Roma: Guida di viaggio, prezzi e alloggi gratuiti · 2026

DDDaria Dikovadikovadasha2002 · 10 gen 2023Leggi

“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 gen 2023Leggi

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

АБАлександр Борисовtdr241 · 10 dic 2018Leggi

Hello, dear reader! I want to thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, which I jotted down in my notebook during the difficult and fun moments of Summer 2018. I want to say right away that these are excerpts of my memories, divided into chapters, so you can read them during your subway commute or on a coffee break at university. So, let's begin! Story 1 - I want to go to London! I'm sure you've heard somewhere that if you fly to America via England, you get the right to walk around London for 24-48 hours. Yes, I heard that too back in the day. I didn't think long or reflect seriously, I just bought the tickets. I bought these tickets: St. Petersburg - Riga - London - Reykjavik - San Francisco. The first mistake: I didn't buy transit tickets from London to San Francisco to save money. We arrive in London, there's a huge waiting hall where everyone is standing with their English visas waiting for the customs officer to let them through. My passport is empty. I approach the counter, explain the situation, and immediately hear: "No, I am sorry, you should be waiting for your plane only here." I approach different staff members, hear the same thing, and with my peripheral vision, I'm already looking for a soft spot to spend 48 hours. A coincidence saves me. An elderly border guard walks by, I tell him everything again, and he promises to help. My saviors: two American visas and a booked hotel room that would be lost if I wasn't let in. He "takes me by the hand" and goes to the chief customs officer, saying he vouches for me and that I won't stay in England illegally without transit tickets or a visa. He takes my passport and stamps it. That's it, I'm in England. Next, I visited Reykjavik (Iceland), but it's easier there. It's Schengen. Video from London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pjbfM2z0Y&t=4s

YTYauheni Turavetsevgeniytyrovez · 15 dic 2017Leggi

Everything for the first time From the airplane cabin Austrian Airlines, flight Minsk-Vienna, Vienna-New York. 1.5 hours to Vienna, a layover, and another 8.5 hours of flight to get there, across the ocean. Everything was new to me – after all, it was my first time flying in my life. The flight was not easy for me. I arrived in Vienna looking really red, as if I had just spent two hours in a steam room. I didn't expect it to be so nerve-wracking for me. I managed to pull myself together in two hours. During the long flight to the States, I thought about my future job at a restaurant, about what and how I would have to do, and if they would fire me if I did something wrong. In short, there were only questions to which I (alas) could not yet give answers. Upon arriving at JFK airport in New York, we (I was flying with a friend) had to go through passport control. And so, after standing in line for about an hour (there were a lot of people), our turn finally came, and we headed to the officer. We greeted him calmly, gave him the necessary documents, but that's when our adventures began. During the flight, we were offered to fill out a declaration, which is MANDATORY when entering the USA (a lot is written about this on the Internet), but we didn't attach any importance to it. A big mistake. We stood there not knowing what to do. There was a long line behind us. But we were lucky. The customs officer handed us the declaration and asked us to fill it out right there on the spot. I am grateful to that man for not sending us to the back of the line. Having finally passed passport control, we quickly rushed to get our suitcases, as time was running out and we might miss our bus. NY city We knew how to get to the bus station because two of our friends had arrived a week earlier. Using the AirTrain (they have them in Moscow too), we reached the necessary station and transferred to the subway. After about 40 minutes, we were coming out of the underground passage, and there it was before me, that very same, real New York that I had only seen in movies. An endless stream of cars, crowds of people, steam from the sewers – this is exactly how I imagined it. We were hugely impressed by the real New York, but there was no time to admire it, as we were in a hurry to get to the bus station. And we got lucky – we made it to the last bus to Cape May (New Jersey), which was our final destination. It took more than 4 hours to get to Cape May with one transfer. On the way to Cape May, we made a stop in one of the largest cities in NJ – Atlantic City. Late at night, we finally reached Cape May, exhausted and so tired that we almost missed the stop where we needed to get off. We got off. 2 a.m. An unfamiliar country, an unfamiliar city. No connection at all. No transport running. We are standing there with our suitcases. What the hell are we supposed to do, where are we going? We only had the address of the house. A few minutes later, a car pulls up, a man gets out and says: "Roman?" My friend answers: "Yes." And I thought, finally...

