Dreams come true

"I still can't believe that after a year and a half of dreaming and waiting, I was able to drop everything and leave.

To leave for the other side of the globe. Alone.

Just to take and do what is necessary.

Between me and everyone I know will be the Atlantic Ocean, several countries, 8 hours, and 10,000 kilometers; only the sky, the endless and clear sky, will be what we share.

Everything has a price. Perhaps this is the price of freedom. Perhaps this is the price paid by everyone who truly wants something. Apparently, this is the price of a real life."

May 27, 2014

I flew out of Moscow at 2 PM, the flight lasted 10 hours, but time zones ate up 8 of them, so New York greeted me at 4 PM on the same day) After washing my hair in the airport restroom, happy but a bit in shock, I walked out to Penn Station with my bags and got on the wrong subway train (which is why I paid $13.25 instead of the dollar-something it should have been). I must admit, the airport and the atmosphere at the subway station were not what I expected from the city that the vast majority of people want to visit. But as soon as I stepped out at the 42nd Street station...

"OH MY GOD, THIS IS MANHATTAN, LOOK, LOOK, MOM, I'M IN NEW YORK, MOM, MOM, I'M IN NEW YORK" - that's roughly what my face looked like and exactly how I felt when I climbed out of the subway station onto the street: legendary buildings, crowds of tourists and locals, dollar pizza, the streets, the very air! And in my head, the Jay-Z song about New York is playing, which I solemnly swore to learn if I got my visa)

I suddenly realized that dreams come true; I realized that little could spoil my adventure; I realized that this summer would be special.

And I still believe that going on Work and Travel is perhaps the boldest and most necessary thing I have ever done in my life.

Tip: Don't throw away your MetroCard. You will need it again - in any case, you will also be flying back home from New York.