I started university in the fall of 2017 and just a couple of weeks into the semester I have already
heard about the opportunity to apply to a program where you can gain work experience abroad –
more specifically the Unites States – and also have the chance of traveling around. The idea to
apply didn’t come from me, a dear friend of mine convinced me that it is the perfect opportunity
for us! And he was absolutely right!! I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend the summer. Of
course, since we were young, we were quite overwhelmed in the beginning with the paperwork
and processes we needed to go through – also we were a little but scared of leaving the country
just on our own and being expected to act as adults, even though we still felt like kids.

We found a job on Cape Cod, Hyannis, in a hotel. Fortunately, I have friends who used to live in
Boston around that time and they offered to help us on our arrival. They picked us up from the
airport, showed us around a little, gave us some suggestions (in which shops/places to look in for
some specific things we needed) and drove us to Hyannis and helped us settle in.

Fun fact, we managed to find probably the only landlord, whose wife was from Europe, if I remember
correctly from Belarus, and we were living in a house with a yard and a fence! Since most people
in America don’t use fences around their property, this made us feel a little bit like we are home.
We had a Turkish girl as a roommate. She didn’t speak a lot of English when she arrived and we
were funny trying to communicate with each other mixing together different languages –
Turkish, English, Hungarian and Romanian. Another fun fact: there are some Turkish words that
are very similar to Hungarian and Romanian words with the same meaning.😊

I would say the first couple weeks were the worst in terms of getting used to our new lifestyle.
Our job was physically demanding – we were working as housekeepers, the jet lag confused us
in the beginning and of course the fact that we didn’t have any friends, just the two of us. This
quickly changed as we made friends with other student workers and some seasonal workers from
Jamaica😊We started organizing programs together like cooking, movie night, going shopping
or just for a walk on the beach. Unfortunately, since we were underage at the time we couldn’t
participate in going with them to the bar or clubbing, but hopefully we can experience that part
of America as well soon.
Our Jamaican coworkers were really nice, they showed us everything we needed to know about
work and even though we had difficulties understanding them because of their accent, we
managed somehow. They even braided my hair like theirs was, and I’m not going to lie, I loved
it! I’ve been wearing that braided style since then once or twice a year.

One of my favorite memories from that summer is when my parents came to visit. I remember
how proud I was to show them the life I built for myself and seeing in their eyes that they are
also proud of me.
After a month or so we found ourselves a second job in a restaurant and we became friends with
a lot of locals, who showed us around the good spots and invited us to some very American
house parties. I met so many amazing people during that summer and I am glad to say that I keep
in touch with many of them even though it has been 6 years since we met and we are all so far
away from each other.

Another big favourite from that summer is the time after we finished our work contract and we
had a couple weeks for traveling. We tried to include as many places as we could into our 3-week
travel period: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, San Diego, New
Orleans and finally New York. The trip was full of walking, taking pictures, good food, laughing
and of course there were some scary parts like lost passport and sleeping in the ghetto, but we
survived.

I learned a lot about myself during that summer and I returned home with so many amazing
experiences. I had the chance to immersive myself in another culture, living the day to day life of
so many people in America. It was the best decision to listen to my friend and go on this
adventure😊

Miklos Dora – Hyannis, MA