S2E25: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Alumni Priscilla Flores of Mexico

In this our twenty-fifth (25th) episode of Season 2, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student alumni Priscilla Flores of Mexico about her experience here at Seattle Colleges, her OPT work as an Event Planner for Microsoft, and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Priscilla!

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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  1:07  
Hey, everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!'. Very excited to be here with Priscilla today. 

Priscilla Flores  1:16  
Hi, everyone.

Evan Franulovich  1:18  
Where are you from Priscilla?

Priscilla Flores  1:20  
I'm from Mexico. Veracruz, Mexico.

Evan Franulovich  1:22  
Veracruz, nice.

Priscilla Flores  1:24  
Very nice like Beach City. Very popular for the Mexican people because it's a cheap destiny. It's not like going to Cancun or Los Cabos. You know that it's so expensive. And Veracruz, in the other hand is like, more like popular for the local tourism.

Evan Franulovich  1:45  
I did not, you know, I don't think about you know, when I talked to people in the United States, a lot of people are wanting to go to Mexico to visit. But it's usually the same thing as Cancun, or it's, you know, maybe, yeah. 

Priscilla Flores  1:57  
But yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:00  
But I don't think about Mexicans going on vacations, too. Of course they do. Yeah, because we go. I mean, like, I go to other states. So... 

Priscilla Flores  2:10  
Especially for Mexicans. I don't know if you know, but it is challenging to get visas, you know, especially for the states. So it is not that easy that a Mexican, first of all, can afford an international travel, because of course, our salaries are below like income...

Evan Franulovich  2:30  
Sure.

Priscilla Flores  2:30  
Compare to America or to the states. And also yeah, the process of getting a visa is... It is complicated telling you. 

Evan Franulovich  2:38  
What about some of your neighboring countries like El Salvador or Belize, you guys like to travel in some your neighboring southern countries?

Priscilla Flores  2:46  
It is easier for sure. Because you need a visa, it is cheaper. But it also depends on the the culture where you grow up, for example, in my family, our vacations were usually going to visit more family that wasn't living in the states. 

Evan Franulovich  3:06  
Sure.

Priscilla Flores  3:07  
But not very internationally. And it is not because my parents schooling for that. It  was more that it is not part... It wasn't part of our family culture. So my mom would rather spend time with her family than going back or planning a trip to another country.

Evan Franulovich  3:32  
I totally understand that. I have friends back in my hometown, where I don't some of them have never even left the state, you know, that's their home and they just don't travel. So... exactly. So that's really great. You would... So what I found out as we were getting ready to do this podcast is you're already done! 

Priscilla Flores  3:51  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  3:52  
So an alumni. Congratulations. 

Priscilla Flores  3:55  
Thank you. Thank you.

Evan Franulovich  3:56  
And tell everybody what program you did while you were here.

Priscilla Flores  4:01  
So I did two different IP short-term certificates. The first one was in business in a global society. And then after I was done with that, I applied for OPT that it's a... how can we say like a extension of an F1 visa. It's like permission that the government gives international students to have a legal authorization to work for one year or two years depending on your major. So mine because I was in business it was for one year. And I got the chance to work as an event planner for Microsoft. And then after I was on for one year, and I enroll again to the same IP short-term certificate, but now in computer science, because after I was done working with Microsoft, I was like There is so much going on about technical languages and coding and programming that I don't understand. And by the way, I'm married to a software engineer, guys. So most of his conversations with his friends were about programming. 

Evan Franulovich  5:17  
Sure, of course. 

Priscilla Flores  5:18  
And I was like, maybe it is not my career for sure. Because I have a really a real passion for business and customer service, like orientation roles, or job positions. So but I wanted to understand better. 

Evan Franulovich  5:35  
Sure. 

Priscilla Flores  5:35  
So I enrolled to a computer science, and I just graduated last summer. 

Evan Franulovich  5:41  
And how... so your first... your first short term certificate, you must have done at least three quarters worth. How long was that first certificate?

Priscilla Flores  5:51  
I think that I did four.

Evan Franulovich  5:54  
You did four. So full year? 

Priscilla Flores  5:56  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  5:56  
And then you did your OPT...

Priscilla Flores  5:57  
I remember I asked my advisor for an extension, because it was in the middle of the pandemic. And I heard that they OPTs were a little bit delayed with the immigration process and everything. 

