Question 1. Exchange programs are a wonderful opportunity for young people—and not just the young—who are full of energy and desire but short on cash. Moreover, exchange programs are most often organized between universities; in fact, thanks to one such program, I flew to Europe for a semester last year. Question 2. Speaking of my experience, I noticed that I had a lot of awkward situations involving European trains, and you will read about one of them. It happened last year when I was an exchange student in Poland, in the far west of the country. My friend and I set off for the eastern city of Oświęcim to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp—yes, our interests were quite specific. The journey there, which took 9 long hours on a train with seats, cost me the health of my backside. The tour went fine, if one can speak correctly about a concentration camp… The problems started on the way back. We arrived at the Oświęcim station 40 minutes before the train was due; by the way, their station looked like something out of a horror movie. The scheduled time had long passed, and our train was still nowhere to be seen. After 15 minutes of waiting, I started looking for station staff. After 10 minutes of searching, we ran into a conductor who explained that there was a system error and we had actually bought tickets for a bus (even though the ticket said 'train'). He said there would be another train in an hour and we could go for free if we wanted; we had no choice... At that moment, I hated Polish trains and their entire transport system, but there was nowhere to go, and I definitely didn't want to spend the night in that city. For an hour, we—two Kazakhs in a city that looks like Silent Hill at night—sat and tried to entertain ourselves. We even met a very strange Pole who looked like a cartoon character. I still remember that cold platform where every minute felt like an hour. But nothing lasts forever, and our train finally arrived. Now we hoped we wouldn't miss the second train from Krakow to Bydgoszcz (our city). As you might have guessed, we were late. We had to buy new tickets for two separate trains to get to our city. And so, after two transfers and 14 hours on the road, again on seats, we finally reached our dormitory. I have never missed my dorm so much. It's a pity I didn't get to sleep properly, because the next day I had a flight to Barcelona, but that is a completely different story. Question 3. After I returned to Kazakhstan, or rather, when my foot stepped onto the land of my hometown, Uralsk, the first thought that came to my head was: "I want to go to the USA." The logic was: "I've been to Europe, now I need to conquer America." If we talk about real reasons, I realized that my city is too small for me, and plus, while youth is still in full swing, I want to see, visit, touch, try, and feel. My choice fell on Work and Travel, because it's one thing to travel for 2-3 weeks as a tourist, but it's completely different when you, even if only for 3 months, become a part of this country, absorb its culture, make new acquaintances, go through culture shock, and get used to it. I am a person who grew up on American "Disney" and "Nickelodeon" series (shoutout to "Big Time Rush" fans), and this program will fulfill my dream of living in the USA, seeing those very American suburbs (where, in series, murders most often happen), playing rugby wearing those huge "armor" pads, and visiting the best city in the world, New York. Question 4. During Work and Travel, I first of all hope to see and feel all the beauty of the United States of America; as you read above, this is the dream of the teenager sitting inside me. Also, as an English teacher, I want to improve my language and make good friends. And of course, earn enough money and bring gifts from America to my family (classically, new iPhone models). And I also have one small goal: to show the merits of my people by my own example, to be, so to speak, a representative of Kazak
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