Off Topic - The Eastern European Connection

daBeachBum
daBeachBum Member Posts: 164
in Colorectal Cancer #1
The last few weeks I have hosted a number of young people (via couchsurfing.org - a global hospitality site) who have arrived on the island to work for the summer. They have been, without exception, really nice kids who are super excited to be in the states to work in crummy boardwalk jobs and save up money for more college or whatever.

The routine is that they usually arrive late and exhausted from full days of traveling and rack out in the loft. The next day we drive them to the Social Security office to register their arrival and then they look for cheap rooms in the center of town. These are invariably overcrowded old rooming houses with shared kitchens and baths. Some places are more grim than others.

The cool thing is that their enthusiasm is infectious. They are eager to work and looking forward to summer at the beach. Some of the locals gripe that they "take jobs" away from them, but trust me, no one here is lining up to make fudge ten hours a day in a hot kitchen...

I put together a box with some dried pasta and spaghetti sauce, some mismatched kitchen stuff, cleaning stuff and a couple of ratty towels and you would think I was giving them a new car from their reactions. One girl forwarded us a translated email from her mother thanking us profusely for looking out for her daughter.

Their excitement and enthusiasm reminds me of when I toured Europe in college and was shown kindness by many people. This is about as paternal as I can get, I guess :-)

Anyway, there are a lot of hardworking nice young people out there. They just aren't all from here...

Ray

Comments

  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #2
    Nice job Ray !
    what kind of work they use to do?.
    Hugs my friend!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    pepebcn said:

    Nice job Ray !
    what kind of work they use to do?.
    Hugs my friend!

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #4
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    With any luck
    The American kids are working ratty jobs in Greece and Paris!

    The way of the world, we will do something for nothing if somehow the something is exciting. Even if it means cooking fudge.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #5
    That's great Ray!
    What a grand thing for you to do!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #6
    Buckwirth said:

    With any luck
    The American kids are working ratty jobs in Greece and Paris!

    The way of the world, we will do something for nothing if somehow the something is exciting. Even if it means cooking fudge.

    Shades of Tom Sawyer?
    *smile*.....

    I do agree, if it excites, even pot scrubbing can be fun (I know...I've done it for a shelter).

    Hugs, Kathi
  • daBeachBum
    daBeachBum Member Posts: 164
    #7
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Wildwood!
    I live in Diamond Beach which is the southernmost part of Wildwood island. It's beautiful and quiet here, but just a few minutes to the boardwalk or Cape May.

    I'm not sure what the students earn, but my guess is a few dollars over minimum. One couple told me its the same money a mid-level manager would make in Lithuania. The going rate for a bed in one of the ramshackle houses is $100 a week. They will cram bunks into every room except for the kitchen and bath. The kids take it in stride and have fun at the beach, traveling, or partying when they aren't working.

    I apologize that my post may have indicated I was bagging on American workers or our young people. That's not the way I feel. I should have been more careful in my wording. I know the economy has been brutal for many, many people :-(

    If you are interested in meeting more foreigners and travelers you may want to look into couchsurfing. You don't have to host or be hosted if you don't want to. One of the status options is to "meet for coffee or a drink".

    Take care,

    Ray
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #8
    daBeachBum said:

    Wildwood!
    I live in Diamond Beach which is the southernmost part of Wildwood island. It's beautiful and quiet here, but just a few minutes to the boardwalk or Cape May.

    I'm not sure what the students earn, but my guess is a few dollars over minimum. One couple told me its the same money a mid-level manager would make in Lithuania. The going rate for a bed in one of the ramshackle houses is $100 a week. They will cram bunks into every room except for the kitchen and bath. The kids take it in stride and have fun at the beach, traveling, or partying when they aren't working.

    I apologize that my post may have indicated I was bagging on American workers or our young people. That's not the way I feel. I should have been more careful in my wording. I know the economy has been brutal for many, many people :-(

    If you are interested in meeting more foreigners and travelers you may want to look into couchsurfing. You don't have to host or be hosted if you don't want to. One of the status options is to "meet for coffee or a drink".

    Take care,

    Ray

    Link
    Here is the link:

    CouchSurfing

    Sounds like fun, so I just may sign up.

    BTW, never thought you were bashing on American kids, but I did want to get a good word in. I still remember Hosteling in Britain with great fondness, though I would not choose those accommodations today.
  • sharpy102
    sharpy102 Member Posts: 368 Member
    #9
    Haha Ray...I smiled because
    Haha Ray...I smiled because you are right...I'm from East Europe too...you give me a box of pasta with a spaghetti sauce and I'm happy for the rest of the week as if you gave me gold. America is....AMERICA!!! You guys have sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much food, and soooooooooooo many things...that's one thing I'm dreaming about..I'll grow up, will have a house of my own and will have a kitchen and will have lots of food on my table...always...nice dream, eh? But I will work hard for it!!! And I will save all my money to achieve what I want! And I will get it no matter what! I'm glad someone at least sees how our lives are back in East Europe...people tend to think East Europe is like West Europe...which I assume (although I've never been in West Europe) is like America...*sigh*
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #10
    sharpy102 said:

    Haha Ray...I smiled because
    Haha Ray...I smiled because you are right...I'm from East Europe too...you give me a box of pasta with a spaghetti sauce and I'm happy for the rest of the week as if you gave me gold. America is....AMERICA!!! You guys have sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much food, and soooooooooooo many things...that's one thing I'm dreaming about..I'll grow up, will have a house of my own and will have a kitchen and will have lots of food on my table...always...nice dream, eh? But I will work hard for it!!! And I will save all my money to achieve what I want! And I will get it no matter what! I'm glad someone at least sees how our lives are back in East Europe...people tend to think East Europe is like West Europe...which I assume (although I've never been in West Europe) is like America...*sigh*

    Do NOT let the western europeans hear you say that....*smile*
    It's very wierd. I'm an American living in The Netherlands. I hear often about how awful the Americans are, and what they do wrong. But, then, I look around and see everyone trying very hard to be just like America...sigh...

    What part of eastern Europe are you from, dearheart, if you don't mind me asking...

    Hugs, Kathi

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