Evan Franulovich  6:13  
Right. 

Priscilla Flores  6:14  
So I asked my advisor, if I could take like some extra classes just to delay it a little bit my OPT process. 

Evan Franulovich  6:21  
Smart. 

Priscilla Flores  6:21  
And yeah, it worked perfectly fine. 

Evan Franulovich  6:23  
Cool. You did your OPT and then you came back, How long was your second short term certificate? 

Priscilla Flores  6:28  
Three quarters.

Evan Franulovich  6:29  
Three quarters.

Priscilla Flores  6:30  
Three quarters. Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  6:31  
And is that followed by an OPT as well?

Priscilla Flores  6:33  
No, because the thing is that when you already had an OPT, the condition to get another one is to kind of study something different, like a different program, or going like to the second level. In my case because it was the same IP short-term certificate. I couldn't apply for another OPT. I needed to change to an associate or something different.

Evan Franulovich  7:01  
But that wouldn't have made sense for you. Because you already have a bachelor's degree from a University. Where did you go to university in Mexico?

Priscilla Flores  7:08  
In Veracruz in my hometown to the Technology Institute, In my hometown, yeah.

Evan Franulovich  7:15  
And what was your degree in like, What did you study?

Priscilla Flores  7:18  
Business Management.

Evan Franulovich  7:19  
Oh you did Business Management. So you had a lot of education behind you already.

Priscilla Flores  7:23  
It was a lot. Yeah. And it was very challenging kind of coming back. Sorry, coming here and enroll again, this school. It took me a while to get used to you know, like, going to school again, having this all these lectures, all these materials, all these assignments. So it took me a while to get used to it, but it was worth it.

Evan Franulovich  7:44  
So you applied for the short term certificate. The first one, you applied for it from Mexico, you were living... Or you were already in?

Priscilla Flores  7:51  
I was here already. Okay, I was here in the states. I came to the states as an Aupair.

Evan Franulovich  7:57  
Oh, gotcha.

Priscilla Flores  8:00  
Do you know like, like a cultural exchange program.

Evan Franulovich  8:04  
Right. So you were on a J visa.

Priscilla Flores  8:06  
I was on a J1 visa. And then I did the program for two years. And then I decided that I love Seattle, and I didn't want to go back home. So I applied to the Seattle Central College. I went back home for I think that two months right before the pandemic. Apply for the F1 visa. I got it approved back in Mexico.

Evan Franulovich  8:28  
So you applied for the F1 in Mexico.

Priscilla Flores  8:30  
In Mexico. I went back home. 

Evan Franulovich  8:32  
Okay, so you went home and then did that, interesting.

Priscilla Flores  8:35  
And came back immediately. 

Evan Franulovich  8:36  
So did you have to do a visa interview in Mexico? 

Priscilla Flores  8:40  
Yes.

Evan Franulovich  8:40  
in Veracruz? or did you have to travel to Mexico City?

Priscilla Flores  8:43  
No, I did it... In Veracruz there is no embassy, US Embassy. No Consulate so there is just one in Mexico City. And another one. I think that in [City Name???] but I did mine in Tijuana on the border with San Diego, because my mom was working in a project there in the Tijuana. So I went to visit her and booked my appointment right in that consulate. It was easier. 

Evan Franulovich  9:08  
Right, right. And can... I always get questions from students that are applying to the US. They're a little nervous about their visa interviews. What was your interview like? How long did it take? What did they ask you?

Priscilla Flores  9:23  
It was super chill and super fast? No, it took me like probably like 10 minutes. And the funny thing is that I knew that when you are interviewing for an F1 visa they try to make you show them that you are you have the skills in English to communicate and to success at school. So I knew that the interview had to be in English. 

Evan Franulovich  9:53  
Sure. 

Priscilla Flores  9:53  
And then so I went I went there with that mentality like it's going to be in English and it's okay like I studied my questions in my mind... 

Evan Franulovich  10:02  
Your english is great.

Priscilla Flores  10:03  
And everything was in English. So I got there. And the first thing that the officer told me, tells me it was like, Do you want your interview in English or in Spanish? And I was like, I know that this interview needs to be in English. He was like, but we can do it in Spanish if you want. And I was I didn't know, it was a tricky question. And I was, I was freaked out. And I was like, okay, you know what, just in case I want it in English, because I need to practice. Sure, whatever you want. 

