Hey guys,

This podcast was recorded a long time ago, when I got on the phone with guest columnist and African Bulletin writer, Carol.

I initially wanted it to be a series about how undocumented immigrants had survived in various parts of the world but unfortunately getting the other interviews proved impossible.

So now we have the great pleasure of having one interview that we can sink into and truly appreciate.

Hope you learn a little something.

The Podcast

Mwangi’s note: Why on Earth they would confuse the world by having a place called Washington D.C. and then an entirely separate State called “Washington” I don’t know, but anyway enjoy this guest post from an old friend of mine, Wambui.

Mwangi asked me:

“What advice would you give someone that is coming to Seattle, WA.?”

Well carry an umbrella and a jacket. It rains often. You’ll need it. The weather here changes in a minute and most of the time it changes to rain. I’ve been here 3 years now and I am still not accustomed to how much it rains.

mamamusings

Get your geography right:

Seattle is in Washington State. Not to be confused with Washington DC. DC is in the East. Washington State is the Northwest. Seattle, WA = Northwest.

Get your documentation right

It is important to make sure you visit the necessary government offices as soon as you possible can to get yourself not started on the right path. Get an id card. Get a bank account. Get a social security card if you are allowed to get one. It really is much easier to get a head if you do things legally. Don’t over stay your visa and use your visa for the right purpose i.e don’t come on a visitor visa and then attempt to become a student or worker without getting a permit to do so.

Seattle is somewhat tolerant. But once people know you are not originally from here they ask questions. These questions are usually to find out your intention of being in Seattle and the US. Seattleites know their basic immigration stuff – they know about visas and how they work – they are not afraid to ask how long your visa is for and what you plan on doing next(using the word next is their polite way of saying when it expires) . They are also big on following the law… No easy shortcuts or hookups.

Get your money right:

Understand the value of money. Seattle is not considered a super expensive city, but it is definitely not on the cheap list. It’s very easy to get caught up in the Seattle’s art and culinary scenes. Its easy to spend in small doses here, However those small doses add up when you look at your balance and realize that the ten dollars (plus tip because it is expected and customary here) you spent eating out every week adds up to 100 bucks. Please live within your means. It’s a common problem with African immigrants here in Seattle attempting to show people that they aren’t “poor”. It really isn’t cool because most people can see through the façade. If you can’t afford it, don’ t do it.

Get yourself right:

You need to get in the mind frame of “me, myself and I”. Family isn’t always there to help and even if they are they may not be willing to help you. Friends come and go. So know who you are and where you are going.
You also need to have your emotions in check. Its gets lonely, it gets depressing, it gets hard, people question you and who you are. This is where self confidence comes in. You need to be confident in who you are. You’ll meet people out there who aren’t cool with who you are and the way you look or the way you dress.

Also you need to be happy with what you have at the moment. Always work for better things. But don’t ever let anyone get you down. One has to learn to feel good about themselves and the current position they are in while still working for something better.

Seattle is a huge melting pot when it comes to culture. People are from all over. However one needs to be aware that as much as it is a huge pot. People may not be open to understanding your culture or who you are. As friendly as the Seattle is it is a little cold c. Everyone says “hi” and they are excited to see you the first time around. Don’t be surprised if they meet you on the street next week don’t acknowledge you. Don’t worry though its not you. It’s just how they are. It is known as the “Seattle freeze”

Please don’t be shocked if you find people talking to you like you are inferior. A lot of people here while calling themselves tolerant are not. They will be opening to getting to meet you and having fun with you but its all superficial. They are not interested in what you are about or where you are from. As I said … don’t focus too much on this. It’s not you its just them.

Get to know the city:

Mag3737

You’ve got to learn how to get around. Remember, it’s just you. People can only help you for so long. Fortunately one doesn’t really need to buy a car if you live in proper Seattle. This is because Seattle has one of the best bus systems in the USA. The buses run on a regular schedule and they take you to pretty much any suburb in what is known as King County.

The faster you get to know the city, the faster it will be to get around and get things accomplished. It is especially crucial because people will always be willing to give you directions but they only know directions of places that concern them.

If you opt to get a car. Please do your research!!

My experience in Seattle that you need to know a few main streets ( Pike, Pine , Westlake, Madison, 3rd Ave, and Bell) Navigating through downtown is is a breeze once you know these.

