It's 2019 now, I'm 21 years old. In 20 years I'll be 41, crazy!
On that same day in 20 years my son and I will be choosing the subjects he will take for the Unified State Exam (EGE). He will already have a year spent in America on the Flex program. Will he go to America on a Work & Travel program at university? I think he'll decide that himself. And why specifically America — maybe he'll want to go to Europe.
It's worth wondering, will the Work & Travel program exist in 2039? With 100 percent probability, yes.
Which destinations will be popular? With 100 percent probability: America, China. Now let's dream a little!
The most popular destination for the Work&Travel program is Russia. It receives around several hundred thousand students every year. Traveling to Russia is the dream of the whole world; every schoolchild studies with the thought that when he becomes a student, he will have the opportunity to see Red Square, the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery. Everyone in the world learns Russian, since it has become international. Being able to speak Russian is a huge plus on your resume; if you are a native speaker — abroad they hire you without an interview, such people are definitely needed everywhere.
Russia is becoming the place where the world's minds flock. It's an excellent ground for building businesses; entrepreneurs from all over the world keep their assets in our country — it's safer here than in their homeland.
What happened to IEC? They made an insanely creative, convenient and stunning website (not Artemy Lebedev). More and more students dream of traveling to a different country every year and exchanging experiences with new people. Participants in such programs receive a favorable attitude at the embassy; 95% of visas are approved.
What's happening with the small town I was in in 2019? Still a small population, J1 students everywhere, and our resort is the most desirable to visit in all of America; houses are booked five years in advance.
What's happening with Oryol, my hometown? I opened a private school where instruction is conducted in English. They started building a metro for us, true, only in 2035, but one station already exists, we're waiting for the second — then we'll really live well! By the way, the airport is already operating; that past weekend I flew to Kazan. Yes, to those very friends I met in America. I don't handle flights as well as I did back in 2019. Age, you know.