Testimonies
Catalina Island, California
Maria C S went to an island in California to work as a Sales Associate and she tells us about her adventures in the Work & Travel USA program
Name: María C S
Age: 20
Profession: Graphic Design Student
Destination: Catalina Island, California
Company and position where you work: Island Ventures - Avalon Bay Company - Sales Associate
-What is the experience for?
To get to know the culture here, I traveled a lot. It also helped me to try different foods, improve my English, this was my first job and I had to learn to manage and live alone, manage my money and manage myself.
- Is work as you imagined?
No, I had never worked before, and the truth is that the work is very hard. It is a bit heavy and stressful. I work in three clothes stores, and the schedules change them every week.
-What are the best things about your job? And the worst?
The best: The people I work with, my colleagues are very cool and make everything more enjoyable, the location that is very close to where I live.
Worse: not having a uniform, because they have many rules to dress but not a uniform, the deal with the bosses and the schedule that constantly changes me.
-What do you do on your days off?
It depends on the day, so far whenever I could, I went to Hollywood, to Disney, we went with a friend, we rented a Jeep and went skiing, we did parasaling, we went on a submarine.
- Could you visit other places?
Yes, I went to Santa Monica, Hollywood, Disney, San Diego, Mountain High, Los Angeles, Longbeach, San Diego and Las Vegas.
-What surprised you the most?
What surprised me most was how different the US economy is. How with the minimum wage you can live well in the USA while in Argentina it is not enough for you. I was shocked a lot.
-Any anecdote that you take as a souvenir?
On the days off I had beautiful days, I taught my friend from Brazil and the Philippines to ski and the trip on the route with the Jeep we rented was very nice.
-What would you recommend to someone who would like to follow in your footsteps?
I would recommend asking you a lot of questions about the job position itself, so you don't get surprises. Ask more information in the interview to know what to expect. I do not regret anything of having spent all the money haha. And also to keep it up, because for more than work is not great the group of people is amazing.
-All this information is very useful for us and for the students who want to travel with the program so we thank you very much for your collaboration.
You're welcome, thanks to you !!
Age: 20
Profession: Graphic Design Student
Destination: Catalina Island, California
Company and position where you work: Island Ventures - Avalon Bay Company - Sales Associate
-What is the experience for?
To get to know the culture here, I traveled a lot. It also helped me to try different foods, improve my English, this was my first job and I had to learn to manage and live alone, manage my money and manage myself.
- Is work as you imagined?
No, I had never worked before, and the truth is that the work is very hard. It is a bit heavy and stressful. I work in three clothes stores, and the schedules change them every week.
-What are the best things about your job? And the worst?
The best: The people I work with, my colleagues are very cool and make everything more enjoyable, the location that is very close to where I live.
Worse: not having a uniform, because they have many rules to dress but not a uniform, the deal with the bosses and the schedule that constantly changes me.
-What do you do on your days off?
It depends on the day, so far whenever I could, I went to Hollywood, to Disney, we went with a friend, we rented a Jeep and went skiing, we did parasaling, we went on a submarine.
- Could you visit other places?
Yes, I went to Santa Monica, Hollywood, Disney, San Diego, Mountain High, Los Angeles, Longbeach, San Diego and Las Vegas.
-What surprised you the most?
What surprised me most was how different the US economy is. How with the minimum wage you can live well in the USA while in Argentina it is not enough for you. I was shocked a lot.
-Any anecdote that you take as a souvenir?
On the days off I had beautiful days, I taught my friend from Brazil and the Philippines to ski and the trip on the route with the Jeep we rented was very nice.
-What would you recommend to someone who would like to follow in your footsteps?
I would recommend asking you a lot of questions about the job position itself, so you don't get surprises. Ask more information in the interview to know what to expect. I do not regret anything of having spent all the money haha. And also to keep it up, because for more than work is not great the group of people is amazing.
-All this information is very useful for us and for the students who want to travel with the program so we thank you very much for your collaboration.
You're welcome, thanks to you !!
