How I prepared. Packing, Honduras
It gets easier from here.
I gathered documents for my international passport. It was simple for me—I have a military ID due to health reasons, so there wasn't much red tape with the military enlistment office certificate. I found a travel agency online that processes these passports in 5 working days (4000 RUB, more details in the financial report). I was short on time, so I paid and got it. I paid the first installment at the central branch of Baltic Bank on Muchnoy.
Job offer: I'll say it right away, I bought it. You can read how I did that here.
I brought my passport, printed offer, and receipt to the CMO office in one of the final days. They were surprised at how I got an international passport in a week, and I was pleased =) Now, you just have to wait for your interview date at the embassy and for them to verify the offer in New York. On March 26, I received an email from CMO—the interview would be on April 3.
I went to the interview calmly; as far as I understood from the internet, it's not scary. In the morning before leaving, I read the frequently asked questions and thought up answers while on the way. It turned out to be not scary at all; the consul asked my name, where I study, and where I will work—three questions—"your visa is approved." Out of the whole group, only two guys were denied a visa; one didn't know English at all, and the other had a brother going.
Around March 25, my offer was confirmed. I paid the remaining part of the program and had to specify a departure date. I decided to leave as much time as possible for early exams. My job offer started on May 28, so I set it for May 27, right at the last minute. It couldn't be changed anymore because CMO orders the tickets. That's where I messed up.
Passing exams and departure
How I would plan everything now:
Early exams should be taken entirely in the week before the credit week. To do this, you need to explain the situation correctly two weeks before the credit week. (Professors don't have lines yet and aren't very grumpy—if you explain it right, they won't put spokes in your wheels). Naturally, your main trump card is the lie that you have tickets to America for the start of the credit week. The standard paper about participating in an international exchange program from the CMO office helps here; you need to choose the program start date on the paper wisely. This way, if problems arise with the university, you can resolve them at the beginning of the credit week, but otherwise, the entire credit week should be left for preparation and packing. The departure date should be set at CMO about 3 days before the start date of work (indicated in the job offer). The idea that you need to fly out as early as possible to avoid problems with housing and a second job runs like a red line. In the end, I would have flown out at the end of the credit week and negotiated the start of work with the employer for three days after departure.
I had to leave with a fight; one woman refused to give me a credit, saying she wasn't interested in my problems and asking why I was pushing my early exams. In short, I suffered for a long time, but in the end, she became interested in my problems; she actually did the coursework for me and gave me the credit =) All because the woman was extorting bribes from those who missed classes, and I recorded her on a voice recorder. We yelled at each other with profanity; I explained that I have a military ID for mental health reasons, so I'm not afraid of the army, and she annoyed me so much that I would write a statement first to the department and then higher up. I wasn't sure about the outcome at all, but quite unexpectedly, that same evening I received my credit. Conclusion: even though it's nice to take down an evil professor, it's still better to pass before the credit week.
On April 28, an email arrived from CMO with all the information about the tickets.
