Testimonies
J1 W&T WISCONSIN
Name: Matias U
Age: 26 years old
Occupation: Geology student, in Córdoba, Argentina
Destination: Wisconsin
Company and position where you work: Grand Geneva Resort and Spa. Position: Housekeeping.
-We would like you to tell us how you are and how you feel, as a participant of the Work & Travel USA program.
The first days were more difficult, it was his first solo trip. I was very nervous at airports. The first week I missed the family, the routine, the food. Now it's like he wants to stay longer. and I couldn't because of college.
-What was the experience for you?
To improve your English. It was very good to gain experience in the workplace. I met a lot of people, most of them are Peruvians, but there are also Brazilians, Filipinos, from India, Romania, Vietnam and Thailand.
Was the job how you imagined it?
I knew it was going to be service, but I didn't imagine it was going to be so heavy. It is very physically demanding and puts a lot of pressure on me. Yesterday they just gave me the rooms in 4 and a half hours because they did late check out and the new ones came in the afternoon. He has 5 days a week of work. There are weeks that I work 4 days a week.
In general, they arrive on Fridays, and stay until Sunday or Monday.
There are events, weddings, school kids. There are days when the hotel is more crowded, generally on weekends.
-How was the work environment? How was the relationship with the other co-workers?
-How was the work environment? How was the relationship with the other co-workers?
Day off they give me in the week, two or three days off. I use those days to go to work in another department to Stewarding or skiing or I do double shifts. Generally the shifts are 8 or 12 hours.
The atmosphere is very good, the people who have a permanent contract treat us very well, they take care of us. Two of the three managers are excellent. There is one who does not have a good attitude against colleagues who are with J1 and has not treated them well. He puts pressure on them and challenges us for not meeting the objectives, he says that we are not up to the level.
When they gave him 4 days of work, they asked him to go back to 5 days and he did not listen to them.
At one point there were two shifts, morning and afternoon. The morning is stronger and they asked him to rotate, the schedules and I don't listen to them.
They have had several meetings but have had no response or change.
A manager who is good, but does not know how to handle the people in the afternoon. The third manager, he taught you and was very good, but he went to New York. He trained them, he took care of them.
-What were the best things about your job? And the worst?
Meeting all kinds of people in the hotel, also many Americans and from everywhere.
You hear all the languages walking down the halls.
The hotel is very nice.
He works with all the guys from J1 who are very good people. They help each other finish.
When we're working together it's more fun, even if it's stressful. The person who trains them is very good, an excellent person.
The same in Stewarding, I feel cared for.
The worst is the manager who is not good. When they gave me 4 days of work, they asked the manager to go back to 5 days and he didn't listen to us.
At one point there were two shifts, morning and afternoon. The morning is stronger and they asked the manager to rotate the schedules and he didn't listen to us.
They have had several meetings but have had no response or change.
-What did you do on your days off?
First of all, I rested a bit, and I was also able to visit other places: we went to Chicago, and we are going back, to go shopping and also to visit places. It so happened that we were unlucky when we went, because a snow storm caught us and we couldn't go for a walk, so we thought we would go back to visit the tourist places.
-How is the housing?
The accommodation is comfortable. We have our kitchen and our laundry, but we are 34 in the bedroom. and there is only one kitchen. It has 4 refrigerators, but it's not much. It has 3 washing machines and 3 dryers.
At first there was difficulty due to the different work shifts and there were more noises and disturbances, but later everything calmed down. At first it was more complicated, but we have adapted.
They have a free meal at the hotel cafeteria and it's not very good but it's food.
And another meal at night each one cooks. The hotel takes us to the Walmart three times a week to buy what we need. Some prefer to eat something in the cafeteria, others bring food, sometimes if you have to work in Stewarding they can eat a little better.
-What surprised you the most?
What surprised me the most was the quality of the people, the welcome, the warmth. You walk down the street and people greet you. They are very nice. The HR people are not as effective but they are good people.
I believe that the experience makes you mature and grow as a person.
-Any anecdote that you take with you as a memory?
There were times that I entered the room and since there are events, it's like winning the lottery, because you can find anything, there are people who leave everything very well and another who is a disaster.
When we went to Chicago it coincided with a girl's birthday and we wanted to go bowling and we started walking and when we looked at Google Maps we were 40 minutes from the hotel on foot!! We couldn't believe! All walking and we returned to the hotel at 1 in the morning, just before the storm starts.
We planned to go two days and one night, but the day came to leave for Chicago and we had nothing, neither a hotel reservation nor transportation, we had not been able to rent a car. And there we were in nowhere and a girl called her aunt and told her what happened. The aunt calls her back and tells her that she has the reservation, and that they could go by train and I pay for the family suite for everyone. And they were able to make the trip. They are very grateful to the aunt!
What would you recommend to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
I would tell him to first choose the destination he would like to go well, to fix the position well, to watch videos, the Internet today helps you a lot to organize yourself.
Make sure you know what to bring and what not. It happened to me that I brought many things that I don't use and I bought some things. And I'm going to need another bag to get back. I think I should have brought less stuff.
Before leaving and upon arrival I was very afraid, all the paperwork we had to do to come, the interviews at the CAS and at the Embassy, getting the ticket, organizing the bag, seeing how to get to the final destination. Everything seems more complicated, but it is being done, step by step. For all this, my advice is that you have to organize yourself and get a lot of information. And not to be afraid, I always found people who helped me when I asked. I was a bit nervous because it was my first international trip and alone. I made a stopover in Dallas and then to Midway. On the way back it's the same. I'm not afraid anymore. But I'm going to be more canchero. Although I was looking to stay longer, but hey, I have to go back to school. See you soon in BA!
