Ρώμη: Ταξιδιωτικός οδηγός, τιμές και δωρεάν διαμονή · 2026

DDDaria Dikovadikovadasha2002 · 10 Ιαν 2023Διάβασμα

“There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed.” Kate Douglas Wiggin Even though I have not participated in the Work and Travel program yet, youth exchange programs are an extremely important part of my life. That is why I want to share with you the story of my experience with such kinds of programs. My story is a sequence of failures, victories and valuable lessons that youth exchange programs give me that make me love them so much. This is a story about my vision of youth exchange programs and how they shape my personality, so I gladly welcome you to read it. Since childhood, I have been obsessed with the idea of exploring the diversity of our world. However, there is a question of what does this exploration really mean? Is it enough to arrive in the country’s capital and see the main tourist sights? For me, the answer is definitely no. I believe that a true understanding of the visited country is impossible without cultural exchange, which can be gained with the help of interaction with locals. That is why for me youth exchange programs are the best way to explore new cultures. The format of youth exchanges gives me emotions different from any other type of journey. Moreover, youth exchanges often include educational parts or provide an opportunity to improve professional skills, making them not only enjoyable but extremely useful experiences. Thus, being raised in a small city without the financial opportunity to travel a lot, I always struggled to see the world, and I chose youth trips as my tool for achieving it. As a result, today, I have visited 11 countries and created connections with more than a hundred people in diverse world corners. My first interest in international exchanges occurred in 2017 when I decided to apply to the FLEX program. I tried twice, but I only got the status of alternative finalist and finished one step away from my dreamy exchange school year. Analyzing the situation from today’s perspective, I realize that I was denied because my applications for both attempts were almost identical. Thus, the first lesson that exchange programs taught me is to keep progressing all the time. After five years, in 2022, I returned to the idea of participating in the US exchange program, which is why I chose the Work and Travel opportunity. For me, Work and Travel is an amazing opportunity to earn not only money but things that are much more valuable. With W&T, I am eager to dive into unknown American culture and learn how people live on the other side of the world. Driven by such motivation, I signed the job offer and prepared for my summer in the US, but my plans were ruined by the war. I am from Melitopol, which is now an occupied city and being there at that period of time did not allow me to make confident decisions, and that is how my plans to see the US was ruined for the second time. In such a way, the second lesson that exchange programs taught me is never to give up. Thus, aside from chasing my American dream, I actively investigated other parts of the world with the help of youth exchange programs. After my failure on FLEX, I started to search for further opportunities and applied for several exchange programs at international universities. Again, I did not manage to pass the last selection stages and got refusals. Still, I did not give up on searching for an active social life and decided to start with the program inside my country. Thus I took a gap year and entered the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, which is a program of informal education gathering young leaders which allows us to share experiences and implement social projects. With the Academy, I went on my first cultural exchange to Israel. During this trip, we lived in Machines, which can be described as social leadership preparatory programs for high school graduates. We stayed with Israeli students who shared their national values with us as well as we introduced them to the beauty of our Ukrainian culture

