Staff Interview with Hazel Yao

What inspired you to join the team at Wanderlust Exchange?

I started Wanderlust Exchange with a passion for intercultural exchange programs. My first internship was to work as a Program Coordinator for an intercultural exchange organization and it was the best job I had had until I founded Wanderlust.

Can you describe your role and responsibilities as the Managing Director?

The main responsibilities include drawing blueprints for the company’s strategies, making marketing plans, and developing new programs. Also, I’m in charge of screening the host families and au pair candidates, as they are pivotal pieces of the programs.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I enjoy embracing and welcoming overseas students from around the world to China and getting to know more about their experiences and stories.

The moments that touch me most are when they share with you about their amazing time with the host families, how their Mandarin has improved, what they love about Shanghai and China, as well as how they have grown from this experience.

Why is it important to you to connect the world through intercultural programs?

I love this question as it has something to do with why we started the organization, as well as the mission we have at Wanderlust.

Through this intercultural experience, we hope you will truly gain a better understanding of the world, as well as yourselves, through greater understanding and appreciation, with a broadened mind, perspective, and heart.

We aim to help participants develop the self-awareness and cross-cultural competencies needed to be active participants in the world. We aim to help participants obtain Mandarin language skills through this language learning and immersion experience. We aim to help the younger generation (host children) broaden their horizon through this intercultural exchange, both linguistically and culturally.

We aim to offer host parents the opportunity to learn about a foreign culture and to foster an everlasting friendship with participants. We aim to bridge the cultural divide through this authentic cultural exchange program that creates the opportunity for more understanding which is crucial for making the world a better place to live.

What does global citizenship mean to you?

Fostering global citizenship is one of our missions as well. For me, global citizenship means the following—take interest in all of the human beings on the earth, considering each with equal importance; have a good knowledge of different cultures and open-mindedness towards different cultures; take actions to influence others and help foster global citizenship.

How do your past experiences, personal and professional, influence your work today?

I worked in intercultural organization as well as in education field as an English teacher. My passion has thus combined the desire to set up my own organization integrating the two: education and cultural exchange—Au Pair in China Program!

In what ways do you see your work making the world a better place?

The most intriguing thing about our work is that we find meaning very easily—we see that the host children’s English is improving rapidly; we see the au pairs are having a great time with the family; we hear from au pairs that they will definitely come back to China and that they have grown so much from the experience. More understanding between two cultures fosters more friendship, respect, and global citizenship.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

I would like to refer the definition of “wanderlust” to answer this question—wanderlust reflects an intense urge for self-development by experiencing the unknown, confronting unforeseen challenges, getting to know unfamiliar cultures and ways of life. And for me, this means meaningful travel.

Why is it important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?

To broaden one’s horizon and comfort zone. To better understand oneself. To become a global citizen and give back to communities. To learn a new language and make new friends. To simply have fun and carpe diem!

What hopes do you have for the future of Wanderlust Exchange?

Stick to our original mission and provide great intercultural experiences for overseas students—an experience which students will cherish for a lifetime.