U.S. a Carnival of Summer Jobs for Foreign Students

SANDUSKY, Ohio — Pavel Kotas came to America to learn the language. He just didn’t expect most of his English lessons to revolve around the rules of tossing a softball into a milk can.

The 19-year-old from the Czech Republic was one of 700 foreign students recruited to work at Cedar Point amusement park this summer.

With workers in short supply, the park hired nearly 20% of its 4,000 seasonal employees from overseas to operate roller coasters, french fry stands and ticket booths.

Nearly all were college students hoping to find adventure, improve their English, see sights and make good money. They also came away with a wealth of insight into Americans at work and play.

Kotas spent his summer operating a booth featuring games of chance. It didn’t take long to catch on to the carnival life.

“Hey look, I have another choice winner,” he shouted out onto the midway as he handed over a giant stuffed Tweety bird.

What surprises him most about the United States?

“In our country we learn about American history and culture,” he said. “Here, there are people who think Ernest Hemingway is a football player.”

He and other game operators entertain themselves by counting how many times they hear “please” or “thank you” during the day.

“Sometimes you can count them on one hand,” said 20-year-old Jude Douglas of Northern Ireland.

An economics student, Kotas was paid about $5 an hour.

He has saved most of his money for a trip to the western states. He and three other foreign students at the park are renting a car for the cross-country drive.

“I want to see the Beverly Hills and Mt. Rushmore,” he said.

Sisters Ekaterina and Anna Beloded of Belarus spent the summer making hamburgers and shakes at a 1950s-themed diner in the park.

“When we came here, we did not know what this french fry was. Cheeseburger? Hamburger?” Ekaterina said with a laugh. “Now we know.”

Even though they have worked many 15-hour days, both said they love the freedom that having a job brings.

“In this country you can get a job and make money. In our country it’s impossible,” said Ekaterina, 20.

“I would like to come back and start my own life. I can make my own decisions here,” added Anna, 19.

Olga Gontcharouk, another kitchen worker at the restaurant, said young Americans don’t appreciate the benefits of a job.

“Young people here are more independent,” said the 22-year-old from Russia. She said at home “lots of young married people still stay with their parents. Fortunately, I’m not with my parents.”

This summer, 43,000 foreign students came to America through work-exchange programs, according to the U.S. Information Agency, which administers the program.

In past years Cedar Point has worked with international exchange programs, and this year it sent a recruiter to England, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia.

The amusement park, on a peninsula that stretches into Lake Erie, is between Cleveland and Toledo. It boasts more than 67 thrill rides and 13 roller coasters and attracts about 3.5 million people each summer.

Stephen Spurgeon, 23, of Wales, was one of the few foreign students working as a ride operator.

“I wanted to see the States for myself,” he said. “You see things like ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ and think, ‘Surely it can’t be like that.’ ”

He said working around children is like a roller coaster--lots of ups and downs.

Tugging at his red sailor-style uniform, he said he’d be ridiculed at home for wearing such an outfit. “The kids are better behaved here and they give you respect,” he said.

Spurgeon, like the others from overseas, was still amazed at the amount of money he’s made.

“It looks like Monopoly money to us,” he said. “I don’t really have a sense of what it’s worth. I think that’s why I’m spending more than usual.”