Let me start with my name – Kristian! I went on a summer job in 2016. I spent the best summer of my life in Virginia, in one of its suburbs. I was a lifeguard there. How can I go on… well, I had never experienced such a colorful and extraordinary summer.
Even before I left there was drama, because a week before my flight I had to go to the hospital. So I missed my flight, and my job start date was postponed. I was hysterical, of course, but the interesting thing is that the whole agency was horrified too. And so I arrived in the USA a week late. I had to take a first aid course, as well as a swimming course and exam. And so it all began: I was a lifeguard, I met lots of Americans, Mexicans, Chinese and all sorts of other nationalities, known and unknown, at the pool, and I definitely improved my English more than any course could have helped me.
I lived with Bulgarians and Ukrainians. They were all amazing people and it was a nonstop party. There was a war only over the fridge, but I have such funny and happy memories that it was worth it. I have so many funny, even embarrassing stories that the WAT adventure is definitely worth it!
And of course, the crowning glory is the travel period. I still can't believe I was in New York. All I can say is that it's more powerful, glamorous and bigger than even my very, very wildest dreams until then. Washington, Philadelphia, Atlantic City… everything left its mark on my whole identity.
And the feeling of coming home… to the place where you belong is indescribable. The tears in my mother's eyes are something that shook me like no other situation before.
The WAT summer isn't just a program – it's a new life! A complete RESTART!