Martha's Vineyard: qué hay cerca, cómo llegar y cuándo ir · 2026

AAlmagulsamarbaevna · 18 oct 2011Leer

Hi everyone) I'll start from the very beginning, i.e., the moment I finally decided to participate in the Work and Travel USA program) or rather, it was decided for me) I had been persuading my parents since my freshman year) but I was lucky enough to go only in my second year, considering I transferred majors and lost a year due to the credit difference, so I had been dreaming of a trip to the States for 2 years)) Even though my parents agreed, my brother was against it, and I had almost given up hope of ever going) Anyway, I submitted my documents in my city on the last day of acceptance, i.e., May 13th (thanks to my persistent aunt))) and even though the office worked until 5, we managed to submit them at 5:30) Of course, I hadn't decided where I was going yet, and besides, I didn't have an offer) Initially, I decided I would go to Massachusetts to a quiet resort island, Martha's Vineyard, because my friends had been there before and recommended it) But for some reason, I was drawn to Alaska... Of course, I told my beloved aunt that I was going to the island, but I had completely different plans) I told my mom I was going to Alaska, and all my relatives that I was going to Massachusetts, because I knew no one would let me go so far alone, especially without an offer) Fortunately, my aunt was out of town during my send-off, so only my closest people were there) Honestly, for some reason, I was crying before leaving... whether it was because I saw the fear in my mom's eyes, or because I realized I was going practically nowhere, and there was a mixed feeling... both joy and fear.. By the way, I found a guy at the pre-departure meeting who also didn't know where he was going, and after talking to him, we decided to go together... At the airport, I saw many happy students.. and among them a classmate who seemed to be going somewhere further south... For some reason, I couldn't fully realize and understand everything that was happening to me, and only after passing registration did I realize that I had a huge chance to see America, and such a chance doesn't come every day. So... my departure day was June 13th, and the next day was my birthday) but I kind of forgot about it with all the hustle and bustle)) Before the flight, of course, all my relatives gave advice on what and how, etc., but my thoughts weren't on how many terminals JFK has and if I would get lost, or where to stay overnight and what to eat, but on HOW I WOULD FIND A JOB in such a huge country and in such a big state as Alaska!) (by the way, we bought tickets from NY to Anchorage in advance). I was afraid that I wouldn't find a job and would come home with nothing( Arriving in NY, we met some Kazakh guys who were also flying to Anchorage)) we were lucky) among them was someone experienced in America) so there were no problems with housing) although their tickets were for another day (having agreed to meet them in Anchorage and exchanged phone numbers, we flew there).

WTWelcome to Americaguest_15667 · 1 oct 2009Leer

On the first page, I want to talk about my first day of work, which happened just one day after arriving in the States. As it turned out later, it was the hardest one. In the morning, Marshall—our employer—picked us up while we were still asleep. We got dressed in 2 minutes and left. At the warehouse, we quickly met Vlad, who had arrived a week earlier, and the American guys we were going to work with. We got our t-shirts and headed out. That day, I worked with Nikita, Marshall, Matt, and Steve. We drove through traffic (which is actually a rare occurrence), then took a ferry with the truck to Martha's Vineyard—a very beautiful place. On the way, we talked to a doctor—he recognized our accent because he had a colleague from Russia. Nikita asked him if he was of Irish descent. He was very surprised, called his wife over, and said that she was of Irish descent, while he was Italian. Before that, our housing manager Peter—the first person we talked to—said his ancestors were from Ireland. And after that, Nikita asked almost everyone he talked to about their Irish heritage. When he hit the mark, the person he was talking to would be very surprised-) There are very narrow streets on this island, and the trailer is veeeery long. Marshall has been driving trucks his whole life and does it with amazing calmness. We drove without GPS using Google Maps printouts and, naturally, got lost (that happened almost always—in an unfamiliar city, we would sometimes spend 2 hours looking for a place. Why not buy a GPS for $150 is beyond me). Eventually, we ended up in a dead end where we couldn't turn around. Cops arrived, cleared the parked cars, and then escorted us to the right place. The day was hard because we worked at a decent pace in the heat all day and barely ate—there was a risk of missing the last ferry. I really liked the work from the first day for many reasons: - interacting with interesting people - physical activity - lots of traveling - not monotonous - good tips if you're lucky On Martha's Vineyard, a family was moving from California. The firm we worked for is called Hiltz moving&storage. It is an agent for Bekins—one of the largest and oldest moving companies in the country. A firm similar to ours handled packing and loading in California. An interstate driver delivered the van to our warehouse. Then we handled the unloading. So, unfortunately, we didn't get to drive very long distances. Our area of responsibility was only neighboring states. This system has a huge disadvantage—everyone blames each other for damaged items. What was interesting on the first day: I learned what the title of one of my favorite songs, "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck, means. I thought it meant something like "Give me five," but it turned out to be "Take a five-minute break." Then there was a funny incident also related to translation difficulties. All boxes labeled "Damery" had to be carried to a specific place. I kept wondering what this word meant—maybe something like "fragile"? Moreover, the lady of the house told us, "Try not to show these boxes to my husband," and when the husband saw them, he said, "Ugh, Damery, I want to burn all these boxes!" It turned out that Damery was the maiden name of his wife's parents-) It was very pleasant to work with the American guys. "I show you how to do it not because you do it wrong but because I want you to do it right." Matt is 29. He works in moving during the summer to relax—he actually works as a head chef in a restaurant without days off. Steve is 20. He once jumped off a train when he was late for work and missed his station. Then, barely alive, he went with us and worked the whole day. We got $40 in tips each. Simple arithmetic kicked in immediately—if only it were like that every day... But, unfortunately, we received tips only 1-2 times a week. On the way home, the most pleasant part of the work begins—you sleep exhausted in the truck and get paid the same $10 an hour for it. At first, the system was