Hello. In this article, I will tell you my 2018 Work and Travel story, the most memorable summer of my life, which I spent to the fullest. It will be a bit long and detailed, but I think you will have fun while reading and you will learn in detail about the Work and Travel program. Happy reading.

As you know, Work and Travel is one of the most popular cultural exchange programs, especially among university students. In most environments we have been, especially in big university cities, we inevitably have to listen to the Work and Travel memories of some people, and it starts to sound familiar, and most of us search on engines “What is this Work and Travel” and start researching the program thoroughly. But not me😊 Although I listened to many Work and Travel stories in most environments I have been, I didn’t research the program at all and it didn’t interest me. Until my best friend asks if I can join him while visiting Work and Travel company and we will go home from there 😊

We went to the company that day, not knowing that answering yes to my friend would change my life completely. He was discussing details of the lifeguard job with his advisor. I was sitting in the corner listening to their dialogue. As time passed and the conversation became more detailed, I realized that my interest started to increase. By the way, it was the end of January. It was a bit late for Work and Travel, and it was a date when the quotas decreased and the prices increased a little more compared to the first months. After talking to the consultants, they helped me extra if I wanted to go and said that they could do my transactions quickly, and I was convinced and talked to my family. Thanks to them, they took an extremely positive and supportive attitude from the first second and let me go. Immediately after this process, I quickly paid my pre-registration fee and officially started my Work and Travel story 😊

Let’s see how I choose my job. After registering with the company, I constantly and regularly exchanged information with my advisor. We made a filtering by explaining my expectations from the Work and Travel program and the location I want to go, my personal characteristics, especially my social side. Well, there may be those who ask the question of what your expectation was from the Work and Travel program. My only hope was to have a good time and improve my English language. If I have to express my own opinion based on my experiences here, students put a lot of stress and expect excessively after participating in the program. In this regard, unlike the others I spent a completely beautiful summer with zero stress and zero expectations and went to America with a relaxed mind focused on improving my language as much as possible.

How many times I can go to America in my life, my counsellor let the place I go to be a fun and central place. I said I want to meet lots of people. I gave the assurance that I could do any job. Here, too, I reaped the fruits of the good and trusting relationship I established with my advisor. Since I grew up in Trabzon, my swimming skills were good. “Do you want to be lifeguard?” he asked. Since it sounded pretty cool, I accepted it right away without asking any questions 😊 I’m glad I accepted. I was a fun job, though challenging.

Eventually, I accepted a job as a lifeguard at a large water and amusement park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, located in the north of the United States. I was happy and excited. By the way, my department was 100% English and I was someone who was always busy as possible before I came to America and to move there more comfortably. This is a very important detail. The better your English, the faster you can mingle with people and the faster you can be successful in your job and even jump in ranks. This means starting 1 - 0 ahead, both socially and financially, in a way in America. In short, win-win.

So what did I do to improve my English? For the first time in my life, I made a program for myself and studied English. When it comes to America, we switched to machinery 😊 But the Conversation Clubs held every week in my company were the most useful for me. We were doing speaking exercises by constantly coming to the company after leaving the school and determining random topics in the company of the teacher. In addition to the improvement of my practice, thanks to the conversation club, I felt like I was in a foreign environment and gained great self-confidence. This has been a great advantage for me, especially from the visa interview to the end of the program.

Of course, after choosing a job, there was also the stage of meeting with my employer. These conversations can happen in many different ways. My employer came to Ankara and we met face to face. Here, the most crucial point is to give positive energy to the employer. We aren’t expected to speak like an American. It is also very important to speak as well as possible and to be warm, sincere and smiling. For example, during the interview, I made jokes within the possibilities of my English level and made my employer laugh. When I arrived in America, even though there were thousands of students at the hotel, they remembered my joke and established a good friendship there. We even went to the horror house together. Now we have added on social media, we see each often 😊

After I was accepted to the job, the only and the biggest obstacle for me to go to America was the visa interview. The most critical point here, as in job interviews, is to be smiling and energetic. I also benefited greatly from the visa orientation given to us by my company before the visa interview. I went to the visa interview fully prepared and equipped and got my visa. At this point, a great relief descends on the person. Now you feel like you’ve officially won the prize for everything. America isn’t far away anymore. It is just an airport away 😊

After getting the visa, I was subjected to a detailed American orientation before I went. How to prepare a suitcase, American culture, what not to do in America, possible problems we may encounter, how to rent a car, etc. Here is a detail where you can find answers to any questions you may have, and the information that prepares you for America and keeps you alive.

I got on the plane from Istanbul and landed first in Frankfurt and then on to Chicago. Since you will have to speak English for the first time on the plane, we can say that Work and Travel starts right there. The first cultural shock 😊 The taxi driver, whose number I reached from Turkey and agreed to meet, took me from Chicago and brought me to the water park after a three-hour journey. I remember the first time I came to the hotel. Everything was so different. The staff immediately greeted me and took me to my room. It was evening. I walked around a bit and didn’t know anyone so I fell asleep right away. Since I have jet lag in the morning, I woke up early and went to wander around the hotel and its surroundings. One cannot believe it walking down the street. You are in America after all. There is McDonald’s opposite, but the signs are in English. The traffic flow, everything is different.

I started to work. We passed the training. I got the Lifeguard certificate. Even though I was very stressed for the first 2 weeks to see if there would be anyone drowning, I gained overconfidence and came to a position to take action blindfolded in an emergency. I got on incredibly well with everyone with my supervisors. We used to go on a trip to Chicago on our free days to go shopping, to eat together. In the evenings, we used to gather in the nightclub or in a common area to have fun and chat for hours.

I made many foreign friends. I got on very well, especially with the Spaniards. In fact, after returning to Turkey, I went to Madrid to visit them and stayed at their house for a week. When I returned, I had many close Turkish friends. I developed my language. I’ve earned enough money to be satisfied. I returned to Turkey with a phone, 2 suitcases of clothes, a vacation for 10 days and some money. But most importantly, my horizons have expanded incredibly. When I came back, I was a different person. More mature, more complete, able to stand on his feet…

To sum up, I am glad that I participated in this program with all my sincerity. What they have given me in 5 months is invaluable. I hope everyone gets the chance to participate in this program and has unforgettable experiences 😊