S4E10: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Yeva Struk of Ukraine

In this our 10th (tenth) episode of Season 4, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Yeva Struk of the Ukraine about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Yeva (Eva)!

Check out Yeva's Instragram! 
https://www.instagram.com/yevastruk?igsh=ZWhxdHJrZDZ6Y3hz&utm_source=qr

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

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

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

Transcript

Evan Franulovich  0:05  
Welcome to Seattle Colleges International Programs and our show Conversations with! where we talk to people that help you understand how you too, can be an international student in the United States and why Seattle Colleges should be your first choice. We'll talk to students and staff and agents and government folks, all kinds of people about what you can expect when you're getting ready to apply or travel here, what you'll experience while you're with us, and how it can all lead to an amazing life. Don't forget to check out the Seattle Colleges International Programs website at intl.seattlecolleges.edu where you can find a treasure trove of information about the school, the programs here and best of all, fill out and submit your application. Again, that's intl.seattlecolleges.edu.

Evan Franulovich  0:50  
Hey everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges Conversations with! We're here at Seattle Central College in beautiful downtown Seattle. I'm Evan, your host. Very special guest today, our very first guest from the country of...? 

Yeva Struk  1:27  
Ukraine. 

Evan Franulovich  1:27  
Slava ukraeinia. So good to have you. 

Yeva Struk  1:29  
Hi. 

Evan Franulovich  1:30  
Yeah, tell everybody who you are, where you're from exactly, maybe what you're studying here, and then we'll go from there.

Yeva Struk  1:37  
Hi everyone! My name is Yeva. I'm from Ukraine, from the city of Odessa. This is my second quarter here, and I'm studying accounting.

Evan Franulovich  1:47  
Oh, I thought you were a computer science major. 

Yeva Struk  1:50  
I changed my major. 

Evan Franulovich  1:51  
Oh, how did that go? 

Yeva Struk  1:53  
Yesterday. 

Evan Franulovich  1:53  
Yesterday. I changed it yesterday. Why did you change? 

Yeva Struk  1:56  
One of the reasons why I choose America for education is because you can always change your major throughout the process, not losing a lot of progress, especially in a community college when the first two years are super general classes. So as soon as I took my first computer science class and I did my first homework, I realized I'm not doing that. It was awful, honestly.

Evan Franulovich  2:23  
Really? 

Yeva Struk  2:23  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:24  
Oh, good to know early.

Yeva Struk  2:25  
So for my second quarter, I immediately took classes, like Accounting 201, I took econ and math. I didn't change my major at that time, the college gives you time to change your major, but I already took classes in a new major I wanted to pursue. 

Evan Franulovich  2:25  
Oh, that's really cool. So you didn't have to do any of the Intensive English Program when you arrived? 

Yeva Struk  2:51  
No, because before arriving to the US, when applying to the college, you need to submit a proof of English efficiency. 

Evan Franulovich  2:58  
So I did the IELTS exam. 

Yeva Struk  3:00  
Oh, okay. Good score. Nice, very good. Did you do your IELTS exam?

Evan Franulovich  3:06  
I'm a native English speaker, so no, I did not. But I used to administer the IELTS exam when I was a teacher in China, because we had a lot of students. 

Yeva Struk  3:14  
You have a vibe of an IELTS examiner.

Evan Franulovich  3:17  
I don't know what that means, but the I'll take it as a compliment, maybe. Yeah, that's cool. Well, very exciting that you're here. Let's talk about how you got here. It's no big secret. There are a lot of things happening in your part of the world. You must have left Odessa at some point. Or did you do your visa interview in your high school years in Odessa? Or did you have to leave the country? Or what did you do?

Yeva Struk  3:51  
Okay, you did some research before I can see, actually, because there's currently a war going on in my country, the American embassies are closed for F-1 type of visa. I know that there is a type of visa you can actually go to Kiev. 

Evan Franulovich  4:04  
Okay. 

Yeva Struk  4:04  
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine. It's probably a working visa or something like that. But for any other type of visa, I had the choice to go any anywhere. I chose Romania, Bucharest. 

Evan Franulovich  4:19  
It's not too far away.

Yeva Struk  4:18  
It was three hour flight on the way to Romania, and it was like 10 hour ride on the bus, which was kind of hard. 

Evan Franulovich  4:23  
Yeah, for sure. 

Yeva Struk  4:24  
There were no particular reasons to go to Bucharest for a visa interview, but I went there. Yeah, I could also go to Moldova. But they told me that in Chișinău there are lower chances of getting your visa approved.

Evan Franulovich  4:43  
Oh, I think now, just for listeners that are out there, if there are any Ukrainians listening in, I hope there are. I think now you have to go to Poland, don't you? Or do you still have the choice? Do you know? 

Yeva Struk  4:55  
You always had the choice. 

Evan Franulovich  4:56  
You always have the choice? 

Yeva Struk  4:57  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  4:57  
Because some countries are designating a country you have to go to now, but maybe that's not the case. 

Yeva Struk  5:02  
It was not the case for me. 

Evan Franulovich  5:03  
Okay, we'll look into it, guys. I'm not sure what the current rule is. Ukraine is not in my territory, so somebody will know. 

Yeva Struk  5:00  
Yeah, actually, if you guys are applying for a visa, there are people who help you to submit/fill the application. They will also help you choose the city and a country to go to for your interview, if you can do it in your own country.

Evan Franulovich  5:26  
So is that like an agent? 

Yeva Struk  5:27  
Yeah, it was an agent. 

Evan Franulovich  5:30  
So you did use an agent?

Yeva Struk  5:33  
I did. 

Evan Franulovich  5:34  
Oh, cool. And how was that experience overall?

Yeva Struk  5:37  
I wouldn't say she was really professional. It was kind of like crazy. I think, I paid $200 for her services. 

Evan Franulovich  5:43  
That's not too bad. 

Yeva Struk  5:44  
Well, I would say, for a Slavic part of the world, it's kind of expensive. 

Evan Franulovich  5:50  
Oh, okay.

Yeva Struk  5:50  
Yeah, it is considered expensive. It's like a monthly salary, basically.

Evan Franulovich  5:53  
 Oh.

Yeva Struk  5:56  
So she was not really professional. However, I got my visa approved. 

Evan Franulovich  6:00  
Great. That's awesome. So did you not just apply directly because you were worried that you were gonna do something wrong, or did you just want the guidance of an agent?

Yeva Struk  6:14  
First of all, yeah, it is cheaper to pay to the agent rather than go to an interview for two times instead of one, if you get declined. Do you know what I'm talking about? 

Evan Franulovich  6:26  
Did you have more than one interview?

Yeva Struk  6:26  
No, but if I would be denied applying myself, it's more expensive. What was the question? 

Evan Franulovich  6:36  
We were talking about the use of the agents.

