I have often felt that my hometown of Southwest Harbor is sheltered from the controversies of international economics. Free trade, outsourcing and agricultural subsidies have no self-evident consequences here in this quaint seaside town of 2,000 year-round residents. We never had a factory to close when it became cheaper to make things overseas. Our economy is firmly based in services and tourism. As long as people visit coastal Maine in the summer, our businesses will thrive.

However, I recently spent an enjoyable evening with two students from the Slovak Republic who are working here this summer. They represent a human side to the debates surrounding international trade and their experiences and observations show that the exchange of people between countries and cultures can have tangible and positive benefits.

Their names are Iro and Martin and they are two of many students from Eastern Europe who are working here this summer. Most work at restaurants, gas stations, ice cream parlors and other service jobs.

When I asked Iro and Martin why they came to the United States the answer was unequivocal: money. Iro, who is spending his third consecutive summer here, emphasized that even after paying nearly $2,000 in administrative and transportation costs just to get to the United States it still makes financial sense for Slovakians to work here for three or four months.

Iro described the importation of workers as a “win-win” situation for both the employer and employee. He said that the employer acquires a worker who will “work harder than an American for less money.” Iro doesn’t regard himself as exploited. He insists that in addition to the language skills that the foreign workers acquire, the salaries that they earn give them a lot of buying power in their home countries. No one is here against his or her will.

Some American workers may complain that Iro and Martin are undercutting their wages. Whatever the merits of this argument, we should also consider the cultural contributions of inviting foreign workers to America. Having spent eight months myself working in Europe, I know first-hand that regretfully the impression of America is not positive in the old World.

For example, in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, I saw graffiti depicting George Bush with a Hitleresque mustache. Below his face was the familiar crossbones design that we see on containers carrying poisonous chemicals and the word “danger.” This wall art is sadly just one example of anti-Americanism that I witnessed in Europe.

Martin mentioned that many Slovakians do associate Americans with the foreign policy of President Bush, which is greatly unpopular in Europe.

President Bush implied at his summit with the European Union in Dublin that he does not care about his impression in Europe as long as trade continues to flow freely and openly between the United States and the EU. Unfortunately, as our image continues to deteriorate European consumers could forego our products out of protest for our political policies, and American tourists could face hostility (or worse) in foreign countries.

Exchange programs allowing foreigners to work in this country can help assuage some of the cultural hostility toward U.S. citizens. A foreign student here will hopefully learn both that not all Americans supported the war in Iraq, voted for Bush, or even if an American is a Bush supporter, hopefully he or she can articulate reasons for endorsing the President that are more thoughtful than the simplistic sound-bites that many Europeans hear from our head of state.

Iro sees this understanding of America developing in his own life. He said that when he watched the 9-11 attacks on television in the Slovak Republic, he understood them to be tragic but did not understand why the media was giving it so much attention, especially when, “many more people die everyday in many other places in the world.”

However, after working here in the United States and meeting a person who lost a friend on 9-11 Iro says that he understands the impact that the attacks had on America and sees why they were covered so heavily here and abroad.

Though it is easy for an American to resent a foreigner working in this country for low wages, it is important to remember that when this foreigner learns that Americans are good, honest, and caring people, he will bring that message back to his homeland.

In these times, such messages are desperately needed.

Todd Buell of Southwest Harbor teaches English in Austria on a Fulbright Commission appointment. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 2003.