CAEP horticulture trainee Rejayne Lima has big goals in her life including graduate school and landing the career of her dreams, both in which her training at Bartlett’s Farm helped prepare her for. In addition to her career goals, Rejayne had two major travel goals when she came to the United States in 2016 including seeing her favorite artist Beyonce in concert and to see the United States by train.
“It was a dream to come to the USA since I started my education back in my home country of Brazil. In Brazil, companies value people who have English language skills and are familiar with the United States,” Rejayne shared. Rejayne graduated from the Federal University of Mato with a degree in agronomy and will continue on to pursue a Masters Degree in plant pathology at the University of Bazil later this year. “My host at Bartlett’s Farm in Nantucket, Massachusetts was definitely amazing! The whole farm was prepared to receive us no matter our nationality. We lived in a nice, big house with everything to help and support us. Every first Friday of the month the farm celebrated all of the birthdays during the month at a breakfast for all employees. The farm also gave tokens of gratitude when we worked well and fast, which was good recognition! The other trainees and interns and I were always together for parties, lunch, breakfast.
Some of my daily duties during my training included watering and caring for the flowers in the greenhouse, stocking, cutting and preparing flowers for market. I also worked with vegetables and my duties were transplanting, harvesting and weeding the crops. The bosses were always assisting us with all that we needed. When I was assigned to Bartlett’s Farm and worked with flowers and I thought that I wasn’t going to learn anything that would be useful to me back in Brazil because our production is mostly grains. Although, I gained knowledge in so much at Bartlett’s Farm, especially learning about people from around the world. My hosts helped me the entire internship. I learned to be more patient, tolerant and always help who else needs help. I also learned a lot about flowers, how, when and what to cut in order to make good bouquets.
Nantucket Island is wonderful and on my days off I always went to a new beach or restaurant. CAEP made me realize an old dream and it was such a beautiful time. Although, having the opportunity to see Beyonce in concert was my favorite experience in the United States. After finishing my internship, I traveled with my new friends who I lived with at the farm in Nantucket. Our first stop was Boston for three days and then on to New York City for 5 days where we stayed near Central Park and visited the Statue of Liberty, Dylan’s Candy, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and the Museum of Natural History. We then moved on to Chicago where we spent two days exploring before we boarded a train for California. We traveled for 52 hours passing through several states including Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada before finally arriving in California where we stayed at my uncle’s house before we traveled up and down the coast. We visited San Francisco, Disneyland, Los Angeles, Hollywood and Santa Monica Beach. California is truly the golden state. My favorite memory was going to see the Golden Gate Bridge, The Walk of Fame and the End of Route 66 at Santa Monica Beach.
I spent my last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada with my uncle and my auntie. That city is wonderfully awesome! I loved the High Roller Ferris Wheel and I saw almost all the big hotels there. The American culture is completely different from Brazil in every detail, but I loved how the culture and the food in the United States is mixed with the entire world.
I think my English has improved a lot so I can pass the exams to get a Masters Degree in one of the most important federal universities in Brazil. My resume is better after all the new experience, too. I learned that Americans are extremely productive and focused on their careers. Sometimes they can come off cold, but they really are not. I feel this is just because Brazilians are more charismatic and amorous.
A lot of my friends and colleagues asked me about my experience and I always recommended this experience to anyone for sure. My three pieces of advice are: finish your college, go to the United States and the CAEP company is very trustable.
I loved each day that I lived in the United States. Everything for me was special when I was at Bartlett’s Farm. I loved each American friend that I made and I hope to go back to travel more in the United States! I thank God I had accomplished one more dream and step in my life.”
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