Tell us about your experience going on WAT (Work & Travel). Where did you go and what kind of work did you do?What kind of experience did you have? Did you leave your heart there at the end of the summer or you could wait to come back home?
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THE SUMMER HELP 
Hey guys, I think your idea is AWESOME. I have never heard of a film focused on WAT and there are a lot of stories to be told, for sure 🙂 I was on WAT last year, in Alaska and it was amazing. One of the best summers in my life. I was so passionate that I started a blog for one of my classes, but I am going to keep writing because there is a lot to write about.
Check out people’s interesting stories on my page https://watexpecttheunexpected.wordpress.com/ .
Good luck!
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I am so exited to understand that this is happening! It will be interesting, for sure. Personally, I have been on WAT twice (in Wildwood, NJ and in Nantucket, MA). Like Viktoria, I also decided to start a blog about students’ WAT stories, since I was curious to know about their experience in different parts of the States. It happened to be a really hot topic with man colorful stories and people were telling me that they found it useful. WAT is definitely something that every student should experience at least once! You can check some stories in my blog here :
https://aubgwat.wordpress.com/
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As a student who has experienced firsthand what the WAT program has to offer and is looking forward to a second journey I must say the topic has tremendous potential that just begs to be used. I went to Alaska during my first year and I still keep in touch with my international friends discussing potential reunions this summer. It was quite the adventure for me as I changed multiple jobs and locations in search of an environment that would suit me and consequently i had the opportunity to meet a lot of people and explore Alaska’s beautiful nature. Best of luck in your project’s realization !
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It’s truly incredible how mind-absorbing a work and travel program can be for a student. After spending a full-length summer in Juneau, Alaska, I feel its safe to say there is nothing like traveling abroad, especially traveling to the far distant corners of the globe. Surely, aside from the travel there’s also the work. Switching between jobs doesn’t always need to be an issue, though. For me working as a Sales Associate at Home Depot was equally enjoyable and profitable. But still, it’s the people who make it all count. Meeting and befriending natives is so personally-enriching there is hardly an equivalent to it. Their engulfing friendliness and radiant joy of life are a catalyst to everything I was able to achieve both personally and financially. As more U.S. newcomers will head to different WAT locations this summer there is something vital to remember. Don’t just sip from the cup of new experiences. Gulp it all in.
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I’ve been on WAT for 3 times already. Martha’s Vineyard, MA is my usual destination, honestly, after all this time spent there and all the challenges I went through it really took a special place in my heart!
First time when I got there, I had no such experience, had to walk door to door asking for jobs was a huge frustration. But than I got lucky, got the first job after a week, than another, it all ended up being fun and great way to socialize as well as easy way to make money.
Place itself is gorgeous and it really helped me to adjust easily, it really feels like I am in a heaven, isolated form the mainland, surrounded with amazing nature and beautiful beach. One thing for sure, my life there is totally different.
I went through many different businesses, mostly restaurants. it was really challenging at first but it got easier by the time. Sometimes I really miss opening wine bottles and telling guests specials… 🙂 But above all I miss my Island friends, host family, fresh seafood and sandy beach… Just to prove my love towards the Island I even got a tattoo, outline of the Vineyard. And YES I cannot wait summer to come 🙂
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I think this movie will turn out to be very useful for students who have never been on WAT….students like me 😊 . This year will be my first time as a participant and I have mixed feelings about it, more or less inclining to the negative side. I (and I believe all other inexperienced people) would love to hear about others’ stories. It will give us an insight of the do’s and don’ts while we are in the US. An incredible idea! I hope it gains popularity. Wish you luck and…post, post, post more!!!! The more information we have, the better.
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People like Tom Allen hook you up with amazing hosts like me who have succeeded in the business world once and were a real rags to riches story until the global financial crash of 2008 they call it here in the states. I was a single mom with a six week old baby who sold everything I had and ventured across the USA when you had to wait for someone to die or retire in my town back then to get a job. I climbed the business ladder at a time when women were not real integrated in the best jobs. I was inspired by other business owners who told me their rags to riches stories so to speak as I worked on the dock to Mackinac Island at your age with many business owner volunteers that told me their rags to riches stories. That gave me the inspiration to know I could do it myself and I did. The students that come to me get to capitalize on the knowledge I still have on what it takes to succeed. You share your cultures with us and we learn from you and we share our business knowledge with you to make your trip an enriching and financial success. At my place you have your own make shift apartments within the home which we all share. The different countries we get break down the stereo types and myths and facilitate what I believe will be a less hostile more inviting generation of you, our future, as you learn about other’s cultures in a home like environment with someone like me to facilitate quick and easy employment using the skills we learned from our own climb up the business ladder. For the host like myself, it is a rewarding experience like traveling we use to do in days gone by. We learn from each other. We are like one big happy family. The program I believe facilitates global peace for the next generation. I hope to host many of you in the future. Summer employment here is now very lucrative both on Mackinac Island and on the mainland. I am located on top of a bluff that resembles a European port with work opportunities both on the main land or on Mackinac Island where employers pay your seasonal boat passes. I set you up with bikes free of charge for the season. We have the woods and a fire pit out back, no through traffic, and a water view of the great Lake Huron out the front. We have barbeques, we cook together and exchange our ways of life with one another over a meal and traditional games you teach each other that are popular in your country. We have wireless internet in which you Skype your family daily so it is not even like being away from home. You are able to share the views with your families back home. I get to meet your families on Skype too and they get to meet me. It is an experience and adventure of love. I look forward to you coming each year.
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Thanks for your WAT story, Traci! It;s great to hear from the employers like you 🙂
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