Yeva Struk  6:39  
Why did I use it? I was so overwhelmed with the process of applying to Seattle Colleges. Honestly, it was hard for me. It was a lot of stuff going on. So I put the responsibility of submitting the application to someone else, just to save my time

Evan Franulovich  6:55  
Right, right, so gathering things like transcripts. So let's go back a little bit more. So you're in Ukraine, and as a young girl, there was no war, right? Everything was not happening. Didn't happen till later. So did you go to primary school and secondary school in Odessa?

Yeva Struk  7:14  
Yeah, I went to a private Christian school. It was from the first to the fourth grade. It was a private school. Then I went to a usual public school until the 11th grade. 

Evan Franulovich  7:28  
And what was the name of that school? 

Yeva Struk  7:30  
*Inaudible*

Evan Franulovich  7:31  
Oh, shout out. Are they still around? 

Yeva Struk  7:33  
Yeah, they are. 

Evan Franulovich  7:34  
Yay. 

Yeva Struk  7:35  
Hi everyone whose watching.

Evan Franulovich  7:38  
Well, yeah, I know a lot of schools. Some schools shut down because of what's happening, but others aren't. It's pretty okay. 

Yeva Struk  7:44  
I didn't get the case.

Evan Franulovich  7:44  
Not too bad. 

Yeva Struk  7:45  
Oh, good. 

Evan Franulovich  7:46  
Yeah, we don't want that. But further east you go, that's definitely the case. 

Yeva Struk  7:51  
Yeah, it is true. It's a problem. 

Evan Franulovich  7:53  
Wow. So did you always know as a young girl, that someday you want to go be an international student?

Yeva Struk  8:02  
So actually it's an interesting story. There is a vivid memory in my mind, when I was leaving my English exam, my mom was picking me up. I was seven years old or something. And my mom said that if I will get good grades, one day I will still study in America as an international student. I ignored that. But after that, my dad started to work as a sailor, and he was working mostly in America. So it was like California, Miami. My dad was telling me so much stuff about America, and I think this is the reason why I came to America. Every time my dad was coming back from his work, he would bring back Froot Loops, and cinnamon cereal. Lucky Charms were my favorite. It's like cereal with marshmallows. 

Evan Franulovich  9:17  
Yes, very good. 

Yeva Struk  9:18  
He would bring them in like little silver pockets. I would eat all of them. And this is probably the main reason why I wanted to go to America.

Evan Franulovich  9:26  
That's funny. Our cereal is really good. 

Yeva Struk  9:28  
They are good at making cereal.

Evan Franulovich  9:30  
And it's not just a couple different cereals, it's a whole row of cereals.  

Yeva Struk  9:35  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  9:35  
I was an exchange student, I lived in Belgium for a year. And when I went to Belgium, this was a while back, but I was shocked at how few cereals they have. I'd walk in, its like three or four to choose from. 

Yeva Struk  9:49  
And the packages are really small. 

Evan Franulovich  9:51  
Yeah, and here it's endless aisle of cereal. 

Yeva Struk  9:54  
It's true. 

Evan Franulovich  9:55  
It's true. Well, that's pretty funny. So you started looking into applying. After you graduated or before?

Yeva Struk  10:02  
If somebody is watching this podcast from the region of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and whole Europe, there is a program called a Future Leaders Exchange Program.  Have you heard of it? 

Evan Franulovich  10:22  
I have not. 

Yeva Struk  10:22  
It is an exchange program for students of 10s and 11th grade. If you apply, you can get a scholarship to study here in high school for a year. You get a full scholarship. Everything is paid for you, you live in a host family. So I started to research opportunities to study in America when I was in ninth grade, and I found out about FLEX. I applied to FLEX, in 10th grade. I passed successfully the first tour, the second tour, I got to semi final, so it was basically the last tour. I screwed up guys, I didn't win the scholarship. I received an email. I had an interview in November, and in January, I received an email, 'Sorry, we cannot sponsor you.' I was super upset, but I was like, 'God has a plan. It's gonna be okay.' I cried for a day, and I was so sure I can still make it to America, because I just want to. So, I kept working and researching, and the biggest struggle with American education is probably the price, because it's really expensive out here. If you convert the currency, it's super expensive. And the hope was absolutely lost, until I stumbled upon Seattle Colleges, and I figured out that there are some type of colleges that offer you a two-year program and lower tuition rate. I was so relieved because there was finally a hope of going to America for studying. And now I can do two years here, and I can then transfer to a university, which is more financially aware.

Evan Franulovich  12:03  
Right. And let me just hammer this point home, because if you are a parent out there and you're not really sure what this whole community college thing is about, understand that it's legitimate university education. So what she's doing is studying university classes, but she does her first two years here at Seattle Colleges or any community college for that matter, and then you transfer to do your last two years in general at a four-year institution like University of Washington or whatever. 

Yeva Struk  12:31  
It's amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  12:31  
Yeah, it's a really affordable way. Almost half of all Americans start this way. It's what I did. I went to a community college for two years, graduated, then I went to the University of Arizona, which is a nationally ranked school. 

Yeva Struk  12:43  
Is it like a number one party school or something? 

Evan Franulovich  12:46  
I've heard that it's a lot of partying at University of Arizona, but it's also a really great academic research institution. It's like the number one program, I think, in the nation for astronomy. I mean, it's got a really great reputation. 

Yeva Struk  13:01  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  13:02  
We do have some students that transfer down there from here. They're like, 'Yeah, let me go try a different part of the United States.' Most of our kids love Seattle, and they just end up staying. But some people go. 

Yeva Struk  13:15  
That's what I want to do. I would like to check out another state for my four-year university, but I think that it's really important if you think that you want to transfer and study in a university that is outside of the Washington State, you need to plan it ahead with your advisor, because your credit simply can not transfer.

Evan Franulovich  13:36  
Depends. We do have Transfer Admission Guarantee partners out there in the world, we also have direct transfer guarantees. 

Yeva Struk  13:44  
That's my bet. 

Evan Franulovich  13:45  
I mean, she's kind of right. Definitely start early, definitely do your research. I absolutely agree with you. But in some cases, we have partnerships with other universities where you're guaranteed, as long as your GPA is at a certain level, you're guaranteed to go. And twice a year, today in fact, from two o'clock to four o'clock, it'll be too late by the time you listen to this, we have a transfer fair. Did you know about this? 

Yeva Struk  14:09  
I'm going today. 

Evan Franulovich  14:10  
From 2-4pm today. Every fall, we have like, 40 to 50 universities come and they set up tables. So you can walk around and talk to recruiters from schools all over the nation and find out, if they offer transfer scholarships? What kind of programs do they specialize in? And it just opens your mind to possibilities you might not have had otherwise. And we also redo the transfer fair again in the winter or spring, I can't remember, so a couple times a year, and we have transfer advisors and academic advisors, so lots of help.

Yeva Struk  14:43  
So now, as you mentioned, I will attend. 

Evan Franulovich  14:43  
Yes. 

