By Jack Voight, Staff Writer
You just finished a long day at the beach and you’re starving because (as usual) you didn’t bring any food or water with you. So you need to grub, but where? A quick fast food run? A sit-down at your favorite restaurant? Maybe just a run into the closest grocery store? Chances are if you stopped by any of these places, there was some sort of J-1 student working there. You probably passed one or two biking to work on the way, as well.
As of 2017, the J-1 Visa allows over 300,000 foreign students to enter the country to work and travel across America. North Carolina claims 8,157 of those students. The purpose of the visa is to let foreigners come into the country to experience the American culture and work.
It may seem like an amazing opportunity for us here in America, but for a lot of these students this is an extended business trip.
“I work about 90 hours a week,” said Umarkhon Khamidkhanov, who is from Uzbekistan, a country wedged in Central Asia.
Khamidkhanov, or “Umar,” worked at Dare Devil’s Pizzeria, Captain George’s and Five Guys. Ninety hours a week may sound atrocious for many high school students, but Khamidkhanov had a different view.
“I realized that you really get to know people, American people, when you work. That was kind of the drive to make me work more. It’s not about the money, it’s about learning,” Khamidkhanov said.
Although Umar said it’s not all about the money, it is definitely a large motivational piece for many of the foreigners on this visa.
“I thought it would be a good way to earn money,” Jenelle Morgan, a student from Kingston, Jamaica, said. “To help me fund my graduate studies.”
One thing that both of them agree on is the melting pot of people in America.
“A culture shock is how expressive people are, with their sexualities and how people dress,” Morgan said. “In Jamaica there is not a lot of variation, everyone tends to have similar beliefs.”
Added Khamidkhanov: “People don’t greet here. In Uzbekistan you always greet people by shaking their hand, everyone. Here you come and it’s just like ,‘Hey what’s up,’ and it’s different. ”
But the American culture was influential before both came to the USA, especially Khamidkhanov
“I became more interested when I watched sitcoms ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (and) ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ This drove me to come to America and explore,” Umar said. According to his coworkers, some called him “Uzbekistanian Eminem,” as he had a bit of a taste for American rap: “I listened to a lot of American hip-hop and I wanted to understand what they sung about, so I learned English.”
Next time you run into one of these students, don’t pass them by. Ask them a couple of questions. You’ll get an interesting story or two out of them, and maybe learn a thing or two about their culture.
Sophomore Jack Voight can be reached at 21voightja99@daretolearn.org.
