Coordinator Spotlight: Joani

Joani McCullough has only been working for CHI Au Pair USA since April, but she has already made a big name for herself within the company. Based in Atlanta, Joani started with just two au pairs, but has quickly progressed, and is now proud to be overseeing six in her area. She has a strong personal belief in giving to others, and enjoys the opportunities created by the CHI Au Pair USA program to share that belief, and do good for the community.

The program is a good fit for Joani because she has a personal history as a host mom. When her two children were young, Joani took advantage of the wonderful benefits an Au Pair program offers, and the rewards have been immeasurable. She cherishes the time her and her family had with their international guests. They still keep in touch with those au pairs, and even go so far as to take vacations to visit them in their home countries, whenever they can.

Joani tries to instill in her au pairs an understanding of the importance of volunteering. For this year’s National Volunteer Week in May, she was able to put that understanding into practice. Joani took a group of her Georgia-based au pairs to volunteer at Atlanta’s local Ronald McDonald House, where they served meals to families with sick children. They even had an article on their experience that day published on a local website.

The success of that day inspired her to continue the new tradition, and recently, Joani and her au pairs embarked on another day in that spirit. This time, they volunteered for MedShare, an organization that collects surplus medical supplies and equipment from doctors’ offices and hospitals, and distributes them throughout developing countries. The au pairs spent the day sorting and packing the supplies, and as in May, did a great job. Of course, they were all rewarded for their effort with a fun pizza dinner afterwards, which is always a big hit.

For the au pairs, volunteering has the added benefits of giving them a unique opportunity to see our country in a humanitarian way, as well as helping to shed light on some of the issues that every society, whether local or abroad, must work to overcome. There are so many good causes to help, and once the seed of volunteerism is planted in one person’s mind, that spirit can spread to countless more individuals.

As much as Joani gives to her au pairs, she knows that they give her just as much back, and then some. She oversees a wonderful group of caring and intelligent individuals, and says that she loves getting to know each and every one of them. She looks forward to continuing to grow her au pair base in Georgia, and we look forward to her continuing to touch people with her selflessness and caring.

Participant Spotlight: Dominika

Two years ago Dominika Kristinikova was a participant in CHI’s Academic Year Program in Washington.  When the school year ended Dominika returned home to Bratislava, Slovakia.  Dominika enjoyed her stay in the US so much, however, that when it was time to choose a college, she decided to come back to the US and attend Portland State University in Oregon.  She is currently two months into her freshman year, and is already carving out her place on campus.  In addition to making new friends she tried out for and made the volleyball team.  She looks forward to getting an excellent education and having the time of her life over these next four years.  Congratulations Dominika!

CHI Turns 30!

From Tom and Lilka Areton – Cultural Homestay International turns 30!

November 1, 2009

Dear Friends,

Today marks a CHI milestone, the first day of our 30^th year!

As with every undertaking, CHI started with an idea. The idea was to form a better student exchange program, to more effectively contribute to friendship and harmony among the young people of the world. The concomitant goal was to show off the best of our country, the USA, to the future leaders of their respective nations: our experiment in democracy, the ideals of volunteering, the willingness of host families to share their hearts and homes with complete strangers, the businesses risking so much to employ or train unknown students from foreign lands, as well as the endless spontaneity, inventiveness, and optimism that is America. The third goal was to educate our own citizens about other countries, cultures and customs, and to experience the commonality of the human experience that unifies all of us.  

It is hard to believe today that our “first” students are almost 50. They have careers, families and children in their 20’s. Many of the life decisions our students have made were profoundly affected by their homestay experience in the United States. Just as we envisioned, the students Lilka and I hosted have become “better,” more involved, citizens of their countries. Their jobs range from doctors, English teachers, overseas travel directors to business leaders and commercial artists. It is a source of joy to visit them and see CHI’s pictures, itineraries and even insurance cards hanging on the walls of their apartments and houses as mementos of their life-changing journey.

It makes us truly proud of all of you to see CHI flying so high with endless activities of fun, education, and self-discovery, involving thousands of Americans and our overseas participants. I think Lilka expressed it best, when, after reading the latest issue of CHI Chatter, she wrote to the Directors:

I am looking at this little business we started so many years ago. Today I see such a vast organization for good that I hardly have words. The part I like is that everyone is sort of running his/her own little business. Those who do this open for themselves a huge opportunity for creativity and for positive action. There is no way anyone could do this alone. It is done by hundreds of people who are given some guidelines and then released to be all they can be. I am so utterly moved by all this and I truly believe that each person who follows his/her dream and passion can bring so much goodness to the world. It doesn’t seem to take money. It doesn’t take authoritarianism. It just takes opening to possibilities, believing in one another, realizing and releasing the genuine humanity we all have within us. I am proud that Tom and I had the courage to start this organization. I am honored to be here among all the participants who do all these incredible deeds. But most of all I am humbled by the beauty and the inspirational generosity of CHI’s people. Thank you all, Lilka

The truth is that CHI outgrew both of us long ago; it has a life of its own. From two telephones on the family room table in 1980 to this multi-faceted, global organization, dedicated to making our world a better place. So on this day both Lilka and I salute all our tireless CHI staff, our courageous students, the giving American host families, our work experience program employers, as well as the U.S. Department of State and all our overseas partners, for making this wondrous organization possible.  

Let’s make this, our 30^th year, the best, most productive and most innovative year in CHI’s history.

Happy Founders’ Day!

Tom and Lilka

Employer Spotlight: Save Mart

Work and Travel participants Dubravka Vukovic and Cedomir Djevic from Serbia just finished their placement at Save Mart in Truckee, CA.  Dubravka and Cedomir had a wonderful time working at Save Mart.

