My Work and Travel Experience

 

The summer of 2017, I participated in the Summer Work and Travel Program. This program allowed me to work and live in the United States of America for a little over 3 months on a J1 Visa. The main aim of the program is to learn more about American culture by having first-hand experience through living amongst their people. However, this program turned out to be way better than what I had expected. I learned so much and had a wonderful experience that I intend to go back next summer.

The company I worked with hired 9 students, four of us were from Jamaica, two from the Philippines, one from Kazakhstan and two from Ukraine. This program is described as a cultural exchange, between American culture and your own culture. But through this program I was learning about more than just the American culture. I shared a home with two Filipino girls, so their culture was one that I came in direct contact with. I loved learning new things from them and they were such amazing persons. Very friendly, kind, always happy. I think I got the best housemates ever. I want to share something I learned while living with them. They told me that every one of their meals had to have rice in it, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. So I shared this story I heard years ago that talked about how Asians loved rice, which I thought was a sterotype. The story was that why their eyes were shaped the way they were was because everytime they got a meal they would rub their eyes and say, “Rice again!”. We all laughed at the joke and sometimes when they were making dinner I could hear them talking to each other and laughing, saying “rice again”. I was introduced to different types of food they enjoyed some, I can’t remember but I know what they were made of, for instance dried petal dust and some other strange things which I sort of liked. We would cooked for each other, I remember making curry chicken with dumplings and one of them complained that it was too spicy. They made me chicken adobo with which was very delicious.

The company I worked with was amazing. They provided free housing, the pay was good and the employees would take us wherever we wanted to go once they were available, so we did not need to pay for transportation. How awesome! The manager was genuinely a nice person, I love her so much. She was kind to me from the very first day up until I left. Having experienced a boss who is so kind, I can’t imagine settling for less, she will be standard to which all my other bosses will have to match up to or be better. So many of the people working for that company were good people and didn’t treat us any differently from other fulltime employees. I have nothing but good things to say about the Sun Communities- Hill Country Cottage and RV Resort family. They helped to make this program a success for me and I look forward to working with people like them in the future.

As for the place where I was, Texas. Texas is beautiful and the people I met there are lovely. I didn’t get to explore the state as much as I wanted to, but the little I saw is enough to keep me until I go back. I went to San Antonio and visited the Alamo. The Tower of Americas and Riverwalk. I had the most fun at the Tower of Americas, where I watched 4D movies, Skies across Texas, Rio and Ice Age. They were so fun to watch everything felt and sounded so real at points in the movie I was stretching out my hand trying to touch the people or objects in the show because it felt as if they were right there in front of me. I also went up the elevator to the observation deck 750 feet above the city where I had a 360 view of the city that left me awestruck. I also visited the Alamo, a historic site where I learned more about Texas and their independence war with Mexico and the role of the Battle of the Alamo. I took a beautiful boat ride along Riverwalk, where I also learned more about Texas history but the view as breath-taking. I love seeing nature at its finest. The city I lived in, New Braunfels, also had its own attractions such as tubing along the river. I went tubing on the Comal River which was fun and relaxing. Apart from the place itself, Texans were very warm and friendly. I noticed they are very patriotic, wy more than Jamaicans. A lot of people had the state of Texas tattooed on somewhere on their body. I was surprised to see people from different parts of the world and different ethnicities living there; there were Italians, Mexicans, Indians, Asians and Africans. It just highlighted how misleading the Jamaican motto “Out of many, one people” is because we are not the diverse nation we claim to be. I experienced true diversity while living in America.

In regards to food, I don’t know if I’m being bias in saying this but honestly, Jamaican food taste a lot better than any Texas meal I’ve had. The food in Texas may be described as Tex-Mex, which is the Texas version of Mexican food. Many people love eating out at fast food restaurants. My favourite place to eat was McDonald’s. The restaurant was just walking distance away, every time I went there I would ordered my favourite meal, a pico guacamole signature crafted sandwich with large fries and a milkshake. Needless to say, that is the food I will miss the most.

All in all, the J1 program was an unforgettable experience, there is so much more I could’ve talked about but this post is long enough. Would I recommend students to participate in this program? Definitely yes, it is an experience of a lifetime and you definitely will not regret it. Will you get back more than what you spent to participate in this program? It all depends on the where you go and what your employer is offering. But for me I absolutely made more than what it cost to be a part of Work and Travel Program.