JDAY - Louisville, Kentucky

"J Day is a nationwide celebration of the power of international exchange. International exchange participants will come together with their American hosts to "eat, play, and give" -- to share cultural diversity and American customs, to give back to their communities, and to have some fun. J Day is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) and spread the word about the power and breadth of cultural exchange." - Alliance Exchange 

On Tuesday, August 1st, WWCE staff members Megan and Samantha hosted a JDAY event that joined both our Summer Work and Travel participants and our Intern/Trainee participants who originate from all over the world!

EAT. In appreciation of everyone's unique cultural background, our JDAY event featured a cultural potluck. Our Monthly Monitoring submissions always highlight food as a huge cultural difference participants notice on the program, so we decided to incorporate dishes from everyone's background to taste the world and see the similarities/differences across cultures. Participants contributed a variety of dishes like Adobo, Bananacue, Sotanghon, Pininyahang Manok, and Bistek Tagalog.

PLAY. Louisville has a beautiful natural backdrop of the Ohio River. Participants enjoyed a day in the park with classic American games like Twister, Jenna, and a pickle eating contest!

GIVE. WWCE partnered with The Brown Hotel to donate canned food items to a local church. The day was filled with great fun and food to get to know one another, but we wanted to go beyond feeding one another, and help feed the community that have embraced the participants.