To start, I want to tell you a little backstory...
The idea
for this trip came to me back in my freshman year, but after consulting with my parents, I decided to go during my sophomore year. I went through the well-known Work and Travel
program. Through this program, you can go not only to America but also to the UK, Germany, and even China. However, America remains the most popular destination. In the fall of 2018, I submitted my documents for the program. Only two challenges lay ahead: finding an employer in America and obtaining a visa. I bought the program with an independent job search. At the time, I thought finding a job in America would be a breeze, oh how wrong I was
I sent out about 200 messages to employers all over America, and only two replied. That's when I started to panic, as it was already February, and in March I had to submit my job offer for verification (they check job invitations to ensure they aren't fake). In the end, my friend and I had to buy a job offer, but I didn't regret it at all, as we met some great people who not only sold us the job offers but also explained in great detail about our future work, the city, and how to get there. I bought my job offer at the standard price - $250
After that, the most nerve-wracking task remained: the interview at the US Embassy 
. I think many of you have heard that getting a visa isn't that easy, especially in Belarus. But, fortunately, everything went smoothly for me
The big day fell on May 31st. I was one of the few who were granted a visa that day. I was terribly nervous, but my consul turned out to be an incredibly sweet woman; we had a wonderful chat about my family, studies, and future life plans. After a short conversation, they took my fingerprints, and I heard the cherished words: Your visa is approved, I wish you a good summer
My happiness knew no bounds!
A couple of days later, I bought my plane tickets for the Minsk - Moscow - New York route
We flew with Aeroflot. Even though I'm afraid of flying, the flight (or rather, the two of them) went very calmly.
On June 24th, we landed in New York
Unfortunately, we didn't get to walk around NY that day, as we urgently needed to head to our city, Wildwood, NJ. We took a taxi from the airport to the bus station, caught a bus to Atlantic City, transferred to another bus, and by evening we were there...
To be continued in the next article 