Since mid-summer 2010, the same thought has been echoing in my head every day: I want to go to America! This idea was so obsessive that it was driving me crazy. And at that moment, I realized that Work & Travel USA was exactly what I needed.

THE BEGINNING

It all started, naturally, with endless surfing of the Internet. God, how many sites I looked through, how many links I clicked, how many blogs I read, and how many emails I sent asking "What, when, how much?" – in other words, I tried to learn as much as possible about what this program is and what it's all about. Out of all the Yekaterinburg agencies providing the Work & Travel USA program, my friend Ainura (I'll tell you about her a bit later) and I chose the International Exchange Center (Yekaterinburg, 50 Prospekt Lenina St.).

The second stage was preparing and signing the contract for participation in the program. This is actually a most interesting procedure! First, you read and sign the contracts themselves, and in this case, there were two: one with the IEC Yekaterinburg, and the other directly for the program participation. Then you go to the bank to pay for all this beauty... God, how many times I signed my name there at the bank, my hand almost fell off! They also issue the international student ID card right there at the bank.

By the way, let me digress a bit and tell you about how I got my ISIC. I went to get it not on my scheduled day, but five days later. It was Monday. I got up at 6:30 AM because I needed to pick up my international passport, and then go to the bank for the ISIC. As you probably know, nothing in Russia is done properly; everything is constantly done through that one well-known place. So, I arrived at 2 Krylova St. at 8:00 AM and got a ticket from the terminal with the time for passport issuance. I sat there, waiting calmly. They called my name, I went to the window with a calm heart, and that's when it started... Your passport isn't ready, only by Wednesday, go to the inspector and sort it out there, don't hold up the line... I went to that inspector, who, by the way, turned out to be a surprisingly normal woman. She explained to me clearly that I wouldn't get my passport until Wednesday. Okay. I went to the bank. I arrived, and what do you think? My card wasn't there! And it wasn't known when it would be! Yeah... I really wasn't having any luck that day. But on Wednesday, I got everything: both the passport and the ISIC. Although they got my institute wrong on the student card, clumsy people, damn it... In their opinion, I study at EAA, not EASA... Well, that's Russia! You have to get used to it!

Let's get back to signing the contract. The amount of the first installment was about 15,000 rubles, which hit my student pocket pretty hard. But what can you do, if you really want something, you always have to sacrifice something else. In my case, these "others" became cafes, movies, concerts, theaters, books, and all sorts of other joys of life...

The third stage is the introductory meeting with IEC consultants. I don't know exactly what will be there yet, but I assume it will be about finding a job in the States, getting a JobOffer, the visa, the flight, and the interview at the US consulate.

By the way, I want to add. Initially, back in the summer before signing the contract, I was just squealing with delight about everything related to the Work & Travel USA program. Now, however, the feeling of "this is so cool!" is being replaced by the realization of what I've gotten myself into.

Three months together with a friend in a foreign country to live, relax, and WORK! I don't think it will be easy, but it definitely won't be boring. I can guarantee that. ;)

Speaking of my friend. Ainura is my classmate at the Yekaterinburg Academy of Contemporary Art (institute). An honors student, smart, beautiful, if only she weren't a Komsomol member! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't see my grades in my record book as my own ears. But that's not her most important virtue! I like her because she doesn't try to jump out of her pants to please anyone, doesn't try to be someone else, scream at the top of her lungs, or remake the world for herself. She accepts me as I am, with all my character, which even I don't like. I have the feeling that she lives in harmony with the world, but not the kind of "harmony" that is called schizophrenia, just harmony. There are few such people. They need to be cherished and valued.

So, let's get back to the topic: America, I want you!

I really want to go to Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm ready to cry and tear my clothes off!

I really want to go to Las Vegas! I want to soak up the atmosphere of this crazy, gambling, nocturnal, insane city... And in general... Eh, I won't have a structured presentation. Let's move to the city of Samara, where I was recently.

Samara is a very cute, slightly slow-paced city compared to Yekaterinburg. But strangely enough, that's what I like most about it. I didn't end up there by accident, but for the Samara KVN league festival, in which I participated as an actor for the team "The Laughing Man". We won there and went for a walk around the city accompanied by one of the local teams. We didn't walk for long because there was little time left before departure, but during that interval, I very clearly understood the difference between our cities. And that's great! After all, if everything were the same everywhere, it would be completely uninteresting to live or travel! The KVN players, by the way, turned out to be pretty good guys... Although, that's another story....