Help a Serbian University Student Experience the U.S.A.

If you are like most folks throughout the United States, you probably know little about the J-1  Visa Summer Work and Travel Program.

Are you lazy? Would you rather listen to me talk about the work and travel program? Click here 🙂
This program was created in the 1960s by the Kennedy administration as a way of improving America’s image around the globe. It also plays a very beneficial role for the American business owner and the student. The businesses owners, customers, and employees get to learn about foreign nations, cultures, and befriend folks from different backgrounds. It makes the world a much smaller and more enjoyable place. The foreign students are allowed to work during their university’s summer break at seasonal jobs throughout the United States of America. They learn how American businesses operate and gain some valuable experience which can improve their employment future back in their own country. Once their work contract is finished, they get 30 days of tourism before returning to their country. This program supplies some employers with enough summer staff to fill their summer rush. It may seem like it takes jobs away from Americans, but many of these locations don’t have enough American workers to fill the open positions. There are many resorts in the middle of Denali National Park, Yellowstone, mountain towns in Colorado and the islands off the coast of Massachusetts that are unable to find locals to work in their resorts. This program is helping small business owners stay in business while bringing in foreign students who are renting apartments and buying local products from the community.

Serbia is one of the bigger players in this program. There were around 2,700 Serbian university students who were approved on this program last year. This year the enrollment was almost doubled! We, Work and Travel Group,  are sending around 750 students to the USA for the summer of 2015.

Do you know any business owners who might be interested in bringing in a Serbian university student for the summer of 2016? Serbian students are allowed to work 4 months between May 21- Oct 1st. My agency has contacts with many successful and large companies throughout the USA. 

The employer must provide a copy of their current business license along with a copy of their workman’s compensation insurance policy. The majority of our students are working in bars, restaurants, hotels, fast food restaurants, retail stores, and many other hospitality-type businesses throughout the USA.

The location and job must be vetted by the U.S. State Department to make sure it aligns with the program guidelines, but many states are covered. We sent our first group of Serbian students to St. Louis, Missouri this year. My old school friend, Bill Croy, is the GM for a few McDonalds on the western part of St. Louis. He decided to bring in 5 Serbian students and they are loving it so far. They are able to work with Hispanics, African Americans, and many other minority groups that they may have never encountered if not for this program.

 

They were also able to experience their first Walmart. 🙂 One of the students was dying to try “Hersey’s” for the first time.

 

This program can also be a great thing for local homeowners. The students have a budget of between $75- $100 a week to spend on accommodation. This can be a big boost to a struggling American household where every dollar counts during the hot summer months. One homeowner took in 7 students and is able to use the almost $12,000 each summer to take his family on a big vacation each fall.

The children in the house also love meeting these “funny sounding” foreigners. One American family from North Dakota randomly ran into a Serbian student who was asking if he could play soccer with their little son. They all quickly formed a life-long bond and they are now considered family. The American family even flew over to Serbia to surprise him and his friends on Thanksgiving.

 

It has even formed friendships between students from unlikely places. One Serbian student started working at a restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard. He learned that two of his coworkers in the kitchen were Albanians from Kosovo. It made him very uncomfortable at first, but they soon were hanging out together after work and on weekends. This program can really change the world.

Want to meet up with a Serbian student who is in the USA this summer? Download our app to find out where the Serbian students are and send them a message.!

If you or anyone you know, might be interested in taking in a Serbian student or two for the summer of 2016…… contact me ANYTIME!
charles.cather@workandtravelgroup.com

 

6’7 Serbian Student Spends a Year in Kansas

Marko Vignejevic is a young man from Pancevo, Serbia. He spent one year studying at an American high school through the A-SMYLE student exchange program. One day he received a letter from the organization telling him that he would be spending his year in the tiny little town of Sylvan Grove, Kansas. Sylvan Grove has a population of about 300 residents! What would happen when a 6’7 Serbian student enters a tiny town in the center of the USA? I asked him a few questions to find out…. Charles- “What were your first impressions of the USA?” Marko- “Okay. My first impressions? Well, lets skip all the flying and sightseeing and jump right into Kansas. So, my first impression of Kansas was “Holy shit, this place is flat!” and I live in Vojvodina. 🙂 Then I started mentally preparing myself for the farmer lifestyle, instead of my city lifestyle that I had in Serbia. Then I got to the house and the farm and I liked it! It was way different than my house in Serbia, but I expected that.”  Charles: “What about the family you lived with? Were they nice to you?” Marko: ” They treated me very well! I never once felt like I didn’t belong! They had four kids already. One daughter and three boys. It was a lot of fun living with them as you can imagine with all those kids running around.”  Charles: ” Did you teach them any Serbian?” Marko: ” I tried, but It didn’t work out very well. They kept pronouncing the J and the G the exact same way. :)”  Charles: “Were they a wealthy family?” Marko: “ No, average middle class family, but they live much better than an average Serbian family.”  Charles: “ Were your real mom and dad worried about you? Did your host family speak with them? “ Marko: “ No, once all my flying was over, they were fine. My dad is a very reasonable man and calmed everyone else. I introduced my host parents to my real parents over Skype and there was a lot of awkward staring until I started translating because my parents in Serbia speak ZERO English.” Charles: ” How did the residents of this place treat you?” Marko: “The town is so small. It only has 300 people in it. The high school was a consolidation of a few little towns and only had 100 students. The people of Kansas were so nice to me, possibly too nice.” Charles: ” Were the kids at school friendly to you?” Marko: ” YES! The minute I walked into the school kids started saying ” Great! We are going to state in basketball this year” because I was the tallest guy in school. It was funny because they hadn’t even seen me play yet!  I felt like the star walking around this school being 6’7! I was also the only exchange student.”  Charles: ” How did your basketball season go in Kansas?” Marko: “It was good. We ended up 9th in whole state of Kansas, but lost badly in our final game. We were 5th in the state at one time”  Charles: ” Did you tell the kids at school about Serbia?” Marko: ” Yes. We had my Serbian flag hanging up in my American history class! :)”  Charles: ” Did you like American food?” Marko: ” Yes, I loved it! Could you find a way to bring a Taco Bell over here to Serbia? 🙂 ” Charles: “What was the worst part of your trip?” Marko: “Probably having to leave everyone. ” Charles: “Anything else you’d like to tell us?” Marko: ” Well… I won a free trip to Washington D.C and New York City for winning a writing contest and for having lots of community service hours!”  Marko: ” I’d love to find a way to go back to Kansas again next year!”