АБАлександр Борисовtdr241 · 26 nov 2017Leggi

Goodbye, Saint Petersburg I caught myself thinking that I was flying to the USA somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There was no turning back. I recall the words I learned in school during English lessons, trying to imagine a conversation with an American, not thinking about the fact that I have to work, because I only want to think about good things. To my right sits my girlfriend, or rather, she has already fallen asleep, and I am still sitting here thinking about what I have ultimately agreed to. Imagine flying to another continent, to an unfamiliar place, not being very fluent in the language, with $400 in your pocket, and an entire summer ahead that you will have to, as I thought at that moment, survive. So much unknown, and there is nothing to calm yourself with except the stories of past participants. Okay, I thought, we'll figure it out, and I asked the flight attendant for a glass of orange juice. Aeroflot planes, by the way, seemed so cozy to me at that time; they even gave out slippers and a blanket. Mom, I've arrived! I couldn't fall asleep during this long flight, which is a pity, because I still have to stay awake for at least 16 hours. We get off the plane, which landed in New York City, and immediately enter winter. The cold from the air conditioners is striking; I involuntarily notice goosebumps on my skin and start looking for the jacket I wore from St. Petersburg. We show our documents to the border control officer, who, unlike our stern ones, smiles and jokes with every new person. Our first stroke of luck happened by chance. The airport employee in St. Petersburg told us that our flight was to Boston, so we only needed to check our luggage once in SPb, and we could pick it up in Boston. In NY and Moscow, there was no need to worry about it. Relieved and traveling light, we went for a walk around the airport and accidentally saw our luggage already lying on the baggage claim belt. It turned out that we did need to pick it up in NY after all, so it was lucky we noticed. The airport in NY is strikingly different from ours; it is huge, with many gates connected by a train. After a long search, we figured out where to go and started waiting for our plane, which was leaving in 7 hours. It was surprising that there were almost no seats in the airport, and people were sleeping on the floor or just walking around. We didn't walk for long because it was very hot outside and there was nothing much to do there, and it quickly became boring inside the airport. In the end, awkwardly, we still laid down. After a short sleep, we finally boarded the plane to Boston, where we immediately plunged into American culture. Instead of the usual fruits and vegetables for breakfast, we were given a pack of chips and a soda of our choice. We took off. From Boston, we headed to our final destination, the city of West-Yarmouth, where we were to work all summer at a trampoline park. First impressions Upon arrival, we were immediately settled into the room where we would live and shown the work. At first, the job seemed quite good. We had to sit by the trampoline slide and let children in one by one, ensuring safety. It seemed easy and simple, exactly what was needed. The next day I went to my first workday, where I met all the Russian guys, who turned out to be very sociable and friendly. And on the very first workday, I got tired of my job. It was overcast and there were almost no people in the park, so I just had to sit and look at the sky. A couple of times I almost fell asleep, I stood up and walked to cheer myself up. I walked back and forth, here and there, then sat down again. On my break, I went to my girlfriend Lyuba, who bought us some American pizza to eat. I really liked the pizza because it fully met all my expectations: big, stretchy cheese, toasted - everything was as it should be. After a delicious lunch, I returned to work, where I sat out the rest of my day. After the workday, we decided to go to a store, w

