Marina: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

АААлуа Абдралиеваabdraliyeva04 · Jan 10, 2023Read

AMERICAN DREAM OF KAZAKH GIRL Hey there! Hope you are having a beautiful day! If you’re not, I bet you, this essay will cheer you up! I am Alua, a little dreamy girl from small town in Kazakhstan and also bold woman who is getting all her dreams come true. I’ve been living in Earth Planet for almost 18 years by now. In this essay I would like to share my own story about a small and funny trip and my fare thoughts about everything! How the things got started When I was at elementary school my relatives used to travel all over the world, they have seen the oceans, seas and mountains. 11 year old me was so interested in it and asked my parents to see the lake. I couldn’t ask for anything else. And my parents couldn’t afford anything better, because they were literally broke. When the summer came my parents told me that we’re going to Issyk kul . That’s a mesmerising lake located in Kyrgyzstan. So that was my first time when I was on cloud nine and felt like a cool girl from Vogue who is travelling to “foreign” countries. We were group of 6 people and used to live in yurt with other travellers for almost 14 days. I was browsing so many stores with my mom without buying anything and we were hanging around enjoying the local food and city. In the evenings we were swimming in the lake and just appreciating the sparkling water. Once upon a time, in early morning, I thought about going to the lake without my phone. I grabbed my book, hat and sheet to relax and chill out on the coast. After 2 hours of having a rest I was thinking about getting back to the yurt to eat my breakfast. But I forgot the way back:) I was stressed as hell, walking around big coast just to find my parents , but they didn’t appear. I didn’t remember the name of the street, or the yurt number. But I found the best way how to find my parents. Nah, I wasn’t waiting for them on the coast, anyway I entered all yurts and asked if there were my siblings or parents. Finally, I could find them by their flip-flops after 2 hours of searching! And you guess what?! I met a bunch of lifeguards who were searching for me too, cause my family thought I got drowned. In the end I got a big slap from my mom. It all might sound ridiculous, but actually I was living the best part of my childhood and I was definitely the happiest person in the world. Why I decided to participate in Work and Travel program? When I was studying at 2nd grade of elementary school I was lucky to have a teacher who was smart, very kind and soft to kids. By the way, my teacher was from America and she had a spectacular american accent. She taught us how to sing the alphabet like “A-B-C-D-E-F-G”… I sang it with her and she was teaching us for some basic words in English, but I could not understand the single word. Can you imagine?! American girl who speaks only English and does not understand kazakh or russian and kids who don’t know her language, holy crap! Anyway, I was having fun and enjoying my English classes. I remember that I was dreaming how I will speak English fluent and teach it to others. It turned out that I got my IELTS certificate and got a job as an English Teacher and now I have so many lovely students, that’s what I am passionate about! At high school I found the page of blogger Marina Mogilko and discovered such a stunning city San-Francisco and that became my dream city. 50 states of America seem like a dream and my future destination for summer of 2023. Endless opportunities, feeling of self-confidence, ambitions and business streak are all about America! I’ve been carrying that dream for 7 years and I hope I will reach all my goals related to the United States through Work and Travel program. How can I help my country to grow by participating in W&T program? The thing is that Exchange program students give a great influence on local students. I think this statement is pretty understandable for well-educated people, cause they know the importance of diversity. To have a society where all s

