Suzy - "Expectations Met!"

I started my journey with the expectation that I would be able to travel and experience life in US with minimal costs. And my expectations were certainly met!

The most memorable thing? The whole experience! From the first day I started my journey from KLIA to the day I left JFK airport in New York. The places that I worked, my colleagues, the people that I met , the town that I stayed in, the places that I traveled, friends I made – all were memorable to me.

I worked in a town called Pigeon Forge in Tennessee, near the Smoky Mountains. Famous as a centre for Country & Western music, it is a tourism town that is packed with people during the summer. I worked in the reception of a company that rents out cabins, Colonial Properties. My job duties were quite easy - answering phone calls, taking reservations using their own software system, check people in and out of the cabins, some paper work and filing.

After three weeks in an Inn, my friends and I moved into a new house. The house was exquisite! Full of amenities that anyone could think of. It has a beautiful fireplace in the living room, next to it there is a game room with a pool table that flips to an air hockey table, a dining table that leads across to a fully equipped kitchen, 5 bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. On the right side of the kitchen, there’s a small room with a washing machine and a dryer. On the porch, there are two wooden rocking chairs for us to sit and chat while watching a forest sparkling with fire flies at night. In between our driveways we had a beautiful lawn area. Behind the house, there is an enchanting waterfall with clear and cool water. The house was situated on a hill, partly secluded. Thanks to Bong, who was the only person to succeed in finding us a place to stay.

One particular incident stands out in my mind that I could say was the highlight of my stay in Pigeon Forge. Our new house was 3 miles away from the town and we had no car. The guys I was staying with had already bought bicycles to get to work, but I hadn’t yet had time to do this. So on the first day I walked down the hill with Voon Chong to the main road which locals "the Spur". Two ladies stopped and asked us if we wanted a ride to town, which we gladly accepted. The same thing happened on the second day, when another Good Samaritan stopped to give me a ride. His name was Peter. After hopping on to his jeep, he sent me to my work place. That was about 8.40am. At about 10.30am, Josh – my colleague at Colonial Properties, said there was someone to see me. It was Peter. He told me wanted to show me something. From his jeep, he pulled out a red bicycle and laid it on the driveway of my work place. He said it was for me, as he didn’t want me to have to walk to work everyday. Okay, now I realize this wasn’t only just a Good Samaritan, he was an angel sent from God! I didn’t even know how to express my feelings, I was totally overwhelmed with gratitude. After that, I thanked Peter and we became good friends.

Although the job was easy, not everything was! Talking to the local people was harder than I had expected. They had this Southern accent that was weird. I could understand them most of the time but found it hard to imitate it so they could understand what I was saying better. Sometimes if they were speaking in a really Southern accent then I could barely understand!

People in the US often eat fast foods and the variety of food is not as wide as we have in Malaysia. Maybe their diet is why there seem to be so many overweight people – I put on a little weight as well!

But overall, I felt stress free and relaxed while I was there. The people were cool - everyone was nice, friendly and very helpful. People in town would greet you on the street even though we don’t know each other. Other than the holiday traffic, which did not concern me because I was riding a bike, there was no sense of rush in the town. People seemed to feel satisfied and comfortable the way things were.

I worked for 2 months, originally just in Colonial Properties, but I got a second job in McDonalds. I earned about US $ 400 a week, working 36 hours a week at Colonial Properties and 24 hours a week at McDonalds. Accommodation cost me US$ 250 per month, and I spent about US $ 200 a month on food. Apart from that, I spent about US $ 80 per month on leisure, laundry, etc.

And I definitely enjoyed my holiday! In the beginning, before going to Tennessee, I spent 3 days in New York. Then I spent another day in New York when returning from Tennessee before taking a 5-day bus tour around four northern states. The pictures I took will all go into an album as a collection, because the places I have traveled are truly one of the greatest treasures I gained from this trip. At the end of my trip I spent a final 2 days in New Jersey with my sister, before flying home.

I believe I’ve gained a lot from two months working and traveling in the US. Living in a totally different place with a different culture has made me more independent than I used to be. Learning to face and solve problems that come abruptly will certainly help me in making future decisions more wisely.

For example, on the first day we arrived in Knoxville, near Pigeon Forge, we waited for hours for the person who was supposed to pick us up, only to find out he had come the day before because I had told him the wrong date – I had got the difference in time zones between the US and Malaysia mixed up. A few hours of waiting aimlessly and the feeling of being lost was quite a lesson. Luckily we were able to sort the problem out with a couple of phone calls and the help of a friendly local.

Also, I’ve learned to treasure friendship more than ever before. In the US, living far away from home, the only people I could rely on were the friends I made there, who helped me survive for two months.

Yes, most of my expectations from this programme have been achieved. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t have much time for traveling. If I had been able to stay longer, I would have more time working and earning more money to travel more!

And I would definitely recommend it!!

Suzy is a student at UPM, and traveled to the US between May and July 2006.