A Journey to the USA
Once, when I was little, I had a dream, and it was to visit the "Land of Unlimited Opportunities" – the USA. I have to admit I was terribly scared, but thanks to my parents and Work and Travel, I plucked up the courage, and so in the summer of 2013 I went on a student summer job in the USA. At first it was hard; I didn't know anyone, everything was so new to me – the people, the work, everything... I didn't know how I would adapt to the environment, and I even thought about catching the first plane back to Bulgaria (I believe this thought has crept into the mind of every student who has gone on a summer job).
Despite the difficult start, I was optimistic about my summer in the USA. In the very first two weeks, I became friends with three girls and we became inseparable. We found an amazing little house close to our first job, and the four of us moved in there. At that point, what concerned us was a second job. Everyone we knew there already had one, but we didn't. We really wanted to find one – the four of us went from place to place asking around, but we were always told they didn't need anyone for now. At the time we were making a serious mistake: we insisted that they hire all four of us. We were in this experience together and believed there was a place somewhere for all of us. And that's exactly what happened. What we wanted so much came true – we found that much-desired second job, and the best part was that they hired all of us.
The summer passed quickly, day after day, week after week; we didn't have much time to rest, but we had genuine fun together. We started making plans for what we would do at the end of the season when work was over, which places to visit, what we would do when we got back to Bulgaria, when we would visit each other... But it wasn't time for those thoughts yet. We were halfway through our summer job when someone mentioned a restaurant that urgently needed staff. Of course, we took advantage of this information, and once again they hired all four of us. The little restaurant was great – in the evenings a band played, and there were lots of people having fun, dancing and eating delicious food. Gradually we got to know the staff, most of whom were Bulgarians and Brazilians. We got so used to the work and the people around us that we didn't notice when the last weeks went by.
Despite all the good moments and interesting experiences, despite the friends I made and the places I saw, not a day went by without me thinking about Bulgaria and my family. I know that most Work and Travel participants can hardly wait for the end of their last workday so that the interesting part of the summer job can begin, and that's how it should be.
I remember my last workday at the restaurant, I remember saying a final goodbye to all my colleagues, and how the cook made me one of his amazing omelets for the last time. My favorite day of the summer job remains the day I packed my bags and started counting down the last hours until I went home.
Work and Travel is an incredible experience that everyone should go through, and mine stayed in my mind the way it did because of Ani, Galka and Hrisi. Three girls with whom I went through tears and laughter, and we were together in everything!!!
Beti