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Testimonies

Vail, Colorado

Joachim is 22 years old and he went to Vail to work as a Ski Valet.

Name: Joachim M D
Age: 22
Profession: Economics student
Destination: Vail, Colorado
Company and position where you work: Ski Valet, Avon Venture Sports

What was the experience for?
The work and travel experience helped me in several aspects. Living alone with friends for the first time, having to take care of things like going to the supermarket, paying a rent monthly, having to open an email to receive packages, a bank account, etc. All this added gives you a first look at what What is the life of living alone and what things you like and what not. Also, working in another country makes you see a new culture, how different they are in certain aspects, for example how they like punctuality, something that in Argentina is not respected much.

Was the job as you imagined?
The job was divided into high and low season, in the low season it was more as I expected, more relaxed, not so intense, with time to talk and meet people. In high season it was very intense, without a second to chat or slow down for a while, you ended up destroyed. The people, the bosses of my work were not as I expected, not all, but some a little racist, the people there believe that the US is the best in the world, you just have to ignore those comments.

What was the work environment like?
Very good, in my work most of the people were Peruvian or American and the truth is that a very nice climate was generated among all, very funny, constant jokes, many people will be missed.

How was the relationship with the other coworkers?
At first, not very good, or if not very good, but until 2 or 3 weeks passed we did not start getting along. After that, amazing, we get along very well with everyone and we stay in touch. Obviously, from time to time, there was an occasional discussion between someone, but nothing out of the ordinary.

What were the best things about your job? And the worst?
The best things were the time they gave you to ski, I had 4 hours every day to ski, I worked from 7 am to 11 am, I skied from 11 am to 3 pm, and then I worked from 3 pm to 5:30 pm. They also gave us lunch every day, which serves to save some money.
The worst things, I think it was the tip, very low.

What did you do on your days off?
I skied or took a day to rest, not much else, life is very simple there.

Could you meet other places?
I travel to Los Angeles, amazing place.

What surprised you the most?
What surprised me the most was the snow there is, we had Vail's top 5 historical snowfalls, something I had never seen in my life. Also the good vibes and well predisposed people are, you make friends with everyone.
Something that surprised me a lot was the step that cars give you when you cross the street, slow down the whole world even if you cross badly.

What would you recommend to someone who would like to follow in your footsteps?
I would recommend them to go open minded and willing to be carried away.