American dreams come true

LAST YEAR 6,200 Irish students took part in USIT's Work America scheme. Having heard nothing but rave reviews of the scheme in the past and seeking a bit of adventure, two friends and I decided to get involved in the scheme and create our own American dreams.

Arriving in New York with no job and no particular destination, there was a tendency to panic. However, USIT had job listings there, and after several phone calls we had located jobs with accommodation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, land of the Wright brothers' first flight.

On arriving there, we were greeted by 15 Scots and English who were to be our work colleagues, roommates and friends for the next four months. It was like something out of MTV's Real World, 18 people in a house living and working with each other.

We thought we were in paradise, living in a comfortable house with all mod cons, 3 cars and plenty of companions. The job itself was good fun making and selling fudge for a chain of shops known throughout the US as "The Fudgery".

On average we worked a 35 hour week for $5.50 (about £3.50) per hour, which gave us plenty of time to sunbathe on the beach or get a second job, which many of us did towards the end. Rent of $60 was deducted weekly from our wages. It was a non tipping job however, we were often given cash bonuses for taking in more than a certain amount in the shop.

As we were the only Irish in this holiday resort area, we were looked upon by the American tourists as a novelty everybody in the area knew us and we made plenty of friends.

At night our home was known as the "party house" all the young Americans would hang out with us. We knew everyone in the area, from surfers to hang gliders, the local radio DJs, the cops, everyone. We also got to know the local cinema managers, which resulted in free, private screenings at all hours of the night though usually after several drinks in the local night spot.

However our real claim to fame was winning the local karaoke championships all 18 of us up on stag singing I Will Survive. Anything for August came and brought with it the threat of Hurricane Felix. As the Outer Banks is a scenes of islands linked together off the Carolina coast, it is no stranger to hurricanes. A hurricane watch was put into effect and the whole area was evacuated so we got the chance to have a little, holiday in Chesapeake, Virginia, compliments of our boss.

But Felix didn't hit and three days later we were back in the Outer Banks.

LABOUR DAY came and went, marking the official end of the holiday season. By this stage, most of the Americans we had befriended had left the area to return to their respective colleges. Some of our own colleagues had also left and others were making plans to leave. It was a sad time, saying goodbye to friends who by now were more like brothers and sisters.

We left not long after. After a summer of hard work, we decided to relax and see some of America. We travelled to Washington DC, Chicago and New York, even managing to drop in on The Ricki Lake Show.

We all had a brilliant summer, made plenty of money and friends and certainly lived out our American dream. We were glad we had headed to the Outer Banks, an area virtually unknown to the Irish student.

To us it was the real America, uncommercialised and reserved solely for wealthy American families a beautiful place on which I will always look back with fond memories.

Anyone planning to head towards the Outer Banks should have already arranged jobs and accommodation which can be respectively, scarce and expensive. There is no public transport within 50 miles of the area.