ДЕДарья Евдокименкоevdokimenko_dari · Jun 23, 2016Read

First things first, after leaving the island for the nearest city, Norfolk, the girls went shopping! We spent 30 minutes begging the mall security to store our suitcases. (In America, you aren't allowed to leave suitcases or any personal belongings anywhere). We complained that we had spent 4 months without shops or entertainment. In the end, they took pity on us and took our suitcases after all. By the way, Norfolk has the highest percentage of African-American population, so some almost all areas (except the city center) look like ghettos, so be careful there. To kill time before the flight, we decided to go to the port, which was across the street, and look at the snow-white yachts. Quite by accident, while we were sitting on a bench talking, the owner of one of the yachts struck up a conversation with us (I don't know how they manage to talk to a stranger so easily). It turns out that each of the yachts cost at least $2 million... Norfolk Marina - one of the largest commercial and military ports in the USA Taking a $20 taxi and loading all our purchases and luggage, we headed to the airport. We decided to start with Orlando - to visit Disneyland and just relax and sleep for a couple of days, because with two jobs we slept a maximum of 4-5 hours a night, and rest before a serious trip was simply necessary. Moreover, an American acquaintance of mine lived in Orlando, who promised to show us around. And the problem with housing and transport, naturally, disappeared. There is not much to see in Orlando. Everything is made for tourists with children - just attractions and amusement parks. There is no public transport at all. So you can't do without a car here. Our entertainment was barbecue, the pool, and all sorts of house parties. Orlando Eye - not worth its $20 ;) On the third day, we finally went to Disneyland!!! But I'll be honest, when I was at Disneyland in Paris at 14, I was much happier)) I guess I've grown up... Although it's still indescribable emotions to visit your childhood dream. Every corner is thought out there! Everything glows, sings, and dances. But I would still advise you to go to Universal park, there is more entertainment for adults, and the rides are more fun. Disney is really designed for little kids. It's impossible not to spend a ton of money on sweets, ice cream, and souvenirs. By the way, even the Starbucks in Disney is extra sweet and cute) After resting in Orlando, we are flying to LA!

AAliyaastana_85855875237 · Oct 31, 2012Read

August is here... Soon my boyfriend and I will meet our friends on the Eastside. Our friends booked their tickets a month and a half before the trip, and they were incredibly happy about it. We booked a bit later, but that was also very good. Conclusion: make your travel plans in advance, and book your tickets then—for the plane, Greyhound (the local bus fleet)—it's all possible—so don't spare the time for the trip. It is just as important, as my boyfriend said, to find out where we are going—fortunately, there is internet almost everywhere in America—so everything is in your hands. When you have a free day, you can unwind—take a trip to a neighboring town—there is a wonderful activity—mini-golf—it's a chic, fun thing—I recommend it to everyone. Our trip across the States began after 2 days of shopping in the neighboring state of Delaware. First, we needed to get to the port of Cape May, which we reached with our last bit of strength—since we got off one stop early, and a very kind, ordinary American gave us a ride to the port. Once there, we bought tickets for the ferry and the shuttle bus, and set off. It was very windy, with seagulls and people with dogs everywhere—just like in a movie. On the shore, they were restoring Jack Sparrow's pirate ship, where we had a romantic photo session. Then, from Delaware Marina, we were taken by shuttle bus to three huge malls... At first, we planned to spend one day in Delaware, but realizing that in half a day we would only have time to shop at 1 mall, we decided to stay, and since we didn't take extra money, we decided to look for a simpler hotel... On the way, we met a Kazakh guy who tried long and hard to help us, but he didn't quite succeed. Overcoming our initial panic, we eventually found some sofas at a hotel where we spent that restless night ;). Early in the morning, we got up and had breakfast at a bakery—mmm, we had never tasted such melt-in-your-mouth buns before ;). After breakfast, we walked to the 2nd mall, and after doing some more shopping, we started waiting for our shuttle bus to make it back home in time to pack our things and visit my boyfriend's acquaintance in Atlantic City before heading to the Eastside.

