LIHU‘E — It’s a little different than Club Méditerranée. This past summer more than 20 Chinese college students were on Kaua‘i for about three months, living as locals and working at fast food restaurants and hotels. It was possible through
LIHU‘E — It’s a little different than Club Méditerranée.
This past summer more than 20 Chinese college students were on Kaua‘i for about three months, living as locals and working at fast food restaurants and hotels.
It was possible through the Summer Work Travel program for post-secondary students in colleges and universities outside of the United States. The U.S. State Department program offers a chance to experience America with a J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program.
Some said they paid intermediary companies to make all the arrangements for the trip. The only requirements are that the students pass an English proficiency test.
Once approved, the student is assigned to an American city to work for a partnering company as a temporary summer employee. They also arrange for apartments or lodging that students pay for with their wages.
The participants said it was an ideal opportunity to immerse themselves in the language and culture of the United States. Many in the group had not heard of Kaua‘i until they received the itinerary.
With classmates sent all over the mainland, some of the students expressed an initial disappointment, but said that all changed once they arrived on Kaua‘i.
“I wanted to go to the mainland but actually I am really lucky to be here,” said Magdalena Ma, 19, a sophomore at Capital Normal University in Beijing. “I read somewhere that the happiest Americans live in Hawai‘i.”
Ma, who wants to be a librarian, is studying Spanish and English and said the biggest joy of the summer was with learning Hawaiian language, music and dance. She said this is what the program is all about — to have a cultural experience.
“It’s very different from China and Asia, but Hawaiian people are really nice most of all,” said Ma.
The daughter of Chinese diplomats, Ma has visited Spain, France, Italy, Thailand and Laos, but said this is the first time on her own. She enjoyed living as a local and said it was difficult to say good-bye to her many new friends.
Danni “Serena” Yang is a junior studying English and French at Guanghua College of Changchun University in Jilin province. She said the experience taught her a lot about business and language and plans to attend graduate school in the U.S.
Runyu Wang is a sophomore at Beijing Vocation of Finance and Commerce. He learned about the program at school and said that his language skills have improved over the past four months.
Wang said it was good to learn about the country he had only known through films and magazines. He enjoyed the politeness and kind gestures in everyday life most of all.
“I like that about Americans,” said Wang. “They are very kindhearted, especially the customers.”
Wang said the group noticed the clean air and environment right away. He spent a lot of time jogging, and others rented bikes to ride along the scenic roads. He said the island air contrasted the urban air pollution of Beijing.
Some of the students went on to visit the other islands or the mainland for a few days before returning to China.
Approximately 120,000 students participated in the Summer Work Travel program in 2010, according to the State Department. Given the expanse of the program the 2011 program will introduce program-wide safeguards to ensure oversight of partnering companies and applicant eligibility requirements.
A pilot program will also start on Eastern European partners to thwart abuse of the program and will increase oversight of applicants to show they are students of their respective institutions.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@ thegardenisland.com.
