HELLO EVERYONE!!! MY NAME IS ERLAN AND I AM A STUDENT FROM KAZAKHSTAN FROM THE CITY OF AKTAU!!! IN 2009 I LEARNED ABOUT THE WORK AND TRAVEL PROGRAM AND I WAS PREPARING TO SUBMIT ALL THE DOCUMENTS, BUT I HAD FAILING GRADES AT UNIVERSITY AND THEY TOLD ME I COULDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM WITHOUT A CLOSED EXAM SESSION!!! AND IN 2010, THANKS TO GOD, I PASSED ALL THE EXAMS, GATHERED ALL THE DOCUMENTS AND SUBMITTED EVERYTHING, ONLY I NEEDED TO ATTEND AN INTERVIEW!!! I SUBMITTED THE DOCUMENTS IN NOVEMBER!!! EVERY DAY I WENT TO THE SITE WWW.IEC.RU TO SEE IF I HAD BEEN ASSIGNED AN INTERVIEW AT THE CONSULATE, AND ONE FINE DAY A DATE FOR THE INTERVIEW FINALLY APPEARED ON THE PAGE!!!!! I WAS JUST HAPPY, BUT VERY SCARED!!! AND THIS LONG-AWAITED DAY WAS APRIL 27, 2010!!! WE WERE INFORMED ABOUT THE INTERVIEW 5 DAYS IN ADVANCE AND WE DIDN'T MANAGE TO BUY PLANE TICKETS!!! ALL 10 OF US STUDENTS FROM AKTAU HAD TO GO BY TRAIN; THERE WERE ALSO FEW TICKETS, WE WANTED TO BUY TICKETS ALL IN ONE COMPARTMENT BUT UNFORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO FREE COMPARTMENTS, THERE WERE 8 BEDS IN ONE CAR, 2 PEOPLE PER COMPARTMENT!!! OF COURSE WE BOUGHT THEM!! I ARRIVED AT THE STATION FIRST, STARTED TALKING TO THE NEIGHBORS IN THE COMPARTMENT SO THAT THEY WOULD SWITCH WITH US SO THAT WE STUDENTS WOULD BE IN ONE COMPARTMENT, AND I SAID THAT WE HAD AN OLYMPIAD, THAT WE WOULD BE REPRESENTING AKTAU. THEY, FORTUNATELY, AGREED, BUT SO FAR ONLY ONE PERSON SWITCHED WITH US; WE NEEDED ONE MORE TO AGREE, BUT HE WAS NOT THERE YET. AND FINALLY EVERYONE CAME AND SAID GOODBYE TO THEIR FRIENDS, THE TRAIN STARTED MOVING, AND WE WERE STILL SITTING!!! WE CHANGED INTO COMFORTABLE CLOTHES AND STARTED PLAYING MAFIA!!! AT NIGHT THERE WAS A STOP IN BEYNEU, AND ONE PASSENGER CAME, WE ALL TRIED TO CONVINCE HIM TO SWITCH PLACES WITH US, ONLY IN THE ADJACENT COMPARTMENT; HE AGREED TOO AND WE ALREADY FELT COMFORTABLE!!! BUT WE HAD AN ANNOYING CONDUCTOR; SHE WAS ALWAYS YELLING AT US AND SAID SHE WOULD RELOCATE US TO ANOTHER CAR IF WE DIDN'T STOP MAKING NOISE))))))))), AND WE PLAYED MAFIA ALL NIGHT!! ONE DAY PASSED PLAYING GAMES AND ONE DAY REMAINED ON THE TRAIN, AND WE ALL STARTED PREPARING, READING QUESTIONS, AND SO ON!!! ON MAY 25 WE FINALLY ARRIVED IN ASTANA, THE WEATHER WAS GREAT, SUNNY!!! ASTANA IS, OF COURSE, GREAT, THE STATION HAS ALL THE AMENITIES!! WE WENT OUT ON THE STREET AND IMMEDIATELY ASTANA RESIDENTS RUSHED UP TO US OFFERING APARTMENTS!!!! A WOMAN APPROACHED US AND SAID THERE WAS A GOOD 3-ROOM APARTMENT IN THE CENTER IN A NEW BUILDING, ALL AMENITIES FOR 6500 TENGE PER DAY. I AGREED, BUT FOR SOME IT WAS EXPENSIVE. TWO GIRLS AGREED WITH ME AND THE THREE OF US WENT TO THE NEW BUILDING, AND THE OTHERS FOUND ONE FOR 4000 TENGE NOT IN THE CENTER IN A VERY BAD PART OF ASTANA!!! TEN MINUTES LATER WE WERE IN THE BUILDING, THE APARTMENT WAS ON THE 14TH FLOOR, EURO-RENOVATION, ALL AMENITIES. WE SETTLED WITH THE LANDLADY!!! AND WENT FOR A WALK AROUND ASTANA!!! NEXT TO OUR BUILDING IS MEGA ASTANA, OF COURSE WE WENT THERE IMMEDIATELY. NEAR MEGA THERE WAS A LARGE BUILDING; ON THE GROUND FLOOR THERE WAS A CAFE PIZZA CITY. WE WERE VERY HUNGRY AND ORDERED A LOT OF FOOD, ATE OUR FILL, AND THEN WENT BACK TO MEGA AND STARTED BUYING CLOTHES!!!!! WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY IN ONE DAY!! WE CAME HOME, I STARTED READING THE QUESTIONS AND PREPARING, AND THE GIRLS WERE PREPARING DINNER!!! AND IT WAS TIME TO HAVE DINNER — THE GIRLS COOKED BESHBARMAK, NO