A Summer to Remember, a Chapter I Won't Forget

By Angela Adap, CIEE Work & Travel USA alumna from the Philippines

In my twenty-one years of existence, my exchange experience changed me a lot, and trust me, it’s for the good, I became and I am my best self because of it. A lot of things happened in my two-and-a-half month stay in the US, each moment is priceless and I got tons of memories inside my head that I wouldn't trade for anything. I gained knowledge about so many things, like the American culture, dollars, businesses, what happens inside a hotel, housekeeping and more. Other than that, I found friends that I will keep forever. In my exchange experience, I found myself, I became stronger, wiser and independent and I love who I am now.

Angela and coworkers at Brett Robinson

Being a Filipino with a lot of beliefs, it was pretty surprising to me how free and independent the Americans are. We have a lot of differences when it comes to the culture. I was inspired that the Americans at a very young age of 15 are already working their part time jobs in a souvenir shops and restaurant. It is not a usual thing in my country, and that is why I admired the teenagers there for acting more than their age, and I think being mature in this present era is something else.

I have so many memories of my time in the U.S., but one that stands out the best is the Fourth of July. My first time in America and I was celebrating one of the biggest holidays, and I am grateful for that. My friends from different countries (Romania, Moldova, Turkey and Bulgaria.... yes, me and my friend Grace were the only Asians) gathered at the beach to watch the fireworks, and it was a blazing, loud and wonderful. Red, white, and blue stand out in the dark sky. There's no perfect way that could describe what we saw and that we were all together made it special as well.

On the beach on the Fourth of July

It is not only outside of work that I had fun, at work as well. To be honest, at first I didn't like my job. I never saw myself in housekeeping. But I went out of my comfort zone and gave it a try. It was challenging and hard at first, but when you get used to it, it's just a piece of cake. To me, the best thing about my job in Brett Robinson is that we gave people the high quality and satisfaction of service. We didn’t settle for just an average rating for guest experience but we always loved to hear "I had the best time in here! And I am surely coming back."

I learned that we shouldn't define people from the mistakes that they make, in fact, we correct them and allow them to start over and move on.

I wouldn't be who I am now without the help of my ever loving supervisor, Glenda. When I first met her, I was intimidated. In her eyes shows a woman with strong personality and I like it. Getting to know her made me discover that behind the toughness that she has, lies a very soft and puffy heart.

Angela with her supervisor, Glenda

I was not a perfect housekeeper, but she molded me and trained me with patience in the best way that she could. Each day, she inspired me to work at my hardest without any pressure that I felt. I grew, I evolved and just like a butterfly out of my cocoon, I became the best worker that I could be. I worked with integrity, passion and love for the rooms that I cleaned and the guest that we give service to.

From Ms. Glenda, I learned that we shouldn't define people from the mistakes that they make, in fact, we correct them and allow them to start over and move on. She kept our office a blame-free environment, and this was very important and helpful to us housekeepers.

Having a boss like her is something impossible to forget. Returning here in the Philippines, I still hear her voice inside my head. In times that I am in a caught in the act situation in things that I don’t know how to deal with, in my mind I ask myself, what would Glenda say? Or what would Glenda do? And it became helpful to me and I’d be carrying all the values that I learned from her, the life advice that she shared and taught me when I was in America, it will always be with me in my future endeavors.

Fun in the laundry room

Just the same when I was young, but with the Work and Travel USA program became strong and made me dream bigger and more. I always wanted to live and work in America, I always have this American dream in me, attached to my soul and my spirit. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I plan on making every day, a day of growth and making steps towards my dream.

This is the story of my Exchange experience, the best of the best time of my life.

At the beach in Alabama