The Arrival of the summertime J1 visa student workers – Ocean City Md and Delaware Resorts – Can we do better for them?
March 29th, 2008
The winter of 2007 / 2008 in Ocean City MD has seen J1 visa student exchange workers here from Brazil and Columbia. The Brazilian students have departed in Early March of 2008 and it seems almost simultanously students have arrived from Thailand to spend a few months in Ocean City MD. Their reasons for volunteering and coming here and their goals are varied but mostly consist of experiencing the adventure of visiting the United States, saving money and returning with a “small nest egg” from their earnings. They also hope for the opportunity to briefly travel before their return to their home countries and visit Washington DC, New York City, etc. to see and experience the sights! They welcome and really need the support and interaction with local citizens. This is really ( other than their jobs at local fast food eateries and hotel room cleaning) in the winter their only real one on one conversations and an opportunity to understand our life style here.
Beginning in mid May throughout June there will be arriving thousands of students from mostly from Eastern Europe and Russia to provide the BACKBONE of employees for our hotels, restaurants, amusement and entertainment, retail and services industries in the Greater Ocean City Md area as well as the Delaware Beach resorts of Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach and Lewes, Delaware.
Housing and adjustment to their new environment are an immediate concern upon their arrival. Affordable housing for them is difficult for them to locate. Most arrive with just enough money to manage for a week or two. Understanding the local rental process, responsibilities, etc.. may lead to difficulties. Many landlords are indeed honest, considerate, and helpful to them during their stay. Some are not and only want to reap the $ benefits without any consideration or real communication with their tenants. The same applies to employers. The vast majority are mindful of their responsibilities as employers but some treat the students as if they were not worthy of respect, dignity, and disregard the common labor laws afforded to everyone here in the US. The fact is that most of the International Students are pursuing University degrees in their home country and have a more advanced education then the local manager or supervisor in some of the jobs they work at.
It is my intention to add more information to this article in the coming days! We created a web site in the summer of 2006 to hopefully provide “quality pre arrival information” for the students. It is really oriented for the Ocean City Md and Coastal Delaware Resorts as a resource for the students. We hope it is helpful to a few students and appreciate any comments or suggestions regarding the ” International Student Worker Guide – Ocean City MD – Coastal Delaware Resorts – Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Lewes Delaware”
I welcome your comments – thoughts – and feedback on this article.
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March 20, 2008 – The first day of spring – A visit to Assateague Island National Seashore Park ,which is nearby Ocean City Md. I had a couple of visitors to Ocean City Md with me and suggested a drive to Assateague Island as a sight seeing adventure. Neither of my guests had ever been to Assateague. We drove to Assateague and discovered that Assategue’s wild ponies and deer were visibly present along the winding road entering the National Seashore Area of Assageague. The Island’s primary occupants of ponies and deer were obviously waiting for SPRING to arrive. It was a somewhat chilly and WINDY day with wind gusts approaching 20 and 30 mph, but fortunately with a sun drenched landscape. Standing sheltered from the wind but in the sun revealed a very pleasant day, but the chilly wind was relentless. The Assateague ponies were mostly found feeding along the roadside (which was protected from the wind) and not venturing to the bayside or oceanside, both of which were feeling the prevailing chilly winds from the west! 
There were many ponies feeding along the roadside, and we even observed a couple of obviously pregnant female horses. They were mostly just ignoring us as their main intent was to feed on the sparse green grasses along the roadside. I also observed that their hair growth was thicker than what i had observed in summer trips to Assateague Island.
We ventured further along the entrance road and reached the “entry” gates to the National Park area. The entry fee is $10 per car for a 7 day pass. Having completed that registration, we went further and decided that due to the high winds, we would only venture on the bayside through a wooded forest walking trail, which protected us from the wind on this particular day. 
The Forest Walk turn around point is at an elevated OVERLOOK viewing the bay marshlands and the western shore. A spectacular view and surely inspirational! 
We then drove to the ocean side and parked the car to venture up the wooden walkway over the sandy windswept dunes to view the Atlantic Ocean. Sand swept relentlessly around our feet blowing to the East. Not a foot track was to be found anywhere in the white sandy dune or beach, which brings some real exhilaration and understanding of the wonders of nature to your “senses” .
During this period of high winds the white sand particles blew as if it were mere snowflakes in a snowstorm causing the dunes to change shape in a matter of hours! It’s no wonder the Assateague Ponies nor human visitors were populating the beach on this day, however soon the beach will be populated with people fishing, swimming, bathing and simply enjoying the refreshing breezes which contain the “salt air freshness” …
While the Assateague Ponies were easily observed when driving into the park area, the deer were not seen for some time, but eventually we saw them, also along the roadsides. One had to have a sharp eye to see them as their winter fur cover is much lighter in color and therefore they blend in easily with the surrounding bushes, shrubs, etc.. The deer are much more elusive and can be frightened by us humans so they can quickly disappear into the shrubs and bushes unless you approach by car slowly and don’t make noises. Their hunger kept them feeding while we took a few pictures from inside of the car.
This turned out to be a great 1/2 day Pre-Spring trip to enjoy some of the nearby Ocean City Md Attractions in Assateague Island, experience our wonderful natural environment, and bring another memory home for visitors to share with their friends. If you are visiting 
HELP FIGHT THE TECH TAX ! There is an upcoming Live Rally appealing for everyone to visit Annapolis Maryland on March 12, 2008 to lend credence to the issue! 
BREAKING NEWS ! posted March 14, 2008 – Governor O’Malley of Maryland now supports REPEALING the sales tax on computer services and would support a plan to raise income taxes on the rich instead! … This is refreshing news and it is a beginning to bring the legislators to address this issue and rectify the looming tax on computer services.