Yeva Struk  14:43  
And actually, I want to mention something. I want to point something out. Just because community college is more accessible, like an affordable option, it doesn't mean it is worse than university. One of my professors in my first quarter was from UCLA, University of California Los Angeles. It was top one, like last year. He was amazing, probably my favorite professor. 

Evan Franulovich  15:07  
Oh, cool. Yeah, I would agree. Just because it's easier to get into, less expensive, does not mean it's lower quality. I went to University of Arizona, which is a nationally ranked university, and the quality of education I got at my community college was every bit as good as what I got at UofA. Especially since you're going to have to do those prerequisite courses anyway. Everybody has to take some sciences, some social sciences. Save yourself some money, do that. And in the end, where do you want to transfer?

Yeva Struk  15:41  
So I would like to travel around and then decide, but I'm thinking I would go to warmer part of America. I don't like the rain, probably California or Florida. 

Evan Franulovich  15:53  
But you were here during the summer. How was the summer, in fairness?

Yeva Struk  15:57  
Just because Seattle has a lot of hills when it's already hot, and you go up and down that you end up breathing hard. But it was amazing. Guys, I never seen nature/landscapes like that in my life, the mountains. 

Evan Franulovich  16:13  
It's really pretty. 

Yeva Struk  16:14  
Yeah, it's amazing.

Evan Franulovich  16:17  
I mean, why not? I mean, do two years in Seattle, then go see a different part of the country. It's a great way to go.

Yeva Struk  16:23  
Currently, I'm considering Florida International, located in Miami, and it's a huge school.

Evan Franulovich  16:29  
Yeah, I don't know if they'll be here today. I just met the Florida International recruiter on this trip in the Caribbean. 

Yeva Struk  16:35  
Really? 

Evan Franulovich  16:36  
But there may be, we have schools from all over. If you listen to my Tunisia episode with Jridi. She met someone here from the University of Southern Mississippi, and they offered her a generous transfer scholarship so she didn't end up paying hardly anything. 

Yeva Struk  16:53  
You mean, she landed it on the fair?

Evan Franulovich  16:56  
Yeah, she met the recruiter there, she kept her grades up high, and then when she was time to transfer, they offered her this great Transfer Scholarship. 

Yeva Struk  17:04  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  17:04  
And in the end, she's basically spent very little money. 

Yeva Struk  17:08  
She's from Tunisia, right? 

Evan Franulovich  17:09  
She's from Tunisia, yeah.

Yeva Struk  17:10  
That's actually also great point, because as soon as you arrive to the United States, you have plenty of opportunities that are now open to you to get scholarships, internships, jobs, work with people who work in top firms like GP Morgan and stuff. Because I actually know that there's some kind of a lunch and a tour of JP Morgan's office in Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  17:40  
Oh, cool. 

Yeva Struk  17:41  
And JP Morgan is a top one bank.

Evan Franulovich  17:46  
Yeah, KPMG is another one, right? Aren't they a big accounting firm? 

Yeva Struk  17:50  
Yeah, it's top four.

Evan Franulovich  17:53  
Right, right. That's really great. I mean, University Washington, which is just two subway stops from Central, a lot of our students transfer there because their business school is one of the best. Foster School of Business is really amazing. But there's other great places to study, especially if you're doing accounting. I mean, New York City is a great place to go for the financial world. And we do have partnerships with some schools in New York. I'm not sure where exactly. Yeah, definitely. I mean, Florida is definitely warmer. 

Yeva Struk  18:23  
Yeah, it is. 

Evan Franulovich  18:25  
It's really warm, though.

Yeva Struk  18:27  
Yeah, I love the fact about community college that you're actually given a choice, because you're not connecting yourself with one institution for four years. 

Evan Franulovich  18:38  
Right. 

Yeva Struk  18:38  
You can change it. And as an international student, you can also get an Optional Practical T raining (OPT) after two years of studying here, after getting your associates, you can actually implement your knowledge, get the experience and get paid; earn some money. And probably help your parents out with paying the tuition for your university. I mean, this is amazing.

Evan Franulovich  18:56  
That's a great deal. Yeah, are you planning to do a OPT? 

Yeva Struk  18:59  
Absolutely, that's why I chose community college. And I love that on your website of the website of Seattle Colleges, it's written down, all explained and it was super clear.

Evan Franulovich  19:11  
Yeah, check out our website, intl.seattlecolleges.edu. Tons of information on there. Sometimes I get lost, there's so much information. So I'm curious about your dad, real fast. Going back a little bit. So he is a like a Merchant Marine. He works on ships and goes all over the world. 

Yeva Struk  19:29  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  19:29  
Does he ever come to Seattle? 

Yeva Struk  19:31  
He came to Portland, because Portland is a port city. 

Evan Franulovich  19:35  
It's not too far away. 

Yeva Struk  19:36  
Yeah, he had a layoff layover in Seattle airport, though.

Evan Franulovich  19:39  
Did you go see him? 

Yeva Struk  19:39  
No, it was like 10 years ago. 

Evan Franulovich  19:41  
Oh, it was 10 years ago.

Yeva Struk  19:43  
Yeah, he was working in the Caribbeans, as I mentioned, California. Mostly Florida, he was in Tampa and Miami. He was telling me a lot about this part of the world, so also South America. Right now, he works on a little bit of different kind of a ship, so he works in Texas. So he comes to Texas.

Evan Franulovich  20:04  
So maybe you'll fly down and see him at some point?

Yeva Struk  20:08  
I don't think they will let him off the ship. I will make him get the visa, and come as a tourist, during the summer break.

Evan Franulovich  20:21  
Yeah. What about your mom? What's she doing? 

Yeva Struk  20:24  
My mom is a housewife. She is taking care of my little sister, in our house back in Ukraine. She's still in Odessa. 

Evan Franulovich  20:34  
Cool. 

Yeva Struk  20:35  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  20:35  
And how old is your sister? 

Yeva Struk  20:36  
She's 11 years old. I also have an older sister. She lives in Switzerland.

Evan Franulovich  20:43  
Oh, nice. Doing what? 

Yeva Struk  20:45  
Being a housewife, it's a really Slavic thing. 

Evan Franulovich  20:48  
Okay, all right. Well, you are not. You are studying. That's awesome. You're getting started this semester or this quarter, sorry. You're taking the accounting class. How's that going?

Yeva Struk  21:01  
Accounting class is a lot of load. However, I would say community college is oriented more for working professionals, would you agree?

Evan Franulovich  21:10  
What I love about community colleges is it serves people that are just out of high school, but also people that are in the workforce or changing work. So you get this cool diversity, of people that are 30-40 years old that have life experience, mixed in with kids who just got out of high school. So I think it's awesome.

Yeva Struk  21:28  
Yeah, we have a lot of freedom. We do not have a lot of deadlines, because our professors  understand that some of us are working. They give us more freedom to submit assignments, when we want.

Evan Franulovich  21:49  
Yeah, so are you working? Do you have a job on campus? 

Yeva Struk  21:53  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  21:53  
Are you looking?

