Now and in the Future

I would like to start my story with an introduction. My name is Arnat, and I am a first-year student at ENU in Astana. I found out about the contest from a close friend and decided to take a risk and try my luck.

In general, as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of visiting the USA. Perhaps this is connected to my childhood, as I grew up on American movies, listening to Western artists, and playing games. My entire perception of Western culture was built on this. Later, the desire to understand the meaning of the "American Dream" pushed me to fall in love with the USA. Wide highways, pickup trucks, Westerns, fast food, residential neighborhoods with beautiful lawns, the yellow school bus, and baseball began to be associated with American culture for me, but games made the biggest contribution. My favorite childhood game was GTA San Andreas. Every weekend I went to my brother's place to play it. I still remember the city map by heart, which is why when I watch vlogs from Los Angeles, warm memories often come to mind, and it feels like I have already been to these places. Santa Monica Beach, the Beverly Hills area, and the famous Rodeo Drive have already become something native to me. If I am ever lucky enough to end up in California, I hope to fulfill my dream. To take a car and drive along an endless highway, listening to Lana Del Rey songs in the background while watching a beautiful warm sunset.

I found out about the Work and Travel USA program a couple of years ago on YouTube. A video appeared in my recommendations where an ordinary guy told his story and experience of working in a pizzeria on the California coast thanks to this program. This inspired me a lot, and I started searching for similar queries, watching dozens of videos about how young guys were able to get into the program and visit different cities in the USA. In the videos, the guys shared their emotions and invaluable work experience in another country, talking about how this program helped them change their mindset and get to know another culture better.

For some, it even changed their understanding of the meaning of life. After all, being under the influence of something new, they wanted to achieve happiness more and more. To fulfill their own American dream. After all, the USA gives this opportunity to absolutely everyone; the country is filled with wonderful people from different parts of the world who flew across oceans and seas for the sake of their dream. With each new video, I realized that this is not a fairy tale, but reality.

Up to this moment, I had absolutely no experience in youth travel or exchange programs, which is why I had doubts and fear in my soul. Self-suggestion that I would not succeed. But fortunately, the guys proved otherwise. I had hope that even I, an ordinary guy, could fulfill this opportunity. From that moment on, I started looking for more information about this program.

Financial costs, having a good level of English, visa processing, and other requirements did not scare me at all. On the contrary, one can say that I finally found goals for myself in this life. Having told my parents about this, I received support and approval, which helped me cope with my doubts. I started my journey by learning the language. At that time, I had a low level of English, because in childhood I did not see any point in learning it. But thanks to daily practice, in the form of watching movies with original audio, foreign video bloggers, and changing the language in game settings, it helped me start learning perfectly without losing interest or being lazy. Of course, at first, I did not understand absolutely anything that was happening, but over time I was able to overcome these difficulties. Further study with a tutor consolidated my knowledge and helped me improve to a pre-intermediate level. Now I more or less understand speech, the grammar of the language, and am able to communicate with foreigners. Looking at my small achievements, I understand that this is not a reason to stop; on the contrary, there is a huge motivation to move forward for my dreams.

Thanks to this program, I hope to understand my purpose and place in this world. After all, our whole life is movement for the sake of our prosperous future. Just as in ancient times our nomadic ancestors changed their location for the sake of a better and more comfortable life, so I want to get to know this life better. By the way, our world is huge and filled with beautiful corners of the world, each with its own unique feature in the form of culture, nature, and development. One of these places is the United States of America. With the help of this program, I am burning with a desire to know all the features of life in this country. I hope that people, a new environment, and my future work will help me with this. I would like to work in public places and establishments, while simultaneously communicating with local residents. Thanks to this, I will be able to upgrade my soft skills, such as working in a team, taking responsibility, learning to adapt to any conditions, and most importantly, upgrading my level of English.

All these important skills will help me not only in building a successful career but also in creating a wonderful future. The invaluable experience gained will become a guide and teacher for me for further actions. I want to add that meeting wonderful and kind people does not exclude that this will all grow into a big strong friendship. After all, there will be the same young guys on this program as me. We will be united by our dreams, worries, and high expectations far from our native land. But by going through all these difficulties together, we will be able to create kind and strong relationships based on mutual understanding and care for each other. Considering that we will all be from different countries, we will be able to tell and share about the culture and life of our homeland. I want to show and tell how beautiful our country and people are. Moreover, I will try to take with me a few packs of kurt and Kazakhstan chocolate. Plus, I will buy myself a hoodie from Qazaq Republic; I think this has already become part of our modern culture. Guys from Kazakhstan will be able to recognize me with the help of this, which would be very cool. After all, homesickness will still be there, and people close to you will be able to support me.

I want to add that the Work and Travel USA program is a wonderful opportunity for each of us. Tens of thousands of lucky ones get to America every year thanks to this program. Every year the program is more popular and the number of those wishing to participate is actively growing. After all, as a result of digitalization, more and more people are learning various information, which simplifies the entire process and the path of implementation. This can also contribute to the simplification of the entire visa system and application. I think in the future the programs will become even more popular, giving an opportunity to everyone. In addition, it is not excluded that there will be such a working exchange program in other developed countries. For example, in the countries of the European Union, East Asia, and South America. Such programs have already begun their creation, for example, Work and Travel in Germany. If I were in charge of exchanges, I would already be starting the implementation of all these ideas.

In conclusion, I want to say that I was very glad to participate in this contest from International Exchange Center. I want to thank the organizers for providing an opportunity for young guys with great ambitions to fulfill their dream. I am sure this will irreversibly change the life and future of the winner for the better.