TNTomiris Nurgaliyevatomirisnurgalieva22 · 10 Ιαν 2023Διάβασμα

I sit and look out the window at the falling snow And think about how I can make a breakthrough, One like those two unknown eccentrics, Who broke away from the Soviet Union to New York. And in their pockets, eight bucks for the two of them And a bunch of rainbow hopes and dreams, Enough for great success. I sit and look out the window at the falling snow And think about how somewhere far away, Ten thousand kilometers away, Where the Atlantic is, and bays, and inlets, And territories with a four-century history; There are palm trees there, and skyscrapers, And even beaches amidst the concrete and glass. There are Chinatowns and Little Italy, Or you can just call it a neighborhood. There is the Statue of Liberty with a torch in her hand And a waterfall that gives the city energy, And the White House, and the Grand Canyon, and the state of Nevada. I will see all this, not in a dream! Hello, everyone reading my story! My name is Tomiris and in exactly 20 days (as of this writing) I will be 18. I am a first-year student of the West Kazakhstan Innovative Technological University in Uralsk, Kazakhstan. In the future I will become a specialized translator. Since childhood I liked studying languages, their features, noting the beauty of each, but I was especially interested in English. I began to learn it from the age of seven years and participated in many competitions, both in the city, and in the national. In grade 11 I dreamed of going to America, and began to prepare hard for the international exam IELTS in March 2022. I got 5.5 points when the threshold was 6.0. But I am not discouraged, I took the experience with gratitude because I improved my English to the upper-intermediate level while preparing for the exam. I think that today it is one of my most important achievements: an official confirmation of my knowledge by the British Council. Further I hasten to inform that by the time I am years old, I already have quite a good experience in the HoReCa sphere. In tenth and eleventh grades during summer vacation I worked as a waitress at a food court and, even in that position, I successfully used my knowledge of English while communicating with English-speaking guests at the establishment. Why did I decide to participate? Last May my brother Darkhan flew to America, Massachusetts under the Work&Travel program through your company and I was inspired by the idea. I started reading stories of guys from all over the world about their trip, what interesting people they met there, how they realized their dream, some even stayed to work there. This is my first reason for wanting to go there: to get to know their culture, customs and traditions, and to talk about ours. This program will allow me not only to earn money, but also to explore the country, make friends from all over the world and traditions, and to talk about ours, to explore the country, make friends from all over the world and gain professional experience. Secondly, but no less important reason, to study English in more depth, communicating in it with native speakers, and considering that there are so many accents in the U.S. language as there are people living there, this experience is absolutely invaluable. Thirdly, all of this learning can be combined with work, as I will have to constantly be in that environment with only English spoken around you. Moreover, I will get and develop my new skills in order to develop competencies in different areas, I have a goal to earn decent money or capital that will help me to pay for my studies and make my parents happy. I want to give them everything they gave me. They have always believed in me, supported all my endeavors and been there for me. I want them to be proud of me. And most importantly, being in the United States, I will be promoting my country's recognition, culture, traditions, and customs. After all, my country is the 9th largest country in the world! Also, if I have a chance, I will participate in official, cultural, s

UUSAblogi · 5 Οκτ 2009Διάβασμα

How to get to Montana and other transport adventures on the Mainland. Just the route, transport, how to get there, and where to book. The first flight, international: Moscow-Rome-New York, June 26-27, 2008. I was dropped off at Sheremetyevo 9 hours before the flight (I'm not from Moscow). After napping and lugging my bags around, I chatted with some students who were also flying and had an even longer wait. Later, I made my way closer to the Alitalia counter and met my fellow passengers. I had never flown so far, but the flight turned out to be quite fun (thanks to the random travel companions!), tasty, sleepy, and slightly tipsy. (Alitalia is the only airline I remember that freely puts wine and other drinks in the bar—the nightstand by the restrooms). The more we drank, the more we slept, and the closer we got to the promised land. After this flight and a similar one back home, I started to dislike Italians. Rude, boorish, insanely noisy, scattering things, littering, pushing, cackling—they turned out to be extremely unpleasant companions. We landed in New York without any particular joy. Tired and exhausted, we lined up to have some note-form attached to our passports (I-94; by the way, they should ideally staple it, but they just shoved it into my passport, and it kept getting lost among other documents...). The American in the booth with the forms turned out to be rude, chewing gum, and arrogant, but he signed it and let me through. Here I first encountered the 'yellow line,' which Americans strictly adhere to almost everywhere, even in stores where they behave like barbarians (no other word fits; go visit, walk into the clothing department of some Macy's and you'll see J). You shouldn't step over it until the person in front of you has finished their business. Then there was wandering around Terminal 4, finally discovering the AirTrain, and finally getting into the city, but that's another story :) The second flight, domestic, ill-fated: To begin with, everything was just against me, and I couldn't leave for a whole week. Planes weren't flying, buses weren't running, trains weren't moving. The small town on the Canadian border seemed like a bastion without civilization... And this is in America, where, in essence, everything is available everywhere. When we went to the bus station and stood in a huge line among dark-skinned people, I was sent to the trains. When we tried to buy me a train ticket, they were surprised that such a town even existed, and after finding it on the map, they sent me to register the ticket for a train that supposedly had a station two hours away. It turned out that tickets had to be booked more than a week in advance, and of course, there were none left. The person who was voluntarily helping me drag myself around for these tickets would occasionally add sadly: 'Lin, maybe it's not meant to be?' And when I finally despaired, I went to the Manhattan Public Library, wrote an email to my employer and parents that I wasn't going to that town, bought a local AT&T SIM card (which, by the way, worked everywhere except my Montana!, so it turned out to be quite useless throughout my stay), and called my friends to say I was staying in NY. Then a boy called me who also had an offer in my village and had bought a plane ticket to Billings (5 hours by car from Plentywood). Then my conscience got the better of me, and I couldn't do anything calmly because I had promised my employer, had been having lovely correspondence with her, and just generally given my word. So I decided to get there at any cost. Sometimes their servers for buying and ordering tickets, as well as in stores, cannot read our cards (I had VTB24), and I couldn't buy a plane ticket. On the last day, when 3 other Russian students—including the one with the ticket—said they could buy me a ticket, I was practically already sitting on my suitcases from Moscow. And on 07/03/08, sometime in the morning, I received an SMS from a Russian number saying