The first days were more difficult, it was his first solo trip. I was very nervous at airports. The first week I missed the family, the routine, the food. Now it's like he wants to stay longer. and I couldn't because of college.
-What was the experience for you?
To improve your English. It was very good to gain experience in the workplace. I met a lot of people, most of them are Peruvians, but there are also Brazilians, Filipinos, from India, Romania, Vietnam and Thailand.
Was the job how you imagined it?
I knew it was going to be service, but I didn't imagine it was going to be so heavy. It is very physically demanding and puts a lot of pressure on me. Yesterday they just gave me the rooms in 4 and a half hours because they did late check out and the new ones came in the afternoon. He has 5 days a week of work. There are weeks that I work 4 days a week.
In general, they arrive on Fridays, and stay until Sunday or Monday.
There are events, weddings, school kids. There are days when the hotel is more crowded, generally on weekends.
-How was the work environment? How was the relationship with the other co-workers?
-How was the work environment? How was the relationship with the other co-workers?
Day off they give me in the week, two or three days off. I use those days to go to work in another department to Stewarding or skiing or I do double shifts. Generally the shifts are 8 or 12 hours.
The atmosphere is very good, the people who have a permanent contract treat us very well, they take care of us. Two of the three managers are excellent. There is one who does not have a good attitude against colleagues who are with J1 and has not treated them well. He puts pressure on them and challenges us for not meeting the objectives, he says that we are not up to the level.
When they gave him 4 days of work, they asked him to go back to 5 days and he did not listen to them.
At one point there were two shifts, morning and afternoon. The morning is stronger and they asked him to rotate, the schedules and I don't listen to them.
They have had several meetings but have had no response or change.
A manager who is good, but does not know how to handle the people in the afternoon. The third manager, he taught you and was very good, but he went to New York. He trained them, he took care of them.
-What were the best things about your job? And the worst?
Meeting all kinds of people in the hotel, also many Americans and from everywhere.
You hear all the languages walking down the halls.
The hotel is very nice.
He works with all the guys from J1 who are very good people. They help each other finish.
When we're working together it's more fun, even if it's stressful. The person who trains them is very good, an excellent person.
The same in Stewarding, I feel cared for.
The worst is the manager who is not good. When they gave me 4 days of work, they asked the manager to go back to 5 days and he didn't listen to us.
At one point there were two shifts, morning and afternoon. The morning is stronger and they asked the manager to rotate the schedules and he didn't listen to us.
They have had several meetings but have had no response or change.
-What did you do on your days off?
First of all, I rested a bit, and I was also able to visit other places: we went to Chicago, and we are going back, to go shopping and also to visit places. It so happened that we were unlucky when we went, because a snow storm caught us and we couldn't go for a walk, so we thought we would go back to visit the tourist places.
-How is the housing?
The accommodation is comfortable. We have our kitchen and our laundry, but we are 34 in the bedroom. and there is only one kitchen. It has 4 refrigerators, but it's not much. It has 3 washing machines and 3 dryers.
At first there was difficulty due to the different work shifts and there were more noises and disturbances, but later everything calmed down. At first it was more complicated, but we have adapted.
They have a free meal at the hotel cafeteria and it's not very good but it's food.
And another meal at night each one cooks. The hotel takes us to the Walmart three times a week to buy what we need. Some prefer to eat something in the cafeteria, others bring food, sometimes if you have to work in Stewarding they can eat a little better.
-What surprised you the most?
What surprised me the most was the quality of the people, the welcome, the warmth. You walk down the street and people greet you. They are very nice. The HR people are not as effective but they are good people.
I believe that the experience makes you mature and grow as a person.
-Any anecdote that you take with you as a memory?
There were times that I entered the room and since there are events, it's like winning the lottery, because you can find anything, there are people who leave everything very well and another who is a disaster.
When we went to Chicago it coincided with a girl's birthday and we wanted to go bowling and we started walking and when we looked at Google Maps we were 40 minutes from the hotel on foot!! We couldn't believe! All walking and we returned to the hotel at 1 in the morning, just before the storm starts.
We planned to go two days and one night, but the day came to leave for Chicago and we had nothing, neither a hotel reservation nor transportation, we had not been able to rent a car. And there we were in nowhere and a girl called her aunt and told her what happened. The aunt calls her back and tells her that she has the reservation, and that they could go by train and I pay for the family suite for everyone. And they were able to make the trip. They are very grateful to the aunt!
What would you recommend to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
I would tell him to first choose the destination he would like to go well, to fix the position well, to watch videos, the Internet today helps you a lot to organize yourself.
Make sure you know what to bring and what not. It happened to me that I brought many things that I don't use and I bought some things. And I'm going to need another bag to get back. I think I should have brought less stuff.
Before leaving and upon arrival I was very afraid, all the paperwork we had to do to come, the interviews at the CAS and at the Embassy, getting the ticket, organizing the bag, seeing how to get to the final destination. Everything seems more complicated, but it is being done, step by step. For all this, my advice is that you have to organize yourself and get a lot of information. And not to be afraid, I always found people who helped me when I asked. I was a bit nervous because it was my first international trip and alone. I made a stopover in Dallas and then to Midway. On the way back it's the same. I'm not afraid anymore. But I'm going to be more canchero. Although I was looking to stay longer, but hey, I have to go back to school. See you soon in BA!
