My Work & Travel USA Story: A Soul Liberating Trip

Do you know how people always said “you need to get out of your comfort zone”? This summer, I was getting out of my comfort zone literally and figuratively. As in, I wasn't only leaving my home country, but I flew across the continent and the Pacific Ocean into an unknown zone. Not to mention, there are lots of differences between people who live in the same country. Let alone it's a completely different country. Now, you're probably wondering what I'm talking about. So, let’s rewind to last year.

Last year, I applied for the Work and Travel USA program. This program allows students to work and travel in the USA for a few months. It was my final year at university. So, it was now or never for me. If I didn’t sign up last year, I honestly have no idea when will I ever have the chance to go to the USA.

As far as I know, there are three agents in Malaysia that we can choose from to participate in this program, which is Speedwing, Out of The Box, and Infinity Abroad. The agent I chose was Infinity Abroad. This was my very first time going to the USA and I was going to the USA by myself. Also, this was my first time went on an airplane and went abroad by myself. This was a lot to take in but it was the best gift I gave to myself

In the summer of 2019, I lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I worked as a housekeeper at a resort. Also, I worked as a ride operator at an amusement park.

Working as a housekeeper wasn't an easy job. The gist of this job is that the housekeeper needs to clean everything they can see in the room quickly and efficiently. Hence, my life as a housekeeper would be like:

The supervisor distributes a board that contains the information that the housekeepers need to know. Hence, we'll know who are we going to work with and which room are we going to clean. After that, let the cleaning begin. We perform the cleaning duties which include changing the sheets, vacuuming the carpet, sweeping and mopping the floor, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, etc.

The other job I had was as a ride operator. What I needed to do for this job is to implement the safety procedure. So, I'll be able to see if there's anything unusual before the amusement park opens to the public. When the guest arrives, I check if the guests meet the height requirement and then I operate the ride. That’s pretty much it.

Now, let’s move on to the other topic, shall we? A very crucial part for the Work and Travel USA students is the housing.

The house I lived at can accommodate 12 students. So, I have the chance to live with students from different countries. There were students from Montenegro, Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, Russia, Thailand, Poland, and Ecuador.

The house I lived in was close to my workplace, Walmart, and the beach which was perfect for me. I had never lived so close to the beach before. I was glad that I got to live in this house because my roommates and housemates were nice. The house was beautiful and all utilities were included. Thus, it was pretty much all I could ask for.

By the way, since I lived so close to the beach, I finally got the chance to see the sunrise for the first time in my life. It was an unforgettable experience for me. The sunrise was majestic, breathtaking, and memorable. This leads to my next topic: the highlight of my time in the USA.

The highlight of my time in the USA was trying new things, exploring new places, and meeting new people. I always love trying new things and this time I have the chance to try and experience so many new things. This was such an exhilarating experience for me.

We all have different challenges in our life because for every high there is a low. There were so many people from all around the world and we all have different accents. Hence, here comes the challenge. One of the challenges that I had faced was trying to understand the accents that I wasn't familiar with. It took me some time to get used to so many different accents.

Also, I encountered my first ever natural disaster in my life which was the hurricane, Dorian. I was scared when I heard there was a hurricane coming. Luckily, the hurricane wasn't that bad when it passed by Myrtle Beach. It was just raining and big waves at the beach. It wasn't a life-threatening situation at Myrtle Beach.

When I had free time, I either hung out with my friends that I met at Myrtle Beach or went out and explored by myself. There were quite a lot of tourist attractions in Myrtle Beach such as Broadway at The Beach, Skywheel, Family Kingdom Amusement Park, and of course, the beach. My friends and I went to the beach, tried out some restaurants, and explored around the city. I think that it was a cool experience that so many students from different countries gather in one place. I got to befriend them and talked about our own cultures and share our life stories.

After my working period ended, I started my traveling part of the Work and Travel USA program. I always wanted to go to New York City because there are so many movies, TV shows, reality shows that took place in New York City. Also, my favorite singer Taylor Swift has songs that mentioned New York City. She has a song titled "Welcome to New York" and another song called “Cornelia Street”. She rented a place on Cornelia Street, which was also in New York City. Therefore, I already know that New York City is a must-go place for me.

I went to Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and New York City with my friends whom I met at Myrtle Beach. After that, I started my first ever solo traveling. I went to Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia by myself. When I was solo traveling, I make some new friends along the way and we even went to some places together. Also, I met my friends that I met at Myrtle Beach in New York City and Boston. I thought that we probably wouldn’t see each other again soon after we leave Myrtle Beach but life was definitely unpredictable and we met again in another city.

Here are my favorite things about each city that I went to:

Palm Springs: I think this was the most beautiful place among all the US cities I’ve been to.

Niagara Falls: I have the chance to see Niagara Falls up close. It was literally right in front of me and it truly amazed me.

New York City: I got to see all the places that I saw on TV shows and movies in real life. There were a lot of scenes from my favorite TV show “Gossip Girl” which took place in New York City.

Boston: My favorite place in Boston is Charles River Esplanade in Boston. It was a quiet and peaceful place.

Washington DC: I love visiting museums and there were a lot of museums to visit in Washington DC. My favorite places in Washington DC were Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, and the National Gallery of Art.

Philadelphia: I can walk from one attraction to the other because the attractions were close to each other.

The most valuable lesson I've learned is to do something that you always wanted to do. For me, that would be joining the Work and Travel USA program. I always wanted to join the working holiday or work and travel program. As I mentioned before, it was my final year at university. If I didn’t sign up for this program, I'm sure that I'll be always wondering all the “what if” and regret that I didn’t join this when I had the chance. Thus, I'd definitely recommend you to join if you are interested.

Here are a few reasons why I'd recommend the Work & Travel USA program to anyone interested to join:

1. It is truly a life-changing program. You can discover different sides of yourselves, starting to understand what you want in your life and change your perspectives.

2. You can meet so many people in a short amount of time and make lots of new friends.

3. You can immerse in the culture, practice your English, and broaden your horizon.

My experience in the USA was definitely unforgettable. When I only had a few weeks left in Myrtle Beach, I already started to feel sad and nostalgic that I was going to leave Myrtle Beach. That's because I make so many new friends, met a lot of people, did so many things that I have never done before. If I didn’t join this program, I never would have known all these people, learned so many new things. I felt liberating, ecstatic, and thankful for this opportunity to go to the USA.

I feel grateful and lucky that I didn’t really have any unpleasant encounter or bad things happened to me during my time in the USA. I actually met a lot of nice, kind, and amazing people in the USA. This program forced me out of my comfort zone, broaden my horizon, and strengthen my courage.

The time was passing by quickly. I can’t believe that I went to the USA and now I’m back in Malaysia for almost a month. My work and travel USA program just ended but hopefully, there are more adventures to come. This experience felt like a dream and I definitely wouldn’t change it for the world.