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Will Work for "Culture": New Hampshire's Secret J-1 Economy

Taylor Quimby

If you live on New Hampshire's seacoast, or in the White Mountains, then you might already know parts of this story. But chances are, the details will still surprise you.

 

On this episode, we dig into an international exchange program called Summer Work Travel: a cultural exchange program that supplies the hospitality industry, fast food restaurants, and shopping outlets with foreign labor.

To read a print version of this episode, and see infographics about New Hampshire's J-1 economy, click this link:

Visa Program Brings Summer Workers To N.H. - But Does It Deliver On 'Cultural' Promise?

 Throughout the hour, we'll meet a house full of North Conway Dunkin Donuts employees from Eastern Europe, a host of international employees who work behind the scenes at the state's grand hotels, and a pair of Australian camp counselors who are pursuing their own idea of the American Dream.

 

It's the tale of a semi-secret workforce that might make listeners wonder: What is American culture? And can you exploit someone who doesn't complain about being exploited?

 

 

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