Yeva Struk  21:54  
I am looking for a job. But I want to say this is super competitive. Yeah, I know you had Mariia Albitskaia on your podcast. She's from Moscow, we both speak Russian, so we kind of connected. 

Evan Franulovich  22:06  
Sure. 

Yeva Struk  22:07  
She was also looking for a job, and it took her a year. 

Evan Franulovich  22:10  
Did it really? 

Yeva Struk  22:11  
Yeah, because she got the job after a year of looking for it. So mostly you can expect to land some kind of a job position after a year, because you need to present yourself in a college meet some people who can refer you or something like that.

Evan Franulovich  22:25  
Right. But let me just say that we are a community college, so students are only here for a couple of years before they transfer. So turnovers are happening all the time, especially in the spring, a lot of jobs open up all of the sudden. Once you've been accepted and you have your F-1 visa, and you know you're coming, you can actually start looking for work on campus before you leave your home country. And remember also that we are three campuses plus a district office, so you can look for work at any of those locations, and we were talking about public transportation before we started recording. Our public transportation in Seattle is amazing. It's really good. Getting around, you don't really need a car. In fact, sometimes having a car is a disadvantage because there's parking and all that stuff. What are you doing for housing?

Yeva Struk  23:20  
I was living with a host family for the first four months. 

Evan Franulovich  23:23  
Oh, okay. 

Yeva Struk  23:24  
Two weeks ago, I moved to the University of Washington student housing. I have my own room, but it's like a dorm for students. 

Evan Franulovich  23:37  
Oh, okay, but it's in the U district?

Yeva Struk  23:39  
Yeah, it's in the U district. So it's literally 10 minutes from the rail. It was one of the main reasons I chose Seattle, because I realized I'm not going to buy a car. I'm literally 17, I was 16 when I made it here, I won't get a car. So the public transportation, the busses, they are going to get you wherever you want.

Evan Franulovich  23:58  
So wait a minute, you got here when you were 16. 

Yeva Struk  24:00  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  24:01  
And you just started in the summer. So what were you doing between the time that you arrived and the time you started at Seattle Colleges?

Yeva Struk  24:09  
I arrived on June 24 and my first class was at July 7th. 

Evan Franulovich  24:14  
And you were 16 when you arrived? 

Yeva Struk  24:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  24:17  
When did you turn 17? 

Yeva Struk  24:20  
Two weeks ago? 

Evan Franulovich  24:21  
Oh, happy birthday! I don't know how to say that in Russian, actually. How do you say happy birthday? 

Yeva Struk  24:28  
S dnem rozhdeniya. 

Evan Franulovich  24:28  
There you go. 

Yeva Struk  24:29  
In Ukrainian; Z dnem ​​narodzhennya. I should say the Ukrainian version.

Evan Franulovich  24:37  
Well, very cool. So you did homestay for a little bit, interesting that you only did four months. You're not required to sign a contract for a year? 

Yeva Struk  24:48  
It is a three months requirement, then you can do whatever you want. 

Evan Franulovich  24:52  
Gotcha. 

Yeva Struk  24:52  
Yeah, homestay is a lot of responsibility. Living in the dorms, I feel more free. 

Evan Franulovich  25:02  
Oh, sure. 

Yeva Struk  25:02  
I do whatever I want, I come back whatever I want. 

Evan Franulovich  25:08  
If you arrive when you're 16, you pretty much have to do a homestay, because you have to be at least 17 to live in our student housing. And signing a lease for an apartment, you kind of need to be a little bit older anyway, but you were able to get into housing over there. That's great. 

Yeva Struk  25:27  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  25:28  
Is it affordable? Because I know some some housing is and some housing is not.

Yeva Struk  25:32  
Let me think about it for a moment. How do I say this? So America itself is pretty unaffordable. 

Evan Franulovich  25:40  
It's expensive. 

Yeva Struk  25:42  
It is super expensive to live in downtown Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  25:47  
It's expensive. 

Yeva Struk  25:44  
It is expensive. What you want to do probably is start to get to know people, make some friends. There are a lot of opportunities to split the room, or split the housing. 

Evan Franulovich  25:50  
Get a roommate, for sure. 

Yeva Struk  25:56  
Get a roommate. Yeah, it saves you a lot of money. And while you are a student, you are open to be humbled. You know what I'm talking about? You can still share a room, share this, share that, just because you're not settled in life yet. 

Evan Franulovich  26:19  
Right.

Yeva Struk  26:22  
It depends on who's paying.

Evan Franulovich  26:23  
Right, right. Well, that's really cool. I've had students on the show who have gotten a room, and then there's a shared kitchen, and those are pretty affordable ways to go. One of our students said it was like $800 a month, or something like that, which, for Seattle is pretty cheap. 

Yeva Struk  26:42  
That's what I'm paying. 

Evan Franulovich  26:42  
Okay, that's great. I mean, it is a lot of money, don't get me wrong. But for Seattle, that's really cheap.

Yeva Struk  26:49  
And if you split the room, you actually pay $400. I know people doing that.

Evan Franulovich  26:57  
It's very smart. If you're creative and you network with other students like you're suggesting it's a really great way to go.

Yeva Struk  27:04  
America is the land of opportunities, as I'm telling you. You can let an internship, you can get a job, you can meet amazing people, and you can also find ways to save your money. 

Evan Franulovich  27:12  
But you have to try. 

Yeva Struk  27:13  
You have to try. 

Evan Franulovich  27:14  
You can't just sit back and let it happen because it won't happen.

Yeva Struk  27:18  
I agree. 

Evan Franulovich  27:18  
Well, what do you do for fun? 

Yeva Struk  27:21  
What I do for fun? 

Evan Franulovich  27:23  
You're in Seattle, you're only 17, so getting into the clubs is a little more challenging. 

Yeva Struk  27:27  
Is it? 

Evan Franulovich  27:29  
Maybe not?

Yeva Struk  27:30  
No, it's not. I'm just lazy. I didn't join any clubs yet. 

Evan Franulovich  27:33  
Okay. 

Yeva Struk  27:35  
I applied to create my own club. 

Evan Franulovich  27:37  
Oh, which one? 

Yeva Struk  27:38  
Just let me start from the beginning. When the war in Ukraine started, we moved to Chișinău for a certain period of time. So I was learning how to adapt to new places and meet new people, just to feel more sociable. I go to church in the first place, because, as you remember, I went to a private Christian school. This kind of made me a believer since I was a little kid. And the first thing I did in Seattle was going to church. Currently, I go to International Restoration Church located in Bellevue, so I basically just make friends and meet some people there. I hang out with them on Sunday sometimes. We have Bible studies throughout the week or something like that. I hope they will approve it. I mean, I'm still waiting. Yeah, student leadership check the applications. So I applied for Jesus club, actually with Mariia Albitskaia. 

Evan Franulovich  28:46  
Oh, okay. 

Yeva Struk  28:47  
Cool. So we are waiting for approval, but I know that there are also badminton clubs and stuff. 

