd you think? 

Enoala Zanesco  37:15  
It's really cute. 

Evan Franulovich  37:16  
Very cute. 

Enoala Zanesco  37:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  37:17  
They do a good job. Well, great job. Wall of Fame, you did great. I'm amazed. Cool. All right, well, we're getting to the part of the program now where we got to start wrapping things up. You've been through the process. We're going to ask you about your wisdom. But first of course, you're from Brazil, so your first language isn't English. It would be Brazilian Portuguese. So maybe you could say 15-20 seconds. I think most people out there probably have heard Portuguese, but maybe not. You can just say hello to your family or whatever you want to do, or give some encouragement, whatever you want to do. 

Enoala Zanesco  38:04  
Okay. (*Enoala's message in Portuguese*)

Evan Franulovich  38:08  
Nice. 

Enoala Zanesco  38:09  
Best place.

Evan Franulovich  38:10  
Yes, thanks. It is a great place. I agree. Community colleges are not very common in Brazil, right?

Enoala Zanesco  38:18  
No, no. I think we don't have this format of education there.

Evan Franulovich  38:22  
So when you were looking for a place to study, did you only look at Seattle Colleges or look at community colleges, or did you think I'll just go to university? 

Enoala Zanesco  38:31  
I looked at a few other community colleges too, but because it was so close from where I was living and had a great people here. 

Evan Franulovich  38:31  
Right. 

Enoala Zanesco  38:35  
This was my first option, and I got in. 

Evan Franulovich  38:47  
You got in. 

Enoala Zanesco  38:49  
But I looked only at community colleges. 

Evan Franulovich  38:51  
So did you have to educate yourself? Like, what is this community college thing? Like a lot of people ask that.

Enoala Zanesco  38:57  
Yes, it was a little confusing, because for us, it's college, and that's it. But here with different options, it gets a little confusing. But then I came here, I think I spoke with you and with someone else, and they explained it to me that it was the same style, close enough to a normal college, but more accessible and easier and cheaper. 

Evan Franulovich  39:29  
A lot cheaper.

Enoala Zanesco  39:30  
Yeah, classes were smaller, which was nice.

Evan Franulovich  39:32  
And how many people are in your classes? 

Enoala Zanesco  39:35  
I would say 25 at most. It's small, which is great.

Evan Franulovich  39:44  
I agree. Yeah, if you guys are out there and you don't understand community colleges, just reach out to us. We'll explain it to you. But you know, it's usually a two plus two model. You do two first years of university work, right? You're not in a glorified high school or anything like that. 

Enoala Zanesco  39:59  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  39:59  
A lot of people get confused. We are university work. You'll do a couple years here. Sometimes you transfer on, or maybe you just stop and work or whatever.

Enoala Zanesco  40:12  
But you can also get your bachelor's. 

Evan Franulovich  40:14  
You can. We do have a limited number of bachelor's degrees available at Seattle Colleges. The vast majority of our students come and do a two plus two. We do have an international business program at North for example, we've got culinary accounting so that we do have a few bachelor's degrees, so you could spend all four years. All right. Well, last thing you know, people are going to look to you because you've been through the process. What advice would you give people back home, say in Brazil, or even in the region as a whole, if you know they were thinking about becoming an international student, what would you what would you advise them?

Enoala Zanesco  40:53  
I would advise them to do it. 

Evan Franulovich  40:55  
Right.

Enoala Zanesco  40:56  
Because it's hard, but you can do it, and it's going to be the best time of your life, the best experience you could have. So if you're thinking about doing it, just do it. 

Evan Franulovich  41:08  
Be like the Nike commercial. 

Enoala Zanesco  41:10  
Yeah, just be prepared, and know what to expect. Do your research.

Evan Franulovich  41:16  
Right, right. A lot of students say, 'Well, I would just do it, but I don't have a lot of money.' We have a number of scholarships available here. Have you applied for any of them? 

Enoala Zanesco  41:32  
I applied, I think for two. I didn't get it.

Evan Franulovich  41:37  
Foundation Scholarship, I'm guessing is one of them? 

Enoala Zanesco  41:40  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  41:41  
Right. Now, the cool thing about the Foundation Scholarship is, if you don't get it the first time, you can always apply again every year. Even if you get it the first time, you can apply each year. So don't forget, in January, when that opens up, you can reapply. And if you go to South Seattle College, they have their own foundation scholarship as well, just something to think about. Cool. All right. Well, what about working on campus? Have you worked on campus at all? 

Enoala Zanesco  42:08  
No.

Evan Franulovich  42:09  
No jobs? 

Enoala Zanesco  42:09  
No. I was planning on applying next quarter.

Evan Franulovich  42:14  
Any idea, where?

Enoala Zanesco  42:16  
Maybe with you. I would love to work with you.

Evan Franulovich  42:20  
Well, sometimes we do have jobs in marketing department. Right now, I don't think we do, but that changes regularly. The cool thing about community colleges is we have people graduate pretty regularly, so jobs open up. So keep your eyes open. But I know you're looking I can keep my eyes open. 

Enoala Zanesco  42:22  
Yeah, that would be great. 

Evan Franulovich  42:32  
Front desk area, information. And if you're on campus, you can actually look for jobs at North and South as well, plus the District Office.

Enoala Zanesco  42:46  
Oh, you can work at the district office? I didn't know that.

Evan Franulovich  42:48  
Yeah, right over there. 

Enoala Zanesco  42:49  
Nice. 

Evan Franulovich  42:49  
So there's four options of places you can maybe find work. Yeah, cool. Well, that's it for today. Thanks so much for coming on the show. 

Enoala Zanesco  43:01  
Thank you for having me. 

Evan Franulovich  43:02  
I've got 1000 more questions, but you know, time is what it is. Great to have you. Guys, if you are tuning in, don't forget, we're here every Wednesday. Conversations with! we have students and staff and people from all over talking about being an international student, talking about being in Seattle talking about coming to a community college. So check it out. Don't forget to like, subscribe. Have a great rest of your summer. I know it's almost fall. 

Enoala Zanesco  43:29  
I think it's fall already. 

Evan Franulovich  43:30  
It's fall. It's so nice out there today.

Enoala Zanesco  43:32  
Yeah, it's a beautiful day. The sky is blue, the weather is nice. It's not too cold, not too hot.

Evan Franulovich  43:39  
Not yet. All right, guys, thanks again. Take care. Bye. 

Enoala Zanesco  43:44  
Bye. 

Evan Franulovich  43:47  
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. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.