New York, New York.

Upon finally arriving in New York, we checked into a hostel since our landlord already had a new tenant. Miss Courage immediately headed to the consulate to get a certificate for entry into Russia. It was very lucky that she had her Russian passport with her (it was needed to process the certificate. So, in my opinion, it doesn't hurt to have a Russian passport with you in the States). After standing in a huge line, she finally got into the consulate on the second day and, to our great relief, received the certificate! Honestly, I must say that I was very impressed by the resilience of this seemingly fragile girl and her behavior throughout this whole situation. Many would have just despaired, cried, and dumped the whole problem on their parents, but not her; she had no tears or deep depression at all. Only a clear mind and complete independence. She overcame this whole long and tedious process on her own. And I officially award her, in my report, the title of Miss Courage. A weight was lifted off our shoulders, and we were back in our favorite city, simply enjoying the remaining days of summer. A couple of days later, I was already seeing my Miss Courage off at the airport. Thank God, they let her board the plane with that certificate, and she, of course with some difficulties, still made it home.

And I was flying out three days later. The day before my departure, I said goodbye to the new friends I had made over the summer, went to a metal concert, and visited the famous Duff's, which, as I was told, is visited by various famous musicians on weekends.

On the morning of my departure, I had pancakes for breakfast and boarded the plane with a sad feeling. But I didn't say "Goodbye, New York," we just said "See you later" to each other.

Thank you for reading to the end.

Do you know what very simple, yet completely accurate philosophy of New York I learned over this summer? "Open yourself to New York, and New York will open itself to you."