So, I finally decided to go through IEC.Exchange. It was simple: I came, I saw, I conquered—I signed the contract. I chose "PLUS" so I wouldn't have to worry about job hunting and could focus on my own things. Along the way, I decided to customize the program to fit my needs by turning it into an "internship." Simply put, I wanted to work on a farm. About a month later, I got two responses.

The first was from a college professor regarding an internship. It would have been an awesome option (a chance to stay on) if not for one "but"—she thought it was a practicum, meaning it was unpaid. That didn't work for me.

The second response was more prosaic. Work on a crop farm. $7.25 an hour, heavy workload. This option suited me, and after some correspondence, we decided to have a Skype interview.

The interview itself turned out to be interesting and quite psychologically challenging. The thing is, it was the farmers' first Skype session, and they couldn't get the webcam working. I had glitches with mine too(((( But no worries, we solved those quickly, and IT began!!! The only downside was that I could hear her but couldn't see her.

I don't know if it was long or not, but the interview itself lasted about 15 minutes. Like most people doing it for the first time, I got a little nervous. But the employer reacted normally to that; we talked for a long time about Russia, my studies, and my family. She specifically asked if I could drive trucks (which is exactly why I got my category C license))))) but I don't have an E one(()).

By the end, I was so exhausted that I didn't understand a thing, but I didn't show it. We said goodbye quite coolly (that went away later), and she said she would interview 6 more students and give me her decision in 2 weeks. And so, I began the long and painful wait for the result.