 

Video Game Maker Obsessed with Serbs

The new Grand Theft Auto game, GTA V, has a scene showing a homeless man with a sign that reads “Serbian bad guys stole all of my money. PLEASE HELP”  ( Picture above)

This is a video company that released its first version of this hit video game back in 1997.  Each game in this series allows players to take on the role of a criminal or a wannabe in the big city, typically an individual who plans to rise through the ranks of organised crime  through the course of the game. The player is given various missions by kingpins and major idols in the city underworld which must be completed to progress through the storyline. Assassinations and other violent crimes are featured regularly. Occasionally taxi driving, firefighting, street racing, bus driving, or learning to fly helicopters and aircraft are also involved.

The lead character is named Niko Bellic. There has been some debate as to his nationality, but there is a lot of speculation that he is Serbian. You can read that for yourself on WIKI. One of the executive producers just made this statement when asked about Niko’s nationality  “from that grey part of broken-down Eastern Europe”. That pretty much sums it up. They have Niko speaking Serbian in a few different segments.

You Serbs sure get a lot of flack in the media, Hollywood and in video games. Just smile and enjoy the attention they are giving you. Jebiga! 🙂

 UPDATE: A Serbian buddy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin recorded this video of some “Serbian revenge” on this character. 🙂

 

Serbian Athlete Discusses Life in the U.S.A

The best part of my job is getting to speak to hundreds of Serbian kids that have had the opportunity to visit and go to school in my country. It is very hard to find one that had negative things to say about their time in the US or about the American people. The A-SMYLE exchange program is one thing that the government does well. Apply today….http://www.ac-see.org/programs/hs-citiesdates.htm Two months ago, a dozen kids from this program wrote to PRVA TV to beg them to help me stay in Serbia longer! 🙂 They told PRVA that they use my blog posts and videos to introduce their classes to Serbian life and culture. I was very touched when the tv station reporter told me this. ❤

Exchange programs are very important and can really change the world. I feel that all high school students should be required to live in another country and experience a totally different culture. It really is the only way to destroy propaganda. There always seems to be  billions of dollars available  for bombs, guns, and terror…….. why don’t we try spending it on the kids who will be running this evil planet in a few years? Our governments would never do that. There is so much more money to made in military conflicts! Obama, Bush, Nikolic, Tadic…… they are all controlled by higher powers. 😦 Sad, but true!!!

This young man was going to school in a small town in Illinois. He has enjoyed his exchange program very much. I asked him to write down a few things that he noticed about life in the USA. Here are his thoughts :

