National University of Mongolia| Surenkhorol.B

This summer was Surenkhorol’s first visit to the United States. She had decided the year before that she wanted to have a life changing experience before completing university. “Where better to go than the United States?,” she thought.
A native of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, Surenkhorol found employment in a major U.S. city, Washington, D.C. It seemed like an exciting place filled with opportunities to meet new friends, as as well as a chance to see where American legislation gets passed before it becomes the law of the land.
Little did she know that on the fateful morning of June 19th - Father’s Day – as she clocked into work at a local restaurant, she was going to have one of the most unexpected experiences of her life.
It all started when, while making milkshakes in the back of the restaurant, Surenkhorol heard loud screams and lots of clapping. She had no idea what was happening and imagined that it must simply be someone’s birthday.
Emerging with a strawberry milkshake for a customer, she finally realized the cause of the commotion. Surenkhorol immediately looked down to make sure that she was still holding the milkshake and that her feet were firmly planted on the ground, because right in front of her stood the tall frame of the President of the United States, Barack Obama!
He was busy placing his own order to her boss with a broad smile on his face.
Outside, the restaurant was completely barricaded off and there were secret service personnel standing guard both inside and outside the building. Feeling as if she were still in a dream, Surenkhorol found herself ringing up Sasha Obama’s order.
After the president and his family finished their ice cream, President Obama came over to talk to the restaurant staff. “Where are you guys from?,” he asked in a good-natured way. Then he addressed Surenkhorol: “You are the only female employee here today,” he said. “Yes,” she answered, finally finding her voice. “ On this shift.”
“Where are you from?,” he asked, interested as he heard her accent.
“I’m from Mongolia. I’m a student and it’s my first time in the U.S.,” she replied excitedly. Interested, he asked Surenkhorol, “On what program did you come to United States?” She replied, her voice finally falling into its normal cadence, “ I’m a participant on the InterExchange Work & Travel USA program.”
“Wow! So you are from Mongolia, your president was here last week, you know. And you are so young! It’s great to have this type of experience so early in your life,” President Obama said as he shook her hand.
Then all her coworkers posed for a picture with the president.
Not too shabby for Surenkhorol’s second day on the job, huh?
Surenkhorol went on to have a great summer in the U.S and has already started making plans for her second summer on the program. Of course, nothing can come close to her surprising experience meeting the President, but she also credited the InterExchange Work & Travel USA program with helping her to become more independent and responsible as she successfully completed her first professional experience

Mongolian University of Science and Technology | Dulguun. G
Flying for more than 10 hours over the Pacific Ocean and spending 3 months of summer working and living with students from all over the world in the country of America, which is called a meltling pot, 8530 kilometers away from Mongolia, may be something that can come true for you in a moment of eye blink. It can be an impossible dream for someone.
For me, this time, these precious memories, this unforgettable experience would not have been possible without the support of my dear parents, brothers, friends and program team. This trip was a responsible JOURNEY to raise the reputation of the Mongolian people.
The place I went to, Rocky Mountain National Park, was a national resort in Colorado, America, famous for its high peaks, and it seemed similar to our Mongolia. I may have been the FIRST MONGOLIAN PERSON to visit ESTES PARK through this program, not only in the company I worked for. Everyone asked me where am I come from? China? Do you speak Chinese? To each of them, I simply answer that I came from Mongolia and that we are an independent country with our own language. In general, when we leave our country, we are called by the name of our country, not by your name.
Most of my friends who live with me don't even know that Mongolia exists, which made me a little sad. But, TEKIN, a young man from Turkey, not only worshiped our Genghis Khan, but also knew a lot about Mongolia, made me infinitely happy. I understood one thing from all this. Today, you and I are called by our country and not by our name when we cross the border of our country, so we need to use our limited resources to show the people around world that how capable, responsible and trustworthy we are. Because I realized that through me, through you, I can imagine my Mongolia, which was probably the most valuable thing of my trip. If you can show yourself to 10 people today, I believe that each of these 10 people will give another 10 people the correct understanding of YOU and MONGOLIA.
Therefore, during this trip, I worked diligently, studied, communicated and understood in order to leave a positive impression about Mongolia to people who did not know or heard of Mongolia at all. I reaped the benefits of this effort and got more hours per week as I wanted, increased my hourly wages, and received a double hourly bonus. I also became the first ASIAN (MONGOLIAN) manager in charge of the department and gained a lot of experience.
The 3 months of that summer made beautiful memories in my life, made me take responsibility for the MOTHERLAND, which I did not even think about when I was in my homeland, made me think about how to represent Mongolia, which the rest of the world does not always know, and made me think about how to develop my MOTHERLAND.
In the last days of work, I received postcards full of compliments and presents from employers and friends, and even my director was extremely happy that Mongolians were so nice to him. We are young generation, we are the future of Mongolia. Instead of criticizing others by saying " I'm Mongolian!" on social media, it's better to put our time, heart, and desire into something and raise the name of our country with the little resources we have.

Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences | Myanganerdene. B

Last summer, I participated in the Work and Travel program and traveled, worked and lived in New Jersey, USA for 3 months on a J1 visa. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the team of the program for providing the opportunity to travel and work in the United States! We are proud that the Work and Travel program has given thousands of students the opportunity to get to know the customs, culture, and everyday life of the United States, to work there, and to improve their English language skills.
The most memorable moments of once in a life happen during the student period. I think one of the must-do things during this time is to participate in the Work and Travel program. If you set a goal for yourself and are able to mobilize yourself, you can work and travel in the United States, one of the most expensive countries in the world, for 3 months free of charge, improve your English language skills, and meet and make friends with students from many countries.
For me, in order to participate in this program, I have to pass the US visa interview, I had to get up early in the morning and go to school during the day, and I spent more than 3 months studying in the English language club until 10pm. During this period, I used my time very productively and worked hard to complete many tasks in a day. As the time to visa interview appointment approached, the course exams and tests rushed together, however I passed through them without giving up. So, After passing the visa interview, I had an indescribable feeling. Nothing is impossible, the more effort you make, the more opportunities open up. Then I went to the United States, I was anxious about new people and what I would expect. On the first day of work, I got to know my colleagues and worked all day. But my work was easier than I thought, and my previous fears were forgotten for a moment, and I felt like I was home. I knew that there are many nationals living in America, but I never imagined that they live and work like one family. At my work, we had employees from Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, America, Poland, Korea, India, Jordan, etc. It was really interesting to work with many ethnic groups at once. It was observed that the behavior of different people, the attitude to communicate with people, habits and talents are different for each person. One thing that surprised me was that they all treated me with kindness, easily explained everything in English and taught me what I couldn't do, gave me tea and coffee when I was tired, a friendly conversations about their ethnicities and helped me as much as they could. I am still happy that I worked with helpful hardworking colleagues. During this time, I made many friends, including Alex, Gavit, Moe, Preety, Jody, Ebru, Anetta, Megan, Mellissa, Keri, Tracie, Matt, Penny, Umar, Omar, Orlando, and Fernando. I learned that the development of a country starts with the everyday duties like teamwork, cooperation, treating each other with respect and helping others. Also, They never say I need it. It's really heartwarming that they always say that "we need it", which clearly shows that we live for others. It's nice to even be greeted with a smile by strangers as you pass by.
And even the food and clothes are surprising. Seeing that they use the best and fresh food products and quality stuffs from all over the world, I felt jealous thinking that Mongolia would be such a beautiful and prosperous country. Even the food is delicious and full of nutrients that allwe need. A wide variety of new products and unexpected discounts attract attention.
Based on these, I hope that students and young people will experience what I experienced by participating in this program. There is a beautiful Mongolian phrase says, "Better try once than hearing a thousand times"

National University of Mongolia, School of Law | Bolortsetseg. G

I would say that one of the must-do things while being a student is to participate in the Work and travel USA program. Because if you want, try, and work hard, you can spend 3 months of summer in America almost free of charge, improve your English, see many beautiful places, see how the world is developing, and see how our knowledge and experiences are compared to international students. The full opportunity is open to all of us. I want to tell you not to postphone by making excuses such as saying that "I won't make it this year" or "I don't have enough money". Because this opportunity is a golden opportunity that can only be found in 4 years of student life. Next time you go abroad, you will gain a lot of knowledge and experiences.
The most amazing thing was that I wanted to love my country, feel its value, develop my country more and bring it to the level of these countries, and have a good life without stress. Although it was only three months, I learned a lot and made many friends. I did something I had never done in my life. I've worked from 8 am to 12am, I've washed dishes for 6 hours standing straight on my foot, I've seen that people get angry or praise me. I cried when I'm tired.
It is undescribable that buying things that you need and hang out with your friends with the hard earned money. If I had the chance to go again, I would like to go. Anyway, as a Mongolian, I can say that I left a good impression on my co-workers and friends.. And got a cute little sister friend. 