Evan Franulovich  10:35  
Cool. 

Priscilla Flores  10:36  
So he just asked me basically, why this school? Why enrolling to this school? Why Seattle? Who will sponsor me and I had this sponsorship from my mom, part of my mom's funds, and then another part from my husband, but but then boyfriend. So I show I show them both bank statements. And then my enrollment letter. I think that Seattle Colleges give you a document. 

Evan Franulovich  11:11  
Yeah.

Priscilla Flores  11:11  
I-20?

Evan Franulovich  11:12  
Yeah, they give you an I-20. And there's usually a letter, I think in there that...

Priscilla Flores  11:16  
Letter of acceptance, and I-20. And that was all.

Evan Franulovich  11:20  
That sounds pretty easy.

Priscilla Flores  11:22  
Pretty easy.

Evan Franulovich  11:23  
They were nice?

Priscilla Flores  11:24  
They were super nice. Like, overall, all my experiences with the consulate and the customs officers and everything, it has been pretty easy. And I'm very grateful for that. 

Evan Franulovich  11:37  
Yeah, always envision, you know, I don't have to worry about it, because I'm an American citizen. But I figure if you're not from the US, they can probably be a little intimidating. 

Priscilla Flores  11:50  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  11:50  
You know, the dark sunglasses in his concrete room and lights or something. But it's usually not like that.

Priscilla Flores  11:55  
And i have been there, when that happend to... to another person like that the person that is in front of me, for example, when I apply for the J1, back in... this was in Mexico City. And I went for the interview, the person in front of me got rejected. Oh, yeah. And I was like, Okay, I'm done. This is it, like for sure if he's rejecting this lady, he's going to reject me as well. And no, he didn't. So...

Evan Franulovich  12:27  
Yeah. And I've interviewed other students who've had similar experiences. In fact, I just talked to a guy from Pakistan, and he said that all of the people in front of him got rejected. He was the only one that got accepted. So if you're waiting in line, guys, if you're out there, and you're going to your interview, don't despair, if you see people getting rejected, because...

Priscilla Flores  12:48  
Don't get that situation to get to your nerves. Just relax and gone... like focus on your situation. Try to not listen to what's happening around you. Right? Because that can mess up with your mind.

Evan Franulovich  13:05  
For sure. Yeah, I would be very scary. 

Priscilla Flores  13:08  
Yeah, for sure. 

Evan Franulovich  13:09  
So when you were... when you were younger, and you did High School... Had you thought about coming to school in the United States at that time, or you were just like, No, no, I'm just gonna University in Mexico.

Priscilla Flores  13:21  
No at all, I think that in my plans, I have never like visualize coming to the states to study or to live. I finished high school. Then I enrolled to college, I finished college and I got a pretty good job back in my hometown. I was working as a PR analyst for a global company. And I was doing just fine. But then I got to a point where I was very comfortable, you know, comfort, no challenges. Everything was so easy. I felt that I learned in that job position, what I needed to learn. I talked to my manager asking for a promotion. He took a while he was like, I'm doing my best. But the situation this time is blah, blah, blah. So I was like, this is the opportunity for me to take challenges to take some risky decisions. And I applied for the open program and decided to move here.

Evan Franulovich  14:26  
That's pretty cool. How was your English at the time? 

Priscilla Flores  14:31  
It was good. 

Evan Franulovich  14:33  
It was pretty good. Okay.

Priscilla Flores  14:34  
I used to work in that company. I used to write emails and we used to have like communications in English, but not that many meetings. So it was mostly ??????... Communication. And then... but my English was okay. Then when I moved here, I had training in New York for one week. My first time like going I'm fully in English to a program. And when I got there, I was so scared. I was like... all my English lessons for the past 10 years, 15 years didn't work at all. Like, I don't understand anything. I will struggle a lot with the New York accent, it's pretty different than here. They speak way more fast.

Evan Franulovich  15:26  
It's a big country so... 

Priscilla Flores  15:27  
It's a huge country. I was like, okay, I'm done. I'm going back to Mexico. I don't speak English after all. But it took me like, I don't know, probably two to three days to get my ear used to it's like a click, you know, once that you start understanding its like, okay, it makes sense now. 

Evan Franulovich  15:48  
Okay. This gives me hope, because I've had quite a few years of Spanish, but like, I've never really spent a ton of time. And so I'm hoping maybe after a few days, my ear will be like, oh, yeah... 

