Translating the American Dream
Ten years ago, Stella Channa traveled from Moldova to Baltimore on the J1 visa Summer Work Travel Program (SWT). Back then, her sponsor’s fees were only about $1,000. She was lucky. Her parents could help her with the finances.
“I still remember the thrill and sort of fear when I got my J1 visa,” Channa says. “I was in my second year of university and coming to U.S.A., it was a dream come true.”
Channa was hired as a waitress in a Greek restaurant. “That was actually my first job ever,” she says. “That came with a lot of challenges that taught me so much and changed me.”
In the beginning, she found herself struck with culture shock.
“I never thought it would affect me, but it did for a very short time,” Channa says, but working in the restaurant allowed her to be in constant contact with Americans. Slowly she started to adapt.
“My employer treated us like real guests. My colleagues were in the most part Americans,” Channa says. “I never saw so much kindness around me. My customers were always curious about my country and language. Of course, there were some people that were showing attitudes towards foreign students, but that didn’t really bother me. I was pretty impressed with how well we were treated. I started to make a lot of friends that really introduced me to the American culture.”
Channa lived in a house right across the street from the restaurant where she worked. “That was the fun part,” she says. “It was extremely convenient as we didn’t have to drive or ride bicycles. I had four more friends living with me. The house wasn’t very big, two bedrooms, but it was enough for us. Most of the time we were spending at work anyways.”
Baltimore can be a dangerous city. One might be concerned for a young girl, all alone, in the big city.
“I learned that Baltimore wasn’t a very safe city, but I was very lucky to have wonderful employers, struggling to provide the best for us,” says Channa. “They were always helping with any matter. Even though we were living just across the street, the managers would always watch or accompany us crossing the street and getting home at the end of our shifts, which most of the times where extremely late.”
Channa has heard the horror stories about J1 student-workers being mistreated by sponsors and employers. She considers herself lucky.
“There is nothing bad I can say about our sponsors and employers as they were much more than we expected,” says Channa. “They were listening to our requests, problems, concerns, and were trying to accommodate each and every one of us as soon as possible. They were organizing all kinds of events for us and taking us to football games. They were often taking us out and showing beautiful places in Baltimore. At work, we were treated nicely and with respect.”
Channa traveled wherever she could – Niagara Falls, New York City and Washington D.C. “The more I was discovering this amazing country and people, the more I was falling in love with it,” she says. “By the end of the summer, I didn’t want to go back to my country. I was in love with the States, but I had to go, as I had two more years of university.”
When Channa got on her return flight home to Moldova, her eyes brimming with tears, she made a promise to herself. “I had to come back,” she says. “Two years later, I did return to the amazing U.S.A. I cannot express my joy when I stepped again on the American soil.”
After graduating from her university in Romania, Channa applied for a teaching exchange program and was assigned to a high school in Georgetown County. She worked as a special education teacher for three years.
“It was another great experience,” says Channa. “I’m extremely thankful for all these opportunities I had. I got a lot of knowledge and different skills, but most importantly, little by little, I entered the American culture and assimilated.”
After teaching, Channa worked in banking. “Another dream come true,” she says. “Never in my life, not even in my most wonderful dreams, would I have thought to work at Bank of America.”
Channa and her husband now own and operate three jewelry stores, and they’re opening a fourth in the Coastal Grand Mall soon. She also maintains a lifestyle blog, www.goldrhapsody.com, where she documents fashion events across the Grand Strand and Charleston areas. Recently, she’s even had the chance to hire some J1 student-workers.
“I like working with them as they remind me of my own time as a J1,” Channa says. “I enjoy interacting with them and even helping out with my knowledge and resources.”
Channa thinks her J1 experience helped her grow more independent. “It gave me the opportunity to discover the USA, but at the same time, to discover and know myself,” she says. “It gave me immense confidence and helped me decide what I wanted in my life.”
Channa tells me she lives by the Audrey Hepburn quote, “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, ‘I’m possible.’”
Channa is a permanent resident of the U.S. and will be a citizen by the end of the year.
“America is probably the only country in the world where everything is possible,” says Channa. “Here, I knew I could spread my wings. I was appreciated for who I was. I didn’t need to know certain people in order to get certain things. I just had to be myself and dream on and work on it. In my country, things are different. It’s so much more difficult to do what you desire, to have the job you want and the life you envision for yourself.”
This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Translating the American Dream ."