National University of Mongolia | Budgarig. B

There are certain times when a person uses a little knowledge and experiences they gained. In order to get used to work and learn as many things as possible, I think it is important to cooperate with my colleagues and express myself clearly. Since the day I started working, I have worked with many nationalities, including China, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Macedonia, America, Serbia, and Thailand. They have a different culture, a different world, a different ideology. First, I showed that I can accomplish anything that the Macedonian leader told me to do, and when we talked to each other, I tugged at his heartstrings by saying that there is a great king named Alexander the Great for all of you who were a powerful country like the Mongols were a powerful country in the world. He happily responded and said that even Mongolia is a great nation and I know about Genghis Khan. Then we become friends like Alexander and Genghis.

Well, then I thought of a way to improve relations with my Ukrainian friends who came here for the second year. You know, our Ukrainians speak Russian at all. THey really surprised when the little Mongolian guy start speaking in Russian like "how are you doing" "What is your name?" "How old are you" etc, and the Ukrainians, who heard that language, they began to treat me kindly. Sometimes when I go to work, I speak in Russian, "Thank you, how are you? How is your life?" and so on, they receive it very positively and are happy.

Well, then became friends with 3 Thais. Before, I tried to talk with these 3, but I couldn't find anything to bring us together. I remember that I went to Bangkok, Thailand in 2013. With that in mind, I stepped on it and started talking about Thailand and the country.

Now I can see that those knowledge and experiences are really important in our life. Here in America, only those who move and work get money and wages. We always try to fullfil a little time with doing something while waiting for customers. If there is nothing to do, it allows you to go home. This is why communication and atmosphere are so important to a new employee like me. It is necessary to adapt quickly to the culture of a new place. As our elder people say, that "if you drink the water, follow the customs", is probably the principle and pillar of the life of Mongolians living abroad.

National University of Mongolia - School of Business | Gereltsetseg. R

Don't think of America as an impossible dream. For me, one of the must-do things during my student life was the Work and Travel program. If your English is good, and you have a good effort, you probably learn many things and earn some money to cover your expenses. You can also collect some money for travel around America. Everything is open.
During these 3 months, I got to know a different life, customs, and culture, and realized that I am a part of the world. As I traveled, I began to see more and more goals to achieve. I learned that I should be careful about the impression I make on others, because when I crossed the border, I was called by my country, not my name. We should remember that our country will be judged by you and me.

I went this long trip with my best friend. It was our 2nd trip to abroad. After I return from my trip to South korea, I planned my next trip to America, a country of multi nations, where people always share their happiness and sorrows together and get to know each other better. It was actually a dream. After a plenty of research, I took the first step in making my dream come true by choosing this program.

After a long flight over the Pacific Ocean, our imaginations landed on the ground with joy and wonder, and one adventure after another began. All our funniest, failures, and unforgettable memories are made there. Now i look back and It feels so good. The most important thing is to have someone who will be your partner and support you. So I recommend you to go with your friends. I would also like to say THANK YOU to my dear friend who always took care of me, loved me, encouraged me and cooked me the most delicious food every day.

Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences | Erdenetsatsral. R
A Mongolian girl, everyone think she is Chinese, dressed western style clothes standing on a hilltop of Estes park, CO......Doesn't everyone fight for their freedom? Everyone is trying to grow up and achieve everything they set out to do. We imagine that it will come true only after going through life, suffering, and predicting the future. With this feeling, the girl who lived for 20 years decided to go to the United States of America, which is called the land of freedom. From boarding the plane, my solo journey went on to become best friends with a complete stranger. I realized that I used to live very calm. It was boring. The biggest culture shocks were happens when Moving from a student desk to a working field, in a country where people speak 12 different languages, more than 200 young people from more than 20 countries have fun together at one party. There will be no end to these shocks of Mothers, fathers and children walking side by side with moose, Bears walking outside your house, eating different foods from 10 different country at once, eating national food together, becoming a manager from an assistant in 14 days, and greeting someone who has passed away with a smile. I realized that I can become that I wanted to be or I can do what I wanted to do. Better to try once than hear a thousand times. Only memories, not wealth, remain in the world. The most important thing is that no matter how many countries, languages ​​or our faces are different from the same world, we are people with warm hearts. I am happy to have seen with my own eyes and felt with my heart that the world is wide, there is much to see, youth is short, and there is much to accomplish. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Get out of your comfort zone , just put yourself out there, just travel, there are tons of adventures and memories in this opportunity.

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