DDream-landguest_16012 · 1 Οκτ 2009Διάβασμα

Here is my first letter home: I really enjoyed flying by plane)) It was a bit scary the first time during takeoff and landing, I guess it's like that for everyone) I sat by the window)) I wanted to bathe in the clouds, the view over the mountains and continents was unreal—like from space! The food was tasty (though maybe we were just very hungry), everything was packaged so coolly)) I especially remember the wine, they poured it in full glasses)) They also played various movies) Our airline was Alitalia, with a layover in Rome. The luggage arrived without any losses! Everything is good with us, except for minor problems!!! We don't have money yet to buy a laptop, so we use the internet at the library, the time is limited here, only 1 hour per day! But the internet is free everywhere—wi-fi! We spent all our first days in New York trying to find work and housing! Now we are already living in an apartment (or rather, in the basement of a private house). The owners are an elderly Russian (or rather, Jewish) couple!!! We found it in 4 days))) Before that, we lived in a hostel (in Chinatown) in a small, cramped room (we booked it 4 days in advance). At first, there was no time to even walk around the city because of various errands, we were always sleepy and hungry!! We saved on food, I lived almost entirely on bananas so that we could pay for the apartment, we had to pay a deposit for 2 months immediately, $700 per person. We lost a little weight)) We often bought something at a diner, the portions here are huge everywhere, you can stretch them for the whole day! Now our "torments" are behind us!!! It's a 2-room apartment, a small kitchen, a shower, generally okay! There was little furniture there, but gradually we dragged a lot of useful things into the house! Here, it's customary to put everything out by the road on trash day, and on the way home, we found many interesting things for ourselves: leather chairs, a TV with a rolling shelf, and a dresser)) Only there is nowhere to do laundry (you can do it for money at a laundromat). So we all walk around in dirty and wrinkled clothes) We will pay $1050 a month for the three of us (including utility bills!) The area is very quiet and calm (Briarwood, Queens), it reminds me of a cottage settlement. There are many shops around, even Russian ones, it's a 15-minute walk to the subway... It takes half an hour to get to Manhattan. In general, we like everything!!! Now we can cook food at home)) I already spotted all our cereals (the brands are the same) and black bread in a Russian store)) We walked around the city and went shopping several times)) It just blows your mind with the abundance of things (prices in the city center are much lower than at our market, and the items are good, famous brands!!!) So we dreamed a little)) New York itself is a city of dreams: huge skyscrapers, crowds of people from different corners of the world, everything around is bright and unreal, as if you ended up in a movie!!!)) The only drawback is the subway! It can't be compared to the Moscow one—it's dirty, ugly, doesn't run as often, and the map is very confusing! On the weekend, we went in the evening on the free ferry near the Statue of Liberty!!! BEAUTY... everything is in lights!!! And we also went to the famous Brighton Beach! Russians everywhere, everything is covered in trash, lots of people, and the water is cold! Not very good impressions of the beach! For a week now, there has been wild heat outside!!! But everywhere indoors and in the subway, it's very cold because of the air conditioning! So I have to carry a jacket with me constantly! I even caught a slight cold) We recently bought a liter of rum!!)) We celebrated our move-in)) We already have a friend, Valdo—an American)) He helps us look for work and promised to drive us around the city in his car! I barely understand Americans((( I only understand standard questions and compliments)) There are a lot of handsome guys, which you can't say abo