“Before I came to the US two years ago all my knowledge about it was based on things that I saw in the movies, tv and the internet. There are many stereotypes about Americans and some of them are accurate at some level, some of them are not but in general the picture that the rest of the world sees is somewhat true but it’s not complete until you actually visit and spend some significant time living here. First thing that I have noticed is how things look better here. Buildings, roads and infrastructure in general are a lot better in the US. Serbia has many beautiful old buildings and monuments but in general most of the things in Serbia are built back in the post Josip Broz Tito era. Some of Serbian buildings are very old and they are pretty much falling apart but since Serbia don’t have money to build new ones we are forced to use them. In the US everything just appears nicer and newer since there is more money to spend to take care of it. Other thing that was very different is the amount of space Americans are using to build towns and cities. I could say that just a regular US town somewhere in countryside or suburban area with a population of 20.000 probably has a bigger area then, for example, Novi Sad which has a population of 300.000 or more. Now something about people. Mentality is different than Serbian for sure. People here don’t talk or discuss politics as much as people in Serbia do. There are people who disagree with the US government of course but politics are not as common topic as it is in Serbia. I would say that main topic in the US are sports. I knew that Americans watch sports but I wasn’t really aware how much it is big until I came here. I also knew that professional sports are big deal but college sports are probably even more watched than professional sports. In Serbia the sports that are followed by people are pretty much at the same time of the year but in the US it is divided by seasons. With the beginning of August/September football is most popular I believe, both college and NFL. Then later on, somewhere around October/November NBA starts but it is not really that much watched until the playoffs. College basketball however is very popular. Hundreds of Universities with great basketball teams so there is plenty of good basketball to watch. Then in March it becomes super popular. No wonder that it’s called March Madness. I haven’t met a single American who doesn’t follow March Madness. It doesn’t matter if it is 10 year old boy or 70 year old granny, everyone have their favorite team and pretty much everyone makes a bracket and tries to predict the team who will win the National Championship. Then after that baseball season starts and it lasts throughout the summer. There are other sports like golf, hockey, track and fields and other but I don’t know much about that. There are plenty of good sports to watch all year long and people love to do it in the US. In Serbia its mostly just soccer and basketball and maybe tennis. People in Serbia watch other sports only when our national team is playing. Other than watching it youth here plays a lot more sports during the middle school and high school. Very often kids play more than one sport and all the competitions are mostly related to schools. Girls involvement in sports is also way bigger than it is in Serbia. Pretty much everyone here is playing or has been playing some sports. Social life is very different. I would say it is much more “alive” in Serbia. For youngsters there is a big legal problem which is no drinking before age of 21 and if you ask me it is a big deal. Law is very strict and for kids younger than 21 sometimes it is really hard to get booze and have fun. Young people here have to be very careful with throwing a party because there is always a risk that police will bust it and check for everyone’s age. In Serbia there is no such a problem so it’s easier to have fun and that is the reason why other people would say that Serbians live “laid back” life style. So parties and hang outs until early in the morning are not as common as they are in Serbia. Fast food in the US is very popular. Not just fast food but the custom of eating outside the house is much more popular. Plenty of restaurant chains and many different types of food so there is always a new place to eat. In general life here is easier, there are more opportunities for jobs and careers and material wise there is a lot more things and products. It is way more organized and the systems and patterns that people follow in the US are better so that makes life here simpler. On the other side I believe life in Serbia is more fun. It is harder but I would say that Serbians enjoy life better. This is just my personal observation so it’s not necessarily true. There is obviously a lot more differences and these are just some of the most interesting ones but it would take me forever to write them down.”

 

Travel Tips for Americans Visiting Serbia

Traveling to a new part of the planet is always a very exciting thing for me. I always start getting this little BUZZ feeling way down in my gut a few weeks before I leave. I try to be as prepared as possible, but there are always things I neglect to think of.

Electrical ……

One thing in Serbia that is very different for American tourists is the electrical connection. The United States uses 110 volts while Serbia uses 220 volts. Electrical wall outlets in the USA are made for three posts to enter. You have a positive, negative and a ground. Check the pictures below….

American outlet

While Serbian outlets are round and made for two circular plugs to enter. See the picture below..

Serbian outlet

..It is very easy to find the electrical converter here in Serbia. The majority of electrical stores offer them. I bought this one

110v to 220v adapter

for 200 Dinars or about $2.50 in Kragujevac.

Another big difference I noticed was that the light switch was on the OUTSIDE of the bathroom!!!!

typical Serbian bathroom outlet that is on the OUTSIDE of the bathroom

I still find myself walking into the bathroom and looking for the switch! I can imagine the fun I would have had if this was a normal thing in the USA. You could shut the light off on your brother while he is in the shower. I think they do it for safety reasons. It is still annoying for me after all this time in Serbia.

Water Heaters…..

small waterheater that is in a bathroom and kitchen.

You might also notice that many of the older homes still have a little water heater in the corner of the bathroom and in the kitchen. You might have to turn on the water heater 20 or 30 minutes prior to getting into the shower, BUT be careful. The water gets so hot it will burn you! Most US homes have a large water heater that heats the water for the whole house and is always running on either gas or electric. It is usually hidden in a separate room. The Serbian way is much more cost-effective and I don’t know why it isn’t used as much in the USA.

Laundry……

The worst thing for me is the lack of dryers in Serbian homes. It is very rare to walk into an American home and not see a washer and a dryer. Serbian homes almost NEVER have a dryer. The vast majority of homes have a clothes line hanging outside and dry their clothes on it to preserve energy. This is a pain for a guy like me. I am the guy that likes to decide what to wear at the last-minute and if it is dirty…. wash it and throw in the dryer to dry and take the wrinkles out. That won’t be happening here. It is also difficult to find a laundromat. They do have a few in the larger towns but the smaller towns don’t.

Passport and Visa…..

