Work and Travel USA
After several months of not posting on my blog, I have finally decided to update :)
Reflections on WAT....
Name: Chen Xingyan
School: National University of Singapore
Employer: King’s Dominion (Virginia)
It was August 2007 that I first heard about Work and Travel USA. A working and travelling stint in the US during summer break was too good to pass up - travelling with friends away from home and working in an exciting environment. Independence at last! I attended the briefing on school campus, only to find several of my orientation camp seniors at the same briefing. We decided to sign up for the program together and travel together, fellow friends looking out for each other. We attended the various briefings, prepared the relevant documents, packed our luggage and left on the airplane headed for the USA, with little doubts in our minds that we would have the time of our lives!
Working in an amusement park was literally a dream come true for me. From young, I loved amusement parks and thrill rides. Having a chance to be the person in charge of these rides made me jump about with anticipation. We had chosen the Virginia’s King’s Dominion theme park which is affiliated to the television channel Nickelodeon. On Day 1, we were posted to our several different Rides departments - my friends and I were posted to the children rides department, which consisted of my department Nickelodeon Central, as well as Bedrock and Scoobystone. This was definitely a challenge to most of us: not only did we have to operate our rides; we also had to entertain the children at the rides!
At first, I was extremely apprehensive about working as a rides operator because on the very first day of operational training, our supervisor, Adrian, brought us to our first circle-ride “Boo-boo’s Tree Swings’ and allowed us to operate the ride! He had check listed us the various operational procedures and safety guidelines, demonstrated the sequence of buttons to press, then gave us each a chance to operate the ride individually. What a thrill to be operating the ride all by myself! But after the initial excitement and sense of satisfaction wore off, I learnt that working in a theme park came with a lot of commitment and heavy responsibilities. I realised the importance of maintaining our work quality and concentration throughout the day, battling the physical exertion, the sweltering heat and the sleepiness, as I understood the great emphasis on safety of our passengers that cannot be compromised.
Of course, working in Nick Central had its perks: we were fully immersed into the Nickelodeon culture. We rediscovered the inner child in us again - hyperactive yet carefree. Everyday we would see Spongebob, Dora, the Fairly Oddparents, and many other live-size characters walking around for photo-taking: we always said hi to our fellow colleagues inside the costumes! We listened to the Nickelodeon channel soundtrack and Rugrats theme song within the ride over and over and over again and sang it to each other as we rotated our shifts or went on breaks. We shared the children’s (and sometimes parents’) enthusiasm about riding their first-ever children roller coaster, Taxi Jam. We laughed at the boisterous kids who splashed water at us in Slime Zone. We complained about kids who could not get enough of the same ride, despite riding it 5 times straight. Subconsciously, we had become so used to our usual daily routines that we were a crucial part of the Nickelodeon front-line workforce: half a ride operator, and half an affectionate nanny. This was how our 2 months of work passed by in a flash. As soon as we were settling in and getting our Level 1 checklists for all the rides within Nick Central, we had to start preparing to leave. Leave before we realised that our presence had left tiny ripples of happiness within the hearts of the kids we met - something that was only realised looking back retrospectively.
Needless to say, we worked hard but played even harder. A day off was never wasted, exploring nearby Virginia, Washington DC, New York City, and then later toured Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. We conquered the touristy areas such as Times Square, Disneyland, Liberty Island and Hollywood. We also explored museums, Chinatowns, parks, beaches and watched a baseball game. Travelling was often like an amazing race as we rushed from area to area in order to maximise the little precious time we had to spend in this foreign, adventurous land. Once in a while, we would take a breather and be awed by nature’s beauties. What was most memorable would be trekking in the woods of Blue Ridge Mountains, touching the water of Yosemite Falls, star-gazing within the cliffs of Yosemite National Park whilst camping overnight with the brown bears and catching the sunrise from Glacial Point, 7000 feet above the ground. Indeed, nature never fails to impress.
I took pride in the fact that we cut costs wherever we could, eating packed lunches, staying in budget hostels and stalking the online bus and airline websites for temporary online deals. And it was all worth it because the sense of achievement was so overwhelming after planning our own itinerary, mapping our own routes and sourcing for methods of travel at the lowest cost possible that we could find. I learnt independence was more than freedom of choice - it was deciding when to do your laundry, which brand of chicken meat to buy, managing finances and standing up for your own beliefs and values. And this is why I would most definitely recommend the CIEE Speedwing WAT programme to everyone I know, simply because everyone’s adventure would be different. Working and travelling should be an experience for everybody, and not a reflection to read.
An experience with memories that will last a lifetime.
Hahaha. it doesn't sound too fake right? I had to try to be myself, and yet be as politically correct as I could. Anyone wants more US chocolates? Hahaha.
