Back when I was just starting my freshman year, I thought, 'The 2010 season is mine, I'm going to America!' But that wasn't the case. My mom put her foot down and said, 'You're not going anywhere, you have your first summer exam session to pass, let's see about next year.' So, I spent my entire freshman year sitting on the internet, looking at the same photos and dreaming...

Sophomore year—oh yeah! This year nothing will stop me from making my dream come true. Of course I'm going to America, I'm 100% sure of it! My mom and I planned to visit the office starting in late September, but we didn't actually make it there until December 5th. I think it was partly my fault that we waited so long; I was terrified of the interview!!!

December 5th: We arrived at the office, and there were some very sweet girls there. We sat down with one of them, Marina, and started chatting. We chose the Plus program, but it turned out that enrollment was already closed. Thank God they took pity on us and agreed to squeeze me into the program on the condition that I submit all my documents quickly. And then the time for the interview came... my palms were sweating, but everything went well. The interview wasn't hard, just standard general questions, and that was it! I became a program participant! Yay, yay, yay!!!

Since I didn't have a passport, I promised to bring it by February 1st... and well, of course, how could I do everything on time? I had to mess up somewhere! I only submitted the paperwork on January 24th and didn't bring the passport until February 25th. Luckily, the girls understood my situation and didn't charge me any fines!

Well, I did everything required of me. By February, I had already paid the second installment, and all that was left was to sit and wait to see who would choose me and where I would go...