Lijuan spent last summer working in Wisconsin on our Work & Travel program and she additionally participated in the Greenheart Club! As an active club member Lijuan earned a grant to do a Greenheart project in her home country of China. Below she shares how she used her grant to help impoverished children of migrant workers in rural China.

Lijuan hugging students

In the rural area of China, there are some lovely kids who are left at home. Where are their parents? In order to support the family, their parents have to leave the hometown and work in big cities as migrants. The kids are left with their grandparents or other relatives.

They are always very lonely, though their parents love them so much. Due to great distances, they can’t feel the deep love from their parents. Children are the future of the motherland and are the nation’s hope.  They need love, the love from friends, the love from teachers, and  the love from the society.  Encouraged by this,  some of my schoolmates and I reached an agreement and organized an activity called, “Compassion, dreams interpreted.” We sent our love and best wishes to these kids. We wanted them to know there are still many people who love them, care for them, and want them to have a good growing environment in this world. We want to help them build up the right philosophy so that they can become productive members of society.

At the at the beginning of our activity, we chose a special school where almost all the students are children of migrant workers. We visited their school and taught them some useful knowledge. We also played with them and told them stories, sung to them and so on. The most important thing we did was we let the kids write down their wishes. Encouraging them to study hard, we also chose some kids visit our school. Lastly, we brought the kids  some small gifts. I will never forget the happiness on the faces of these lovely boys and girls during our visit.

The day of the visit was a very warm sunny day when my schoolmates and I  took the gifts to the school.  It happened to be the celebration of the new year. The kids were enjoying a new year special performance. My classmates and watched their wonderful show. The performance was moving.

After the wonderful performance, we started to distribute the gifts. When the kids got a gift they reacted with smiles and some jumped with joy. At that moment I knew all of our work and effort was worthwhile!

Finally, I appreciate the help of Greenheart. I appreciate their contribution to the environment and people. I encourage more people to get involved in Greenheart’s meaningful activities.

Here are some more pictures of Lijuan’s visit to the school in rural China:
Click to view slideshow.

The preamble of the U.S. government’s Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 states that its purpose is to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and… other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange; to strengthen the ties which unite us… to promote international cooperation for educational and cultural advancement; and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.”

Since its inception, the U.S. Department of State has instituted a variety of cultural exchange programs to promote the objectives of the Fulbright-Hays Act, but there are none that offer a larger number of young people the opportunity to benefit more from these venerable ideals than the Summer Work & Travel (SWT) Program.

Requiring neither the support of government scholarships nor significant investments on the part of the participants, the SWT is an affordable cultural exchange program that enables some 100,000 internationally enrolled university students, many of modest means, to visit the U.S. each year on a short-term J-1 visa during their summer break.  With the low program costs offset by the pay they earn in a variety of industries as seasonal support staff across the nation, these young people report having substantive experiences that permit them to return to their home countries with an invariably improved view of the U.S.

Because the jobs these exchange students perform are seasonal and primarily related to the tourist industry, the Summer Work and Travel participants satisfy a tremendous need by American employers to fill jobs in areas with comparatively low populations apart from the tourist season.  Many companies attest to the fact that once they have visited their local high schools, colleges and job fairs in order to hire qualified American workers, they turn to the international SWT program to fill their remaining needs, enabling them to successfully operate their businesses each year.

Additionally, SWT program employers testify to the tremendous benefit enjoyed by their customers, American employees and their communities through the opportunity to interact positively with these international exchange students, thereby improving their own perspectives of the world.

As a means to capture the positive spirit of the students, employers and American co-workers who have the opportunity to work side-by-side, the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange, in cooperation with CCI and the contribution of several program sponsors, has created a short video to share some of their heart-warming views.

As we reflect on the laudable ideals of the Fulbright-Hays Act, we can be assured that the Summer Work & Travel program is one of its most accessible and significant contributors to its goals, providing a win-win situation for all.

Serhiy in New York City

When I came to America, I didn’t really want to volunteer and deemed it boring. But because it’s the requirement of CCI for grant students and because my local coordinator nagged me about it in every single email she sent me, I originally decided to do just 40 hours of community service as CCI required. The first organization I volunteered for was Youth Court of Jefferson County in New York. I was astonished at how interesting it was: I participated in a real court session and had training about the U.S. justice system in America thereby scrutinizing the US criminal laws. Through participation in the Youth Court I’ve acquired an immense experience which definitely will help me in my future profession. Apart from the valuable professional experience, I’ve received such important skills as public speaking and analytic thinking that help me so much at school. After Youth Court I understand that community service is actually very interesting. Moreover it gives a lot of advantages to me as a prospective college student because most universities consider volunteerism in making admission decisions. So, I’ve decided to do as many community service hours as possible to make a difference. I’ve been working for various organizations in my host community helping them to prepare for different events. One of my most memorable volunteer work experiences I had was wrapping Christmas presents. I could never believe that it takes so much time to wrap gifts (in total before the New Year I worked for about 30 hours just wrapping presents for events in different organizations). So, volunteer work as a Greenheart member became an integral part of my cultural experience in America as I’ve comprehended important features of the US culture and made a lot of friends.