Dinner with nygeppers later :)
Reflections on WAT....
Name: Chen Xingyan
School: National University of Singapore
Employer: King’s Dominion (Virginia)
It was August 2007 that I first heard about Work and Travel USA. A working and travelling stint in the US during summer break was too good to pass up - travelling with friends away from home and working in an exciting environment. Independence at last! I attended the briefing on school campus, only to find several of my orientation camp seniors at the same briefing. We decided to sign up for the program together and travel together, fellow friends looking out for each other. We attended the various briefings, prepared the relevant documents, packed our luggage and left on the airplane headed for the USA, with little doubts in our minds that we would have the time of our lives!
Working in an amusement park was literally a dream come true for me. From young, I loved amusement parks and thrill rides. Having a chance to be the person in charge of these rides made me jump about with anticipation. We had chosen the Virginia’s King’s Dominion theme park which is affiliated to the television channel Nickelodeon. On Day 1, we were posted to our several different Rides departments - my friends and I were posted to the children rides department, which consisted of my department Nickelodeon Central, as well as Bedrock and Scoobystone. This was definitely a challenge to most of us: not only did we have to operate our rides; we also had to entertain the children at the rides!
At first, I was extremely apprehensive about working as a rides operator because on the very first day of operational training, our supervisor, Adrian, brought us to our first circle-ride “Boo-boo’s Tree Swings’ and allowed us to operate the ride! He had check listed us the various operational procedures and safety guidelines, demonstrated the sequence of buttons to press, then gave us each a chance to operate the ride individually. What a thrill to be operating the ride all by myself! But after the initial excitement and sense of satisfaction wore off, I learnt that working in a theme park came with a lot of commitment and heavy responsibilities. I realised the importance of maintaining our work quality and concentration throughout the day, battling the physical exertion, the sweltering heat and the sleepiness, as I understood the great emphasis on safety of our passengers that cannot be compromised.
Of course, working in Nick Central had its perks: we were fully immersed into the Nickelodeon culture. We rediscovered the inner child in us again - hyperactive yet carefree. Everyday we would see Spongebob, Dora, the Fairly Oddparents, and many other live-size characters walking around for photo-taking: we always said hi to our fellow colleagues inside the costumes! We listened to the Nickelodeon channel soundtrack and Rugrats theme song within the ride over and over and over again and sang it to each other as we rotated our shifts or went on breaks. We shared the children’s (and sometimes parents’) enthusiasm about riding their first-ever children roller coaster, Taxi Jam. We laughed at the boisterous kids who splashed water at us in Slime Zone. We complained about kids who could not get enough of the same ride, despite riding it 5 times straight. Subconsciously, we had become so used to our usual daily routines that we were a crucial part of the Nickelodeon front-line workforce: half a ride operator, and half an affectionate nanny. This was how our 2 months of work passed by in a flash. As soon as we were settling in and getting our Level 1 checklists for all the rides within Nick Central, we had to start preparing to leave. Leave before we realised that our presence had left tiny ripples of happiness within the hearts of the kids we met - something that was only realised looking back retrospectively.
Needless to say, we worked hard but played even harder. A day off was never wasted, exploring nearby Virginia, Washington DC, New York City, and then later toured Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. We conquered the touristy areas such as Times Square, Disneyland, Liberty Island and Hollywood. We also explored museums, Chinatowns, parks, beaches and watched a baseball game. Travelling was often like an amazing race as we rushed from area to area in order to maximise the little precious time we had to spend in this foreign, adventurous land. Once in a while, we would take a breather and be awed by nature’s beauties. What was most memorable would be trekking in the woods of Blue Ridge Mountains, touching the water of Yosemite Falls, star-gazing within the cliffs of Yosemite National Park whilst camping overnight with the brown bears and catching the sunrise from Glacial Point, 7000 feet above the ground. Indeed, nature never fails to impress.
I took pride in the fact that we cut costs wherever we could, eating packed lunches, staying in budget hostels and stalking the online bus and airline websites for temporary online deals. And it was all worth it because the sense of achievement was so overwhelming after planning our own itinerary, mapping our own routes and sourcing for methods of travel at the lowest cost possible that we could find. I learnt independence was more than freedom of choice - it was deciding when to do your laundry, which brand of chicken meat to buy, managing finances and standing up for your own beliefs and values. And this is why I would most definitely recommend the CIEE Speedwing WAT programme to everyone I know, simply because everyone’s adventure would be different. Working and travelling should be an experience for everybody, and not a reflection to read.
An experience with memories that will last a lifetime.
Hahaha. it doesn't sound too fake right? I had to try to be myself, and yet be as politically correct as I could. Anyone wants more US chocolates? Hahaha.
Dinner with nygeppers later :)