Americans DO NOT need to do anything prior to flying to Serbia. Once you arrive at the Belgrade Tesla Airport you will receive a stamp on your passport that is good for 90 days. It is free of charge  and most of the time the custom officials will ask you nothing. A few times I have been pulled to the side and asked where I was going, who I was staying with, etc. I just said that I was a tourist and didn’t have all that info. They are friendlier than American custom police. 🙂 It is always advisable to head to the American Embassy to register your stay. You don’t need to do it, but they will take your email, phone, etc and keep you up to date on any activities that might jeopardise you safety. Their address , phone number, etc can be found on their website http://serbia.usembassy.gov/hours-of-operation.html

Serbia also requires that you go to the local police station within 24 hours of your stay. If you are staying at a hotel, they do it for you. If you are staying with a friend or get an apartment, you must take the owner of the home with you. They will issue you a white registration card. You must keep it with you at all times. Serbian police can stop anyone on the street and ask for your identification. If you don’t have it you can be in trouble. They will ask for the white card if you leave the Serbian borders. Many times they haven’t even looked at mine, but better safe than sorry.

Junk Food….

Serbia doesn’t have the large selection of chips, candy bars, soda and snack food that we have. They have lots of different chocolate products, but they lack in the other fields. Maybe  that is why you don’t see lots of fat people lumbering down the streets. LOL! I really miss Doritos!!!!

Doritos… American chips

They have their own brand that rules the market in Serbia. It is called Chipsy..

Serbian chips

You will also have a hard time finding Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, Cherry 7-UP, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I am an addict so I have looked everywhere for them. 🙂
If you must have them, bring them from home! 🙂

Serbian Women…..

Gorgeous Serbian gals

Before visiting Serbia it would be wise to exercise your neck. You will find yourself turning in awe at the gorgeous ladies that line the streets of Serbia. The majority are tall, very well dressed, beautiful jaw lines, long legs, very confident and sweet personalities. You will very rarely find a Serbian women that will walk out of the house without first going through an hour-long make up and primping session. hahaahah…

Think ahead!!! 🙂 You will enjoy Serbia all the same. Just a few tips to help you cope !! Serbia is the jewel of the Balkans. Long live Serbia!!!!! 

 

Greatest Serbian Leader and Hero

I have traveled to almost every corner of this great country. It amazes me to find such differing views in such a small place! Serbians are very open to me about their politics and their personal beliefs. I never judge anyone and usually just sit and listen. I am interested to get an idea of where my friends and followers stand.

Please vote on these two polls. I will study and read up on the winners and provide an interesting blog post about them. The “Serbian Hero” question was left with an option to add your own!

Thank you in advance!!! Please join our new Serbian website…… SAY SERBIA….. http://sayserbia.com/. We are trying to create a place to bring together Serbians, foreigners that are interested in Serbia, and create a place to find out about EVERYTHING Serbian! Feel free to click on a category and add your input, pictures, opinions, videos, etc.

 

Jagodina, Serbia to Small Town Illinois

The only way to save this evil planet is to start with the youth! They are our only hope for a better tomorrow. The old folks have already formed their opinions , but the youth still have a chance at seeking understanding and respect between those that are different from us.

The exchange programs like A-SMYLE are amazing. They are helping students from all over The Balkans see the beauty, culture, and life in the United States of America. It is very rare to find any negative feedback from the kids that have been on these programs.

Many of the students on the A-SMYLE program contact me! They are always thankful for my blog and videos about their country. They say that it makes it easier to explain Serbia to their friends. 🙂 I know so many former and current students. It really puts a smile on my face when I get a message from one of these bright kids. If you are interested in A-SMYLE check out their website http://www.ac-see.org/programs/hs-citiesdates.htm

I was contacted by this young man named Vuk Vasic. He was accepted into the A-AMYLE program after beating out many others in this area. He is from the beautiful town of Jagodina that is located in the heart of Serbia. He was placed into a host family from Edwardsville, Illinois USA. That isn’t far from my hometown of Greenup, IL!! Lets see what he has to say about his time in “The Land of Lincoln”

Dear Charles,
I’m a Serbian exchange student from a town called Jagodina in central Serbia. I went to America through A-Smyle, an exchange program completely financed and supported by the US Department of State. You asked me to share my American experience and I will but first, I must tell you something about my history.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to go to America, it was mostly because I was influenced by American culture through TV, Internet and video games. All of this pushed me to start learning English at a young age, even before they started teaching it in school. By the time I was in 5th grade (when Serbian students used to start learning English) I already had a basic knowledge. My English teacher helped me perfect it, plus I practiced a lot with my friends outside of school.
I had a group of friends who by 8th grade all shared my dream of going to America and experiencing the culture first hand. The wonderful exchange opportunity came in my Sophomore year of high school and me and my friends jumped at the opportunity. Sadly, out of 4 of us that had the same dream, only I had the opportunity to actually experience it. When the acceptance call came, my whole family was overjoyed but what followed was nerve wracking and terrifying. It took the organization about 4 months to get me a host family, way, way longer than anyone else’s. My waiting was fruitful though, and I got placed with the most wonderful host family any exchange student can ever wish for, The McCrackens. They live in a small town of Edwardsville, near St. Louis in southern Illinois. This is where the rest of my year was spent.

