Route J-1

By Xiaowen Niu, J-1 Summer Work Travel participant from China

Wen celebrating the 4th of July in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.

The J-1 Summer Work and Travel Program has been the best life experience I‘ve ever had.

During the summer of 2014, I worked at an ice cream and candy store in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin in scenic Door County. It was the first job that I had ever held in my life. Everything seemed so challenging, especially communicating with customers in English. At the beginning, I had trouble understanding my supervisor’s instructions and customer orders. My boss noticed that I was struggling and gave me a lot of training to help. She also knew I was interested in early childhood education, so she helped me find a volunteer opportunity once a week at a nearby day care center.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Erik, J-1 Camp Counselor from Iceland
A version of this story was originally published on Camp America.

Nick and Erik behind the “Pleebs”.

Hi everyone, my name is Erik and I’m from Iceland. I went to Camp Letts in Maryland during the summer of 2012, and I will never forget it.

I have a lot of good memories from camp! Being a camp counselor is more than just clocking in and out. You actually become a very important part of the children’s lives. Believe me when I say it, they will remember you for a very long time. The reason I know this is the fact that I had a very special moment at camp. I had a 12 year old kid in my cabin that was extremely shy and really didn’t want to be there…at all! He didn’t want to be a part of the activities, so I felt a bit sorry for the little guy.

I tried everything I could to get him to participate in activities. After a couple of days, he went from being a shy kid to the center of attention. It was a great week for both me and him.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By SunJeong Lee, Client Relations Officer, Cultural Vistas

This story was originally published on the Cultural Vistas Blog

Salima Ismaylova, a J-1 trainee from Azerbaijan, poses here with her extended American family: “This is a picture of all the amazing people I spend my life here with. This is a huge family who embraced me the way I am, full and complete.”

Recently, exchange visitors were asked how their perceptions of America had changed after living, working, studying, and traveling in the United States for their J-1 exchange program.

While always a work in progress, many exchange visitors were amazed at how diverse cultures coexist in the United States.

“I was not aware of the incredible diversity in workplaces and in the community here. It has taught me a lot – and it’s a part of the reason that I’m so thankful for coming here,” said an intern from Örebro in Sweden.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By SunJeong Lee, Client Relations Officer, Cultural Vistas

A version of this blog post was originally published on the Cultural Vistas Blog

Food brings everyone together. Afghani and Pakistani international visitors (pictured here) break bread with a Vermont family.

Interning and living in a new country will give you a new perspective. It’s a chance to explore and immerse yourself in a new culture. Many of our sponsors, including Cultural Vistas, love hearing how the Exchange Visitor Program changes perspectives and builds connections.

Recently, we asked our participants how their perceptions of America have changed after their U.S. exchange programs. Join us for the next five Tuesdays to explore the answers to this question. In light of recent global and domestic affairs, exchange visitors reflections will leave you inspired and hopeful for positive change.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Liam Godbert Brown, J-1 au pair from the United Kingdom

Liam Godbert Brown is a British university graduate who came to the United States as an au pair. He won the lottery to run in the New York City Marathon, which took place on Sunday, November 6. This is his second marathon. He ran the New Jersey Marathon this in May.

Liam Godbert Brown shows off his NYC Marathon Finisher Medal.

Why did you want to run the TCS New York City Marathon?

New York has been one of my favourite cities for a very long time and it’s been incredible to be living nearby for the last year.  As a long time runner, I’ve always wanted to participate in races held in my favorite cities. Now that I’ve done New York I’ll have to try to compete in London.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Samantha Chaitram, J-1 Doctorate Student from Trinidad and Tobago

Samantha and her grandfather Emamly.

When my dad passed away in 2001, my grandfather became the single most important person in my life. He became my father and my grandfather. When I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2012, I asked my grandpa, what should I do? His response was, “Islam teaches that we must seek as much knowledge as we can find.”

My grandfather is the reason I am here today at the University of Miami pursuing doctoral studies. An Indian Muslim born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1931, my grandfather Emamly Hosein spoke English, Hindi, and Urdu – and read Arabic. He was one of the few of his generation who was literate, and while he never had the opportunity to attend high school, he read everything he got his hands on. While many Indian men of his era only educated their sons and married off their daughters, he broke that tradition. He educated as best as he could his sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters equally. His dream was to see me graduate from an American university with a PhD, write my first book, and see my picture on it.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Mariliis Eensalu, J-1 Intern from Estonia

Climate change affects everything, including the Ocean. The cause for this change is not fully understood; nevertheless, humankind can work towards reducing the ecological footprint. On September 15-16, I had the pleasure of attending “Our Ocean, One Future Leadership Summit” hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, D.C. The conference was organized to engage the next generation of political leaders, entrepreneurs, and scientists to identify solutions and commit to actions to protect our ocean – so it can continue to sustain us all in the future.

Mariliis Eensalu at Our Ocean, One Future Leadership Summit at the State Department.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Kata, J-1 Intern from Austria

Katya rotating plant racks at her internship at Plant Delights.

Going to another country and experiencing their way of life was something I always desired. At a very young age, I did several exchanges to countries like New Zealand and Spain, but I was never interested in going to the United States. Nevertheless, I think it was meant to be that I heard about this great nursery called Plant Delights, a mail order nursery that exists to create an amazing botanical garden in the so-called triangle area of North Carolina. Having spent most of my youth in a specialty nursery, I knew this was the place to be to receive further training for my horticultural career.

In 2015, I started doing more research on Plant Delights as part of my master’s thesis on networks and knowledge transfer in the perennial business. It only made sense to include this nursery in my research since it is internationally known for its exotic and highly rare perennials. After a one day visit to this nursery and botanical garden, I knew that this is where I wanted to do an internship. I talked to my intern coordinator and was connected with J-1 sponsor Ohio State University, who helped me obtain a J-1 visa.  After a lot of paperwork, I was ready for departure on February 1. When I arrived in the United States, my coordinator picked me up from the airport, took me to my future home and showed me around.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By J-1 Intern Anna Martynova from Russia
Originally published on InterExchange Blog

J-1s admire jewelry by Turkish designer Sevan Bicakçi

As a marketing intern, I am very curious about marketing, branding and advertising of industry leading companies. So, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to InterExchange’s cultural meetup at Barneys New York Madison Avenue location. Luxury retail is one of the most challenging and interesting industries for marketing, especially in New York City, and I was very excited to get a chance to learn more about it.

Barneys is more than a luxury department store in NYC: it’s an iconic store that has become a part of fashion’s history. It has built a worldwide market presence and now has customers all over the world. But I had no idea how the company got to where it is – and I was looking forward to finding out.

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Categories: Program Spotlight

By Kyle Trebotich and Haldis Toppen, CCI Greenheart Work and Travel Program

J-1 participant Kenyata Thomas of Jamaica helps to trim plants at the National Arboretum.

It’s about building Global Leaders: That’s why in early August, Greenheart Global hosted its third annual Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. Thirty-six J-1 participants from 15 countries attended in three tracks: social justice, environmental sustainability, and international mission driven business. These are the adventures of participants in the environment track.

The group’s first stop was Green America Exchange, an organization that provides a stage for green companies to showcase their environmentally conscious goods. Our team had great questions, and the meeting turned into a dynamic conversation with group members sharing ideas about how these concepts could be implemented in their home countries. Sicong Wei from China said: “I think when I go back to China, I will look to find a similar organization to Green America Exchange and if I cannot find one, I will work with others to try and create one.”

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Categories: Program Spotlight