Cultural Exchange
Cultural Activities Guide
Since InterExchange Career Training USA is a J-1 cultural exchange program, all host organizations are expected to help facilitate cultural activities outside the training environment and encourage participants to interact with Americans and experience U.S. culture in their free time.
Hosting your own cultural events and activities and sharing your local region is often the best way to teach your interns and trainees about life in the U.S. These can be activities that your organization already has scheduled for your regular employees, or it can be suggestions or recommendations from the team.
In the training plan, you will need to provide specific examples of cultural activities that you will facilitate. Please refer to our guide for a template, and check out some ideas that we’ve outlined below.
Food
- Share your favorite recipes with your participants and see if they have any for you!
- Share popular American/local restaurants and food trucks.
- Tell your participants about brunch in the U.S.
- Explain and provide opportunities for participants to enjoy typical American foods, such as s’mores, peanut butter, and Girl Scout cookies.
- Must-Try Foods in the U.S. – The InterExchange team’s blog post of some favorite dishes to try while in the U.S.
- Iconic American Foods– State by State guide to the most iconic foods in each state.
- History of American Food – Brief history of how foods became common to the U.S., how they developed/changed over time, with an international perspective.
- Food Festivals Across the U.S. – These showcase the culinary creativity and cultural diversity of the United States (local, regional, and international).
- PBS’s The Great American Recipe – An 8-part cooking competition that celebrates the multiculturalism that makes American food unique and iconic, that can be great to share.
Sporting
- Organize an outing to a local sporting event. Help explain the rules of the game if the participant is unfamiliar.
- Explain the difference between Soccer, fútbol/football, and (American) football.
- Overview of Sports in the U.S. – You can review this to explain differences in rules, culture, and history of American sports.
- The American Athletic Conference – Conference of U.S. College/University Division 1 men’s and women’s sports teams, to find your local team in different sports.
- Men’s Professional Sports – A list of men’s professional sports leagues in the U.S., including both major and minor league sports.
- Women’s Professional Sports: A list of women’s professional sports leagues in the U.S., including both major and minor league sports.
Holidays
- Attend a local holiday parade or festival.
- Invite your participant to a holiday gift exchange in the winter!
- Pumpkin carving contest – Print out templates and have fun carving pumpkins.
- Does your office observe Veterans day? Indigenous People’s Day or Columbus Day? Memorial Day? Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Presidents’ Day? St. Patrick’s Day? We may take these holidays for granted, but these are great opportunities to share culture with participants.
- Celebrate holidays like the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving to give participants a unique insight into American culture.
- USA Travel Guide to American Holidays and Special Events – A list of major national holidays, unofficial holidays, and special annual events in the U.S. in which you can include your participant.
- Celebrating American Historical Holidays – Historically-based holidays can give you the opportunity for conversations with participants on pivotal moments, key figures, and central conflicts in American history.
Community Engagement
- Find out if your statehouse gives free tours to the public.
- Find out if your municipality has a history museum or society, or if there is one in a city nearby.
- Get coworkers together for a day or an hour of volunteering! Partner with a local volunteer organization for greater interaction with Americans.
- Teach your participants how elections in the U.S. work and learn about the governing structure in your participants’ home country.
- What is Community Engagement? – An article that explains how deepening relationships and creating dialogue with communities that are impacted is an incredible way to foster bonds.
- VolunteerMatch & Idealist – A service focussed on connecting with communities through service to build camaraderie and hope. It provides an easy way to search for volunteering opportunities!
Local Attractions
- Encourage your participants to visit local museums – art museums, historical museums, science museums, even your local library could be a great opportunity for learning about U.S. culture!
- Concerts happen in venues of all sizes! Many areas have local music festivals that participants may be interested in.
- You can use sites such as Localify, Bandsintown or Eventbrite to search for music events in your area.
- Introduce your participants to the ideas of roadside attractions, which State by State Travel provides some examples of here.
- Suggest local tourist attractions, that you can find examples of on TripAdvisor, US News, or AtlasObscura.
- American Alliance of Museums’ Find a Museum Tool – AAM member directory to find a museum in your city.
- International Association of Fairs & Expositions – IAFE “Find That Fair” tool allows you to find state, provincial, regional, and county agricultural fairs, shows, exhibitions, and expositions.
In-office Events
- Employee birthdays – For many participants, this may be their first birthday away from home. Help make it special by organizing a party or gathering with colleagues.
- Office potlucks work well for holiday celebrations.
- Be sure to invite your participant to any Lunch & Learns, clubs (such as a book club, running club, or volunteering club), or engagement groups!
- Think about some of the return-to-work perks or benefits your organization offers such as on-site amenities, professional development, meals, or pop-up events to which your participant may be invited.
- Does your office or building offer any wellness programs, activities, or events in which the participant can be included?
Additional Resources
- Read or share Cultural Compass, our online guide to U.S. culture.
- The InterExchange Inside the USA guide contains many helpful recommendations and resources.