Vuk and his American brother riding snowmobiles

I have done so many things here, it’s hard to recall everything but some of the highlights were:

Vuk meeting with 100 year old WWII vet

– Meeting an American WW2 veteran who’s turning 100 this year, he was my host family’s neighbor, so naturally, I had to meet him. As luck’ll have it, he spent some time in Yugoslavia(Country which Serbia was a part of in the 1900’s) in 1960’s and had only positive things to say about the hospitality of it’s people.
– Going to my school’s football games. That was the first time in my life that I have seen American Football being played, and being a soccer fan, it was hard for me to grasp the concept of it at first but later I started enjoying it immensely.

Vuk at the St Louis Blues hockey game.

– Watching professional hockey games. My host family are huge fans of hockey and the St. Louis Blues, so they took me to a couple of games. I absolutely loved it, it was like watching soccer on ice. Me and my host brother were so into it sometimes, yelling and cheering, that we got weird looks from people

Vuk as a cowboy in Nevada

– My trip to Nevada. My host grandma and my host aunt live in Reno, NV and during the Christmas break, my host mom took me and my host bro’s to their house. Being a huge fan of westerns, I was stoked to go to the actual Wild West and experience it. I wasn’t disappointed. Between going to fancy restaurants, enjoying Casino atmospheres, snowmobiling and just generally strolling around in my Ten Gallon hat and cowboy boots ,(How could I come to America and not get some western wear?) there was no time to rest.

Vuk at 4-H function

– Going to different seminars and workshops with other exchange students from all over the world (Albania, Pakistan, Russia, Egypt, Jordan and many others). We all had opportunities to share our experiences and troubles which proved to be fairly important to the entire exchange year.

Vuk dressed as a hillbilly for Halloween

There were many other experiences but those were the ones that stood out to me. Other than that, American people are wonderful and friendly, people are approachable and easy to talk to and some girls are very pretty  Americans are actually quite fit in general and not fat as other nations stereotype them as. Sometimes I actually think that they overwork themselves. I should wrap it up since I’ve already been typing for an hour. I definitely recommend this program for any high school students because it isn’t just fun, it’s also life changing.
Best wishes,
Vuk”

Thanks a million for this excellent story!! I am very happy that you are enjoying my home state as much as I am enjoying Serbia! Average Americans and average Serbs will always be friends…

 

Young Nis Student Experiences Fast Food Culture Shock!!

Beautiful Nis, Serbia

I really love hearing from Serbian exchange students. I have been contacted by 4 of them that are enjoying their time in the USA. These programs are a great way to break down stereotypes.

This young lady, Natalija Kandic, is from the gorgeous city of Nis, Serbia. She was selected by ASMYLE Exchange Program and was sent to Cary, Illinois. 🙂

Here is her story…… Hvala, Nat

”

Hi Mr. Cather!

As you probably don’t remember, you’ve asked me long time ago to write you about my experience as a Serbian exchange student in the US.

I am an A-SMYLE student, leadership program in Serbia and Montenegro.

It wasn’t easy at all, from the beginning until the day I left my family. I believe you need a lot of courage to do this, but the experience and growth you get is immesurable. If you ask me about the procedure and the process of testing..honestly, it will take some time to remember. It was last year..

All I know is that 2 years ago I applied for the same program and I didn’t pass. I know why..I was late for the testing! One minute, but enough for them to see how immature I was. So, last year I came an hour before, with my sharp pencils, pens, my knowledge and most important, positive attitude.

The testings were held in ”Gimnazija 9. Maj”, Nis, Serbia. A bunch of competitive, mostly smart kids. It wasn’t easy at all. I had my best friends around me, and a lot of unknown faces. What’s funny is that some of those ”unknown faces” became my best friends! For example, Jelena Jevtic (she is in Pueblo West, CO now). I will tell you more about her. We live on the same street in Nis, Mokranjceva. I live in the beginning, she lives in the end. Before the testings I saw her only once, and she said Hi  I couldn’t remember if I know her, but I replied Hi! From the very beginning of the exams we were encouraging each other. Of course, other best friends Marko and Masa were always there for me, helping, cheering and loving me. But, since only Jelena passed in the 3rd round of testing (as I did), she knew how hard it became. I believe both of us knew that we can easily ROCK this  Not that easily..because we thought it’s only 1 person in 6 that is chosen. Wrong! Our last exam was group debate..6 of us debating about ”Woman vs Man as a President”..Jelena and I..we were unstoppable! Not bragging haha!
So, Jelena is the first one who found out she passed and she is going to the US. I was in my high school ”Prva niska gimnazija Stevan Sremac”, in my literature class. My mom called me and said ”Sweetheart, mom and dad are proud of you!” I knew what’s next..I am going to the US!! My whole class was cheering, my lovely literature teacher Danijela ..it was a blast!

To sum up, when I came here first thing I saw was Mc Donald’s and King Burger. I didn’t like that..Later, I found out you have Mc Donald’s and fast food EVERYWHERE. Not trying to be mean, I am just sad because a lot of teenagers eat there and it’s cheap and fast so it’s easier for them. I guess it’s my Serbian mentality, but the food is just so fake here. I miss sarma, pita, cevapcici, pljeskavica, hleb, pogaca..everything when it comes to food!!

