I did two stints in the U.S. The first one ended up being a bit of a disaster, the second time was the best time of my life.
The first time I was taking part in the Walt Disney World International Students Program. I ended up working custodial in Magic Kingdom in Orlando. We stayed on Disney property, and our apartments were pretty fantastic, I must admit. However, it was really expensive and the money was awful. So was the work. However, I made amazing friends (who I am still in contact with today). Plus, we had full access to all of the parks for free, and by pure luck, we ended up with a pool right outside my apartment that was used almost exclusively by me and my group of friends 😀 However, the work was really really terrible. There was a lot of time spent alone because everyone's schedules were conflicting and I have to say, the locals were not the most welcoming people in the world, so there was a real sense of isolation there.
The second time was AMAZING. I spent a semester in Massachusetts. This time I went with 3 very close friends (as opposed to going on my own the first time). We all lived in different apartments, but the set up was so nice I was able to kind of establish my place as our base and we hot along fantastically with my housemates. However, my roommate was nothing short of Kathy as in Buffy's roommate. She hated me, and I wasn't too fond of her. It got real nasty at times, but thankfully everyone else in my apartment was amazing and are still some of my closest friends. I can't say enough about how wonderful the people were, how welcoming they were. I have nothing but praise for my semester abroad.
What I will say, is that both of these ventures were incredibly expensive (I worked two jobs at once to pay for them both), it easily cost me €20,000 for both trips, with the semester abroad making up 75% of that. The visas were a hassle too, lots of paper work, and they really make you work for it in the interview. But honestly, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Once you research thoroughly and are well prepared, you should be fine.
P.S. It will be emotionally trying. You'll want to pack it all in and go home. Have that in mind, do everything you can to get involved and have a support system there. But mostly, just have as much fun as you possibly can. 🙂