OOOralbek Otegulovjohnfkennedy · 29 nov 2015Leggi

America was created for everyone and it is full of fun. You can live there as you want. Of course under the American laws. You have the rights and duties. If you are under 21, you can’t drink alcohol. It’s prohibited by Federal law. During my trip in America I found a lot of friends from different countries of the world. Most of my friends are from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Turkey etc. We are still keeping in touch. Some of them invited me to see their countries. And I decided to write something about them. The first person who I met in Rehoboth Beach was Mirela Balan – helpful Balkan girl. She is very friendly, intelligent, attractive, beautiful and clever. She is from Romania and she has been living in America for some years. When I was working in Corner Grille as kitchen assistant, she also worked there as waitress. She is really nice person and true friend. I dream to see her again and I believe that my dream will come true in one day… Rehoboth Beach is full of students from all over the world. We meet most of them on the street, on buses, in churches. The next friends I met were Monika Mageranova and Didi Ilieva from Bulgaria. We met while we were going to the Walmart supermarket. Monika helped me choose a phone. Before that, I walked around for 3-4 days without a phone. Yes, walking without a phone is not an easy task. At this moment, I realized that our lives are completely tied to mobile phones. When we are in our country, if something happens, we immediately run to the phone. Following this habit, I also reached for the phone in my pocket, took it in my hand, and only after looking at the screen did I realize that it couldn't help me here. Only then did I wake up. Even though there were people all around, I felt lonely. I really had no one there. I didn't even have a phone with Wi-Fi to access the internet. Others at least had these phones. But I had nothing at all. The French language, which I had been struggling to learn for years, was of no use. My only weapon in my hand was the English language. From this moment on, I realized that it is a very powerful weapon. Only when I mastered this weapon freely did my life improve. Yes, English is truly the most powerful weapon in the world. If every Kazakh child masters this weapon perfectly, no enemy can defeat us. I met many people in America. It is impossible to write about all of them individually. I will only briefly touch upon the most noteworthy ones. One of the people who left a special impression on me was a Kosovar girl, Arjeta Zabeli. I met her on August 20, 2014, when I went to the state of Pennsylvania. - Hi! - Hi! - What’s your name? - Arjeta. - Oralbek. - Nice to meet you! - Nice to meet you too! Where are you from? - Kosova. - Kosova? Oh, really? - Yes… Do you know Kosova? - Yes, I know Kosova. - Where is it? - It’s in Balkan Peninsula. Between Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia. She was wondered and said: “You are the first person who knows Kosova. Nobody knows Kosova here”. - I know. It’s new country… That’s why most of people don’t know about it. - How do you know Kosova? - I like politics. I know your President Ibrahim …(I couldn’t remember his last name) - Ibrahim? Our President is woman…. - I know. Your first President… Who was his last name…? - Do you mean Ibrahim Rugova? - Yes! Ibrahim Rugova. He was very nice person… She was very surprised when she found out that I also knew about Ibrahim Rugova. Because even about Kazakhstan, which gained independence in 1991, many people in America do not know much, let alone Kosova, which gained independence only in 2008. If they know, they only know from movies. Yes, Ibrahim Rugova was indeed a good person. But he did not live to see his country gain independence. He passed away 2 years before independence, in 2006, at the age of 61. I never thought I would meet people from a small country located on the Balkan Peninsula in America. I met such a pure creation of nature for the first time in

ENElizaveta Noreastpatterns · 20 nov 2015Leggi

As long as I can remember, despite the chaos surrounding me that sweeps me away in a whirlwind of colors, glitter, and paint, I have always written down plans that stack up into endless skyscrapers of lists. America was the last place on Earth I wanted to go to chase my dream. And despite all those multi-story to-do lists, I sometimes don't notice how, while deviating from the plan and helping others, the road I'm walking on winds and leads me to unexpected places. So, one day, a friend asked me for help organizing an event for a company in Vladivostok that deals with an exchange program, providing students the opportunity to work and travel in the USA during the summer. My task was to pretend to be a student interested in the program and ask leading questions from a list. Now, I realize they did their job well; that PR meeting influenced my decision too. That same spring, I found a Master's degree program in Media and Design in the Netherlands, One orange tulip, taught in English. As a child, my mom and I lived in New Zealand, and I might have kept a decent English foundation, but due to a lack of practice, passing the exam with the required score seemed incredibly difficult. And, just as I was taught to swim by being thrown into a pool, I decided to put myself in a situation where there was no Russian speech, so I would have no choice but to start speaking English. Of all the American dreams, I felt closest to San Francisco, perhaps because its hills and bridges are often compared to Vladivostok. My friend, who went there through the Work and Travel USA program, warned me about the likely difficulties I might face, but found that I could easily find a suitable summer job on Craigslist. The only thing he asked me to pay attention to was that it's a city full of creative people, so I could leave my A4 resume written in Times New Roman at home, and that any employer would be happy if a rainbow and colorful ponies poured out of my letter. A letter to America would have arrived by the following winter, so I wrote the website http://eastpatterns.ru/. One part of it was a blog about places where sales experience helped me see the beauty in making people happy, and the other was a page with a list of all my previous jobs, my responsibilities, and skills. As it turned out, some people in California forget that there is a world beyond their state, and they completely ignored the Russia country code before the phone number in my contact details; they tried in vain to call me, ending up in Denver or some other unknown American cities. And, since I do everything at the last minute in a very Russian way, the deadline for submitting visa documents was approaching, and I needed to focus my attention on passing my summer exams, so I asked the International Exchange Center for help in finding a job offer. The only condition I couldn't compromise on was the sea. So, I was destined to spend the summer in a small tourist town in New England, in the state of Maine, Ogunquit, the name of which I only managed to read clearly right before my interview at the consulate. Furthermore, I was given enough time to decide if I had even chosen the right country to go to; all over the world, US consulates were experiencing technical glitches, and my interview, which was already very late, was postponed until the end of June.