Evan Franulovich  28:54  
Yes. 

Yeva Struk  28:55  
I don't join the club, I just pop up sometimes. Actually people who opened the badminton club, we had the same sociology class with a super cool professor from UCLA. 

Evan Franulovich  29:06  
Yeah. 

Yeva Struk  29:08  
Also, for fun, I love that here in American universities, you have a gym. 

Evan Franulovich  29:15  
Yes, we do. 

Yeva Struk  29:16  
And you have a dance studio. 

Evan Franulovich  29:18  
Yes. 

Yeva Struk  29:19  
I use everything that I can use. 

Evan Franulovich  29:22  
It's part of your tuition. 

Yeva Struk  29:24  
Yeah, it is. Also tutoring. 

Evan Franulovich  29:26  
Tutoring is helpful, though. 

Yeva Struk  29:29  
Yeah, it is. I go to the dance studio, I use it when it's free. And I also go to the gym three times a week or something. Yeah, there's a lot of board games, just happening. Honestly, I wish I would spend more time in clubs. I just didn't have enough time.

Evan Franulovich  29:51  
When I said clubs, I didn't mean clubs on campus, I meant nightclubs. 

Yeva Struk  29:56  
I go to church. 

Evan Franulovich  29:59  
But hey, go ahead. We have a lot of clubs on campus that you can join, robotics club, entrepreneur club, you can start your own club, like she's doing, if you want. If you don't find what you want it, you can make your own. It's great. If you're into dungeons the dragons do that. Whatever. So, yeah, that's really great. 

Yeva Struk  30:18  
I don't have my ID yet. 

Evan Franulovich  30:20  
Oh, okay. I'm curious, you know Bellevue is not exactly next door from here. So how did you find that church in Bellevue? 

Yeva Struk  30:31  
So anyone who is Slavic watching this video, so one more reason to choose Seattle was that here there is an enormous Slavic community. 

Evan Franulovich  30:41  
And in Portland, Oregon as well. 

Yeva Struk  30:43  
I was in Vancouver, there is a specific street in Vancouver you walk by, and people speak Russian exclusively, you will not hear English there. And it is so funny. I felt like I was at home, basically. And because also in Vancouver, there's a river, so I basically felt like I was in Odessa walking by the beach. And why did I go to Bellevue? So this is a Slavic church. There are no Slavic churches in Seattle, if I'm not mistaken. Well, Seattle is very liberal, so there are little churches. 

Evan Franulovich  31:08  
Okay. 

Yeva Struk  31:09  
It is a bit of commute. As I moved to U district, only two weeks ago. I want to check out some churches there.

Evan Franulovich  31:30  
I live in Mount Vernon, which is about an hour north of here, and there is a Slavic church, like 5-10 minutes from my house. 

Yeva Struk  31:36  
What's the name?

Evan Franulovich  31:37  
I don't remember the proper name of that church. I just know it says Slavic church.  

Yeva Struk  31:42  
Everything you need to know. 

Evan Franulovich  31:44  
Because my last name is Franulovich.

Yeva Struk  31:48  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  31:49  
Wow, that's really cool. So the nice thing about joining a church, whether it's a mosque or a church or a temple, doesn't really matter, is the community, I think. And I have a number of students who have said that they've met roommates or they've been given opportunities by plugging into those resources.

Yeva Struk  32:10  
It's really easy to assimilate in a new country when you go to church.

Evan Franulovich  32:14  
Right, right. Do they speak Russian at this church, or is it English speaking?

Yeva Struk  32:20  
So what is special about the church I go to right now is the fact that the pastor is from Ukraine. 

Evan Franulovich  32:27  
Oh, okay. 

Yeva Struk  32:28  
So he speaks Russian. However, all the sermons are translated in real time to English, because they want to target both audiences for the American Russian community. 

Evan Franulovich  32:37  
Okay, cool. 

Yeva Struk  32:37  
Yeah, and also, the great thing about Seattle transportation, I can literally take a direct bus... 

Evan Franulovich  32:43  
It's true. 

Yeva Struk  32:44  
...to Bellevue, because it's right next to Bellevue College.  

Evan Franulovich  32:50  
And soon there'll be a subway. 

Yeva Struk  32:53  
Really? 

Evan Franulovich  32:54  
I keep waiting for it to open, but you see it up on the thing of the subway, it says opening soon, so you'll be able to cross. 

Yeva Struk  33:02  
Why are you waiting for it? What are you going to do Bellevue? 

Evan Franulovich  33:04  
Well, I mean, if I wanted to go over there, it's nice to know that I could just grab a subway, because the bus is great, but it is a little slower. If there's no traffic, it's just as good, in my opinion. I take the subway all the time. It's wonderful. Well, that's really good. So you haven't been here long enough, but did you know that in January you can apply for the Foundation Scholarship? 

Yeva Struk  33:29  
I applied last year.

Evan Franulovich  33:30  
You did? 

Yeva Struk  33:31  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  33:31  
Oh, so you applied before you got here? 

Yeva Struk  33:34  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  33:34  
Did you get it? 

Yeva Struk  33:35  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  33:36  
50% don't get the scholarship. 

Yeva Struk  33:39  
Yeah, it's 50-50. Actually, in my first quarter, I had a English 101, and our professor was really encouraging us to apply for the scholarship. It is really great. All coursework we made was based on understanding who is the target audience, because he made us write scholarship application essays. 

Evan Franulovich  34:03  
Okay. 

Yeva Struk  34:03  
He reviewed it, gave us feedback, and my final exam was the scholarship application essay. 

Evan Franulovich  34:13  
Oh, cool. 

Yeva Struk  34:13  
He reviewed it, and he told me to apply with that one essay. That is what I'm going to do.

Evan Franulovich  34:17  
Oh, good. That's great. 

Yeva Struk  34:21  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  34:21  
I've never asked another student on the show this question, but I'm kind of curious what your take is on AI. Everybody's talking about AI. So are you seeing AI being used in the classroom a lot or just a little? How is it being managed by the teachers? What's your take on it?

Yeva Struk  34:40  
Okay, I use AI myself. What is your core question? Do teachers regulate it?

Evan Franulovich  34:53  
Do they regulate it? And if so, how do they regulate it? AI hadn't quite hit when I was teaching in China. But I already saw a lot of plagiarism. They find an article and just cut and paste. AI would make that process a lot easier. I mean, I would think they would want you to use AI as a tool, because it is a really powerful tool. But also, how do they rate it in? If they are.

Yeva Struk  35:21  
I can definitely tell you about AI in the field of job applications, because I applied for some positions, and when I was talking to recruiters, they told me to never use AI in your application, because the reader can see it is AI. I know that there are some softwares that if you copy the text and you insert into the software, it can actually check if AI was used. I never had my teachers mention that anybody used AI in the class, either they don't check it or nobody is using I don't know. Well I do not copy AI. I do not do plagiarism, because my main purpose here is to study. So I actually want to grasp the concepts. 