ООльгаSouthAfrica · Oct 26, 2011Read

We received this list at the International Exchange Center when applying for the program, but Marina (our coordinator) warned us right away that the South African embassy is a bit strange and often asks for something new. We confirmed this later on, but here are the details about the documents: 1. Application form - nothing complicated here, just another form in English :)))) 2. 1 passport size photo - a passport-style photo; you will need 2 more later for the embassy. 3. Copy of passport - international passport + national passport (a copy of the registration page is mandatory). 4. Letter of motivation - time to use your imagination and write about how much you want to see penguins and get to know such a beautiful country as South Africa))) and don't forget to have someone check it, since it's all written in English. 5. CV - resume, write about how wonderful and hardworking you are, also in English. 6. Proof of student status (full time students) (if graduated copy of Diploma not later than half a year after graduation) - actually, I study in the evening department, so I asked them to just state 'full time student in evening' in the translation, and this certificate must also include the university graduation date. 7. Medical report - this is a very funny document. The form is provided by the International Exchange Center; it has a huge list of diseases and is all in English. You need to find a place where they can stamp it to confirm you aren't sick... yeah... doctors wave their hands when they see it =) 8. Copy of the police clearance report - this is one of the longest documents to get, it takes from 3 weeks, so as soon as you decide to join the program, run to get this certificate! You don't need an apostille, a translation is enough. 9. Insurance details - insurance, done at the International Exchange Center, costs about $300. 10. Bank statement about sufficient funds - a bank statement for the last 3 months, valid for 2 weeks, and it's only needed at the embassy. I want to note that the statement can only be from your own account or your parents' account... Meaning neither a brother, sister, nor grandmother can be your sponsors... Also, you need to provide a 2-NDFL form (also valid for 2 weeks) to the embassy, flight reservations, and at the time of visa issuance, you need to bring purchased tickets and a sponsorship letter (in English). I hope I didn't forget anything... It took me almost 6 months to collect all these documents, but I wasn't in a hurry. Thanks to Marina for not letting me give up in early September and cancel the trip!

MMarinaMarina_Nagibina · Aug 15, 2011Read

Before coming to America, I planned to see as much as possible because I was sure I might not return. So, I made a plan to travel to the West Coast after finishing work. Two weeks before the season ended, I bought a plane ticket to San Francisco. When talking to my parents on Skype, they asked: 'Where will you live? When is your return ticket?' I had neither. I noticed I always did everything at the last minute. But eventually, I found a place in SF. Before my last day of work, we had a party, and I didn't sleep all night (actually, I hadn't slept properly all August). Plus, I only had one night to pack before my trip. When I got back from work, I realized I could barely speak. I asked to be woken up at 1 AM so I could pack, because my acquaintances (an uncle and aunt) were supposed to arrive at 8:30 AM to take some of my things and drive me to the airport. I had too many things and didn't want to travel with a huge suitcase. I left the extra stuff behind because I had a return flight to Russia from Washington anyway. As usual, they didn't wake me up. I woke up at 6 AM and started packing in a rush... I barely made it. Once on the plane, I tried to gather my strength—alone again, heading who knows where. Many people told me there were many good people in SF, but after getting off the train, I wandered around looking for my hostel. The first person I met was a homeless man; he asked me for directions to an address written on a piece of paper, and I said I didn't know. He called me a bitch and tried to hit me. I was in culture shock. I stood there for a moment and then walked on. After checking into the hostel, I didn't even want to go out. It was already evening anyway. I spent one night in the hostel with two Polish girls; they were cool. They showed me a guidebook with sights everyone should see. The next morning, I decided to walk to Chinatown, then go see the bridge. After walking halfway through Chinatown, I decided to ride the cable car, went down, walked around a bit, then took it to the very end to be closer to the bridge. Since I love walking and sightseeing, I decided to walk to the bridge from there and check out the Marina district. The road was really long, but I had enough energy to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. On the other side, I met some guys from Israel who helped me get back. From there, I saw the Japanese district, City Hall, and everything on the way back to the hostel. The next day, I went to Russian Hill, then Coit Tower, then the Fisherman's Wharf. Back at the hostel, I met a guy who had a bus tour of San Francisco, and he invited me to join him. It was so lucky that I got on the bus for free because no one checked tickets in the evening. I saw SF at night, ended up in the Fisherman's Wharf again, and it was quite far to walk from there. I was passing by souvenir shops and met a 19-year-old Spanish guy (even though I was 18, there was a big difference in our maturity). I asked him to take me to see the Golden Gate Bridge at night, and I got lucky with that too!) The next day, I planned to visit Golden Gate Park. I decided to take a bus but got off on the other side of the city where the beach is. I walked through the entire park, and it was after the park that I realized I was starting to fall in love with this city. It's very beautiful, especially near the botanical garden. After the park, I walked to some gardens in the city center, and it was evening again. I didn't really go out in the evenings because I was tired. The next day, looking at the map, I realized I had seen everything I wanted. The fourth day felt extra, but I had planned to see the southern part of the city and the design center, so I walked there. On the way, a guy approached me and offered to help me see the city, but I said I had already seen everything. I asked him to drive me across the Bay Bridge to Oakland (I wanted to see what kind of city it was and why many Americans say it's one of the most dangerous cities in America)

