Not long ago, IEC.Exchange celebrated its anniversary. It is already 20 years old. I heard that a cocktail party was held at the Moscow office. I don't know exactly what happened at our Tyumen office because I reached out to IEC.Exchange late. But I assume the mood in the agency was upbeat as they were summarizing 20 years of work.

Throughout its existence in the service market, IEC.Exchange has been developing gradually but steadily, improving the level of service for its clients and expanding the list of available programs and countries. The center mainly helps students from Russia sign employment contracts with foreign firms for the summer vacation period. Young people get acquainted with the history of the chosen country, study the language more deeply, and gain work experience. And every year, the center expands its range of services: adding new destinations, considering new offers, and choosing more acceptable options for Russian students. These facts are proof that the agency does not stop at what has been achieved, but continues to develop and expand!

I wonder what will happen to IEC.Exchange in 20 years? With us and with the country? Well, here is what...

March 2029. I am sitting in my office at VTB Bank in a white shirt and tie (ugh, how I hate it), drinking coffee, reviewing reports, and thinking about not forgetting to buy milk on the way home. Mail has arrived. I open the envelope. I am invited to a festive corporate event in honor of the anniversary (40th) of IEC.Exchange as a regular client. And 20 years ago, at this same time, I was only dreaming of going to America. Yes, a lot of time has flown by since my first trip, and a lot has changed...

The workday is over. I go outside. I walk past an electronic store. I need to buy milk. I approach the machine that replaces the salesperson, the cash register, the scales, and everything else! Could I have imagined in 2010 that in 20 years people would come up with something like this... You press the buttons, put money into the slot, listen to "thank you for your purchase," and take your carton of milk. Technology has come a long way!

I walk past the window of a new store, something like our former Technosila or Eldorado, with a wide selection of appliances at "ridiculous prices." And here is a new protoplasmic TV, or something like that. A large screen, a built-in system for imitating live sounds and improved playback of music tracks, and many other cool "bells and whistles," like the ability to fold this TV device into a 4x4 cm cube weighing a couple of grams... I bet Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first television, never even dreamed of such innovations!

For a second, I listen to the broadcast coming from this "miracle" box. News! "The euro exchange rate has not changed, the price of ECT (environmentally clean fuel) per barrel has decreased by 3 points...". General information that carries zero semantic load. Not a word about the fact that Russia is no longer an oil power, because this type of fuel has practically run out, and about 5 years ago we slowly began to switch to renewable resources. Several types of synthetic gasoline and ECT were invented, new ways of heating homes were found, and many problems that arose due to the oil deficit were solved. Although not all of it is our merit. Japan, for example, began moving to a new level 10 years ago, while our country lived for the day, not particularly worrying about the future. After Japan, half of Europe and the USA followed suit. But we are not at the very end of this list, but exactly in the middle, which is pleasing... More snippets of information for the day...

I need to keep going. I slowly turn around and head home. Near the entrance, I take out my resident card to get inside. The thing is, many young men and women loved to spend their free time in the entrances, so they came up with a "new intercom," although "new" is a strong word. It's all like in the subway. You insert the card, the system notes that you are "one of us," and then there are several control questions from the dispatcher, like "who are you, where are you coming from, do you live here, and how many of you are there." Of course, the entrances are clean and quiet now, but coming back every day and telling the same story is tiring...

Here I am at home! My wife is not here yet. Let me turn on the kettle.

I approach the window. There it is, the billboard of another IEC.Exchange office, where I was invited, shining with colorful lights. "Work, travel, internships in countries around the world! With us, your dreams will come true!".

Yes, they are right. I already fulfilled one dream with the agency 20 years ago, but a lot has changed since then. I heard that IEC.Exchange is still sending students abroad for work and travel. They have increased the number of countries on their list, which now includes almost all of Europe! IEC.Exchange has now created a database of "job offers." You choose the country and city you like, determine a convenient time of year, and the field of activity. And the number of positions in this list is truly surprising!

Another interesting program has appeared - the Education program. The agency now offers students the opportunity to continue their studies at foreign educational institutions for a year or two. The most popular are business schools and institutes in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and technical and vocational universities in Japan and Germany. Students, of course, are required to have a good knowledge of the country's language and excellent academic performance in leading subjects.

IEC.Exchange has introduced a new program, Travel to your dream. The program includes a list of countries and events/holidays that will be held in these countries. These trips are short-term, only for vacation. For example, if you have long dreamed of visiting the world-famous riot of colors and the great show – the carnival in Rio (Brazil), then IEC.Exchange can make your cherished dream come true! Also, among the exotic offers from this list, one can note: the Beaujolais Nouveau festival (tasting the new wine harvest in France), the Spring Fair in Seville (Spain, one of the most famous and original fairs in the world), New Year in Amsterdam (well, comments are unnecessary here), the Oktoberfest beer festival (in Munich, or Bavaria), and this is far from all! What can I say? I think anyone will find what they want, no matter how picky they are.

Lost in these thoughts, I didn't notice that my wife had been standing next to me for a long time, also looking at the agency's sign with a cup of tea in her hands.

• Listen, why don't we go to the USA for these New Year holidays, celebrate the New Year there, together with friends, somewhere in Las Vegas?
• Not a bad idea, honey.