Tips for The Best Experience Working Abroad with Ariana Documet

I met Ariana while working my first job at Brundage Mountain Resort in Idaho. She’d travelled from Peru with her boyfriend Diego and had a job upstairs working abroad as a cashier. She would always greet us whenever we went up to get free fizzy drinks from the fountain machine and we quickly got chatting about Spanish, our travels and skiing/snowboarding. She was on a J-1 visa, just like I was, however hers was only seasonal work, not year-long.

If I had to describe Ariana, think of ray of sunshine stuffed into the most smiley, empathetic person you’ve ever met. She’s definitely one of my favourite people from Brundage, and I’m looking forward to visiting her in Peru. Her and Diego are also looking at working abroad in New Zealand, so I may be able to see them at home if all goes to plan.

I recently came up with the idea to ‘interview’ some of the people I’m close with about their experiences travelling, and Ariana is the first person that we’ll be chatting to! She’s had a very similar experience to me, so I’m super excited to share all her thoughts! Her answers will be in regular text, while my answers and thoughts will be in italics.

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Tell Us About Yourself

Hello! My name is Ari Documet, my friends call me Dokita, I’m 23 years old and I’m a Peruvian student and content creator. I love snowboarding, running, and making desserts.

Ariana’s Content on Tiktok

What countries have you travelled to? Which was your favorite and why?

Within Peru I have been to almost all the beautiful northern beaches in Piura, Tumbes, Talara, Chimbote, and I have also traveled to and lived in the Peruvian jungle – in Tarapoto and Iquitos. Outside Peru I have traveled several times to Mexico (Cancun and Riviera Maya), once to Bolivia and twice to the United States (Idaho and New York).

I love my country, I love my people, but I think my favorite place was New York and I would love to go back for a long time, I feel that it is a city that catches you and you love it or hate it, and it depends a lot on how fast-paced your personality is.

What are three things you can’t travel without?

I don’t think I could travel without my camera, because I love to document absolutely everything, I couldn’t go without some Peruvian snack (because I miss Peruvian food so much when I’m not here), and my toothbrush.

The photos you take are so stunning, no wonder you wouldn’t want to go without your camera! And who doesn’t want to document all of the beautiful memories. Sometimes I wish NZ had some more cultural foods – the best I can do is pavlova and maybe a bacon and egg pie. The Peruvian/Japanese sushi and katsu chicken that Diego made us that one night just before you guys’ left was incredible! Totally understandable that you miss it.

Yep, the silent MVP of travelling – everyone’s toothbrush.

What was your favourite thing about working abroad in the United States?

My favorite thing about working in the US was how easy it is to get a job, in Peru if you want to work even if it is something simple you have to apply and it will take from 1 to 3 months to be accepted or get an answer, in the US we went to a restaurant to ask for a job and they asked us to go the next day, it was great.

How did you find Brundage in the first place?

I went from work and travel to Brundage, it was not one of my first choices since I knew nothing about Idaho and much less about McCall, but when they gave me the job offer at the program agency I realized it was a great opportunity, and they allowed me to go with my boyfriend, Diego, so I accepted the offer and here we are after two seasons.

Is there any advice you’d give people wanting to work abroad for the first time?

My advice to anyone is, enjoy the place. There are so many opportunities and benefits from Brundage such as free season passes, rentals, events, it’s a lot of fun. And for Peruvian people like me it is very difficult to get away from your family, sometimes in a strange country you can feel lonely, so my recommendation in that case is to have a group of friends that really support you and that you trust.

I completely agree with this one! It’s easy to get caught up in the routine of going to work, which takes away the spark of the place. Getting out to explore on the weekends and pushing yourself to explore and enjoy where you are is critical in making sure you take in every aspect of where you are. As you said Ariana, there’s often a lot of benefits to be taken advantage of, and it’d be a shame to not give them a go!

Like you say as well, having a good support system really helps. It’s even better if they’re local and know the area, as you can get insights in the best things to do, and end up with long term friends in the area – even if you’re only there for a short period of time.

How do you battle homesickness?

Wow, hahaha I feel like this was the hardest thing, I have a 6 year old sister and a 20 year old sister that I live with and am with all the time, it was hard to be separated from them again, my parents and my best friends. What helped me was to always call them, to have them close, even if it was just by message, and to be informed of what was happening at home.

Staying connected in this day and age is so helpful battling homesickness, you’re so right. Travelling away from home can be hard at times. My nana told me just before I left that she would only hear from my Dad when he was travelling every six months or so. I talk to my parents every couple of days! Not to mention all the photos and videos exchanged.

Do you have any advice for travelling with a partner? How have you found your experience?

Traveling with a partner was incredible, in my case I went with my boyfriend and it was a great emotional support and coexistence. It is much more fun and by living together and dividing household chores and it has been easier to be away from home.

What I do think is important is to talk and clarify household chores, resolve conflicts quickly because if you have a person with you for so long in a foreign country it is good to clarify the problems as soon as you can.

That’s so awesome that you were able to travel with Diego to the states. That’s some really good advice, staying in communication with the people around you is key, I know that even though I’ve been travelling solo!

Wrapping Up…

Meeting Ariana has been one of the best things about travelling to the USA, and I hope the information in this post has alluded to why! I’m really looking forward to travelling with her in the future.

The information in this post is all curated to help clarify solutions to different problems that may arise overseas, and I hope this post partnered with my one about working in the USA brings some helpful tips!

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