Get your accent right:

Did you say you were from Africa? Great!

Well half of what you say will not be understood, the first few times. They’ll always tell you that they love your accent but it doesn’t mean they are understanding what you are saying. To this day, I’ve been here 3 years, I can’t really order a Hamburger at most restaurants, I have to get a friend to do it for me. Why, you ask? Well apparently the way I say it would be spelt out as “Hambagga”. Same applies for most words that end with “er”. Personally most people delight in the way I say “whatever” and they repeat it endlessly to whoever will listen. Oh and they love the way Kenyans pronounce the letters of the alphabet. Apparently we say “h” differently!

Get comp savvy:

Seattle is after all home to Microsoft and Amazon! Google and Adobe also have huge offices here. So please… don’t walk around seattle and not know how to use a computer. Or what a CPU is? It would be good too if u knew that C+ and Java are programs too because a good number of people you meet will be in IT professions.

]]> https://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/wambui-shares-tips-for-anyone-moving-to-seattle-washington-usa/feed/ 18 1:25 Mwangi's note: Why on Earth they would confuse the world by having a place called Washington D.C. and then an entirely separate State called "Washington" ... Mwangi's note: Why on Earth they would confuse the world by having a place called Washington D.C. and then an entirely separate State called "Washington" I don't know, but anyway enjoy this guest post from an old friend of mine, Wambui. Mwangi asked me: ldquo;What advice would you give someone that is coming to Seattle, WA.?rdquo; Well carry an umbrella and a jacket. It rains often. Yoursquo;ll need it. The weather here changes in a minute and most of the time it changes to rain. Irsquo;ve been here 3 years now and I am still not accustomed to how much it rains. mamamusings Get your geography right: Seattle is in Washington State. Not to be confused with Washington DC. DC is in the East. Washington State is the Northwest. Seattle, WA = Northwest. Get your documentation right It is important to make sure you visit the necessary government offices as soon as you possible can to get yourself not started on the right path. Get an id card. Get a bank account. Get a social security card if you are allowed to get one. It really is much easier to get a head if you do things legally. Donrsquo;t over stay your visa and use your visa for the right purpose i.e donrsquo;t come on a visitor visa and then attempt to become a student or worker without getting a permit to do so. Seattle is somewhat tolerant. But once people know you are not originally from here they ask questions. These questions are usually to find out your intention of being in Seattle and the US. Seattleites know their basic immigration stuff ndash; they know about visas and how they work ndash; they are not afraid to ask how long your visa is for and what you plan on doing next(using the word next is their polite way of saying when it expires) . They are also big on following the lawhellip; No easy shortcuts or hookups. Get your money right: Understand the value of money. Seattle is not considered a super expensive city, but it is definitely not on the cheap list. Itrsquo;s very easy to get caught up in the Seattlersquo;s art and culinary scenes. Its easy to spend in small doses here, However those small doses add up when you look at your balance and realize that the ten dollars (plus tip because it is expected and customary here) you spent eating out every week adds up to 100 bucks. Please live within your means. Itrsquo;s a common problem with African immigrants here in Seattle attempting to show people that they arenrsquo;t ldquo;poorrdquo;. It really isnrsquo;t cool because most people can see through the faccedil;ade. If you canrsquo;t afford it, donrsquo; t do it. Get yourself right: You need to get in the mind frame of ldquo;me, myself and Irdquo;. Family isnrsquo;t always there to help and even if they are they may not be willing to help you. Friends come and go. So know who you are and where you are going. You also need to have your emotions in check. Its gets lonely, it gets depressing, it gets hard, people question you and who you are. This is where self confidence comes in. You need to be confident in who you are. Yoursquo;ll meet people out there who arenrsquo;t cool with who you are and the way you look or the way you dress. Also you need to be happy with what you have at the moment. Always work for better things. But donrsquo;t ever let anyone get you down. One has to learn to feel good about themselves and the current position they are in while still working for something better. Seattle is a huge melting pot when it comes to culture. People are from all over. However one needs to be aware that as much as it is a huge pot. People may not be open to understanding your culture or who you are. As friendly as the Seattle is it is a little cold c. Everyone says ldquo;hirdquo; and they are excited to see you the first time around. Donrsquo;t be surprised if they meet you on the street next week donrsquo;t acknowledge you. Donrsquo;t worry though its not you. Itrsquo;s just how they are. It is known as the ldquo;Seattle freezerdquo... Guest,Posts,,Immigrant,stories,,Seattle,,The,Immigrant's,Survival,Toolkit masmilele@thedisplacedafrican.com no No masmilele@thedisplacedafrican.com (Mwangi) https://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/displaced-african-reviewpersonal-development-for-smart-people-by-steve-pavlina/ https://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/displaced-african-reviewpersonal-development-for-smart-people-by-steve-pavlina/#respond Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:04:43 +0000 http://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/?p=1721