Priscilla Flores  16:01  
Now I understand yours. Yeah. And I feel that also, one of the most important factors in the English education that I got in Mexico was that all my teachers, were Spanish speakers. Teaching me English with a Spanish accent. 

Evan Franulovich  16:22  
Right, right.

Priscilla Flores  16:23  
So you know, it's way different, like I could understand them perfectly fine. Here, I'm Mexican speaking in English, I will understand them as well, but it's very different than than native person.

Evan Franulovich  16:39  
And, you know, I lived in China for four years, and I had the same conversation, but with Chinese students, you know, they go and they're taught by a Chinese person in English. So then they meet either someone from the UK or the US, and they just can't speak. They have a really difficult time. So I know what you are talking about. Well, that's really great. So I'm curious at what point along that journey did you meet your husband?

Priscilla Flores  17:07  
When I was in Aupair, when you were in Aupair? Yeah, the first year, I actually... So the opera program is just for one year, and then you can decide either if you want to apply for another year, extend your visa, or just go back home. I mean, the extension here you can explore different family, different states. So my plans were like just doing one year with this family. And for the second year, I wanted to move to the East Coast. New York, Boston, Washington, DC or something over there. But then I met my husband.

Evan Franulovich  17:49  
But It's so funny that your husband is from Argentina. What was he doing here?

Priscilla Flores  17:53  
He worked for Microsoft back then.

Evan Franulovich  17:56  
Did he go to school in the United States as well?

Priscilla Flores  17:59  
No, he went to school in Argentina in Buenos Aires. Microsoft had a recruitment event back in his university. They went there in-person, they had some ?????. How do you say like, just like an it was like an engagement? You know? How do you say like fair? 

Evan Franulovich  18:26  
Yeah.

Priscilla Flores  18:26  
Engagement fair...?

Evan Franulovich  18:27  
Yeah, maybe.

Priscilla Flores  18:27  
...with Microsoft. Yeah. He decided to apply for an internship. And at the end, he got an FTE position. 

Evan Franulovich  18:36  
Oh, great. 

Priscilla Flores  18:37  
And then right before he graduated from the university, actually. And he moved to Vancouver and then to Redmond.

Evan Franulovich  18:46  
Oh, did he work in Vancouver for a little while? 

Evan Franulovich  18:49  
Yeah, because the working visas are also complicated. So he applied for an H1 visa. And that's a lottery visa. 

Priscilla Flores  18:57  
Okay. 

Evan Franulovich  18:58  
He didn't get it. So Microsoft sent him to Vancouver for two years. And then they changed his visa for for the H1.

Priscilla Flores  19:08  
Right.

Evan Franulovich  19:10  
And so is he still here on an H visa? I mean, I know this doesn't have anything to do. But what my question is kind of leading to so are you, you're not here on an F1 visa anymore, right? Since you're finished with school?

Priscilla Flores  19:24  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  19:24  
Now you are spouse...

Priscilla Flores  19:26  
He's a green card holder. 

Evan Franulovich  19:28  
Gotcha. 

Priscilla Flores  19:29  
And he sponsored my green card.

Evan Franulovich  19:31  
Gotcha. That makes sense. Wow, interesting. 

Priscilla Flores  19:34  
Yeah, it is a full like journey with visas and all these processes that takes her while... It's a lot of progressing. 

Evan Franulovich  19:45  
Yeah, yeah.

Priscilla Flores  19:45  
But at the end of the day, it works. We are here. 

Evan Franulovich  19:48  
Well, it's so funny that you like Seattle so much because you come from an area of the world that's just sunny and warm and beautiful. What was it that you liked so much about Seattl? Or what is it that you like so much?

Priscilla Flores  20:03  
It is very unique. Like for me this summer in Seattle is the most beautiful summer that i have ever lived and experience. And my hometown, the weather is just warm the whole time is a very nice city. But yeah, it gets, it gets pretty hot. I was never a fan of the... of that weather, you know, the tropical weather. It was never my thing... 

Evan Franulovich  20:33  
Okay. 

Priscilla Flores  20:34  
With my mom, we used to joke that someday we will move to Alaska. 

Evan Franulovich  20:40  
Oh my gosh. 

Priscilla Flores  20:41  
And I almost did it. Now that I think about it, but yeah, my hometown Colgate... I don't know, probably, let's say 110-120 Fahrenheit. 