Another thing, American school..not that easy, but not hard as Serbian.
In Serbia, I go to philologic class, Stevan Sremac high school. And I adore it, although people think we are nerds. Wrong! Haha.
We have 16 subjects..and it’s a lot, I know.

Here, in Cary, Illinois I chose 6 subjects and gym. Every day I have lunch 45 minutes (in Serbia, only 20) + I have commons, which is a class in cafeteria for doing homework (actually, chatting with your friends AND doing homework). I volunteer..I go to Evangelical church with my mom almost every Sunday and that’s where I help and volunteer. I am so grateful how people accepted me there, it’s like a small family. I am Christian Orthodox, and I know it sounds strange that I go to Evangelical Church, but I do it for my mom. And for myself, because I made some amazing friends there. It’s the part of experience here!

I played varsity tennis in Cary-Grove (my awesome high-school), and that’s where I met most of my girlfriends. Some of them I met in French, because I speak fluent French and LOVE to help people in my class. I was shocked first time my American friends asked me: ”Why do you help us??”..WOW. Why? Well, because that’s what people do, help..No, it’s because I am Serbian! That’s how I responded

I guess here people pay if you help them..I don’t know, It’s not how I was raised. For now that’s all I can think of..oh yes! My host family..I have a host mom (I call her just mom or mommy or sis), her name is Meg. I have a host brother Griff (he is at CMU), and Hayla, my host sister. I ADORE my host family . Now I feel like I have 2 families..one Serbian and one American..

Everyone should try this, it’s not the easiest thing in the world, but with some help from your family and friends + your attitude and knowlegde..you can get A LOT. Thank you, Charles..for everything you do for my country. It takes a GRAND man to do what you do..thanks from my family, too.

Keep in touch! Pozdrav “

 

Helping Serbian Youth Travel to the USA (OPTIONS)

 

Serbia is filled with many highly intelligent young people. They are introduced to English at a very young age and have two alphabets of their own. Many are also learning German, French, or Spanish. I wish the education administrators in the USA would require American students to learn a  2nd or 3rd language. The key is starting early!  My school in the USA did not offer a foreign language until you were in high school. Many of Serbian friends started studying English in primary school! WOW!

The majority of my Serbian friends are in their 20’s. My American buddies always joke with me about that. I am a BIG kid inside, but the main reason is the lack of English from the 30 and up crowd. Prior to the breakup of Communism in 1990, English was not commonly taught in Serbian schools. Many of the adults were taught German or Russian.

I am writing this post to offer some assistance for Serbian youth and young adults. I am asked over and over for advice on different programs. This post was going to be posted a few months ago, but I wanted to get some feedback on the programs before posting them for you! The last thing I wanted to do was promote some SCAM or rip off program.  I will be adding to this post as I get more feedback from other programs! If  you have any FIRST HAND experience on any of these programs….. PLEASE CONTACT ME!!! I would love to hear about it and pass it on to everyone. I am always here to help my Serbian friends. You guys have been WONDERFUL to me. If you need any further info, have comments, or just want to say “ZDRAVO” … shoot me a message at charlesserbia@gmail.com

HERE WE GO…..

 

A-SMYLE (American Serbia Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange)

Their website: http://www.ac-see.org/programs/eng-sched.htm

A-SMYLE is one of the best programs available. It is a FREE opportunity for high school students in Serbia and Montenegro to spend one school year in the U.S. The program is fully funded by the U.S. State Department. Students live with American host families and attend American high schools for one school year (10 months). Students with disabilities are encouraged to participate in the competition.

Requirements:
– Be registered in the first or second year of secondary school in fall 2012
– Be citizens of Serbia or Montenegro (students who also have US citizenship are ineligible)
– Attend school in Serbia or Montenegro
– Speak English well
– Have been born between 1 January 1996 and 15 July 1998
– Be eligible to receive a J-1 visa (for example, not have been in the US for more than 3 months in the past 5 years)
– Have good grades in school
– Demonstrate leadership qualities
– Students with disabilities who were born between March 15, 1995 and July 15, 1998 and who are not in the last year of secondary school are eligible for the competition

 

I have one wonderful young Serbian gal that was selected to participate in this program. She is from Cacak, Serbia. She is currently residing in Washington, Iowa with her host family. Here is a short message from her. She is a doll. She said she is willing to answer any and all questions any of you Serbian students might have about the program. Just send me an email and I will send it on to her. Here is her story:

The first time I heard about the A-SMYLE (American Serbia and Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange) program was from my High School teacher who mentioned it one day.  It is an exchange program for High School students from Serbia and Montenegro that are interested in spending one school year in the U.S., it is financed by the United States State Department. You will have different rounds of testing, and if you become a finalist you will be assigned to one of the placement organizations, mine is World Link. Placement organizations are the ones that look for host families, so if there is a host family reading this, I strongly encourage you to contact someone at World Link.

