Roman: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

YTYauheni Turavetsevgeniytyrovez · Dec 15, 2017Read

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...

ENElizaveta Noreastpatterns · Nov 20, 2015Read

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.

IIrinabogadelnya · Feb 10, 2010Read

The coming summer is no exception. Hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking students and graduates are already in full swing, packing their bags to head out toward new discoveries, encounters, and sensations. Among them is a student from a Russian university who won the “TSMO-2049” contest and received a free trip through the “Work and Travel 2029” program. Our office staff met with Travelina Vorkinyuk to find out some details about her personal life and her plans for the upcoming summer season. – Hi, Travelina. First of all, congratulations on your brilliant victory in the contest! You have such an unusual name. What is the story behind it? – Hello. Thank you for the congratulations! The story of my mysterious name began 20 years ago, when TSMO announced the recruitment for the next “Work and Travel 2009” season. My parents met in New York – the amazing “city that never sleeps.” Ironically, my mom and dad were planning a tour to Niagara Falls, organized by the International Exchange Center in America. That’s where their whirlwind romance began, which continues to this day. And I was born the year after their next trip. You could say I was christened in honor of this program. (laughs) – How romantic!.. So, it has become a family tradition for you? – Exactly. My parents, however, only managed to participate in the program twice. At that time, it was only available to students up to their fifth year inclusive. As for me, I have already been an international exchange student twice. This will be my third time. And I plan to make such trips at least four more times. I hope that in the near future, Luxembourg and Switzerland will join the list of countries, as I am studying German and would really like to activate the language in a natural environment. – Interesting, do your preferences align with your parents' choices? – Back when the “Work and Travel” program was just gaining momentum and there wasn't a large choice of where to go (besides the USA, there was only France), my parents didn't have to rack their brains about it. Since then, the boundaries of choice have expanded significantly. Even if you, of course, only speak English besides Russian, it is extremely difficult to decide: either Canada with super friendly people and a stable economy, or England with its rich traditions and “posh” English, or even Australia with its unusually rich flora and fauna (even if it is winter there!). And I won't even mention the students studying Spanish and French! Belgium, France, Spain… – Travelina, will you reveal the secret of your upcoming trip? – With pleasure. My destination will be New Zealand. This summer, TSMO announced an international exchange season between New Zealand and Australia. In my opinion, this is a great chance to cover the features of two cultures at once and make even more contacts. – Please tell us more, what does the international exchange season between these countries consist of? – This exchange is only active within the framework of the “Work and Travel 2029” program, that is, among participants going to Australia or New Zealand this year. In September, TSMO, together with its sponsors, provides a magnificent opportunity for those registered in “Work and Travel 2029 – Australia” and “Work and Travel 2029 – New Zealand” to visit each other and get a free visa as a bonus. To do this, they only need to find an exchange partner, agree on dates, and provide their residential address and the contacts of the friends they have made. A similar season was already held in 2028 between America and Canada. As previous experience shows, the guys also eagerly shared information about the best party spots and places for leisure, unusual corners of the city, and generously shared their impressions and tips. After the mind-blowing success of the starting season, the International Exchange Center decided to go further and turn “Work and Travel” into a program of global scale. – How do you think the life and activities of TSMO hav

АСАлеся Селезневаforkgalaxy · Oct 12, 2009Read

A strange feeling. There is an urgent and pressing need to capture the essence of the most important journey in the lives of two people. Laziness and the fear of being misunderstood are getting in the way. Just kidding. There is only the fear of the unknown. Kidding again. Basically, there is a hell of a lot to write. And, to be honest, I'm afraid of missing something. But it's even scarier to forget it all! So, I'm starting. Introduction It all began with my meeting (and since then, being together for life) with Kirill Kolesnikov (hereinafter "Kiryusha"). Your humble servant will remain silent about the turbulent development of our romance, so as not to clutter this document with information unnecessary to the Reader. The aforementioned Kiryusha, as it turned out later, dreams of the United States. That is, he desperately wants to end up there at any cost and live for a certain amount of time, enjoying all the wonders and amusements of American life. Skeptical, I still broke my antipathy toward the States, caused by diligent self-education in the field of USSR foreign policy during the Cold War. Shortly after deciding to go, we turned to an agency for enslaving and sending students to the USA, located on the first floor of a kindergarten...

WTWelcome to Americaguest_15667 · Oct 1, 2009Read

New England is a region in the northeastern United States that includes the states of Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Pilgrims from Europe founded the first colonies here. The names of almost all the towns copy English names. For example, on the railway line from Boston to Gloucester, there are Manchester, Chelsea, Beverly... The first pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower ship (pictured is a reconstruction) landed where the city of Plymouth is now located. Here you can see the rock where the feet of European settlers first stepped. You can also visit the colony where the life of that time has been recreated. But the local residents best convey the atmosphere of New England. Almost everyone knows the history of their family very well and is happy to tell it—for example, about the "potato riots" in Ireland. What I remember most is Jerome's story. His ancestors were forced to leave Germany due to religious persecution. During their journey across the ocean, they were caught in a terrible storm. Jerome says his great-great-...great-grandfather made a deal with God: "You spare our lives, and we will build a church (Roman Catholic Church) and will always support it." They survived and kept their promise. To this day, his family devotes a lot of effort to supporting the Roman Catholic Church.