When Steve not only sent me a review copy of his book, but also allowed me to interview him (please refer to the previous podcast) I knew I had to do something special to say thanks. So I came up with a:

My-goodness-isn’t-that-the-most-original-thing-since-cubic-zirconia-idea

I called it:

The Two Days of Steve

Yeah, I know, my creativity took time off to make room for the blatantly obvious :P.

Yesterday was all about getting to know the man. Today is all about the man’s book.

I got Coach Caroline on the phone with me and we had a freewheeling discussion about the impact the book had on both of us.

The discussion was very loosely scripted and we had a discussion more like a radio show than a podcast, which is what I was after.

Lest You Forget:

The book is Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth. You can find out more about the book using the link below:

I hope this is of value and service to you.

The Podcast

Things Discussed

1) What we both loved about the book?

2) The practical nature of the book

3) Things I would have improved about the book

4) The things that surprised us about the books.

5) The ideas that deeply resonated with both of us

6) We had a feel good session (I think she made me blush as much as my complexion would allow )

7) We had a lot of debate

8 ) A lot lot more

Any feedback, tips, hints and you are free to leave a comment below and/or hit the “Contact” button at the very top of the page and get in touch with me.

One Quick Final Thing

For those who want to support the release of my first ever information product, or just want heaps of videos and interviews with experts that teach them all they need to know about podcasting, please check out the site: www.MyPodcastingTutor.com.

Have one of those days that is so awesome you rename it “Perfection-Crammed-into-One-Day”,

Mwangi

Update on 28th October 2008: Steve Pavlina linked to this review of his book, among many many others. Check it out on this article entitled: More Book Reviews (there were that many)

How This All Got Started?

I have been a reader of Steve Pavlina’s blog for quite a while now and subscribe to it via my Google RSS reader.

A while back, Steve wrote a post entitled, How Bloggers Can Get My Book for Free

(By the way, the offer might still be on the table for all of you bloggers who are interested, so head on over to his site and check it out).

The Idea Behind the Post

Steve wanted to use the power of the blogosphere to launch his new book: Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

So, if you’re blog had a significant audience and had been around for a while, you were free to ask for a free review copy of the book AND even a podcast interview.

I Wasn’t Sure I Wanted to Make the Request At First

After all, this is an African personal development blog. I seek out people of African descent doing great things, with full knowledge, that there are volumes upon volumes upon volumes of Western personal development blogs, podcasts, autobiographies etc etc

But Then I Thought About It

This is the Steve Pavlina who inspired me to become vegeterian.
This is the Steve Pavlina who I have linked to repeatedly throughout this blog’s life.
This is the Steve Pavlina who has 2 million readers every single month.
This is the Steve Pavlina who has written the best personal development articles I have ever read online.
This is the Steve Pavlina who inspired me to go on trials, such as My 4 hour work week journey, and record the results for others’ benefit.

All those things, plus many others, culminated in my thinking:

I would have to be blinking mad not to leverage the little success theDisplacedAfrican.com has had to try and get a useful interview with Steve Pavlina out there.

I Asked for Both

And he agreed to be interviewed and sent me a review copy of his book .

Tomorrow, I release my review of Steve’s book, which I worked on, together with Coach Caroline. However, today, why not focus on the main man himself.

Ennnnjjjjooooyyyyy!

PS: If you love this podcast, don’t forget to share it with your friends on Facebook.

The Podcast

What was Discussed

1) Brief intro: Just who is Steve Pavlina ?

2) Some of the defining moments in Steve’s life.

3) How did Steve get the idea to write his brand new book?

4) What was the process he used to write his book?

