Work and

Travel

In our time, when everything changes at the speed of light every day, it is sometimes difficult for people to find their place in life. But right now, there are many opportunities for people like me who are just starting their life journey.

Work and Travel is a unique international exchange program created for students who want to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the American nation, improve their conversational English, gain work experience abroad, have fun with new friends, and travel across the vastness of America!

Thanks to this program, students can develop their knowledge of the English language and broaden their horizons.

I, Elesh Dinara Tolegen kyzy, a second-year student at Astana IT University, am studying Information Security. I love to travel, broaden my horizons, and communicate in English.

I dream of visiting the country of the language in the future – England, and if there is an opportunity, other countries as well. By participating in this program, I hope to learn about the culture of other countries, the development of information technologies, and discover something new for myself.

From a very young age, I always wanted something more; all the goals I achieved seemed insignificant to me. Even then, I was looking for something that would help me develop not only myself but also help me develop my homeland, Kazakhstan, where I live and study.

Among all exchange programs, Work and Travel is what would suit me perfectly. This program characterizes all my goals and desires. Perhaps, having received the opportunity that this program would give me, I will also encounter many problems and obstacles. But despite this, I hope that Work and Travel will help me find solutions to all my problems. Having gone through difficulties like the language barrier and the fear of communicating with strangers, specifically foreigners, I am sure that by the end of the program, I will become a better version of myself. By working and traveling at the same time, I will be able to learn responsibility and adapt to any environment with different people. These are the very qualities that my country and I need.

But the purpose of the trip is not only spiritual development. For a long time, I have been actively studying the language that led me to a new culture and this program. But when you live in an environment where English is not used, it becomes increasingly difficult to master it. Therefore, participating in the program would help me improve my English skills. After all, what my teachers taught me and what I learned myself differs from the real conversational English of native speakers. Only by hearing it with my own ears will I be able to work through all my mistakes and things that are unclear to me.

I have not had the chance to travel to other countries through this program, but I hope that thanks to Work and Travel, I will be able to share my experience with my classmates in the future.

But if I were given the opportunity to go to another country, I would represent my Kazakhstan, as we have our own beautiful traditions and culture, the spacious and wide steppe, and vacation spots like Borovoe, Kapshagay, the Altai Mountains, and the Charyn Canyon. Folk traditions play an important role in our lives. Traditions unite generations, passing on the customs and spirituality of peoples.

I know many people, and this amazing program has played an important role in their lives. The way they talk about themselves before and after the program seems amazing to me. Before the Work and Travel program, those people did not yet know that they were actually capable of many things that would help not only themselves but everything around them. Only during and after the program, through their own efforts and the opportunity received, did they realize that they are capable of conquering peaks.

After all, at that moment, being in a foreign country, even if it is the country of your dreams, all alone without your loved ones, you discover yourself along with a new culture. You get to know not only new people but also another side of yourself.

Those same people who gained an unforgettable experience told me that they had a desire to change everything around them for the better. They wanted to share what they had learned with others as soon as possible. And seeing the joy on their faces, a wild desire to create and build a better future awakened in me.

Since the independence of Kazakhstan, many doors have opened for young people. This also applies to cultural exchange programs. Since those times, Work and Travel has begun to delight students, and it has not lost its relevance to this day. For this reason, I can say with firm confidence that Work and Travel will continue to delight us in the future. Therefore, getting the chance to become a participant in such a program would be a joy and another achievement for me.

Every story has a beginning. Every person has goals and dreams that need to be realized. For this, you need to believe in yourself and never doubt!