Evan Franulovich  36:09  
Good. 

Yeva Struk  36:10  
So it's up to anyone how they use AI, because everything is relative. For example you can use a stick to kill a person or you can use a stick to build a house. 

Evan Franulovich  36:21  
Sure. Good answer, I like it. 

Yeva Struk  36:35  
You're kind of being tempted. You're being tempted to use AI and kind of not to study, just to copy, but it's everyone's responsibility,

Evan Franulovich  36:45  
Right, right. Cool. Good answer. I get asked more and more all the time about AI by parents and stuff. Is it taught here? Is it used here? That kind of stuff. And I haven't really talked to somebody about who's in classes. Do they tell you, 'Hey, do this assignment and use AI to do the assignment.' 

Yeva Struk  37:04  
Never. 

Evan Franulovich  37:05  
Well, not yet. Maybe in the future.

Yeva Struk  37:06  
Maybe, I don't know. 

Evan Franulovich  37:09  
Interesting.  Do you hear that? That means it's Trivia Time. This is the part of the show where we ask you five questions, and if you get them right, you're on our wall of fame, and if you get them wrong, you'll cry yourself to sleep tonight. 

Yeva Struk  37:23  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  37:24  
So these are five trivia questions. This is just for fun, so don't worry if you get them wrong. The first question is, we just finished the World Series in the United States for American baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the last game of the series, which was sad. We have a baseball team here in the city of Seattle. Do you know the name of our American baseball team? 

Yeva Struk  37:54  
So my economy teacher, professor, she is obsessed. By the way, my economy professor, she is also a professor UDub.

Evan Franulovich  38:03  
Oh, see? That's what I keep telling people. 

Yeva Struk  38:06  
It's true. So she was yapping about it all the time and using it in our examples for supply and demand. Can I get three attempts or something? Mariners? 

Evan Franulovich  38:22  
Good job. The Mariners, good. They almost made it to the series this year. It's very sad they didn't make it. I'm really glad you said that. I tell people when I'm out on the road. There are many UW professors that also teach at Seattle Colleges, you're getting great quality instruction. 

Yeva Struk  38:44  
Absolutely. 

Evan Franulovich  38:45  
All right, good. Question number two: In order to do a visa appointment at the embassy so that you can get your F-1 visa, you have to have a document that's issued by the community college. 

Yeva Struk  38:59  
I-20. 

Evan Franulovich  39:00  
The I-20, very good. Good job. 

Yeva Struk  39:03  
Yeah, okay. 

Evan Franulovich  39:04  
All right, that's, that's pretty good. All right. Number three: We are in the state of Washington. Every state in the United States has a capital. What is the capital of the state of Washington?

Yeva Struk  39:20  
Who is it? Is it Seattle?

Evan Franulovich  39:22  
No, it's not Seattle. Seattle is the largest city in the state, but it's not our capital. 

Yeva Struk  39:28  
No way. 

Evan Franulovich  39:29  
Do you wanna take another guess? 

Yeva Struk  39:30  
Yeah, I do. Can you give me some kind of a hint or something? 

Evan Franulovich  39:33  
Starts with an O. 

Yeva Struk  39:36  
Guys, I have no idea. I have never ever heard of the capital the state. 

Evan Franulovich  39:44  
Yeah, the capital of the state. 

Yeva Struk  39:45  
Okay, I screwed up. 

Evan Franulovich  39:47  
It's all right. It's okay. It's just a fun game. It's Olympia, Washington. If you go down to our train station, you can take Amtrak right down to Olympia to see the capital. 

Yeva Struk  40:00  
Guys, I'm gonna cry tonight. 

Evan Franulovich  40:02  
She's gonna cry. Yes, very good. All right. Question number four: If you want to go to the country directly south of us, what country would you enter?

Yeva Struk  40:15  
Can you just explain to me before what is south?

Evan Franulovich  40:20  
To the north of us is Canada. But if I go to the south of us, what country is there? 

Yeva Struk  40:26  
Mexico. 

Evan Franulovich  40:28  
It's Mexico. Last question is the hardest one, what was the last movie you saw in the movie theater?

Yeva Struk  40:35  
What if I never went to the movie theater? 

Evan Franulovich  40:35  
What?! You don't go to the movie theater? 

Yeva Struk  40:41  
No, but I'm watching series right now. 

Evan Franulovich  40:44  
Okay, what are you watching? 

Yeva Struk  40:45  
I'm watching Suits. It's something about a law firm in New York. 

Evan Franulovich  40:53  
Yeah, yeah. 

Yeva Struk  40:54  
It's super interesting.

Evan Franulovich  40:55  
Is that on Netflix? 

Yeva Struk  40:59  
I'm using my Ukrainian service.

Evan Franulovich  41:03  
Okay, some streaming service out there. You can find it. Go check out Suits. Well, you did pretty good. Nice job. I was impressed that you got the Mariners, that was always a tough one. I always change the questions up a little bit. I mean, I often ask the same ones. But I also actually have another thing. This is called getting to know you. I usually do it at the beginning of the podcast, but I kind of forgot, honestly. So all you have to do is pick one or the other and just tell us. This will give you a little insight into who she is as a person. 

Yeva Struk  41:03  
Let's go. 

Evan Franulovich  41:03  
All right, here we go. Coffee or tea?

Yeva Struk  41:03  
Coffee. 

Evan Franulovich  41:03  
Yes, good answer.

Yeva Struk  41:03  
I have my barista here. 

Evan Franulovich  41:03  
I love coffee. Mountains or beach? 

Yeva Struk  41:03  
Beach. 

Evan Franulovich  41:06  
Oh, interesting. Early Bird or night owl?

Yeva Struk  41:07  
You don't agree? Both.

Evan Franulovich  41:50  
Ah, really? You just don't sleep? Wow. You know, the best tool in your toolkit for beauty is a good night's sleep. 

Yeva Struk  41:59  
Eight hours sleep.

Evan Franulovich  42:01  
Don't forget. Books or movies?

Yeva Struk  42:08  
Both. 

Evan Franulovich  42:08  
You want to do both.

Yeva Struk  42:10  
To me, books is more about improving your vocabulary and how do you compound the sentences, and movies are just to chill. It's very different. I'm sorry. 

Evan Franulovich  42:22  
Who's your favorite Ukrainian author? 

Yeva Struk  42:24  
I don't do contemporary literature.

Evan Franulovich  42:27  
All right, who's your favorite classics?

Yeva Struk  42:35  
Jane Austen. 

Evan Franulovich  42:36  
Oh, but Jane Austen is not Ukrainian.

Yeva Struk  42:38  
I don't read Ukrainian books. 

Evan Franulovich  42:40  
Oh, you don't do Ukrainian books. Oh, okay. I misunderstood, sorry. All right, texting or phone calls? 

Yeva Struk  42:47  
Phone calls. 

