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REAL WORLD: Diversity

By LAURA LINDSAY
lauralindsay@sanduskyregister.com

This year more than 900 people from other countries are filling seasonal positions at Cedar Point.

Seeing them walk around town and realizing they spend most of their summertime working, the impression may be they are trying to make and save a lot of money. Some of the countries they come from are less prosperous than the United States. But most of these people are not here solely or primarily to make money.

Cedar Point Human Resources Director Amanda Royer said about 10 years ago people were coming to the United States to make more money than they could in their own countries, but this is no longer true.

"There are not as many kids chasing the dollar over here," she said.

She said that scenario doesn't work anymore. The euro was once worth about 84 cents to the U.S. dollar,but now the value of dollar is significantly lower than many other currencies.

"From an economic standpoint it really doesn't make sense for them to come here," Royer said. "They usually get enough hours to make up the cost of their travels. But it is tougher for them now. Now, most of them are coming over for more language experience and to find out more about what the United States is like."

Cedar Point employee Daria Gawlak, from Poland, said they make a little bit of money, but more often work because of all the adventures.

"We can now go to England and Sweden, the United Kingdom and Spain," she said. "For most people going to the United States is very expensive. People who go to the United Kingdom and England have more money.

"A friend recommended Cedar Point to me, and when I have a day off I go to Chicago, to Canada and Niagara Falls," she said. "I want to see everything that I can. I will go now because later they might say 'Oh no, you can't go to the United States, you don't enough money for traveling.'"

Royer said she expects it will become easier for people from other countries to enter the United States. However, it is still hard for them to enter English-speaking countries, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to enter Asian countries.

The park has been employing international students for more than 15 years through the Council on International Educational Exchanges and CCUSA, which is based in Saucilito, Calif. Royer said rather than working in the United States to make money, these students are provided with four months of working experience so they can become emerged in the culture.

"They don't just come for a week and visit like a vacationer," she said. "This is set up as a cultural exchange because American students are able to do the same thing through these agencies.

"American students don't travel as much. But most universities in Europe and southeast Asia require their students to have some kind of experience working the United States. So a lot of them are doing it because they want practical experience or need it for graduation."

Royer said the city of Sandusky and its surrounding communities have welcomed these travelers. She said the Sandusky Library has set up programs for these international students since they spend a lot of time there and several social organizations have accommodated them.

"We have found that American kids love this because they then make friends from Moscow and Warsaw," she said. "And over the years, many of these Americans have gone and visited their friends in these other countries.

"This has been very nice for the community as well because a lot of people from Sandusky have never traveled out of Ohio," Royer said. "This isn't a slam --they just don't. It has literally brought the world to the community. And the community has been wonderful."

This allows different segments of the world to develop a better understanding of each other and to approach each other with less aggression, Royer said.

"Eastern Europeans tend too be a little bit darker than others," she said. "By this I mean they are not as quick to smile. When they are walk by you, most look down or away rather than making eye contact.

"Yet they are much more courteous and polite than most Americans and they treat each other on a personal level -- if you do something very small, something you don't even think anything of, they are very generous to you in return," Royer said.

Yet Asians are always smiling, she added.

"The greatest thing about these kids is that they are always smiling," Royer said. "This is their culture, but this does not always mean they are happy. You need to be sensitive to this and realize just because they are smiling doesn't necessarily mean everything.

"It is wonderful that they come here."

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com