Evan Franulovich  20:54  
Wow. 

Priscilla Flores  20:55  
The Celsius is around 45. 

Evan Franulovich  21:01  
And you're near the water. 

Priscilla Flores  21:02  
Yeah, we are near the water. So it's pretty humid.

Evan Franulovich  21:05  
I can't. Yeah, that's really nuts.

Priscilla Flores  21:08  
So when I moved here, I remember when I was interviewing with host families. And to help me with the software program. I remember my host mom told me like, the weather is very different to your hometown. And it's rainy and it's cloudy, and it's cold. And i was like, I would like to experience it. And it's not that bad. I mean... 

Evan Franulovich  21:30  
It really isn't that bad. 

Priscilla Flores  21:31  
It's rainy for sure. But it never rains that much or that hard. You know, it's like a constant wrestle, right? The sun prohibits you to do your like regular activity. And yeah, I like it so much!

Evan Franulovich  21:51  
Buy a rain jacket, you'll be fine. 

Priscilla Flores  21:53  
You'll be fine.

Evan Franulovich  21:54  
But like, I think, you know, I grew up in Oregon, and it rains a lot in Oregon. But you know, Seattle, a little rain a little bit, and then it'll stop and there might be gray out. But you know, I take the dogs for walks and i... 

Priscilla Flores  22:05  
It feels doable. 

Evan Franulovich  22:06  
For sure. 

Priscilla Flores  22:07  
You can go for a walk or you can go for a coffee here. It's excellent. I love coffee. 

Evan Franulovich  22:12  
Me too. 

Priscilla Flores  22:13  
So yeah, I love it here. 

Evan Franulovich  22:16  
Well, very cool. Tell me what your future plans are now that you're done with your short term certificates. What do you want to do now?

Priscilla Flores  22:27  
So when I was... when I finished my computer science certificate, I reached out to my former manager in Microsoft to see if they have like an open position for me to go back to Microsoft. And they took me and I joined this was... what was September? Yeah, no, probably October, October. They took me back in October, I went back to the company. And then by the end of November, or first week of December, pretty recently, I got a new job offer opportunity. 

Evan Franulovich  23:11  
That's great.

Priscilla Flores  23:12  
For a consulting firm that works for Microsoft as well. And I have a friend that works there. So she referred me to the recruiting team. And it is a very different like job position in Microsoft. I used to work as an event planner. And it was more related to hospitality, catering and these kinds of services. And here I'm working as a business consultant. That's really cool. So it's a different career, and I wanted to explore it. So I just took the chance. And I joined the company one week ago. So I'm pretty new. And they're gonna be working with Microsoft as well because Microsoft is a huge company and most of the companies around you work with Microsoft, or for Microsoft. So yeah, I'm gonna be working with Microsoft with some of their HR projects, which are...

Evan Franulovich  24:10  
Very cool. 

Priscilla Flores  24:10  
Very excited about it.

Evan Franulovich  24:12  
And that's downtown?

Priscilla Flores  24:13  
This in... Bellevue.

Evan Franulovich  24:15  
Oh it's in Bellevue, okay.

Priscilla Flores  24:16  
Bellevue. but it's mostly working from home, which is another perk that I wasn't expecting. 

Evan Franulovich  24:20  
Wonderful, yeah. 

Priscilla Flores  24:22  
Yeah, for my future in terms of professional career is just, grow professionally in this company, like making the next step as a senior consultant and the next one probably as a manager. Yeah, personally, I don't know. I'm pretty happy with my husband. 

Evan Franulovich  24:47  
Sounds great. 

Priscilla Flores  24:48  
Yeah, so more traveling more adventures. 

Evan Franulovich  24:51  
For sure. Have you done much traveling around the US just on vacations or?

Priscilla Flores  24:57  
Yeah, we love traveling. A he's a big snowboarder. We got to Whistler in Canada. 

Evan Franulovich  25:05  
Oh, sure. Rob Mount Baker, you go up to Mount Baker?

Priscilla Flores  25:09  
I haven't been there. 

Evan Franulovich  25:11  
Great snow up there. They get a lot of snow.

Priscilla Flores  25:14  
Is it the one in Bend, Oregon? No?

Evan Franulovich  25:17  
No, no, that's Bachelor.

Priscilla Flores  25:18  
Bachelor. 

