I decided to write down some important little things that I think will be useful for future Work and Travel USA participants.

1. How to improve your English before the trip?
   I spent about a year working on this before my trip. I went all out—reading, writing, watching movies, and trying to communicate with foreigners online and in real life... The most useful resource for me was the wonderful site Busuu.com. The lessons are divided into 5 parts: you learn words on a specific topic, read and listen to dialogues, write a story on a given topic (which is then checked by native speakers who point out your mistakes), chat on a given topic with someone interesting (and later not just about that topic), and finally, take a test. I noticeably improved my English level and, besides that, found good friends whom I was happy to meet this summer.

2. How to find a job offer?
   I looked for an offer myself, which I don't regret at all, because it's extra language practice, experience that will be useful in the USA when looking for a second job, and personally, I enjoyed the process.

Many people look for work through Craigslist.org. I didn't really like this method because employers on this site are more focused on finding employees for right now, not in 3-6 months. But I personally know someone who found an offer through Craigslist, so go for it, maybe you'll get lucky too.

J1jobs.com. A good site, oriented specifically for J-1 Visa holders. But personally, I still get rejections from it, even though I sent out applications about a year ago. Besides rejections, I received one email asking me to send a resume and a photo, after which there was no response. So, for all its convenience, this site is not as effective as one would like.

Personally, I looked for work through Google Maps. Moreover, my goal was not to find a job in a big city or near a big city. Also, my plans did not include the beloved California, Florida, and New York. I was set on a small town from the start. The only mandatory condition for me was the presence of the ocean nearby. Therefore, in my Google Maps search, I typed phrases according to the following scheme: Name of a relatively large city, state (one that is geographically close to the ocean) and the word 'cafe' or 'restaurant'. Thus, I received a list of cafes and restaurants in that town or nearby. I would go to the company's website, find an email or a contact form, and send a resume with a cover letter. Sometimes there were sites with online job applications, but for some reason, it was harder for me to fill them out. So, sending emails was my favorite activity.

Often, I received no response. And that's normal. Don't despair. If they did respond, it was most often a rejection. A couple of times they were interested in me, asked me to send a photo, or asked something more detailed about my work experience, etc. But after 4 months of not very regular and diligent, but still searching, I received as many as 2 invitations for a Skype interview.

I successfully failed the first one) I was so scared that I could barely string words together) but I passed the second one successfully and received the desired offer.

3. Where to live in America at first?
   Many students live in hostels. I chose a more interesting way for myself, but at the same time, as it seems to me, a more dangerous one. Couchsurfing.com. I think many have already heard about it. It's a social network for travelers. All over the world, there are people who are happy to host a traveler for a couple of days for free, and besides that, often feed them and show them the city... For me, this site was just a godsend. Thanks to it, I found good acquaintances in the USA, without whom my life in America would not have been so carefree. I also saw how people live in America. Not from the outside, not just by visiting, but by actually immersing myself in American families. And this helped to reveal American culture more broadly for me.

Of course, this is to some extent dangerous, because you don't know who the person who will host you will turn out to be. But I always looked at the number of reviews about the person and how many people had stayed with them before me. The more good reviews from guests, the more peace of mind I had when going to the person. But in the end, everyone, both hosts with many reviews and those with few, turned out to be good people. Moreover, they were all guys between 25 and 32 years old, and no one made any strange hints; everyone treated me with more than respect. There was one nuance when one of my hosts kicked me out of the house, but he was not American, and it was a very confusing story (for those interested, see the post about Miami). But overall, I met very good people who were ready to help at any moment completely selflessly.

And one more piece of advice: look for a host in advance. I always started looking at the last moment, and often there was no choice. And so I went where I was invited, not where I chose myself. Hence, there was more stress, even though everything ended well.

4. Problems in America.
   Personally, I had problems finding housing at the beginning. My town was not a resort, housing for the summer was not rented out, and what was rented out was expensive or far away.

Hence the next problem arose: I found housing that was expensive and a bit far from work—40 minutes by bike. At first, it was hard to ride, then I got used to it. But I toned my legs really well; Americans even gave me compliments that I had beautiful legs) so you can find a positive side in this situation too.

It seems nothing else useful comes to mind for now) In any case, go for it, and everything will work out. And don't be afraid of difficulties; they temper your character) America is worth going through all the obstacles to reach it!