Serhiy and his host family in Times Square

Andy shares the details of a Greenheart project she led for her fellow exchange students in the Milwaukee area in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Martin Luther King Day, three exchange students – Natasha, Todd, and myself – from CCI Milwaukee joined forces with the City Year program.  In total, there were 360 volunteers who painted murals in the hallways of Hamilton High School.  Our assignment was painting national flags – including China, Vietnam, Poland, and Honduras.   

 My favorite part was learning the history of Martin Luther King and painting.  Todd thought it was fun to have me as the team leader and he liked the Martin Luther King video of his “I have a dream” speech.  For Natasha the fun part was painting.  It was her first time painting.  Everyone had a good time in this project.  In the words from Dr. King: “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.”

Watch a video of highlights from the event: http://animoto.com/play/D0QD9H3Vtl27e00g2F5CdA

My name is Haci and I am from Izmir, Turkey.  I am 27 years old, and I have participated in the J1 exchange program three times.  CCI is a great company to work with and I had a wonderful experience the three times I worked at the Ocean City Boardwalk.  Ocean City Boardwalk is a great place to live, but the beaches needed some cleaning up.

CCI Greenheart planned a beach cleanup where we all had trash bags and helped clean up the beach for the day.  I met my Greenheart leader, Marcelle, in front of the City Hall where we got CCI T-shirts to wear during the cleanup and we got keep them as a memento!  We were a team of six, and as we cleaned up the beach, we shared different memories, experiences, and cultural differences with each other.  It was great to become friends with people that were so interested in different cultures just like me.  CCI Greenheart really opened my eyes to how much littering was actually going on, and that even a small group of students could make a difference.

At the end of the day you could never imagine the amount of trash we picked up!  It was such a memorable experience, and I highly recommend attending Greenheart meetings if they come to your area when you are on a J1 exchange program.  CCI really cares about its students and is invested in making sure all students have an unforgettable experience abroad!

Thank you Marcelle, and the rest of the CCI team!

Earlier this month, CCI toured Central and Eastern Europe with 8 employers for job fairs in Kiev, Ukraine; Chisinau, Moldova; and Poznan, Poland. Students hired at the fairs will be working in the United States next summer as lifeguards, amusement park staff members, housekeepers, food service associates, and in a variety of other positions.

In addition to meeting CCI participants in advance at the job fairs, employers had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the customs and cultures of their future employees. Several even had the opportunity to visit with past participants for a full-circle, cross-cultural experience.

Job fairs allow for unique interactions between U.S. employers and Work & Travel participants, which contribute to long lasting personal and often professional relationships beyond the experience they share together on the program. CCI is proud of its continued contribution to this aspect of the Work & Travel Program, and is looking forward to welcoming our European participants in Summer 2012!

by Mariana, a CCI exchange student

I am Mariana , 16 years old, from Itu, São Paulo, Brazil, and I am an exchange student for one year in the U.S.A. with CCI.

I’ve been living in a city called Wetumpka, Alabama since July 30th, 2011. It is a calm and pretty state. My host family is amazing and I love them! My host mom’s name is Melanie and she is so sweet and pretty. I have a little host brother, his name is Andrew and he is 6. He is the funniest and cutest thing in the world! He always makes me laugh! My host sister’s name is Alex and she is 17. She is so funny and I love the “stories of her life” as she says.

I’m attending Wetumpka High School. It is a big school, with about 1300 students. I am in 11th grade. I am going to play soccer next semester for my school and it will be awesome! At school we have 7 more foreign exchange students: 3 from Brazil, a girl from Kyrgyzstan, a girl from Kazakhstan, a boy from Korea and a girl from Thailand. They are so nice and they help me so much!

People at school are so nice and always want to know something different about my country and my culture. Sometimes, they ask me really dumb questions such as: “Do you all eat grass in Brazil?” or “Do you have monkeys as your pets?” or “How is the sun in Brazil?” For this last question I answered: “The sun? Ooh, it is green, did you know that?” hahahaha!

School here is so different from my home country. There we don’t have lockers and here I have one. In Brazil only the teachers move from one class to another and here in the U.S.A. the students have to move. Here we  also have just 7 subjects, compared to 14 subjects in Brazil. We don’t have cool classes such as Culinary, Theater, Gardening or Vocal either. I love school here!

My activities here besides school are going to church on Wednesdays and Sundays and I will start soccer practices next year. On the weekends I usually go out with my friends to the mall, movies or their houses.

I love being here and I know I will take this experience to my entire life and I will learn so much with this wonderful exchange program!

CCI hosted 4 Job Fairs in Bangkok with 2 employers earlier this month to show our support for the spring 2011 program amidst extensive flooding in and north of Bangkok this year.

