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America Dominguez (center) came from Mexico to work as a camp counselor at the Collinsville YMCA as part of an international camp counselor exchange program. She is pictured with campers after they tie-dyed socks recently. Shown are (front row, from left) Zariah Scales, Patrick Nguyen, Christian Kissee, Mitchell Edwards, Amber Pendleton, (back row, from left) Miranda Ferguson, Lucas McGee, Austin McCrickard, Dominguez, Joseph Craiger, Nehemiah Winesberry and Kalei Fuller. (Bulletin photo by Kim Barto) |
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
An international camp counselor exchange program has been a learning experience for both a Mexican college student and the children she works with at the Collinsville YMCA.
America Dominguez, 20, came to Collinsville four weeks ago through YMCA’s International Camp Counselor Program (ICCP). She is staying through mid-August with YMCA Executive Director Brad Kinkema’s family and working each afternoon with YMCA campers.
“When I heard about the exchange, I said, ‘I’d love to. I want to go to the states and do something different,’” Dominguez said.
“Every day I come and learn something different,” she added. “Everything is fun for me. This is the best experience of my life, really.”
Kinkema called it “a great experience for America (Dominguez). It’ll enrich her life,” as well as the lives of the people she interacts with during her stay, he said.
Many local children have never traveled outside the region, let alone visited another country, and Dominguez “shows them there’s a big world out there,” Kinkema said.
This is the first time the local YMCA has hosted a camp counselor from another country, he said.
Also, he said, “We thought it would be interesting to have someone from Mexico because there is a growing Hispanic population here, and we want to make sure we’re open and make them feel welcome.”
The children love greeting Dominguez in Spanish when they pass her in the hallway, Kinkema said.
Dominguez works with 7- to 9-year-old campers, taking them to the pool every day, doing arts and crafts and other activities such as go-carting and roller skating. A combined 200 children on any given day attend camps at the Martinsville and Collinsville YMCA sites, Kinkema said.
This is Dominguez’s first trip to the United States, and she said she “didn’t have any idea” what to expect.
“I came with my mind open,” she said. “I’m excited, and I’m really happy.”
Dominguez said she has a lot of college friends participating in the program this summer who went to other states. However, she said it worked out better for her to come to Collinsville without her classmates.
“I think if you go with friends from your own country, you don’t get the full experience” of the different culture, she said.
“I thought I was going to improve my English” by participating in the exchange, she said. “I don’t want to make mistakes.”
Dominguez studied English in high school and attends the Universidad de las Americas in the Mexican state of Puebla, where classes are taught in Spanish and English.
There, she studies finance and accounting, but “I love dancing and theater” and the arts in general, she said.
Because about 30 percent of her classmates are foreign, Dominguez said she has been exposed to “a lot of different accents” and some slang. Also, she practices speaking English with her sister’s husband, who is from New Zealand.
During her exchange trip, Dominquez has noticed “a lot of different things between Mexico and the United States, but nothing bad,” she said.
She said she likes how encouraging American parents are toward their children.
“Here they’re like, ‘Hey, good job, try again,’” she said. “The kids are cute, they are nice, they are friendly. In Mexico, they are kind of shy.”
In Mexico, Dominguez lives in Cholula, a suburb about four times bigger than Martinsville and Collinsville, she said, but she has not lacked for things to do here.
“One girl told me Martinsville/Collinsville is not a place for young people, but I found everything I need here,” Dominguez said.
The Kinkemas and their neighbors show her around on weekends, Dominguez said, going to places such as Smith Mountain Lake and a farm in the country. She also enjoys shopping and working out with them.
“I feel like they were my family,” she said.
Also, she said, “I like the food. They cook very good. I’m afraid of getting used to it and missing it when I go back.”
So far, Dominguez said she has not missed Mexican food. Local Mexican restaurants serve “kind of American-Mexican food,” she said, not exactly like the food she would eat back home, “but it’s similar.”
Dominguez said she hopes to keep traveling to many different countries in the future.
“I love Mexico, but there are a lot of places in the world you can know,” she said. “I want to make the most of my life.” |
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