Gguest_160071 Οκτ 2009Διάβασμα

If stars are lit, it means someone needs it... And in America, they are lit every second. In the very first minutes of our stay in America, in New York, we were lucky enough to run into the lead singer of Gym Class Heroes at JFK. And then I immediately realized that I was in America, the land of freedom. A country where dreams and desires come true, where everything can become a reality!!! Because in reality, if you become famous in the USA, it means the whole world will know you. It's not for nothing that everyone—well, what am I saying, everyone, stars from all countries—dreams of getting to America, doing something to get noticed, something everyone would know about. To become famous... America gives them that opportunity. There is nothing impossible here. Impossible is nothing!!!! And if you have become such a person, I mean, if you already belong to words like celebrity or famous, then everything worked out. America has lit many stars. Almost all of them live in the USA, but some continue to live in two countries (for example, the UK and USA), some prefer to live in Italy and fly to Los Angeles for shoots and castings on a private jet. But most of the so-called stars live in Los Angeles and New York. So, each of us can meet our idol or just a celebrity we like absolutely anywhere. Almost all of them are ordinary people who don't hide behind the backs of huge bodyguards and don't ride in armored limousines. If you are in LA, then welcome to the world of show business! SHOW TIME! As you know, something very interesting always happens when meeting famous people. This case did not pass us by either. One day, our guys went for a ride on Sunset Blvd. In general, for those who know, it's not a poor place ;) So, our guys are driving along and one of them fell behind. Maga turned around to call his friend and stared at a couple walking behind him. - Serega, hurry up!..... Aaaa.... it's... it's... Then Serega overtakes them and turns around to see who it is. - Robbie Williams?!!!! Robbie didn't react and kept walking with his girlfriend. The guys stopped, grabbed the camera (for once they had it with them when they needed it!!!). Maga, as the strongest in such matters, but not the strongest in English, went up to Robbie.))) - Excuse me! Can we take a photo with you? - f* u! (Robbie replied) - What??? - f* u! f* u! f* u! - Why? please, can we take one? - f* U!!!! Robbie and his girlfriend turn into one of the fashionable hotels, while the guys stand in shock and look at them. They went inside. Then Robbie opens the door and shouts: I'll come back and... f* U!!!! Ahahahaha))) wow!!! We laughed at this incident for a long time. This is where the law of meanness really manifests itself: you have a camera, but no photos )))) Subsequently, we met a lot of celebrities. The guys went to see the new Batman at an elite cinema. Elijah Wood was there with a friend. On Doheny Dr, we met Lindsay Lohan's sister (she is very popular in America). We saw Vin Diesel in a car and Eddie Murphy in a convertible. Victoria Beckham came to a private club to see our friends. They also met Antonio Banderas on 3rd Street Promenade. At LAX airport, a friend took a picture with Mike Tyson. We saw Matthew McConaughey in Malibu. In general, if you really want to, you can just take off and fly (as they say)!!! And without any ceremonies or concerts, you can see all your favorites on the city streets, in shops, etc. Everywhere there are expensive hotels and restaurants, beauty salons, fancy cars, and stars trying to hide behind all these sunglasses, huge hats, and baggy outfits))) But such is their fate))) Because a celebrity is a person who spends their whole life trying to achieve fame, and then walks around in dark glasses so they won't be recognized.)))