When I was selected as a finalist I was so happy and excited!
When I first arrived here it all felt so unreal, I couldn’t really wrap my mind around the fact that I was actually in the U.S.! I think it’s still unreal for me. We flew from Belgrade to Frankfurt and then to Washington DC. That was my first time flying, so if any of you are as scared as I was, let me reassure you, flying is the best thing ever! I’m extremely afraid of heights, but you won’t even feel like you’re in the air.
My host family is wonderful. They have been so helpful and nice about everything! Everyone here loves foreigners and they are very understanding and will always offer to help you. You probably think that school is very different, and …… yes it is. It’s not better or worse, just very different! I was very scared on my first day of school, but there was no need for that because everyone wanted to meet me and to help me find my classes and everything! Every school is different, and you’d probably have 5-7 classes each term, I per example have 4 classes. I got to pick most of them and it was very interesting to pick a class like Journalism, since you probably know that we don’t have that. I joined school clubs like Drama and Art club, and this, along with sports is the best way to meet people, and it’s soo fun! My favorite part of the day is when we rehears lines for the play. You might be worried about missing your family and friends, and I’m not going to lie to you, it is hard. But, luckily we live in the era of technology and you’ll be able to Skype them and talk on Facebook or email! The important thing is to keep yourself busy.
Volunteering is also another great thing, there is something wonderful about helping others and not expecting anything in return, it is one of the best feelings ever, believe me. You will also go to your first football game (not to be mistaken with soccer) and it will be fun even if you don’t know the first thing about it (like me!).

These are just some of the great things you would experience if you came here! There are many, many more and I think that everyone who is considering applying for this program should definitely do it because it will be an amazing experience!

I would like to use this opportunity to thank my friends and family back home, for supporting me every step of the way (I love and miss you all), my amazing host family, the Schindlers, and my wonderful World Link coordinator here, Sherrie Nisly.

Danijela Živković, Washington Iowa (Čačak, Serbia  )

 

 

PAX ABROAD PROGRAM:

Website : http://pax.org/abroad_program_costs.php

The PAX exchange program is good for many countries. It can be pricey, but you can also qualify for a scholarship. Great opportunity to see the world and experience life in another part of the world.

Eligibility

You are eligible for a PAX Abroad program if:

• You are between the ages of 15 and 18
• You are currently enrolled in a U.S. high school
• You are mature and responsible

PAX School Year and Semester Abroad programs require a GPA of C+ or better and three years study of the language of your chosen country.

Application Deadlines:

• For full year and fall semester programs: April 1
• For second semester programs: September 15
• For summer programs: April 15

My friend, Luka, is from Pancevo, Serbia. He took part in program last year. He had a great experience and has also made a short video for you students that are thinking about studying abroad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ksic-Gggo Here is his review:

“I went to America as an exchange student via PAX Organization. I contacted a representative from Belgrade, filled out all the applications and a few months later I was accepted. 10 of us from Serbia and Montenegro went to New York. There we’ve spent a week for the orientation and then each and every one of us flew to their host families. I went to Shreveport, Louisiana. It is mid-sized city located between Dallas and New Orleans. That was my first time in America so I had no clue whether or not the people are gonna like me or not especially because I’m coming from Serbia. I was happy when I found out how friendly the Americans are and I couldn’t believe that probably 99% of people never heard of Serbia. Most of them confused it with Siberia. Lol. At first it was hard to ajust to being so dependent on cars since there’s no public transportation in the US nor you can walk anywhere cause everything is so spread out. The schools in America are much easier compared to Serbia because you can pick 4 classes a semester and that’s it while in Serbia you gotta take up to 15 classes. In my American school I was able to teach to teachers and the entire classes about many different topics including the history of the Balkans which they found to be cool. I enjoyed my stay in America and made many new friends who will come for a visit one day. I traveled to Missouri, Arkansas, Houston, New Orleans, New York etc. I love America and I’ll definitely come back soon. I believe that if our two countries would collaborate more no one would be able to stop us ”

 

 

WORK AND TRAVEL–

Website: http://www.posloviamerika.com/Prijava%20na%20program.html

Eligibility Requirements:

• All participants must be at one of the regular year of three-year, four-year, five-year, masters or PhD students
• Must have conversational knowledge of English (checks will be done by talking or writing) • It is recommended that studies continuously • Be between 18 and 30 years • Resourceful, flexible, ready for teamwork, cooperation and compromise • The candidate must be capable of working • Do possession of a valid passport that lasts at least until 01.06. 2013th The

This is one of the most widely used programs for Serbs in the USA. They are a great way for college and university students to experience life outside of Serbia and make money doing it! There are many programs out there. This is one that my friend from Ecka, Serbia used. I didn’t get a written review of the program from him, but I know he had an absolute BLAST in Minot, North Dakota. He was one of 10-20 other Serbs that were sent to the middle of the USA. He worked at Domino’s Pizza and Wendy’s for $9 an hour. He was able to travel to Las Vegas and New Jersey! Check out the site!!!! GREAT PROGRAM!!!!