Evan Franulovich  42:47  
Oh, good for you. I'm so surprised. I've asked this of a lot of students, and number of them have said phone calls, which really surprises me. 

Yeva Struk  42:47  
Do you hate phone calls? 

Evan Franulovich  42:53  
No, I love phone calls, but it seems more old school like nowadays everybody seems like they text.

Yeva Struk  43:01  
I ignore people for days and weeks. I prefer a phone call, it's really immediate.

Evan Franulovich  43:09  
I love it cool. How about cats or dogs?

Yeva Struk  43:11  
Definitely cats. I'm sorry I know that Washington State is a dog state.

Evan Franulovich  43:15  
It is a dog state. I have both a cat and a dog. 

Yeva Struk  43:18  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  43:19  
Do you have a cat back home? 

Yeva Struk  43:22  
Yes, I do. 

Evan Franulovich  43:22  
Oh, you do? 

Yeva Struk  43:23  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  43:23  
Nice. 

Yeva Struk  43:24  
She's not nice. 

Evan Franulovich  43:26  
Outdoor cat or indoor cat? 

Yeva Struk  43:28  
It's an indoor cat. 

Evan Franulovich  43:29  
Crazy cat. 

Yeva Struk  43:32  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  43:33  
All right, cool. Our cat is scared of everything, so he runs away if somebody comes in the house. City or country?

Yeva Struk  43:46  
It depends, if I would build a family, I would definitely go to the countryside. But while I'm young, city, because of the job opportunities.

Evan Franulovich  43:57  
Adventure or chill at home?

Yeva Struk  43:59  
Adventure. 

Evan Franulovich  44:00  
I'm not too surprised. Summer or winter? 

Yeva Struk  44:02  
Summer, definitely. 

Evan Franulovich  44:04  
Cooking at home or eating out? 

Yeva Struk  44:07  
Cooking at home. 

Evan Franulovich  44:08  
Nice. Are you a pretty good cook? 

Yeva Struk  44:10  
No, I just track my macros. 

Evan Franulovich  44:11  
You do what? 

Yeva Struk  44:12  
Track my macros. 

Evan Franulovich  44:14  
Yeah, but you don't cook?

Yeva Struk  44:17  
I do cook. I just cook badly, poorly. 

Evan Franulovich  44:19  
What's your signature dish that you cook?

Yeva Struk  44:23  
My signature dish is pizza from buckwheat.

Evan Franulovich  44:26  
Oh, okay. Great. 

Yeva Struk  44:27  
Do you know what buckwheat is? 

Evan Franulovich  44:28  
I don't. 

Yeva Struk  44:31  
It's not even sticky. It's like cereal, but it's buckwheat.

Evan Franulovich  44:41  
I'm willing to try anything once. 

Yeva Struk  44:43  
It's bad. 

Evan Franulovich  44:44  
Is it bad? But you like it? 

Yeva Struk  44:46  
Yeah, I do.

Evan Franulovich  44:48  
Well, cool. Now you know everything you need to know. Well, we're near the end of the show already. We have just a couple of things left to do. Since you've watched podcasts, you probably know that I ask all our international students to spend like, 15-20 seconds saying something in their first language. Many people out there have never heard your language perhaps, so it's an opportunity for them to hear different languages and what they sound like. Now the big question is, you speak multiple languages, so it begs the question, what do you feel like Is your native language?

Yeva Struk  45:22  
Honestly, I can definitely say that my language is Russian, because I never spoke Ukrainian at home. Mostly in the south part of Ukraine or East.

Evan Franulovich  45:39  
You're kind of Southwest. Odessa is more southwest. 

Yeva Struk  45:43  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  45:44  
I mean, South Central maybe.

Yeva Struk  45:47  
So definitely, I don't know. I'm not sure which one. There's a part of Ukraine that only speaks Russian at home, but I will talk in Ukrainian right now, because I feel like it's my obligation.

Evan Franulovich  45:59  
Yes, we've had Russian guests. So we've heard Russian. Let's hear Ukrainian. They're very similar, I know. So whatever you want to say, you can encourage students back in your region if you want, or you can say hello to your family, or do both, whatever you do.

Yeva Struk  46:16  
*Yeva's advice in Ukrainian.* If any of you want to come to America, just try and it will work out.

Evan Franulovich  46:31  
All right, that was really great. You're so fast though, I'm not used to hearing it that fast. That's great.

Yeva Struk  46:38  
That's a lot. I hope I wasn't too fast while talking in English.

Evan Franulovich  46:43  
No, you're good. 

Yeva Struk  46:45  
Okay.

Evan Franulovich  46:45  
I mean, I understand. I can't help these guys. Good luck understanding. We transcribe the podcast later, so they can read along if they want. So if you don't understand what she's saying, just read underneath or whatever. Last question: You've been through the process now, you've gone through your visa interview, you've traveled to the United States. What is the advice you would give to someone back home that's kind of thinking about doing it? What kind of wisdom would you share?

Yeva Struk  47:15  
Okay, there are a couple of aspects that need to be covered. First of all, going to America is a huge investment of your time and resources. America is really amazingly advertised, everybody believes in the American dream and so on and so forth. Just make sure that this is actually something you really want, it's not someone else's dream or desire, this is something that you actually want. And the second aspect, America is not going to make you happy, because this goal seems so far away, it might seem like America is going to solve all of your problems, it is not true. You are the one who makes the best out of your experience, and it is your own responsibility to perceive things certain way, to act certain way, to actually be happy and content with your life. So I would say, take a moment to think about this and take responsibility to enjoy your time here. I met so many students here, unfortunately, they're like, 'I'm so fed up with this in America. I don't like this and that.' It's all about the mindset. I literally go out in the street and I'm like, there are so many colors of the trees. I love it. Just enjoy what is happening here. Appreciate the culture, the people who fight for democracy and people who like have their own story, and we are so different. But this is something to be happy about. Yeah, I hope I outlined it.

Evan Franulovich  48:54  
That's good advice, actually. 

Yeva Struk  48:56  
Hopefully. 

Evan Franulovich  48:57  
It's similar advice to what I've heard, but with a little twist about the responsibility piece, which I really like. I think that's good. Yeah, you are the master of your own destiny. So, yeah, take responsibility. That's really good advice.

Yeva Struk  49:10  
Take responsibility, take the risk, and never give up. 

Evan Franulovich  49:14  
And enjoy the ride. 

Yeva Struk  49:15  
Absolutely.

Evan Franulovich  49:16  
Yeah, that's cool. Hey, one thing I know you went to Romania to do your visa interview, but I didn't ask what it was like. How long did your interview take?

