Train Kaliningrad - Saint Petersburg.

Everything started out well - silence and cleanliness in the carriage, free compartment berths belonging to strangers, since the side berths aren't very comfortable to travel in, and a good mood from having managed to get out of the city. To the clatter of the wheels we prepared to meet the consul. The best word is panic. No one was 100% sure of the outcome, so everyone was worried. Interestingly, there turned out to be quite a lot of people in our carriage who were going to Saint Petersburg with the same goal - for a visa. A common goal unites people - other visa applicants came up to us and got acquainted. Fun, interesting, and again interesting. By the morning of the next day, the panic was turning into something more severe. Although feeling emotions is not the worst thing that can be, a hangover is worse, definitely :)

From the station we decided to go straight to the consulate. Who would have known that the sight of the Stars and Stripes would make us even more nervous. And there was still an hour and a half until the interview. But they passed; not exactly unnoticed, but fairly calmly. There were similarly nervous people around, and that, for some reason, was calming. But the moment of truth came. Documents in hand, nerves in my head, and thoughts already somewhere approaching JFK (I still wanted to believe in the best). The routine procedures at the embassy turned out not to be that scary. It's nice when polite people are at work, even during a pat-down. Having gotten inside and registered at the desk, we had to wait again. We didn't have to wait long. Left 4, Right 4, Left thumb, Right thumb. And wait again. My own surname in English, it should be noted, sounds strange. A few steps to the coveted window. There was an ordinary person there. No, really. Having discussed the interview hundreds of times with friends, it seemed that there would be someone stern there, whose life's goal was to keep you out of the USA. A greeting, the routine question "How are you?" and a reciprocal question to the consul — and then it began. The most interesting thing was that the nervousness went away. Where are you going, where will you work, what year are you studying in, show your student record book. Upon hearing about the pizzeria, the consul asked if I could cook there. Honestly - I can't, but I outlined the composition of the pizza dough and what is put on top, gesticulating a lot, which made the consul laugh. The line that I had never cooked it and just bought ready-made pizza and used a microwave oven was the final one. Who would have thought :) It was very nice to hear the wish for a good rest. Euphoria, happiness.

A couple of tips that might be useful:

Panic and nervousness are quite normal. It's natural — after all, it's an important event. You don't need to drink valerian by the litre.

Consuls are people too. They are interested in you. If you study some interesting specialty, work in an unusual place, or have traveled to very exotic countries, be prepared to talk about it.

It's not as hard as it seems and the result is incredibly pleasant.

This is success music and what's it to you?

Many thanks to Katya from IEC-Kaliningrad for the on-site support.