Many Thai universities were forced to close their doors and delay classes for 1-3 months and shorten student summer breaks.

The US embassy held an important meeting on November 18 where the US Consular Official announced that 4^th year students were granted the flexibility to participate on the spring or summer program, depending on class schedules.  The official is a great proponent of the J1 Work and Travel program in Thailand and wants to see that students pursue their dreams of working and traveling in the US.  First, second and third year students at flooded institutions have the option to delay their studies by one semester (which many are not electing to do) or participate on shorter programs, starting in April and May.

While I interviewed a young lady for a housekeeping position, I asked her to tell me about her cleaning experience.  “I have a lot of experience cleaning everything in my house because of the floods and water everywhere!” She replied, somewhat laughing, which is a very pure reflection of the optimism that is so apparent in Thai culture.

A few of our sending partners were even forced to vacate their homes because of rising floodwaters.  They continue to work around the clock preparing their enrolled students for their work programs in the US, while also tackling a 40% student cancellation due to financial and scheduling limitations.

CCI extends its gratitude and appreciation to all of our employers who are flexible in the hiring dates for Thai students this season, as they are extremely excited to travel to the United States for this once in a lifetime experience.

Eseme on the right

Volunteering was nothing like I expected. It was fun, sometimes tiring but definitely rewarding. My volunteer activities consist of a lot of helping the girl scouts, recycling and  helping the homeless.  But the one activity that will forever remain in my memory and that definitely changed my life was the volunteer activity which involved the  mentally disabled. I will always remember my first day volunteering with them, I was so frightened but I didn’t show it. My fear got better day after day, then I came to realize that they may be in a different element but they were also human beings with needs and wants. What really touched me was that these rejected people went  to give food to the homeless. One autistic guy, Steven became my friend. He was reading story books and I was speaking to him when I realized that his and everyone’s life is the same as my life– just that people have to take care of the mentally disabled.

I want to thank my host mum Miss Nadine Anderson for introducing me to this activity and for telling me I will go even when I stubbornly said no. Thank you Nadine!

Eseme and other CCI exchange students in Georgia

As we contemplate the onset of a new year and our continuing desire for peace on earth, America has much to thank the international exchange community for. As a result of the positive experiences of millions of exchange students who have visited the United States over the last half century, the world is unquestionably a more peaceful place. Countless testimonials and surveys conducted by the exchange community at large indicate that the vast majority of young people coming to America to participate in a variety of self-funded exchange programs ranging from Summer Work and Travel, Intern and Trainee, as well as high school and university enrollment, return to their home countries with a dramatically more positive view of the U.S. and Americans, as well as a greater appreciation of democratic ideals. Many of these young people, the best and the brightest from over 150 countries around the world, will eventually become their nations’ leaders in business and politics, and in their future roles, will recall with fondness the Americans they came to know and the generous spirit that is synonymous with the United States.

In permitting these exchange opportunities to continue to do their good work, our country has availed itself of the least expensive and most important international public relations opportunity available at this time. When considering the enormous debt currently facing our nation, it behooves us to recall that the cost to the government for supporting international exchange represents a mere fraction -  0.0001 percent to be precise -  of the total U.S. federal budget today, while the U.S. defense budget hovers at over $700 billion per year. Even more significant, it is calculated that international exchange participants and their dependents contributed more than $20 billion to the U.S. economy last year.

Despite the undeniably positive impact of cultural exchange on our nation’s prospects for peace and fortified relations with nations abroad, not everyone in Washington currently supports the value of international exchange programs.  Historically, cultural exchange has received robust bi-partisan support, being viewed as one of the most important and efficient ways to promote national security and economic viability through cross-cultural understanding.  Unfortunately, some members of Congress have been misinformed by interest groups and headline-seeking journalists that exchange programs are a peril to students, a burden on our federal budget and a threat to national security. These misguided, and increasingly visceral, attacks threaten the future of the most important public diplomacy tool available to America today.

Considering the threat international exchanges face in Washington, five former Secretaries of State called on members of Congress to support “a strong and effective International Affairs Budget” in a letter published by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC).  In the letter, former Secretaries Madeleine K. Albright, Henry A. Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice, Colin L. Powell, and George P. Shultz expressed their belief that “[exchange programs] are critical to America’s global leadership and represent strategic investments in our nation’s security and prosperity.” The Secretaries went on to conclude, “Now is not the time for America to retreat from the world.”

As we prepare to ring in the New Year, I want to extend appreciation to all of you who have taken time to participate in and facilitate cultural exchange; you serve as indispensible citizen diplomats for your country.  In 2012, we must continue to educate Congress on the importance of exchange programs by promoting cross-cultural understanding in our communities at home and abroad. In so doing, we will be significant contributors to making the world a more equitable, just and peaceful place. Good will to cultural exchange and peace on Earth!