5) How did Steve get to a place where he experiences flow on a regular basis? (What is flow?)

6) Tips for people who want to become published authors

7) Steve talks about how he got more than 2 million people visiting his site every month.

8 ) How did he arrive at a place where he broke down all personal development into 3 primary principles (truth, love and power) and 4 secondary ones (oneness, authority, courage and intelligence)

9) The link between Anthony Robbin’s work and Steve’s book.

10) How on Earth did Steve finish 4 years of University in 3 semesters? Some tips if you want to do the same.

11) Tips for transitioning to a raw vegan diet – How to overcome some of the common obstacles.

12) The idea from Steve’s book that had the most impact on me: definitely not what you’d expect.

13) Me thinks that it is noble ideal to live a life where one eats solely for nourishment and not for the pleasure. Steve’s thoughts on that idea.

14) What should you put on your not to do list if you want to intelligently pursue conscious, personal development?

15) Much much more

PS: Make sure you pick his book on Amazon.com and return here and tell me what you thought of it:

Websites and Resources

1) StevePavlina.com

2) StevePavlina.com Blog

3) Steve Pavlina’s new book – Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

4) What is Flow? The definitive resource on flow – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.)

5) Hay House Publishers

6) Steve’s Article on Graduating College in 3 Semesters

7) Steve talks about the Raw Vegan Diet

8) 10 Tips for College Students

Update on 24th October 2008: Steve Pavlina linked to this article from his Twitter and the Steve Pavlina blog.

Before listening to this make sure you listen to:

a) Part one

b) Part two of the interview

The Podcast

Things Discussed

1) Skills needed to succeed at the various stages of relationships: courtship, marriage

2) Sex (Need I really say more? )

3) Interesting facts about people who live together and how that influences the success of their marriage.

4) How is success measured in relationships when Julia counsels them?

5) What “works” in terms of African immigrant relationships?

6) The changing sex roles for African immigrant couples.

7) Money (Again, need I say more?)

8) How to raise kids abroad?

Websites

1) Julia’s website

2) Julia’s blog

3) Article on raising kids abroad

4) An African immigrant who raised kids abroad and her insights

5) My sisters who I mentioned in the interview (My most popular podcast to date BYYYYY FAAAARRRR)

Make sure you listen to Part One of this interview with Julia Sanna first.

The Podcast

Ideas Discussed

1) The importance of “relationship role models” especially when one is younger

2) Digressions to discuss African American relationships

3) The African “man is boss” mentality in the 21st century: How do women respond to male authority today?

4) The educated African woman in the West vs traditional African values

5) The changing roles between men and women

6) The flexible role of authority in marriage

7) Why on Earth should people get married if the rules and roles are so arbitrary and negotiable?

8) The role of children in marriage

9) How to ensure that people have a great relationship after they have kids

10) Friends and mentors in relationships

Websites

1) Julia’s website

2) Julia’s blog

If there are two topics the Internet, including the African immigrant web, are obsessed with its relationships and sex. HUGE proportions of this blog’s traffic, controversy, friends and enemies come from relationship and sex-related articles.

With that in mind, I thought I would do the most responsible thing I could. Get someone who is an expert on relationships, especially as pertains to African immigrants and find out what she knows, what her research has uncovered and what practical tips we can take away that we can apply to make our intimate relationships magical.

The  picture is gorgeous aint it

And so I called upon the years of expertise built by one Julia Sanna

This Interview Is Long, So…….

Me and Julia spoke for an hour and thirty minutes and so I have divided this interview into three parts that will come out over the next fortnight.

I hope this interview will contribute towards the end of our creating, and I quote, an African Immigrant Relationship Manifesto where we basically look at all the unique aspects of our identity and leverage them to make our relationships absolutely outstanding.

Enjoy!

One Last Thing

To receive the latest podcasts, and all the previous podcasts, for free direct to your computer and mp3 player subscribe to the Displaced African podcast. Instructions on how to do this are in the short video below:

The Podcast

Issues Discussed

1) Who, Julia Sanna is and why you should pay attention?

2) How has immigrant life changed in the US over the 14 years she’s been abroad?

3) Why is her focus on counseling couples in their early years of marriage?

4) The absolute importance of the decisions that people make in those early years of marriage

5) What defines a successful relationship?