Evan Franulovich  25:19  
So if you go up to Mount Baker, it's just up in the North Cascades National Park. It's really close to you actually. 

Priscilla Flores  25:25  
Okay.

Evan Franulovich  25:25  
Hour and a half, two hours. You can be there. But they get hundreds of inches of snow. It's a ton of snow every year.

Priscilla Flores  25:32  
I haven't been there. We have been to Snoqualmie. 

Evan Franulovich  25:36  
Oh, yeah. 

Priscilla Flores  25:37  
Stevens Pass is our home mountain. And then we go to Whistler every year. I love Whistler. It's pretty fun. It's very close to Seattle. It's a very nice town in Canada. 

Evan Franulovich  25:52  
How long does it take you to drive there? Two or three hours?

Priscilla Flores  25:56  
Depending on the traffic, It could be... Four to five hours. 

Evan Franulovich  26:00  
Oh, it's not far. 

Priscilla Flores  26:01  
Yeah. So we'll go to Vancouver probably sleep there. And then the next day in the morning go straight to the mountain.

Evan Franulovich  26:10  
So you're pretty good snowboarder?

Priscilla Flores  26:12  
I ski. 

Evan Franulovich  26:13  
Oh, you're a skier.

Priscilla Flores  26:14  
My husband... My husband is no worse in skiing. But um, we are in a different level. Like I'm a beginner. 

Evan Franulovich  26:22  
You can be on Olympic team. That could happen? 

Priscilla Flores  26:30  
No. I only do greens.

Evan Franulovich  26:33  
Only the greens. Well, you'll get better, for sure. Well, oh, that means its Trivia Time. So we ask you five questions. These are just for fun. So don't stress about it. But they're usually related to education here. So let's get started with your first question. Your first question since you are a short term certificate holder, how many quarters do you have to do so that you qualify for OPT? 

Priscilla Flores  27:02  
Four. No, at least three?

Evan Franulovich  27:04  
At least three. Good answer. Nice job. Good. Next question also has to do with short term certificates. There are five different certificates. You did two of them. Can you name one other one that you didn't do that is available?

Priscilla Flores  27:25  
There is another one that prepares you for the Master.

Evan Franulovich  27:28  
Yes, the MBA preparation.

Priscilla Flores  27:30  
MBA preparation. 

Evan Franulovich  27:31  
That's right. Very good. That was a tough question. 

Priscilla Flores  27:35  
That was my other choice. I was a between the global business or the MBA prep. 

Evan Franulovich  27:41  
Gotcha. Yeah, no, that's, we have a lot of people come for those. So that's really cool. All right. Third question. We have three campuses for Seattle Colleges. We have animals associated with each campus. Can you name two of the animals of the three campuses?

Priscilla Flores  28:05  
Tigers, of course. And I don't remember the other ones, wolves?

Evan Franulovich  28:09  
Not the wolves. We have the Otters out at the South Campus. And we have the tree frogs out of the North. Good job.

Priscilla Flores  28:18  
I went to the three of them the Campuses. 

Evan Franulovich  28:21  
You took classes in each one. That's really great. So when you went to South, how did you get to south? Did you just take the bus or???

Priscilla Flores  28:31  
I used to live in West Seattle when I was an Aupair with my host family. 

Evan Franulovich  28:36  
Cool, then how would you get to North?

Priscilla Flores  28:41  
I would drive.

Evan Franulovich  28:42  
So you have a car?

Priscilla Flores  28:44  
I do now. Yeah. But back then I used to drive my host family's car. 

Evan Franulovich  28:48  
Oh, very cool. 

Priscilla Flores  28:50  
And i did the TOEFL preparation course, to apply for this for the IP? 

Evan Franulovich  28:58  
Oh, you did? 

Priscilla Flores  28:59  
I did the TOEFL preparation course in the North Seattle College. And I did that it was one quarter, one quarter, one quarter. And then I took the tests. And I got the points with the test to apply for the IP short-term.

Evan Franulovich  29:16  
So cool.

Priscilla Flores  29:18  
How much do you require 90-92 points?

Evan Franulovich  29:23  
Well depends... we have different tests. So with Duolingo I think it's 90. Which test did you take? 

Priscilla Flores  29:30  
TOEFL.

Evan Franulovich  29:32  
I don't know off the top my head. I'd have to look it up.