OEOlga Emelianovaolenenok · 5 lug 2013Leggi

Unfortunately, I don't have time to write reports every day. I have to write from memory, but actually, it's not bad to recall the days spent here; at the same time, I analyze how the summer is going, what I'm achieving, and how much money I'm earning. Sunday was nothing remarkable, except that it was the first laundry day. Laundry means a place for washing clothes. Laundromats (I think that's what they're called) are scattered all over the city - self-service. For the last three days, Sonya and I have been planning to do laundry. A lot of clothes had piled up, partly because it was very damp in our room; it turns out a pipe had been leaking the whole week we've been here. The things didn't dry properly and even smelled unpleasant. But either Sonya was busy, or I was, or we were out of detergent. In the end, by the end of my last day off this week, we gathered our strength. We took all our things and went, but first to the store for detergent. I had to choose it alone since Sonya stayed with the "bags" of clothes. I didn't think it would be so difficult. The laundry detergent I'm used to is dry, in a box; here, it's only available in very large packs. All other laundry products are sold in pods, 20 pieces per pack. One pod = one wash in modern automatic machines. Very convenient. I took the only brand I knew from those presented - Tide, and, I think, the cheapest one - $5. By the way, you can buy detergent in the laundry itself, but for 75 cents per pod!!! There are special vending machines. In the laundromat, we were clueless for a long, long time. That's why I'm writing in detail now about what and how to press. First, we sorted what to wash with what. Then, from different types of washers, we chose the right one. Later, I figured out what's what. There are different types of machines depending on the type of detergent: liquid, dry, granules. The newest machines are for granules, and they are the vast majority. After the clothes were loaded into the machine, we realized we didn't have change. All washers only accept 25-cent coins. One wash = $2.50. Sonya went home for change, and I studied everything around me. On the machine itself, there are 6 buttons: white, bright, colors, delicate, woolen, and something like "very dirty laundry." The instructions say that we choose the water temperature ourselves. I haven't figured out how yet. After waiting for Sonya, I decided to ask for help from a girl who was waiting for her things, if she could change a dollar for me. Everything turned out to be much simpler; the girl pointed to a change machine that was hidden in the corner!!! Be careful, don't repeat my mistakes!!!! Out of joy, I immediately loaded the money. When choosing the color, I pressed the 'white' button, although all the things were colored and could fade. Actually, I expected that after pressing the button, something like temperature or other options would appear on the display. I thought I would just see what would be offered. That didn't happen; the machine started washing immediately. And on the display appeared: hot water, 33 min. I felt like I was in a train station waiting room. It was my first time watching American TV. They were broadcasting news; as I understood, there are fires in California right now. Then the weather, I didn't understand anything there at all. Temperatures in the USA are measured in Fahrenheit, the conversion formula is non-linear, so you can't just estimate it easily. Already when the things were washed, on one of the machines I saw a table of color-to-temperature correspondence. White = hot, bright & delicate = warm, colors & woolen = cold. That's what the independent temperature choice consisted of. There are also several types of automatic dryers. Sort of like new and old models. As an African-American woman advised me (she came up later), you need to use the new ones because they work faster. This pleasure costs 25 cents. But I had to use the dryer 3 times in a row for the things to dr