The live radio program of China RadioInternational Swahili Service
translate by Lyu Delun, China RadioInternational
Host: Today we have a special guest in ourstudio. She is very famous on internet and she had wanted to visit China. Sheposted faked photos on her Facebook to pretend that she visited Great Wall andother attractions in Beijing. Fortunately, her dreamcomes true, and now we aresitting with her in our studio of Beijing. Well, how are you feeling, Seveline?
Seveline: I am very happy to be in China. Ithink travailing in China is one of my biggest dreams. I could not afford tocome to China, so I photoshoped myself onto other people’s holiday images topretend to come to China.
Host:Why did you PS yourself in China insteadof other countries such as America?
Seveline: The reason why i want to come to China isalmost all products I used are made in China, from mobile phone to televisionand AC, even infrastructure projects including highways.
Host:When you posted the faked photos onyour Facebook, how did others comment on you? How was your feeling?
Seveline: Some people’s comments are not friendly, butthere are a lot of positive comments, for instance to encourage me to fulfillmy dream.
Host:Did you think your dream will cometrue?
Seveline: No, I didn’t think I could achieve it.
Host:So, who helped you achieve your dream?
Seveline: “China Investment”magazine helpedme come to China, and there are some people who gave me some helps on my trip.
Host:I saw the picture you posted on FB atthe airport before departure, now you come to China, and this time there willbe no faked photos anymore. Tell us who you are with at the Nairobi Airport,when you posted the photo?
Seveline: My parents, my sponsor Sam and my brothers andsisters.
Host:When you arrived at BeijingInternational Airport, what is the difference between reality and the pictureyou imagined?
Seveline: I feel great, I’m very happy.
Host:What was the internal motivation tomake you post the faked photos on your FB?
Seveline: I didn’t have ability to come toChina, because I don’t have enough savings to afford my trip. So I put thosepictures on FB to make myself happy.
Host:From your point of view, what kind ofcountry is China?
Seveline: China is a attractive country to me, because alot of things around are products made in China.
Host:Which attractions do you want to visitin this trip?
Seveline: I want to see the Great Wall, the SummerPalace, the Forbidden City.
Host:How about your relatives and friendsin your hometown? When you tell them you’re going to China, what were theirreactions?
Seveline: They are very happy. They are very glad thatmy dream came true.
Host:Because of your psed photos, your namenot only appeared in Chinese media, bu also appeared in many western media suchas BBC. How do you think you have become a celebrity on social media?
Seveline: I was very when heard the news,although there are some negative comments, but Iunderstand that people who havedreams need to speak out your dreams, then your dream will come true.
Host:What negative comments did youreceived on your FB?
Seveline: “This girl is crazy”, “She took drugs”something like this.
Host:Now you have fulfill your dream, hasanyone asked you how to achieve the dream in this way, and then they also wantto come to China by this way?
Seveline: I was asked how do you know thatif you post the faked photos on you FB then someone will come to sponsor you tofulfill your dream? I told them that I didn’t know at all. I just put thesephotos on FB, I only felt happy.
Host:Before someone decided to sponsor you,did you prepare your passport?
Seveline: No, I didn’t have a passport normaterials to apply visa. I began to prepare after someone was willing tosponsor me.
Host: From yesterday till now, you havestayed in China for nearly one day, you have met a lot of Chinese, how do youfeel like Chinese people?
Seveline: Chinese people are very cheerful, and they arewilling to accompany me, so I won’t feel lonely. They like to show hospitalityto foreigners.
Host: Is this the first time for you to goabroad?
Seveline: Yes, this is the first time totake a long flight.
Host:Now your dream has come true, what doyou want to say to our audience, especially those who have dreams like you?
Seveline: My dream has come true, soeveryone should has a dream, maybe someday your dream will be realized.
Host:What do you do for living in Kenya?
Seveline: My sponsor saw my pictures and decided tosupport my dream. He let me go to work in his company and now I am engaged inproject management.
Host:After back to Kenya, you will go onwith this job?
Seveline: Yes, a month. Now I’m ininternship period, a total of three months.
Host:After you put those photos on your FB,did the number of your FB friends increase? How many people made friendrequest?
Seveline: Now I have 5000 friends on FB andabout 12,000 people follow my pages.
Host:Have you open your FB business page?Or you are still using you personal account?
Seveline: Now I’m using personal account, the number ofthe followers has reached the limit. I don’t have an official page now. I hopeI can open one.
Host:After your trip to China, do you haveanother dream place to go? Will you come to China again?
Seveline: I think I’ll be back in China,because I have a lot of fun here.
Host:As we all know, there are a lot ofChinese people in Kenya, some of them are doing business, and some of them areengaged in construction projects. Have you ever talked with them about China?
Seveline: I had never talked with Chinese people before.Only all the things I use are from China, for example my cell phone, pump usedin my house which are made in China. I wanna say products from China aredurable. And I want praise the Chinese engineers, they build goodinfrastructures for Kenya.
Reporter from China Radio Internationalinterpreted for Seveline in her trip to China. In June 22 ,her trip to China came to the end. At Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Seveline talked about her feelings in these days.
Lyu Delun: Now your trip to China is comingto the end, what are your feelings on the whole journey?
Seveline: I will start with my trip toBeijing, after getting off the plane, I received a warm reception, and myChinese friends presented flowers to me. These are what I didn’t expect. I didn’texpect media wanted to interview me. I went to China Radio InternationalSwahiliservice and be interviewed. When visited the Great Wall, I thought I wouldclimb from the foot of the mountain to the top of the Great Wall. I didn’texpect to take a cable car. I go and visit the Great Wall with my Chinesefriends, I thought I would go by myself. The day we went to the Forbidden Citywas very hot, even eating ice cream didn’t help. I visited various palaces andknew how was the Chinese Emperor’s life in ancient time. I found there werelots of local Chinese tourists in the Forbidden City, also in the temple ofheaven. So I asked why there are so many Chinese tourists? I was told thatChina is a large country, a lot of Chinese people haven’t been in Beijing.
Lyu Delun: Do you have some unforgettablememories?
Seveline: In China I gain a lot ofunforgettable memories: Chinese are very friendly, they received me withenthusiasm and treat me like VIP. I will never forget the hospitality ofChinese people. In China I took the cable car for the first time. The warmwelcoming from different organizations, many beautiful tourist sites are verymemorable. And I made many friends in China, I want to open a we-chat account,so I can keep in touch with them. I am very grateful for the people support mefor my trip to China. And I also want to say thank you to my Chinese friendswho gave gifts. I have received a lot of gifts that filled up a handbag.
Lyu Delun: Do you have any specialimpression on your Chinese friends?
Seveline: My Chinese friends are verycheerful, and they are different from Africans when they treat guests. They arekind and generous, even when we went shopping, they are willing to pay yourbill. I am pleased to have such kind of friends, I will keep in touch withthem. ”