Thank you Save Mart!!

Host Family Spotlight: Alice

Alice is a part of the CHI family and has hosted many Academic Year Program participants.  She has written a wonderful letter sharing her experiences.

Dear Future Host Families,

I have hosted many exchange student over the years, some excellent and some just OK. Our first student was a wonderful match, and she won the hearts of our whole family and friends. And yes, it was hard to send her back, but we knew we had to. When it was time for her to go home, there were 3 car loads of friends that followed us to the airport at 4:30am.

Then we choose again hoping of course to have the same experience and again our experience was wonderful. She played the piano and was immediately swooped up by the band teachers as they needed a keyboard player. She had the opportunity to travel with the band to perform in the Christmas Parade in California and many other competitions. She was also a tennis player and played on our tennis team, won the district championship and went on to play in state competitions.

Our third student was a very nice girl, made friends, also played in the school band, but we had some issues.

We are now hosting our 4th CHI student, and we have hit the jack pot. She is absolutely wonderful and has blended into our family like glue. She too plays an instrument and is in the school band. My 4 yr old great-granddaughter absolutely idolizes her. Haley comes to my house 3 mornings a week before she goes to pre-school and writes scribbled notes to her and puts them on her music stand. She is the most helpful of all the students when it comes to doing house chores. She has made many friends through the band, Sunday school, and the church youth group.

We have had great luck with most of our students. It is just like the children in a family, you never know what the next personality will be. You take what you get and enjoy them for who they are.

Alice - Petal, Mississippi

W&T Hiring Tour – Colombia and Peru

CHI’s recent hiring trip to Colombia and Peru was a great success!  Chrissy Snow, Teresa Otto fares and Mitzi Aldridge from Boddie Noel participated in this adventure into South America!

In Colombia, CHI partnered up with a new agency GLO – Global International Studies. There we interviewed 7 students with the promise of many more. They were very accommodating and gracious as they learned the CHI way. We also met up with a long time agency STC – Student Travel Center. STC always brings on the numbers as we interviewed over 75 students, a great turn out! Then we met with TRM – Trotamundos, for another job fair containing 23 students. All the students did a wonderful job and the CHI crew enjoyed another wonderful trip to Colombia.

CHI then safely arrived in Lima Peru to meet up with INJ – Intej, one of Peru’s oldest and largest agencies, for students. CHI interviewed over 160 students! Well done INJ!

And, of course, we gained another partner in Lima Peru with IEP – International Experience Peru. They did an exceptional job with the orientation. The students did great interviewing with Mitzi, who got the WHOLE group saying “Hi, ya’ll!”. It was awesome!

Although we were not able to place all the students, we are constantly working with the agencies to make sure the right student is placed in the right job.

If you would like to learn more about the Work and Travel Program, visit our website: www.chinet.org/wt

AYP Student Enrica Bosco Joins HS Volleyball Team!

Tokay Tigers welcome CHI newcomer Enrica Bosco to their volleyball team.  With Enrica’s help they hope to host the playoffs this year!

Read the full article

Two Work & Travel Territories Unite To Watch The World Champion Philadelphia Phillies

Despite a rainy summer on the East Coast, skies were clear and the temperature was just right on August 5, 2009 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia when the Philadelphia Phillies swept the Colorado Rockies 7 – 0.

35 Work and Travel participants from two separate CHI territories were among the sell-out crowd of over 45,000 fans at the ballpark. Students came from ARAMARK at the Philadelphia Zoo as well as Funplex Mt. Laurel, an indoor/outdoor amusement park in New Jersey. One manager from each job also attended, along with CHI’s East Coast Coordinator Niki Woodall. Countries represented at the game include Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Russia, China, Ukraine and Colombia.

“I like to plan fun things for the students to do outside of work. Since I work in both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania territories, this was a great opportunity to bring students from different jobs together to meet each other. It also allowed us to thank our loyal employers who are so supportive of Work & Travel,” says Coordinator Niki Woodall. “You have to go to a baseball game at least once in America. What better team to watch than the World Champion Phillies!” the Philadelphia local says with pride.

Students met on the corner of Broad and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia to take the subway to the ballpark like typical Phillies fans. When asked how they enjoyed the game, Mate Lukac from Croatia said, “Well, even though none of us understood the rules of baseball, it was a lot of fun. We even ‘tailgated’ in the parking lot beforehand with American fans.”

“It was great to see the students enjoy themselves. They work very hard for us at ARAMARK; they definitely deserved a fun night out,” says H.R. Manager Ashley Smith from ARAMARK at the Zoo.

Olga Lucia Salazar, a Colombian student working at Funplex, says she loves to escape the suburbs of New Jersey and head to the city whenever possible. “It was great getting to meet the Philly students. We are now friends on Facebook and I’m planning to visit them in Philly soon,” says Lucia.

Other trips the students plan to attend with Woodall include Dorney Park, Six Flags Great Adventure, night club parties in Philly and New York City, and a trip to the Jersey Shore.

 -Niki Woodall W&T

Work & Travel Students in Action!

W&T students take a bit of time out from their duties at Johnny Rockets in Myrtle Beach, SC to pose for some fun pictures!  They are doing a great job and having a great time!

Travel Abroad for Americans: Spain

This summer students from J.R. Tucker High School, located in Henrico, VA spent their fourth summer participating in CHI’s Travel Abroad for Americans program.

The group’s destination this year was Spain.  They spent three days in Madrid sightseeing before going to Malaga for their homestay experience.

The students had a wonderful and memorable experience!