I want to tell you about my 2007's summer experience in the foreign country. In the USA, Florida, Panama City Beach.

Preparations

First of all I'd been preparing all year long: you have to make visa and, foreign passport, etc. It really takes a lot of time. Especially in Russia. Because in Russia we have laws, but nobody wants to follow the rules. And if you want something to be done, get ready — it's not going to be easy.

If you don't want details you can skip this paragraph. So, what do you have to do?

Foreign passport;
Visa;
Buy tickets;
Pass all your school exams almost a month earlier than your groupmates do;

I'd got some big problems making foreign passport because of military forces department (MFD). They (at the passport department) required a receipt that MFD doesn't mind of my absence at summer in the Russia. When I came to MFD they said they don't have a receipt form of this kind. Moreover, I was obligated to go to the city where I study (it's another city), and spend my studying week time and a lot of money.
About visa. Nothing difficult about it. It's the simpliest thing in all this shit. You have to go to Ekaterinburg or Moscow, spend only a day or a whole week if you go to Moscow and some money for the train.
About tickets. Do not wait! Buy tickets earlier — in April. Do not try to save your money buying tickets. You're risking to stay without tickets! It's really serious.
About exams. It's really complicated thing. And the most complicated in that is that it's unpredictable. I thought that if don't pass them all, I just will stay in America and enter some university there.

Departure

Make sure you have DS2019, foreign passport & visa, about $700 and job offer. Try to take as little clothes as you're gonna need for two weeks. Because as you earn some money I'm sure you will buy some stuff for yourself. And when you have to come back to your motherland you are like — why the hell I took so much clothes for me. What am I gonna do?! And then you throw it away because you are limited in baggade weight and volume.

Arrival

Try to be calm. In America you are in safe. Everybody is polite. You can ask everything you wanna know and you're gonna receive polite and interested answer. So, just be calm and know what you wanna know. You're to be answered.

Getting started to work

First of all you have job offer. Otherwise you are not to be allowed to be in the USA. Then, you go to your employer and you are gonna get you appartment and your job.

Try to get your Social Security Number as fast as it possible. Because having it you can choose job you want and earn money you want if you don't like the job you're working at you can change it to desirable (which you found by yourself, not that job that you employer gave you). Or you can work at two jobs at the same time. Just get your SSN!

About saving your money

I think it's much better if you open bank accounts both in your motherland and in here in America. You are to have a state identification card, somewhat like passport, if you wanna open international account. This document is to be made during a month. You need Social Security Number, Visa & DS2019 to make state ID.

Why it's better to open account? May be if you live in another country you're not to have the problem but otherwise you bring your dollars to Russian bank and they can say that your money old or damaged or somewhat bullshit like this and take your money for 8% of their price.

So, think about it very very good before you leaving USA.

My personal experience this 2007's summer

Let me skip preparations part — it was really so disgusting and sad that I don't even want to remeber it. So, I've arrived to Atlanta National Airport, Georgia. I wasn't alone, I was with a maiden, her name is Lena. We picked up our baggage. We need to be in Panama City Beach (PCB), Florida. So we have to travel there somehow.

Our attemptions to get to know how to reach the PCB were completely unsuccessful, probably because of bad pronunciation. We went out the airport and tried to ask outside. The same result. Then we sat down upon a bench. I saw a man, then I tried again and he said that he can transfer us to the Greyhound Bus Station, here, in Atlanta, in downtown. It was going to be $15. No problem. We're at the Greyhound Station. We bought tickets to PCB which was about $65. Day and a half later we're in PCB, Florida.

From the station we called to our contacter in a way that to figure out where to go first and what the hell are we supposed to do. A man said that today is a holiday and no transport is working today. He said he will pick us up in 30 minutes.

Ok. We are talking with our contacer inside his office in PCB, FL. He required $350 as a housing deposit, and $350 as a month renting. We had no choice. I gave him almost all my money. He asked about what kind of job I wanna have, nevertheless that I had my job offer and housekeeper position in a hotel. I said I wanna work in kitchen. Then we were given a ride to our appartments.

At the evening we had an interview with employer at the Pickles, Seaside, PCB, FL. His name is Ken, he is 25 years old fellow, very smart and cool boy. Later made a friends with him.

I'd been working for a month for Pickles. And then I quited. Why? Because of contacter's working conditions: you have to use their transportation which is $140 per month and 4 hours per day. $350 is house renting ( vs $250 at counterparts ). And.. And $2.5 from your rate every hour. Every hour they take $2.5 from your money to their pocket only because they found you a job. That's funny, isn't it?

So, I made Social Security Number and quited from that job. On the next day after which I quited from Pickles, I started to work at the WINN-DIXIE, grocery and pharmacy store on Thomas Drive. Every morning I was looking for one more job for about half a month. And was working every evening at Winn-Dixie. Then I found a position at the Thomas Doughnuts. And then I worked at two jobs till the end of the summer.

My rates were $8.0 at Winn-Dixie and $8.5 at Thomas Donuts. I was earning $2000 per month at each job vs $800 at Pickles working for contacter. So I think I made my best quiting from working for contacter.

I really liked to work at Thomas Donuts, they are very very polite people and it was very pleasant and interesting.

Coming back to Russia

When I came back to Russia, I was shocked of angry people and how dirty streets are. People are all the same. You can not see distinct people, you just see grey crowd of people which have only problems, nobody's smiling. Air is so much polluted, that first couple days you cann't breathe outside. Thank God I live in pretty green place and can appear outdoor in forest, but not along roads. And thank God I have friends that turned me back to life.

People, i've got to know

Vladimir Smoliakov, Ken, Thomas, Gary, Mr. Bill, Mrs. Heavenly, June ( Junko ), Nathan, Mart, Pamela, Sveta, Ira, Dennis, Alex, Mr. George Thomas, Michael, Fred, Rony, Mickie, Kaila, Lindsay, Mrs. Johny, Diana, Dana, Dawn, Jackie, David, Jeff (2), Johny Walters, Mamie, Rey, Elkhan, Melody, Gail, Mattew, Scott, Kim, Misha, Mircia, Dima, Masha, Nastya.