Gguest_160071 Οκτ 2009Διάβασμα

Santa Monica One of the most chic places in LA. It is a tourist area, so there are many hotels here and everything is created for us. The area near the beach is a shopping district, where you can find a variety of all kinds of shops. The most famous beaches in California are located right here. Venice is the most party-oriented place. It is always full of people, souvenir shops are set up everywhere, and street artists draw portraits of people passing by. Nearby is the famous Old Muscle Beach—this is exactly where Arnold Schwarzenegger started his career. You can always meet athletes and just fans of an active lifestyle here. Rings, parallel bars, ropes, etc. Everything for you and your figure! There is also a space allocated for extreme sports enthusiasts. Special structures, like those found in competitions, have been built for skate and bike lovers. And if you drop by Venice, let's say, on the weekend or on a Friday (although, undoubtedly, Saturday evening is the best time), you will run into a crowd dancing to the famous rhythms of DJs. Santa Monica Beach is known for its Santa Monica Pier. Pacific Park and souvenir shops are located on it. Oh yes, Bubba Gump is here too. And if you wish, you can take a picture on that very famous bench from the movie Forrest Gump, trying on his huge shoes on yourself))) By the way, having been to almost all the beaches of Los Angeles, we concluded that these two are the best. I don't know why, but it's always hot here and the water is warm. So, even spending an hour in the sun, you will get a chocolate tan. What else is Santa Monica known for? The central office of the Yahoo! company is located here. You will see it immediately if you go up to 20th Street. A huge beautiful building with a large front garden and a famous sign! Of course, one cannot ignore the 3rd Street Promenade! A favorite place for all shopaholics, along with Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. It is similar to our Old Arbat. There are all kinds of shops on the sides, and a walking area in the middle. You can go to the cinema here; there are two on the Promenade. Also, next to them, they usually hand out invitations to closed film screenings in Beverly Hills, so don't pass by.))) And if you suddenly need the internet, there is an Apple Store there, from where no one will ever kick you out, so the most avid internet users can safely stay there all day. They make delicious pizza here, it costs relatively inexpensively (relatively, because there are cheaper options) $12 for a whole pizza. You can eat it outdoors or in the restaurant itself. 20th Century FOX and the famous globe from Universal Pictures are located on Pico Blvd. You can book a studio tour in advance and enjoy the sets from your favorite movies or see exhibitions of actresses like the incomparable Marilyn Monroe.

Gguest_160051 Οκτ 2009Διάβασμα

Svetik read in TimeOut that some local youth theater is putting on a Romeo and Juliet play in a park! We all got interested and decided to check it out. I only knew the approximate address... So, scouring 55th Street, I think I asked everyone where the nearest park was, or if they knew where Romeo and Juliet was being performed outdoors today. I walked about 10 blocks and stumbled upon a theater sign... Maybe it's here after all. Inside, there were renovations, and everything pointed to the fact that the event wouldn't be here. But curiosity will be the death of me one day, so I tried to find someone. Some people came out who, as it turned out, had no idea about any play (( Of course. I wanted to stay and find out more about this theater, but I also really wanted to find the park and watch Romeo and Juliet, so cursing the fact that I was running late, I rushed on. But my love for the theater and my pull toward the stage made me turn back every time I got further and further away... I never went back there and never found out if they wanted to make me famous))))))) But I have a feeling that one day I will return there))) I did find the place where they were showing Romeo, people were comfortably settled on the grass, apparently having been watching the performance for about 20 minutes. So, without wasting time, I spread out my bag and sat down. The funniest thing is that apart from the words Romeo, Juliet, and a couple of others, I understood almost nothing. I won't make excuses))) But the play was good anyway... And Romeo was played by a cute boy))))