Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Bekarys, but my friends call me Beka. I am 19 years old. I was born and live in Almaty. I study at the T. Zhurgenov Academy of Arts, majoring in feature film directing. Choosing a creative path at a conscious age was, for me, the first step toward achieving the goal I dreamed of as a child while falling asleep every night.

I have been practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since I was 11. I found this sport so fascinating that I trained in the gym almost every day with my brother. Now I have a blue belt and many awards from international and national competitions. Thanks to this sport, my hobby, and hard work, my first independent trip took place in 2019, when I was 16, for the World Championship in Abu Dhabi. Of course, at that time, the first goal I pursued on this trip was the competition, and only then did I think about traveling. But it happened that on the second day of the competition, I couldn't beat my opponent from Brazil. The only thing left was to follow the second goal: to travel, walk around, and explore Abu Dhabi.

I made friends with the guys from my team, and we started enjoying carefree and bright days together. Our daily routine started with breakfast; we tried not to miss it. After breakfast, we rushed to the beach to warm our bones, listen to the sound of the waves, and relax. We walked a lot. The weather was quite hot, around +33;+36°C, but do you think that would bother a 16-year-old boy who had traveled abroad on his own for the first time? We spent more than half the day like that, and in the evening, we went to the pool located on the roof of our hotel. Thus, I visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World, and much more. I liked everything—both the Louvre and the mosque, it is simply wonderful. I definitely recommend visiting them.

What emotions did this trip bring?

Agree, the mere anticipation of an upcoming trip brings joy. And during the trip, you have plenty of opportunities to experience positive impressions. You can enjoy the beauty of nature, man-made cultural monuments, and architecture. On a trip, you will be surprised, admire, and experience a huge range of bright emotions, and you will learn new things. This is how I visited another country on my own for the first time and accurately experienced everything I described above. On this trip, I felt like an adult who takes full responsibility for his life.