Priscilla Flores  29:35  
I remember I got 90 points. But probably around 100. 

Evan Franulovich  29:40  
And that was enough. 

Priscilla Flores  29:41  
That was enough. That was enough. Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  29:43  
Perfect. All right. Question number four. There are since you're a skier snowboarder. There are a chain of mountains to the east of us that extend from basically California all the way into British Columbia. What is the name of that mountain chain?

Priscilla Flores  30:01  
Are those the north cascades?

Evan Franulovich  30:05  
The Cascades. Yes. They're the Cascade Mountains. Nice job. Yeah, yeah. North Cascades are up here, but the whole chain is The Cascades. 

Priscilla Flores  30:13  
Okay, okay.

Evan Franulovich  30:14  
Cool. Nice job. Very good. Last question. Super easy. What was the last movie that you saw?

Priscilla Flores  30:21  
In the cinema?

Evan Franulovich  30:22  
Sure. 

Priscilla Flores  30:24  
Hi. 

Evan Franulovich  30:24  
Or on Netflix or whatever.

Priscilla Flores  30:26  
I don't remember. I'm much rather watch TV series then movies. I actually don't remember. Fair Game. 

Evan Franulovich  30:37  
Fair Game

Priscilla Flores  30:38  
It's in Netflix.

Evan Franulovich  30:39  
Oh, there you go. Was it good?

Priscilla Flores  30:42  
It is. It was good. But I didn't like the end.

Evan Franulovich  30:46  
You didn't like the movie all that much?

Priscilla Flores  30:48  
No, I liked the movie. I didn't like the end of the movie.

Evan Franulovich  30:50  
You didn't like the end of the movie.

Priscilla Flores  30:51  
I was like, really?

Evan Franulovich  30:54  
I haven't seen it. So I don't know. Who's in it? Anybody famous?

Priscilla Flores  30:57  
I don't remember, Fair Play or Fair Game... It's the one of the girls that is in a chess TV series in Netflix. So she's from Brazil. She speaks Spanish. I don't remember her name. She's pretty popular now.

Evan Franulovich  31:15  
Okay. Well, there you go. Guys you can check it out on. 

Priscilla Flores  31:19  
Yeah, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  31:20  
All right. Well, great. Final question that we usually ask is advice. You know, you've been around for a while now you did. Some time as an au pair. You did two different certificates. You've done OPT so much great experience.

Priscilla Flores  31:34  
I feel that I did everything.

Evan Franulovich  31:36  
I know. So your big wisdom, you know, people back home that are thinking about coming to school. Maybe they're at a university in Mexico, or maybe they're a high school student thinking about coming to the United States and hopefully Seattle, but like, what kind of advice would you give them?

Priscilla Flores  31:51  
I will say, take your chances. Take a risk. Challenge yourself. Make that decision that it's been spinning on your head, or your mind for a long time. If it's like spinning over there it is because it's meant to happen. So take the risky move, take the chance, don't settle down and get out of your comfort zone. It's always worth it.

Evan Franulovich  32:23  
That's a really good chunk of advice. All right, and last stop is speaking in your own language for a few seconds. We've had Spanish speakers from a lot of different countries as guests. We've Spain, we've had Peru but we haven't had anyone speaking Spanish from Mexico so you'll be our first so maybe you can say like 10-20 seconds worth of Spanish whatever you want to say.

Priscilla Flores  32:53  
(Priscilla Flores speaking in Spanish)

Evan Franulovich  33:13  
Good advice. Well, cool, so great to meet you. Thanks for coming in.

Priscilla Flores  33:19  
Thank you for having me.

Evan Franulovich  33:20  
You just started the job.

Priscilla Flores  33:22  
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich  33:23  
You're busy. So I'm glad you took the time. 

Priscilla Flores  33:25  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  33:27  
You're welcome. My pleasure. So we'll see you guys in Mexico soon. Yeah, have a great night, bye bye!

Priscilla Flores  33:34  
Thank you, bye bye!

Evan Franulovich  33:37  
'Conversations with!' is painstakingly crafted for you by the Seattle Colleges International Programs department and supported by the lovely folks here on our campus. This show is produced and edited by me Evan Franulovich. We welcome your emails and questions about coming to Seattle Colleges. Please reach out to us via our website or just give us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts as this helps others discover the show. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube at Seattle Colleges Intl, that's Seattle Colleges Intl. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.