 

 

ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training)

Website : http://www.teflonline.net/

This is one of the recommendations I have had for a few of my Serbian adult friends and for friends from every corner of the globe. This is a teaching certificate course that will allow you to find teaching jobs all over the planet. I use mine to teach English in Mexico, and Serbia. I have been offered jobs in Mongolia, Taiwan, China, Myanmar, Turkey, Georgia, etc… Many of my Serbian friends have very nice American accents and a GREAT grasp for English grammar. I have two Serbian friends that are currently using theirs to teach in Thailand. The pay varies in every country… the same with the teaching requirements. Many countries require you to be from an English speaking country, but many Asian countries do not. This course can be taken online and at your convenience. You will pay from $150-$700 depending on which course you desire. It is best to take it at one of the many locations world wide. They range from $1000-$3000 dollars for course that last from 3 weeks to one month. It is a great way to see the world, make a difference, and make some money!

I have a few other options, but I am waiting for additional follow up from participants. Thank you for your time. I hope it helped. Please message if you have any other travel programs that you would recommend or avoid. Pozdrav!!!!!

 

TWO SERBS TELL ABOUT USA EXPERIENCE

Two Serb friends of mine were kind enough to send me their thoughts on the USA. I hope to have to many more. Thanks boys! It’s great to hear opinions and thoughts on your own country. Sometimes it takes a foreigner to point out things that you take for granted.

Luka is a Serb from Pancevo, Serbia. He had the opportunity to travel to Louisiana last school year. He is one smart Serb. He made a video about his opinions of my country. Check it out..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y8WOpGDaMU..Here is his story……

“I went to America as an exchange student via PAX Organization. I contacted a representative from Belgrade, filled out all the applications and a few months later I was accepted. 10 of us from Serbia and Montenegro went to New York. There we’ve spent a week for the orientation and then each and every one of us flew to their host families. I went to Shreveport, Louisiana. It is mid-sized city located between Dallas and New Orleans. That was my first time in America so I had no clue whether or not the people are gonna like me or not especially because I’m coming from Serbia. I was happy when I found out how friendly the Americans are and I couldn’t believe that probably 99% of people never heard of Serbia. Most of them confused it with Siberia. Lol. At first it was hard to ajust to being so dependent on cars since there’s no public transportation in the US nor you can walk anywhere cause everything is so spread out. The schools in America are much easier compared to Serbia because you can pick 4 classes a semester and that’s it while in Serbia you gotta take up to 15 classes. In my American school I was able to teach to teachers and the entire classes about many different topics including the history of the Balkans which they found to be cool. I enjoyed my stay in America and made many new friends who will come for a visit one day. I traveled to Missouri, Arkansas, Houston, New Orleans, New York etc. I love America and I’ll definitely come back soon. I believe that if our two countries would collaborate more no one would be able to stop us ”

Marko is a Serb that attended the college beside my hometown! Lake Land College contacted me about  my equipment donations for Serbia. They mentioned that two Serbs were currently enrolled in athletic programs through Lake Land. I wrote to both of them and they were kind enough to write me back. He is a 6’6 Serb with some awesome basketball talent. Check out his highlight video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anHF0ankV5k Here is his story…..

“How i got started:
I had heard from my fiends that there is a agency who helps people ( players) to find school in US. So I decided to go to the agency, and to talk to them about the program and everything that they have to do for finding a college in US for me. I went to two agencies to see how each one works and I decided one of them. The one that was helping me had really nice people who were working there. I explained them my problem, and what i want. I told them that I want full scholarship, job and everything else was as we agreed. Also I did pay money and it was a good amount of money. Was a lot for me, but I payed first half for signing contract, and second half after they find me school actually when i got I-20 from school. everything was ok. They did find school for me and I went to LLC to study for two years.

..Before I got to US I didn’t know a lot about different culture, college basketball or anything similar to this. My biggest dream was to play basketball somewhere in a college. My dream came true two years ago when I come to US. I will never forget my first time when I traveled to US. That experience was unforgettable. By the time when I was flying to US I had a long trip over Belgrade, Ljubljana,Paris, Dublin and finally Chicago where my assistant coach was waiting to pick me up and take me to Mattoon. After three hours drive from Chicago to small city Mattoon on south side of Illinois I arrived to finale destination. Here we are Matton about 25.000 people nice and quiet place with beautiful Lake Land college campus. Lake Land College is one of most beautiful junior college schools in US where i spend 2 years of great experience. My first year was kind a tough for me because of my lack of English. With hard studying, and with help of the other people I started learning English. I remember that i was studying English every day so hard, so that i didn’t have a time to hang out with other friends. After few months I started speak English that people were wowed how good i can speak. People that i have met in US were very nice and kind to me. I never seen people who willing to help, and smiling that much as people in US. Practicing working, and studying are three things that filled my every day. We almost have practice every day two times, plus three classes, and work not easy but really worth to sacrifice yourself for better life, and learning new things. .Now I have the best experience from US in my life. I will never forget it for sure. Of course people that I met and people who were there to help me in my hardest moments they always going to be deep in my heart. God bless everybody there. I can say that Im caring the best memories from US with me.:”

Thanks, Marko.. Glad you had a great time in my state!!!

I might be working with a non-profit organization that helps Serbs find athletic scholarships. I will keep you informed.