Let's start with the fact that the highly hyped Work and Travel program touched me too. Surprisingly, it was my father who first brought it up: "Alibek's daughter recently flew to America, why are you still sitting here?"

To understand, in Kazakhstan we have an expression: "A Kazakh without showing off is a pointless Kazakh." Well, since Dad said it had to be done, it had to be done! From that moment on, I didn't exactly dream of it, but I really wanted to change my Chinese surroundings for something new.

After arriving for my studies, I started convincing my boyfriend to go on the trip, and while I was describing the charms of this program to him in vivid colors, it turns out he had already started collecting documents...

"Well, I actually wanted to go last year," he told me. While I was about to make my traditional offended face, he didn't hesitate and shoved the contact of Saidakbar, an Interexchange agent, into my hands. That's how I became a newly minted program participant.

Where do you think we wanted to go? All these years we've heard that people who go to work in Alaska make big money , enough to buy a house and a car for their parents. So we started dreaming about the northernmost US state, that we would work 20 hours a day standing at a table, cleaning fish)) But as it turned out, that work is no longer available.

Registration, collecting documents—none of that was difficult. All that remained was to wait for job offers, which just weren't coming. When asking others if they had received a job offer, everyone would shout in unison: YES!!! Naturally, so as not to lose face, we also said that offers were pouring in, we were just waiting for the best one.

Fortunately, for losers like us, they invented a job fair where you can consider different job offer options. For some reason, our choice fell on Dunkin'. Well, not for no reason, we all actually know the reason. (Drumroll )....

DONUTS!!!

After submitting our application, we waited for the scheduled interview, which fell during winter break . To our surprise, it went very easily and simply. Next came the program payment, visa receipt, and preparation for the trip.

Getting a visa in Shanghai, especially this year, was quite difficult. All my friends were getting rejected for various reasons .

For example, they told my boyfriend: "You're not Chinese?! Apply through your own country" (the fact that we are studying in China apparently means nothing at all) In the end, he got it, but in another city.

If you don't manage to get the coveted stamp on the first try, don't lose hope! Keep trying! I have a couple of acquaintances who waited for the phrase "Congratulations! Your visa approved!"

ONLY ON THE THIRD TRY!

I was much luckier. On the advice of my agent, while looking at the consul's stern face, I imagined that he was actually a very kind guy who loves to have a few beers with friends, maybe he's even the life of the party without whom no fun is complete . Thus, his face was no longer as intimidating to me as it was at the beginning, and the interview went smoothly.