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Life with slogan Was Up!!!!
America, lots of people dream about that country to explore. So did I. In my childhood the most wanted trip for me was to New York City. That city attracted me with that taste of freedom, greatness and magnificence of famous skyscrapers. But it was just a dream, I didn’t know that would be able to materialize it in the nearest future. But….When I was a 2-d year student I knew about Work and Travel USA program, which supposed that students go to the States for 3-4 months, work in American companies in a field of service and after that travel along the country. And what is , visit of The United States can be absolutely free or even profitable. I got inflamed. My dream can be executed, yee…I’ll do my best to do it. So I started to collect information about the procedure of involving into the program, reviews and comments of participants. Finely when I got parents’ permission I went to one of Moscow’s agencies, which help students to get all necessary documents and American visa, passed an interview for knowledge of English and became a participant of Work and Travel USA. It was autumn of 2004. In the end of spring 2005 I’ve already had visa, job offer to a beach store on Atlantic coast and air tickets Moscow-New York. But my America started with a trouble. It was hard raining and really cold in a place I supposed to go. In June 2005 many employers didn’t hire students, saying something like “Step back in a few weeks, we are not busy now, sorry”, Guys come and come, there was no job and no place to live, money was going to end soon. So many of them decided to catch their American dream somewhere else and left the city. Me and my friend Ruslan knew that situation in advance and decided not to tempt the fortune and not to go there. When we came to NY I called to the office of our sponsor organization and asked for support. And they helped; they found us positions in a supermarket in a small town Somers Point, New Jersey. Nobody knew about that city, we couldn’t find it in a map and were really worried. It was about 9 in the evening, we were in the centre of that fast moving and crowded New York.We were tired after 9 hours flight, hanged around with heavy bags and a little bit disorientated by difference in time. But my eyes were widely open and I felt really exciting. “My America, it has started, I’m here, in the capital of the world as I dreamed, I’m practically alone in 7000 km far away from homeland, don’t know what to do and where to go. But I’ll do it, everything gonna be all right, definitely”. Thoughts like this were in my head and they came true. I faced with many problems, everything was new, I didn’t know how to deal with it, I made mistakes and sometimes didn’t understand American English. But time were passing and passing, I got used to America, learned many things and made my own strategy of living there. I met many interesting people. Lots of Russian speaking students come to the States every summer. This year over 22 000 people participated in Work and Travel program. Everybody has his own experience and ready to share it with each other. I communicated with lots of guys and girls and the majority of conversations turned to the topic “How do you find USA??? What it gave to you??? Did your expectations materialized???”
The beginning is practically always the same. People are excited with everything new. There is no cultural shock, because the system is organized as it supposed to be. You feel that convenience and very soon don’t understand how people somewhere can live without it. For many people the beginning of their independent life in America is very stressful. They have to grow up faster, treat easier to the matter of living, food, job and communication. They understand quickly that nobody will take care about them except themselves. That period takes about 2 weeks, after that time people adapt to their American life. Everybody can find in the States whatever one’s wants; you just need to be ready to pay an appropriate price. Someone want to earn a lot of money and bring them home, someone wants to have more fun. It’s a best place for careerists. You can work as much as you can, have 2 or more jobs. Everything depends on you, you’ve got only one life, use it, go ahead.
This summer I succeed to work as a cook in a good seafood restaurant. I like cooking, I did it good, finely I became a head of my department and had even 3 workers in subordination. Also I worked in a supermarket as a slicer. I executed customers’ orders for lunch meat, cheeses and salads. As I’m a student of economic university, my major is trade, it was interesting and useful to work in American retail. I worked in that place 2 summers in a row and it was a place where I met people, whom I can call my American family.
So for many students, especially guys job is everything, they work all the time, save some money, transfer part of them home, buy electronic devices that they couldn’t afford at home and also able to travel along the States without fear not to cover the cost of program. Their trip is profitable, but they leave a lot of powers, nerves, health and have lack of fun. They pay that price for evergreen papers.