Yeva Struk  49:26  
It's sad that you asked me this in the end. The interview process was crazy. So my appointment was on Monday, and I came on Sunday. I went up to the officer and she looked at my documents. As I previously mentioned, the person who did my application did a poor job, so she didn't tell me that I needed a bank statement within a specific time span before going to the interview. So I had a three months old bank statement, and also it's my bad, because I didn't research enough. So when the visa officer was looking at my documents, she asked for my passport, I gave her my passport. And she said that the bank statement is not working for her. She was like, 'I need you to send me the bank statement until the end of this working day.' So she took my passport, and before she told that, she went away from the window, and she brought a yellow paper. The first moment I saw it, I thought it was a rejection. I was trembling, it was stressful. So she said 'I will give you few hours until the end of this day.' Me and my father ran to the bank to get the statement. It was kind of a tough process. So, I sent her an email with my new bank statement, and she didn't reply until the end of the working week. I was stuck in Bucharest. We were renting out an Airbnb, and the Airbnb we were renting out was available until Saturday. And we didn't receive anything on Friday. We were like, 'Okay, we're leaving.' But I had no passport. My passport was in the American Embassy. On Friday, we went to McDonald's to have breakfast. I was having my cheesecake with my black coffee.

Evan Franulovich  51:45  
Cheesecake for breakfast? Sure. Why not? You're young.

Yeva Struk  51:49  
Yeah, I don't do that anymore. I felt like checking my email, so I did, and it said 'Your visa is approved.' But we already bought the tickets back and stuff. We ended up going back to Chișinău, and then my dad went back to Bucharest to get my visa. Then he came back to Chișinău, but at the time, I was already in Odessa, so my mom went to Chișinău to get my visa and passport.

Evan Franulovich  52:24  
But how could you get back if your passport was at the embassy?

Yeva Struk  52:29  
When you're in Europe, they don't even check your passport. 

Evan Franulovich  52:32  
Oh. 

Yeva Struk  52:32  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  52:33  
Oh, gotcha. Makes sense. 

Yeva Struk  52:34  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  52:35  
Oh, that's great. 

Yeva Struk  52:35  
And also, Ukrainians got digital passports. I don't remember if I showed anything when I was crossing the border. 

Evan Franulovich  52:41  
Oh, that's interesting. 

Yeva Struk  52:42  
You don't have a digital passport?

Evan Franulovich  52:44  
I don't have a digital passport, not that I know of anyway. 

Yeva Struk  52:48  
Probably gonna have some. 

Evan Franulovich  52:49  
Probably. We're taking our time here in the United States. 

Yeva Struk  52:53  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  52:53  
What kinds of questions did they ask you? I mean, other than the bank statement piece, did they ask you any questions like, why are you going to Seattle? 

Yeva Struk  52:58  
My answer was that I want to get certified in computer science, because at that time I was thinking that I'm going to get a computer science degree. 

Evan Franulovich  53:03  
Sure.

Yeva Struk  53:03  
And I told her that I'm not going to get a car just for two years, it's mindless. I chose Seattle because it has great transportation system. She was like, 'Okay, why didn't you go to a university? Did you apply to any other institutions?' And I was like, 'Yes, I applied to a university. I got scholarships.' She was like, 'Why didn't you go to university?' I explained why I think community colleges are better and she was like, 'Okay, let me see your bank statement.' And that's where the struggles begin. 

Evan Franulovich  53:41  
Yeah, yeah. 

Yeva Struk  53:42  
It's just the process, it's nothing too bad.

Evan Franulovich  53:47  
Cool. And the last question, because you mentioned going to the MAC center to dance, what kind of dance you do?

Yeva Struk  53:56  
Well, I've been there for like 12 years now. I was doing contemporary, Hip Hop, commercial.  If you go to LA, it's full of commercial dancers. I have my checklist of classes I need to attend, so I will probably go to LA soon. And this is the benefit of America, you can go wherever you want, you can explore so much stuff. I definitely recommend, and I recommend Seattle Colleges.

Evan Franulovich  54:26  
Yeah, Seattle Colleges. 

Yeva Struk  54:28  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  54:28  
The reason I asked is because at the Halloween party last year, there's a dance club. We talked about clubs, and they actually performed at the Halloween party, and they were pretty good. I was pretty impressed. It was kind of Hip Hoppy, more modern type stuff. 

Yeva Struk  54:44  
I didn't know. I don't think they have any classes now. 

Evan Franulovich  54:47  
Talk to our front desk people, they probably know. The students that work at the front desk, at the IP.

Yeva Struk  54:56  
Okay, thank you. I will. 

Evan Franulovich  54:57  
For sure. Yeah, you aren't the first dancer on my show, which is interesting. Did you meet Vrinda while she was here? 

Yeva Struk  55:05  
No.

Evan Franulovich  55:05  
Vrinda is from India. She's gotten home now, but she danced for years and years, but she's more of a ballet dancer.

Yeva Struk  55:12  
Ballet dancer? I was doing ballet for a while.

Evan Franulovich  55:15  
Very cool. All right. Very good. Guys, thanks for joining us every Wednesday right here on Conversations with! Don't forget to like and subscribe. Now, you have a show or not? I know you were talking about vlogs, do you want to promote, give a plug to your show, or do you have a show?

Yeva Struk  55:35  
Ah, you you want them to subscribe to my channel? 

Evan Franulovich  55:38  
Well, I'm giving you the opportunity to plug your channel.

Yeva Struk  55:41  
Thank you.

Evan Franulovich  55:41  
Yeah, yeah.

Yeva Struk  55:42  
So I suppose you will show my Instagram account here. Guys, subscribe. I'm telling more about education in America. Currently, I'm kind of doing a challenge. I want to attend 10 clubs until the end of this month. In one of the clubs, I attended it on Halloween, it was like a Halloween party. 

Evan Franulovich  56:04  
Okay. 

Yeva Struk  56:05  
And it turns out that there are some clubs at UW where you do not need to be a UW students. 

Evan Franulovich  56:11  
Oh, that's good to know. 

Yeva Struk  56:12  
And I think if you are a student at Seattle Central and you consider transferring to UW, it's super important to make connections with people from here. You can get to know more and stuff like. So, yeah, I want to visit 10 more clubs, so I'm going to be showing it on my Instagram page. I will send it to you. 

Evan Franulovich  56:29  
Okay, I was gonna say you can tell them right now. 

Yeva Struk  56:32  
It's @YevaStruk. 

Evan Franulovich  56:35  
Okay, cool. We'll check it out. We'll put it in the bottom part of our thing so you can check out our Instagram. 

Yeva Struk  56:40  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  56:41  
Don't forget to like, subscribe, follow. I'm not much of an Instagram user, so it's follow mostly, right? 

Yeva Struk  56:47  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  56:48  
So follow, we get her up to a million viewers. That would be really great. 

Yeva Struk  56:51  
Absolutely. 

Evan Franulovich  56:54  
I'd like a million followers too. So tell all your friends, family, counselors, teachers, to please like and subscribe to Conversations with! We want to grow this channel. We want to give good information about international education, whether you come to Seattle Colleges or not, we think it's a great place, so we hope you'll join us here. All right, have a great quarter. I mean, we're halfway through now. Bye guys! 

Yeva Struk  57:20  
Bye!

Evan Franulovich  57:20  
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.