In 2006, I left my corporate job at HP France to move to Los Angeles as an international student. I wanted to improve my English language skills, learn about the American way of doing business and eventually start my own. More importantly, I was in search of making meaningful changes in my life in order to add value to my own existence while possibly making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Not only was coming to the U.S. difficult, but once I arrived, I experienced a wide variety of both encouraging and negative feelings, such as excitement, surprise, happiness, loss of identity, anxiety, disorientation and confusion, while facing language, academic and integration challenges. I sometimes felt like a child.

Thankfully, some great people both from my university, UCLA, and off campus taught me the skills that I needed, showed me around, helped me adjust to the American culture, and inspired me. Some also provided me knowledge and methods for a better understanding of the ins- and- outs of running a business in this country, encouraged me to challenge the conventional thinking, and helped me discover and articulate my greater purpose.

I believe that the majority of international students and foreign exchange visitors to the United States face the same challenges. However, not all of them are lucky enough to receive the same attention, care and consideration — helping them to improve their experience, develops a better understanding of people of different backgrounds, or even get the tools needed to realize their dreams. For those people, I founded “U in the USA”.

In brief, our mission is to simplify international students’ and foreign exchange visitors’ lives, to help them interact more effectively with Americans, and to assist them in achieving their goals.  We also try to encourage them to take advantage of this program to create connections and even make lifelong friends.

To learn more about what we do, and how we do it, please visit us  www.uintheusa.com or contact us at contact@uintheusa.com

Jean-Marc Dedeyne

President and Founder of U in the USA

Tel : 1-800-464-7681

“Creativity comes from curiosity. The more curious you are about the world, the more you experience and learn.” Simon Sinek

Want a little more?

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Reading a newspaper, Jarbas Agnelli saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. He cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). He knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. He was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

Also check his live presentation of Birds on the Wires at TEDx São Paulo: here

If you want to know how start your American dream business, we invite you to attend our workshop here

If you are going to college in the fall and need some advice about life, you will like this post.

Marc at Marc and Angel Hack Life shared with us 18 things he wishes someone told him when he was 18.

See a few highlights below:

1- Commit yourself to making lots of mistakes

2- Find hard work you love doing

3- Invest time, energy and money in yourself every day

4- When sharpening your career skills, focus more on less

Full story here

Photo by: Taylor McBride

Leaders who go to work overseas are often surprised by how much they thought they knew about a culture, and how little they really do. Here are three ways to begin your cultural transition before you start working or seeking jobs in a different country:

1.    Check your assumptions. You will hear many things about how people in the other culture get work done. Remember that all cultures are nuanced and while generalizations can be descriptive, you can’t accept them as universal rule.
2.    Attend workshops. Leading up to your move, find workshops or lectures about doing business in different countries or go to a country-specific conference.
3.    Immerse yourself in global coverage. Find publications, websites, and television programs that give you a cross-cultural view of what’s going on in the world and insight into how other cultures view global news.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Managing Yourself: Making It Overseas” by Mansour Javidan, Mary Teagarden, and David Bowen.

Source : Harvard Business Review

If you want to know what to expect as an employee in the American workplace and how to navigate the U.S. Job Market, attend our workshop here

Herbie Hancock’s Imagine Project is an unprecedented international recording and film project featuring collaborations between music legend Herbie Hancock and a dozen superstars from every region of the planet. It utilizes the universal language of music to express its central themes of peace and global responsibility. The Imagine Project embodies an extraordinary lineup of international superstars from all corners of the world. Artists include Dave Matthews, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, The Chieftains, John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Pink, Juanes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Chaka Khan, K’Naan, Wayne Shorter, James Morrison, and Lisa Hannigan. The album and film stands, on one level, as powerful testaments for the goals of world peace, humanity and tolerance, and respect for our planet, but The Imagine Project shall remain at its core, entertainment content that is creatively and emotionally deeply fulfulling.

Hear “The Imagine Project’ in its Entirety until June 22 on NPR here

“The influence of Scouting is now a worldwide phenomenon.  There are more than 500 different programs for both boys and girls in 185 countries around the globe.”

More Resources

- Boy Scouts of America National Council here

- Boy Scouts of America | Facebook here

“Many of these young players say, win or lose, they enjoy the sport.  They say watching the World Cup only fuels their enthusiasm, helping to build a bright future for youth football in the United States.”

More resources

- Soccer in the USA here

- Soccer America – Covering US, International, MLS, College, Youth and World Cup Soccer here

- Sports in America : Soccer here

Visit Public Allies here