WORDS, WE ATE, THEN WENT TO THE FASHION CLUB AND INVITED ALL OUR PEOPLE THERE. ON THE DANCE FLOOR WE STARTED SHOUTING 'AKTAU HOME HOME!!!!!')))))))) THE WHOLE CLUB LOOKED AT US, THERE WERE ALSO PEOPLE FROM AKTAU AND THEY STARTED TALKING WITH US — NICE PEOPLE, THEY HAD MOVED TO ASTANA AND MISS AKTAU VERY MUCH!!! WE ALL PARTED WAYS AND MONDAY WE NEEDED TO GO TO THE IEC OFFICE!! SO WE GOT UP, WASHED, AND WENT TO THE IEC OFFICE. IEC IS LOCATED FAR FROM THE CENTER, WE TOOK A TAXI FOR 700 TENGE!! AND THERE WE WERE GREETED BY THE IEC COORDINATOR BEIBIT, A GOOD PERSON!!! AND WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR OTHER STUDENTS, AND FINALLY EVERYONE GATHERED!! THERE WERE STUDENTS FROM AKTAU, AKTOBE, URALSK, PAVLODAR!!! BEIBIT STARTED EXPLAINING TO US HOW WE SHOULD BEHAVE AT THE INTERVIEW IN THE CONSULATE!!!! AND WE REPEATED THE QUESTIONS AND SO ON!! AFTERWARDS WE ALL WENT HOME TO PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW!!! NAZIRA FELL ASLEEP, AND NATASHA AND I CRAMMED ALL NIGHT, AND OF COURSE THIS AFFECTED US IN THE MORNING!!! BUT WE STILL GOT UP AND WENT TO THE US CONSULATE; IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL AND LARGE, LOCATED IN THE CENTER NEXT TO THE PALACE OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION!!! THERE WERE 50 STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT CITIES!!! BEFORE ENTERING THE BUILDING THERE WAS A VERY HEAVY DOOR, WE OPENED IT AND WENT THROUGH SECURITY; THE GUARDS WERE WOMEN, THEY POLITELY CHECKED US ALL ONE BY ONE AND ALLOWED US INTO THE MAIN BUILDING!!! AND FINALLY I WAS IN THE WAITING ROOM!!! GOOSEBUMPS ALL OVER, VERY NERVOUS!!! IN THE WAITING ROOM THERE IS A PLASMA TV WITH A VIDEO WHERE ALL THE AMERICANS WAVE THEIR HANDS AND SMILE AND SAY 'WELCOME', ALSO A PHOTO OF BARACK OBAMA AND, OF COURSE, THEIR FLAG!! AND THERE WE ALL SAT, WONDERING WHEN THE CONSUL WOULD START THE INTERVIEWS. FIRST YOU HAVE TO HAND OVER ALL THE DOCUMENTS AT THE FIRST WINDOW, THEN AT THE THIRD WINDOW THEY TAKE FINGERPRINTS, AND AT THE SECOND WINDOW THE CONSUL WAS WAITING FOR US!! AND FINALLY THE FIRST VISA WAS OBTAINED. WE WERE ALREADY EAGERLY WAITING FOR OURS!!! THERE WERE ABOUT 25 PEOPLE LEFT AND SOON IT WOULD BE MY TURN, BUT A YOUNG COUPLE WITH A CHILD CAME; THEY ALSO WANTED A VISA AND STARTED SORTING THINGS OUT WITH THE CONSUL, AND WE HAD TO WAIT AN HOUR UNTIL THIS COUPLE LEFT!!! AND FINALLY THEY LEFT AND WITH AN ACCENT HE PRONOUNCED MY NAME AND SURNAME!!!! I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE WINDOW; HE ASKED FOR MY FINGERPRINTS ONCE MORE AND ASKED ME 5 QUESTIONS, AND THANK GOD I ANSWERED ALL 5 CORRECTLY AND HE SAID HIS SIGNATURE PHRASE 'HAVE GOOD SUMMER', IN RESPONSE I TOLD HIM 'HAVE GOOD EVENING!!!!!' AND I WENT OUTSIDE AND IMMEDIATELY STARTED CALLING MY CLOSE ONES AND WAITED FOR MY AKTAU PEOPLE — EVERYONE WAS HAPPY. ONLY ONE STUDENT FROM AKTAU REMAINED, AND FINALLY HE CAME AND SAID THAT HE DID NOT PASS. WE WERE ALL PERPLEXED BECAUSE HIS ENGLISH WAS GOOD, BUT IT TURNED OUT HE WAS NOT PASSED BECAUSE OF GRADES!!!!!! OUT OF 50 STUDENTS ONLY TWO DID NOT PASS: ONE FROM AKTAU BECAUSE OF GRADES, AND ONE FROM OSKEMEN BECAUSE HE TOLD THE CONSUL 'LET'S SPEAK IN RUSSIAN!!!!' THAT'S HOW WE GOT THROUGH THIS HARD DAY!!! WE COMFORTED OUR FRIEND THAT HE HAS A CHANCE NEXT YEAR!! AND IN THE EVENING WE WENT TO CELEBRATE OUR VISAS!!!! THAT'S IT!!! I WISH ALL STUDENTS GOOD LUCK!!!! AND WHEN YOU GO TO THE CONSULATE LOOK AT YOUR GRADES, BECAUSE THE CONSUL LOOKS AT GRADES TOO!!!