| User ID | lolita22 |
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| Name | Lulama |
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| Host and/or Supervisor Name | Christen Deck |
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| I am satisfied with my placement site | 4 |
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| I am starting to meet training objectives | 4 |
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| I am learning new skills | 4 |
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| Building on my existing skills | 4 |
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| I am clear about my responsibilities as a Steward | 4 |
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| I am clear about my J-1 visa obligations | 5 |
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| I am clear about contacting MESA first if I need to use my medical insurance | 5 |
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| I am clear about the reports I send MESA | 4 |
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| i am happy with my living situation | 4 |
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| I am receiving the stipend I agreed to | 5 |
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| I am training the hours I expected | 5 |
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| I am not having problems with my English | 4 |
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| I am not feeling homesick! | 4 |
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| Meets all my expectations | 4 |
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| Had a good arrival and/or Skype orientation | 4 |
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| Answers my questions clearly | 4 |
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| Is giving me the help I need to get started | 4 |
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| Is well organized | 5 |
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| Administers a high quality program | 4 |
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| Understands his/her role as a Host | 4 |
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| Understands why I came to the USA | 4 |
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| Knows my personal training objectives | 4 |
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| Gaves me a good orientation for my placement | 4 |
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| Gives me a good introduction to other interns/staff/employees | 4 |
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| Clearly explained my training schedule | 3 |
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| Is a good trainer/mentor | 4 |
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| Involves me in a diversity of activities | 4 |
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| Gives me responsibility | 5 |
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| Respects my opinion | 4 |
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| Has good communication skills | 4 |
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| Has a well run business | 4 |
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| Is safety conscious | 4 |
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| Provides good working conditions | 4 |
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| Provides personal protective equipment | 4 |
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| Maintains machinery in good condition | 4 |
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| Maintains buildings and work areas well | 5 |
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| Has helped me get settled in | 5 |
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| Helped me integrate into the community | 5 |
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| Is interested in my culture | 3 |
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| Was the MESA information you received in your home country clear? Was the description of your training site accurate? What more would you have liked MESA to send you before you left you home country? | Yes,Yes, I would have appreciated if MESA gave me a clear insight of the State I am assigned to in order to be better prepared in terms of the seasonal weather because every country experiences different climate variations. |
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| If you worked with a Program Representative in your home country, was he/she helpful? Is there anything more the Representative could have done to help you complete your application or to better understand MESA's program? | n/a |
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| Any problems with housing, electricity, heat, phone, driver's license, bank account, transportation? Other problems? | I had been unable to use my current cell phone and had to get a new one because my cell phone is not competent with cell phone network providers around the area which i did not expect. Travelling to- and -fro it’s been kind of a roller coaster such as going to certain shops on my day off's since I do not own a vehicle and i rely on Christen if she is free and the company's delivery driver, however,one of the employees had been nice enough to be willing to help me out if I need a ride to the shops or wherever....I am planning to get a drivers license in a couple of weeks to make my travelling easier through car hiring. |
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| Describe the training you have received since getting to your placement site. What have you learned so far? Have you attended any special training, workshops, conferences, classes, etc.? | My first 2 weeks of arrival, I was introduced to the office work to get an idea of what's happening behind the business scenes of running a dairy farm such as keeping the companies records and this helps the owner to keep track of their failures and successes, marketing strategies, monthly reports on every sector within the company etc. After 2 weeks i was given a tour around the farm and got introduced to the varieties of dairy product produced by the farm. Recently i attended an OSU Oregon Small farms conference which was worth attending because i meet and had a chat with other young farmers and other young individuals who are in a journey of running a farm, throughout this conference i learned that starting small business one should focus on delivering a product that people are actually willing to buy, as well as trying to avoid running a business on your own, one has to establish a support team before you start a business. So far, I have learned the importance and difference between raw and pasteurized milk and its unique benefit of each and which is the experience i was looking for . Different kinds of dairy products produced within the farm and how they stand out by being organic compared to the GMO's dairy products produced by other farms. |
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| Have you been involved in an cultural activities since your arrival? (examples : farmers' workshop, library event, soccer games, family activities, etc) | Not yet unfortunately but i wish there were available family activities and events within the host family that would make the experience memorable and exciting. |
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| Any suggestions to improve MESA's program? | Only thing I would suggest in order to make a stewards experience a great reward is to ensure that MESA better understands the specific goal of the applicant and ensure that the assigned host for the steward is also on the same page with MESA on terms of the specific interests of the steward. What I have encountered is that a steward comes to mesa to gain experience only on dairy farming or on crop production etc. and I think the assigned host should be made aware of the stewards best interest to avoid possible conflict, where you have your host allocating you on areas of your list interest and possibly spend weeks on that area...of which kind of makes one lose interest on the entire program. One day or two from the weekly schedule to go out and take a tour on other farms and see how they run their business in order to get enough exposure to the farming industry and learn some other agricultural systems applied on their farms would make the program even more profitable to a steward and will allow a steward to meet and engage in communication with other people, another way of making friends and sharing ideas. |
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| By checking "YES" you confirm that you are the person listed on the top of this survey and that all information is accurate and truthful | Yes |
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