6) Importance of negotiables vs non-negotiables

7) Commonalities, shared values and their role in relationships

8) We go in depth into negotiables vs non-negotiables

9) The importance of the man’s earning power to women

10) The definition of love

11) How the feeling of love and the choice to love intermingle

12) What men want vs what women want

13) The search for one’s parents in their partners??!!

14)

Websites Mentioned

1) Sigmund Freud’s ideas

2) Julia’s website

3) Julia’s blog

The Podcast

Things Discussed

1) How did Benin and Joshua get people to write for African Path (Amazing!)

2) What was the vision behind AfricanPath.com

3) Did the initial writers get paid?

4) How to get advertisers to committ to you and your site?

5) Pamoja Media and the Vertical Advertising Network Business Model

6) The Long Tail Theory of the Internet

7) How did they get people to advertise on African Path

8) Was it easy to get publishers for Pamoja Media? Was it easy to get advertisers?

9) What you must understand if you are to deal with African publishers i.e. the large African newspapers and magazines?

10) How difficult it was to integrate African publishers to the Pamoja Media advertising model

11) What has separated the African online ventures that have succeeded from those that haven’t?

12) We had yet another feel good session

13) The unique strengths that Benin Mwangi Brown has brought to African Path that have helped it succeed

14) What unique strengths do African people have that they can bring to the West?

Websites and Ideas Mentioned

1)  The Long Tail

ii) Long Tail 2

2) Pamoja Media

3) African Path

4) Open X (Even I use it)

5) CPM

6) CPC

The Podcast

Things Discussed

1) Brief feel good session before call: Just because I’m corny like that

2) Who he is and what he does?

3) Why does he have the unique mix of the names “Benin”, “Mwangi” and then the surname “Brown”?

4) The relationships between Africans and African Americans: I finally hear the African American side of the story

5) His transition from an Engineering student to Entrepreneur

6) His time in real estate

7) What drew him to entrepreneurship?

8) The effects of his first trip to Africa: How was Ghana? How did he get there?

9) The journey from his Ghana trip to founding AfricanPath.com

Websites Mentioned:

1) African Path

2) Pamoja Media

3) Entrepreneur Magazine

4) Inc Magazine

Let me apologize for constantly interjecting with”Yup!”, “Yes!” and “Mh mh” all the time. The mindset I went into this audio with was that it was a discussion as opposed to an interview and so that’s why I kept making those interjections.

That aside, I think this interview is extremely valuable.

Repetition of Truth

It is amazing how whenever one pauses to ask questions like:

What holds people back abroad?

You get the same answers again and again and again and again. One of them is:

When people immigrate abroad, they forget that they are not just competing with their peers or learning from their countrymen but competing and learning from people from all over the world.

So listen to this audio and you may pick up something new, but at the very least, you get reminded of the fundamentals.

Some Other Quick Things

This audio is long but I will release it and leave a gap between this and the next post, so listen to the first part today then pick up where you left of tomorrow or when you can.

PS: I am aware of the problem some folks have listening to these audio, and videos, in places where high speed Internet is as real as a Unicorn/Centaur Tupperware party.

I am fully aware of that and am working on it: A solution shall be found.

Audio File

Things Discussed

1) Brief introduction of Coach Caroline

2) We break down the 4 stages of culture shock

3) We discuss our own personal experiences with culture shock (she went straight to the “shock”)

4) Coach Caroline discusses her initial peer group

5) She also tells her story as an immigrant

6) Patterns she has noticed in behavior of Africans in the States

7) “The herd mentality”

8 ) Transitioning and learning when immigrating

9) Losing your identity abroad and the blessing therein.

10) Racism in the United States

11) Cultural differences

12) The importance of having a vision and the challenges of having a vision as an immigrant

13) The power of the Internet and telecommunication

14) Getting caught up in fancy titles and ideas instead of falling in love with the process and goals.

15) Stories on taking action

16) Ideas for getting out of inertia. Echoes the same ideas I got from Kirk Nugent and for more ideas on how to put this into action check out this article from Steve Pavlina.

17) Caroline’s most important piece of advice for people who are just about to leave home and immigrate abroad.

17) Dreaming big

18) What you can tolerate you won’t change

19) Much much more…………….