At home in the world: Alejandra's story, Part I

By Alejandra Cox, CIEE Work & Travel USA participant 2011, 2013, and 2014; Civic Leadership Summit fellow, 2014. Check back later this week for Part II of Alejandra's story.

 Hello! My name is Alejandra Cox. I’m 27 years old; I’m originally from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. I was born and raised in a little Island called San Cristóbal. After I finished high school I moved to Quito, the capital of Ecuador to study Advertising at “Universidad de Las Américas”. During that time I was always trying to keep busy, so I started taking some basic photography courses, and since that moment my love for photography began.

I got to know about the CIEE Work & Travel USA program because a friend of mine told me that she was going to spend her summer in at amusement park called Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. She would talk to me about her trip while we were working together at a restaurant in Quito, but I never gave her much attention until the time she got to the U.S and started sharing photos of her summer! I waited for her to come back from her trip so I could ask her all of the questions I had. She told me that it was a totally different experience because there were people from all over the world; she also told me that the work was hard but was worth it because at the end of the program you had the chance to travel around the U.S.

At the age of 20 all I wanted to do was travel and get to know more about other countries. I wanted to go somewhere else instead of taking my vacations in the same place. Now, I realized that it was my time to go to the U.S.

The opportunity to travel abroad without my parents for the very first time gave me the impression that it was going to be a very special trip. I was a little bit scared, of course, because I knew it was going to be a challenge learning how to develop myself in another country. Plus, the fact of speaking a language that was not mine! So I took this as a valuable gift. From the moment I arrived in the United States I was always sharing my adventures on social networks, posting stuff, talking about everything because of my love for photography and videos.

In 2011, I went to Sandusky, Ohio with Karla, one of my best friends. Here I was working as a sweeper and she was working as a housekeeper at “Breakers Hotel”.

I really enjoyed my job, my uniform, my co-workers, my long walks around the park that gave me a beautiful summer tan (crazy tan lines also!). What I learnt during this time about myself was that I enjoyed helping the guests and giving them information about the Park. At the same time, I was improving my English. American people are funny and very kind; I felt like I was home.

In 2013 my classmate Verónica traveled with me. It was not difficult to convince her to join me- she just listened carefully to all my stories about my first summer in the United States! I was working in foods, selling ice cream (Dippin' Dots yummy!!) in a wagon between my favorites roller coasters. My last year at Cedar Point was the summer of 2014. I went back with my dear friend Verónica. This time I was a waitress in a Restaurant called “Chickie’s and Pete’s”. I always told myself that if I returned each year to the same place, I should at least change my job position to experience and learn about new things.

2014  was also the year I was selected for the Civic Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. 71 youth chosen from over 900 applicants of 34 or more countries, how great are we? Great enough to change the world! Of course it was an honor for me to be able to attend the Civic Leadership Summit and be the only Ecuadorian person who can act as ambassador of my country during those 3 days. I felt a big responsibility over my actions, because I was the image of my country. When I set foot in Washington D.C., I knew I was going to network with valuable and interesting people, and indeed they were. We had many things in common such as personal aspirations and clear objectives that each of us wanted to achieve. We still message each other to see how everyone is doing.

At the end of my trip I made a collection of the best Civic Leadership Summit moments and made a simple but significant final work video.
 

CIEE Civic Leadership Summit from Alejandra Cox on Vimeo.

I think the most meaningful experience I had in the U.S was spending time with the right people, and by this I mean people who teach you something, who make you grow as a human being. I also learned to live in the moment because you never know if you'll ever see those people in your life again. I once read a quote from Miriam Adeney that said: “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” I totally identify with this phrase because good friends become family, and when you have to leave a place it’s like if a piece of your heart is staying there. Sometimes when I say I miss a place, it is not mostly because I miss the geographical site, but the times, friends, people.