Some students don’t want to work so hard and prefer to have more fun. They work about 40-45 hours per week and rest of the time enjoy lying on the beach and swimming in an ocean, go to parties, have dates, travel and so on. Many guys tastes that American freedom, nobody control them, nobody cares that they do and how. They go crazy, parties every night, lots of fun, new boyfriends and girlfriends. You feel that you are young, independent, hot, and almost happy, you are in the centre of rapid moving life, your eyes are in fire, body is full of passion.
The most fascinating thing in America is communication with native speakers. Everybody who comes to the States has an aim to improve one’s English, to see how Americans live, why they are so rich and if they are as stupid as lots of people all over the world think of them.
First of all they look different(expression of face, manners, style in clothes) and they think different. Practically everyone heard about famous American smiles. That’s true, they always smile, and it’s a tradition. Sometimes you meet an unknown person, she looks at you like you are the best man she saw in her life. You can count all 32 shining teeth in her mouth-excellent job of dentist. But In most cases that smile means nothing, you can sometimes notice how smiling person turns around and became indifferent suddenly. Some Russians get irritated of that artificial sign of friendship, but I think that American open smile better than grey and mad faces of our society. You just need not to think very deep about it, “easier, man, come on!!!” You get used to it, smile in your turn and that exchange of smiles sometimes really improves your mood.
It’s interesting how Americans treat to Russians. In general they like students who come to the USA for summer, ready to help, they are good hosts and friends. American guys are crazy about Russian girls. They find them very nice, our ladies are usually slender, dress with a taste, with a make up and what is exotic, they behaviour like natural women, without that passion to be equal in everything with men. They are very interested in all that surrounds them, active, smart, like to have fun and very sexy. Americans lose their minds. All my American friends say that they are in love with Russian girls and especially like that charming Russian accent.
What concerning American girls, I would say they are not so great: too emancipative, think simple, have weak taste in dress and eat too much hamburgers.
“I’m Barby girl in a Barby world, life in plastic it’s fantastic”- that song of the band Aqua all about lots of American girls.
Don’t think that all Americans are like I described, there are lots of exceptions, you meet really nice, smart and interesting people of both genders. I also found out that I became close with people who are already mature, people of older age. We always had lots of topics to speak about, they have interesting life experience to share.
Young generation of Americans live with a slogan “Sex, drugs and rock’ n roll”, they usually have no goals to reach, have no will to know more and test themselves, they are interested just in fun. Lots of them are limited in mind and don’t wont to get an education. It’s very expensive in the US and it’s not real necessary to get it, you can live good and work without it. It’s easy to take a loan in a bank, buy a house, several cars, all you need and pay it for the whole life. It’s a typical American dream.
The majority of Americans have never left North America, they live in their comfortable world and don’t really care about what surrounds them, they think that USA is the best place on Earth and everybody wants to stay here. They often ask us: Do you wonna stay here, don’t you???”And when you answer “No”, they look very surprised. I usually say that America gave me a significant life experience, I understood who am I and what I worth, but I don’t want to live here forever, I have different mentality, I don’t feel myself like at home here, I always would be an alien, because America for Americans. It would be cool to get an education in American college or business school, but to live in Russia and make business trips to the States from time to time.
There were light and dark times for me in America, sometimes I was really squeezed, tired of endless routine of jobs, but…..now I remember only good moments.
Might of Atlantic ocean when you walk along the beach, it’s an incredible feeling of freedom, you forget about all troubles and happy like a child;
New York, New York, I will never forget its busy streets, traffic, highest buildings, lights and advertising everywhere, State of liberty that is actually not so high and certainly Empire State Building. I’ve been on the top for 3 times and if I go to NY once again I will come back: huge megalopolis, stone Jungles that never sleep are like on a palm, it’s unforgettable; green parks, museums and monuments of Washington DC; touch of history in Philadelphia, first capital of the USA; charming of New England in Boston, outstanding student atmosphere of Harvard University; power of nature of Niagara falls, when you completely wet but feel wild enthusiasm; lots of other places, people, things. They are in my mind and heart. That’s my America and I discovered it not so long ago, a little bit later than Columbus.
30.11.2006,