Hi, I want to clarify right away that I'm not a great writer since I'm not studying journalism and don't really have a knack for it. I'm creating this blog for myself and to share my impressions and emotions.

Time before I found out about the Work and Travel USA program

At that time, I was in 10th grade. I attended school only occasionally. I didn't like English, I was getting C's, and I absolutely didn't care who I would be in the future or what I would do. I had one single passion: my training. I did track and field, running the 200m, 100m, and even the 100m hurdles; I was a champion of the Perm region. My parents didn't see much desire for studying in me, and they didn't pressure me either, since you can slack off in 10th grade and then grab the bull by the horns in 11th. At training, we worked out in a small group; we loved to have fun, joke around, and, of course, train. Our coach was the best; she always supported us and gave us advice. Actually, at that time, I had three moms—hee-hee, it sounds funny, but it was true. The mom who takes care of me at home, the mom who takes care of me at school, and the mom who takes care of me at training. Our competition season starts in May, and one day a friend from training told the coach she couldn't compete because she was flying away. At that time, I only knew her superficially, just as a teammate. Of course, I was curious about where she was going, so I found everything out, and as you guessed, she was going to the States through the program. Well, I found out, but it didn't really interest me; I had one last summer of relaxation ahead of me. My 9th-grade report card had four or five C's (I'm mentioning this so you can compare it with 11th grade later).

That DAY: late June, I log into VK and see that the girl posted photos. Of course, I went to look, and from that moment on, my 'Americana' sickness began, as my mom called it :) All summer I looked at her photos, just photos on the internet, read the entire history of America, got familiar with the program, and of course, I wanted to go too. That's how it all started...