ТТатьянаJicu · Mar 18, 2011Read

After I passed the passport control, I started to realize that yes, this is all for real. And I am actually flying to America all by myself—if you don't count the other passengers. Unfortunately, the flight wasn't as joyful as I expected, despite the delicious lunch (let's not even try to compare it to Aeroflot) and Baskin-Robbins ice cream for dessert. I started to panic. How could I go to the middle of nowhere for the whole summer, away from everything I love and know?! I suppressed the horror by getting to know my neighbor. It turned out the girl's name is Marina, she is from Yessentuki (where, by the way, there are many Greeks—our interest in this nationality coincided) and she is going to Louisiana to her brother, planning to stay there forever, just like he did a few years earlier. We had a great chat and simultaneously noticed a cutie flight attendant named Jeffrey, at whom we were trying to make eyes at the same time. In short, the 10 hours flew by quite quickly. A little later, in the queue for passport control, where they took fingerprints and photos (deciding it was an eye scanner, I stared as hard as I could. The poor American actually flinched when he saw the result on the computer). So, in that queue, I partially met and partially spotted about 10 other Work and Travel participants who had also arrived for the summer. Then there was a man with his school-age sons (it turned out the guys were my age—also in their fourth year), who told me about coastal sharks and advised me to definitely see Manhattan; a yellow taxi; a hotel room with a giant bed so big it evoked far from chaste visions, a shower, Skype (including a call to clarify tickets for tomorrow—the flight was moved 2 hours earlier), gloomy reflections on how I can't understand anything, and finally, sleep.

KPKate PutilovaKaterinka009 · Mar 16, 2011Read

Back when I was just starting my freshman year, I thought, 'The 2010 season is mine, I'm going to America!' But that wasn't the case. My mom put her foot down and said, 'You're not going anywhere, you have your first summer exam session to pass, let's see about next year.' So, I spent my entire freshman year sitting on the internet, looking at the same photos and dreaming... Sophomore year—oh yeah! This year nothing will stop me from making my dream come true. Of course I'm going to America, I'm 100% sure of it! My mom and I planned to visit the office starting in late September, but we didn't actually make it there until December 5th. I think it was partly my fault that we waited so long; I was terrified of the interview!!! December 5th: We arrived at the office, and there were some very sweet girls there. We sat down with one of them, Marina, and started chatting. We chose the Plus program, but it turned out that enrollment was already closed. Thank God they took pity on us and agreed to squeeze me into the program on the condition that I submit all my documents quickly. And then the time for the interview came... my palms were sweating, but everything went well. The interview wasn't hard, just standard general questions, and that was it! I became a program participant! Yay, yay, yay!!! Since I didn't have a passport, I promised to bring it by February 1st... and well, of course, how could I do everything on time? I had to mess up somewhere! I only submitted the paperwork on January 24th and didn't bring the passport until February 25th. Luckily, the girls understood my situation and didn't charge me any fines! Well, I did everything required of me. By February, I had already paid the second installment, and all that was left was to sit and wait to see who would choose me and where I would go...