The interview with the consul...

Actually, you can't even call it an interview... Of course, I was very nervous and worried, but it turned out to be for nothing! On the contrary, you need to be confident and answer all the questions calmly and clearly—there will only be about 5-6 of them in total.

I had to go through this interview on March 10th, just 2 days before my birthday, and I knew that if I failed, everything would be ruined, and my birthday would be a total disaster... So I couldn't let myself, my parents, my friends, or even America down in the end) After reading on various forums that it was all nonsense and practicing the questions the consul might ask, I was confident in myself and my English skills, but I was still a bit nervous) To get to the interview, I had to travel to our capital, Astana. A whole day and night on the train, and then an interview in the morning—not exactly pleasant. Already in the train car, I met some girls from our agency who were also heading there, and I only managed to fall asleep around 2 AM. In the morning at the station, we saw other guys and went to look for the consulate building where we were supposed to have our interview. We found it without any trouble, went inside, and couldn't get back out because the door only opened from the outside) Then they started letting us in one by one and checking us with a metal detector... Honestly, all these procedures made me feel even more anxious and scared... Then we had to wait another half hour until they told us to submit our documents one by one... and only after another half hour did the consul start calling our names and surnames with a very strange Russian-American accent... While I was waiting for my name to be called, I tried to calm down... Everyone who approached the consul stood there for literally 2 minutes and heard the long-awaited phrase: “Have a nice summer!” And just when I was completely calm and ready for any questions, we saw that one of our participants had been rejected... and then they called my name... so much for being calm! I even forgot my own name out of fear) Approaching the window, I saw a young guy, about 25. I couldn't really get a good look at him because I was only thinking about making sure he didn't notice my legs and hands shaking uncontrollably, or he might think I was a drug addict or an alcoholic and definitely wouldn't give me the visa) It's good that he didn't look at me at all, as he was busy reviewing my documents. He asked me only 3-4 questions... about where I study, when I graduate, where I'm going to work, what I'll be doing, and that's it... At that moment, I already had a job offer in Colorado, and I confidently said that I was going there and would work in a restaurant. Then he gave me back all my documents, except for my passport, and wished me a great summer... Woohoo! After the interview, we laughed for a long time about how long and painfully we had been afraid, and how quickly and easily everything went!

Our next task was to convince the teachers to move our exams to an earlier date... Unfortunately, we don't study at a simple institute, but in some kind of high-security colony. It just so happened that our institute doesn't like the Work and Travel program. The biggest setup was that my second-to-last exam was German, which is taught by the deputy dean... So we decided to go straight to her, and of course, we heard a negative answer... There was no point in worrying further; the German exam was on June 26th anyway. On the one hand, it wasn't bad, because I still had time to prepare for the trip...

Meanwhile, the days weren't just passing, they were flying... and I was getting more and more scared of the uncertainty of my future... We didn't have a specific job in America because, due to the exam session, we had to change our plans and postpone the trip to the end of June, which was a very late date for all employers, and no one would want to wait for us that long... we had only one option left—to go into the unknown and hope for luck and our own strength... At first, we decided to go to Virginia, as many of our acquaintances were planning to go there. But after weighing all the “pros” and “cons,” I realized that we couldn't go there... firstly, because there are always so many students there in the summer, so finding a job would be tough... and secondly, we wouldn't be able to improve our English, as we would spend almost all our time talking to Russian-speaking students... And that's when I started sitting on various Work and Travel forums and reading about where everyone was going, where it's better to go, etc. In the end, my “leader” became the state of Wyoming, such a big cowboy village) What attracted me to it was that a very small number of Russian students were planning to spend their summer in such a remote place... and that meant that it would be easy to find a job and improve my English too... All that remained was to convince my friend—and that was the hardest part, because hearing the words: village, nature, cowboys—she flatly refused to go there) I, on the contrary, was in anticipation... The Wild West—well... it's just so exciting!!! In the end, after pestering my friend with my constant whining about how much I wanted to go to this very Wyoming, and “threatening” her that by the middle of the summer we wouldn't find a job anywhere else, I finally got my way!) All that remained was to choose a city... and my choice fell on the small tourist town of Cody, the most wonderful city in the world... but more on that later...