Dear current LifExchange LLC / YMCA students in the outer banks. Please come join us for a community dinner at 5:00pm located at 203 Arch Street across from Dunkin Donuts. Meet with your managers, local reps and your summer local support team as we welcome you to your new Outer Banks Community. Call or text at 203-984-2575 to take part in dinner. And thank you to Alina Vara for helping to coördinate.
After dinner we will move students from Kill Devils Housing to Corolla.
All posts by Shari Lamont Day
Be on the look out for updates and news for the week of 5/2:
1. Are you looking for a new adventure? Want to travel and visit a different part of the
world while earning some money? Ever want to know what it is like to live in another country? Visit our Work and Holiday Australia page for more information.
2. We are proud to announce that the CEO and Co-Founder of LifExchange is the featured memb
er of the week on Ladies Who Launch – NYC . Shari Lamont works to make a difference in the world and change the conversation on humanity through work exchange programs. Contact LifExchange to see how you can contribute or participate on these programs.
3. The Spring 2011 Work and Travel USA essay winner will be announced at the end of the week. Be sure to check back to read the winning story.
4. LifExchange is excited to welcome our students for the Summer 2011 Work and Travel program from China, Serbia, Ukraine and Tajikistan joining us this May to the U.S.
We all make a difference
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”- Edward Everett Hale
News and Updates
LifExchange has had an exciting week and here are some of our highlights:
Introducing our Work and Holiday 12 month visa program for Australians.
Are you an Australian Citizen who is looking to participate on the Work and Holiday program in the US? If you qualify we have a variety of open positions starting mid May for you. Email us at Travel@Lifexchangellc.com to learn more now.
Employer Spotlight – We have positions open as a server/runner in a high-end country club outside NYC. This employer provides housing, partial meal plan and great pay!
Spring Orientation
The first spring orientation took place on Friday morning. LifExchange welcomed participants as they traveled on their way through NY to Maryland where they will meet their Local Coordinator, Host Family and Exchange Host Employer. Here are some pictures we took at orientation, purchasing bus tickets and saying goodbye as they boarded the bus.
Welcome to our Thai Students!
It began on Thursday October 7th, 2010. I arrived at the office, opened my email and received my first of many inquiries for our spring program. Every March a group of students from Thailand join the ranks of work and travel participants while on break from their university. Many students will start in Bangkok, travel on 2 -3 flights and for up to 24 hours for the opportunity to work and live along side Americans. During the interview process students shared with me their dream of visiting a new culture, practicing their English and making new friends. This journey, though tiring will be the end of a 3-4 month process of paperwork and interviews, time filled with excitement and dedication.
In October it was still just an email, next week the dream will start. It will not be easy but the experience will change each person differently and add to those whom they meet.
If you are a LifExchange LLC Spring 2011 Work and Travel student, be sure to check out our “Current Student Information” page to learn about upcoming orientation, travel insurance and SEVIS registration. We look forward to welcoming you to the US!
Australian Work and Holiday Program
LifExchange is excited to offer the opportunity to live and work in Australia in partnership with The Global Work & Travel Co.
If you are between the ages of 18-30 you are eligible.
The best way to experience another country is to live there – to really get to know the places and people who make it unique. There’s no better way to do that than through The Global Work & Travel Co., the number one working holiday company with offices around the world, connecting travelers with exciting new opportunities since 1996.
Citizens from 27 countries across the globe, including the US, are eligible to work and travel in Australia for up to 12 months. To find out if you qualify for an Australian 12 month Working Holiday Visa, visit the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The world’s largest island offers more than just sun, surf and sand; with 
natural wonders dotted across the wide brown land, a rich cultural history and bustling multi-cultural cities Australia offers an experience to suit everyone; find your piece of Australia today!
Finding a job in Australia by yourself can take a lot of time, money and effort and once you have found one you have to worry about setting up a bank account, finding accommodation, getting a Tax File Number and more.
Signing up with LifExchange and The Global Work & Travel Co. will make finding work easy! Allowing you to save money, rest easy and enjoy both your working and playing time to the fullest.
LifExchange offers step by step support and assistance in choosing the program that is right for you. Choose from three Work & Travel Programs to Australia to cater to all your needs.
GET STARTED NOW
Road Trip
At 5:00am on Thursday I woke up and prepared myself for a road trip that many of my students will take this summer. Not everyone will go to the same final destination but many will arrive in New York very excited, a little sleepy with many hours of travel still ahead before they reach their employer. My journey started in New York, first with a subway ride and then to the bus station (www.Greyhound.com). There I grabbed a cup of coffee and stood in line as I waited for the bus at 7:00am. This is where the experience starts. The station is large but Peter at the information desk is helpful when I ask where to go. I head down the hall on the 1st floor to buy my ticket and then up two escalators to the gate where I will depart. Students should arrive early and leave plenty of time to navigate the station. The bus leaves Port Authority and heads North to Connecticut. I doze and sleep, read and keep a journal and before I know it I have arrived in New Haven, CT. After a 10-minute layover we start the next and last hour of my bus ride to Hartford, CT where Oktan, the owner of Okay Ice Cream will meet me.
At 11:00am I meet Oktan in the parking lot and we drive the last 20 minutes to Manchester, CT where a group of students will work this summer. Oktan who has owned the business for six years has hired International Students for the last three summers. He enjoys providing the opportunity to share his business and culture with students from around the world. Our first stop is the student housing. I visit the extended stay hotel with a full kitchen, living area, exercise room and outdoor pool. I know the students will be happy to grill on the barbeques and shoot hoops on the basketball court after a long day at work. 
I like the Starbucks across the parking lot and stop for a small cup of hot coffee to fuel me on the remainder of my day. Next we take a walk and I check out all the local stores. I notice a friendly’s Ice Cream Shop (http://www.friendlys.com), Webster Bank (https://www.websteronline.com), Shop Rite Grocery Store (http://www.shoprite.com) and several more bars and restaurants. Everything you would need in walking distance to home. Across the street from the housing at Shop Rite I find a local bus stop 83/85. Perfect for heading into Hartford for an afternoon out or to take a train to travel at the end of the summer.
Once the housing tour is complete we head to the corporate office to see the Ice Cream Trucks where the students will be servicing Snow Cones and Ice Cream Sandwiches this summer. I gaze at the menu and all the yummy treats. It may still be cold but I am ready for the days of summer and sun.
After a final visit to the library and dinner at the local Italian restaurant my first day is over. This summer it will be the beginning of a four-month journey of self-exploration, new people, new customs and culture for the Participants on the LifExchange LLC J1 Work and Travel Program. For me, it is time to go home.
Welcome
LifExchange is an organization whose mission is to create a stronger global community through youth work exchange programs.
Have you traveled abroad? Have you been on vacation, studied or worked in a foreign country? Have you wanted to? LifExchange was founded on the idea that each time we have an opportunity to travel abroad or host a foreigner visiting our home country, we have a chance to impact another and share in their travel and life experiences. Through these international experiences we all have an opportunity to create a world without borders.
For our first blog we want to say welcome! Welcome to those preparing to arrive in the U.S. on the LifExchange J1 Work and Travel program and Welcome to our team of partners and regional managers as we all work together towards an amazing season.
Stay tuned for updates, news and changes to the J1 program happening in 2011, orientation and arrival information, and helpful hints on your upcoming travel.
LifExchange 