New York, heading home, New York
September 17th
4 AM, I'm sitting in the Port Authority bus terminal and I'm sleepy. It's a decent terminal; they close it at night, and everyone with a ticket or who just arrived (like me) can sleep on the floor and charge their electronics. There are tons of Russian students here. You hear Russian speech here and there, it's cool, exotic =) I guess I'll go to sleep, goodnight to you, or rather, goodnight for the next two hours...
No way! I didn't end up sleeping, I went straight to Brighton Beach. Partly because I didn't have much time, and partly because I took a photo of the bathroom rules at the station and some guy started getting really emotional about it =) I explained to him that he was wrong, he followed me out and started yelling that he'd call the cops on me. Anyway, I think security realized the guy was unstable, but I still decided against sleeping at the station.
At least I got a good sleep on the subway - an hour and a half each way, it turned out =) I slept on my backpack the whole time. Brighton Beach, Little Russia by the Sea. There are makeshift toilets in the bushes, homeless people swearing in Russian on the huge beach, and athletic-looking grandmas are already swimming, even though it's forbidden - there's a red flag up. The sun just peeked over the horizon. Some unfriendly Georgians are fishing for "roach" =)
Walking along the beach, I stumbled upon "We love Russia" written in the sand =))) On Ocean Pkwy (I have no idea what that abbreviation means), half the signs are written in Russian. I went into some learning center (to use the bathroom, pardon=) The admin guy there told me that, strangely enough, there aren't really any Russians here, just Ukrainian Jews who are commonly called Russians. He also said it's impossible to live here and unbearably boring. But, he says, in two years, quote "Russia will turn into a scorching wasteland." And he sent me back outside. A conspirator =) He advised me to ask someone else, "maybe they'll have a different opinion, but generally that's what people think here..." Strange guy.
I went to the Apple Store, the biggest one in New York, on 5th Avenue, that glass cube thing. And here I was met with a letdown. It was packed, and all the players had sold out the day before yesterday. I went to Best Buy, also the biggest one. By the way, in the New York subway, for the umpteenth time, I can't seem to get where I need to go on the first try =)) Usually, I overshoot by a couple of stations, gradually getting closer to the goal. The system here is just too confusing, with these local and express trains and a couple dozen lines =)
In Best Buy, there was nothing either; the clueless salesperson hadn't even heard of the new Apple iPod touch =/ and the laptops here were just old leftovers... Lame. Back to the Apple Store. I called the other two - also empty. Good thing I thought to call from their free store iPhones; I only had a few seconds of credit left on my mobile. I wished my grandma a happy birthday, got through, they were all chattering so much that it was impossible to understand what grandma was saying, but it was great, nice =)
It's just a bummer about the purchases =( it turns out the $40 commission for shipping a thousand just went down the drain. And how much running around mom did to send it, and me to receive it =/
Oh well, dad cheered me up. It really is a bummer, but okay. Let it go...
I told grandma I'd go to the museum, the coolest natural history museum, to see dinosaur bones. But it's 2 PM, the plane is at 6, will I make it or not? Grandpa said "don't miss the plane, don't risk it," and grandpa wouldn't say that for no reason. So, after standing at the subway stop for half an hour trying to figure out the right train to the museum, I decided to go to the airport. I'll go a different way, I decided, the long way. Spent another half hour catching the right train, it's a two-hour ride, I naturally fell asleep and missed my stop, went back, AirTrain, my old friend - hello!! =)
To the fourth terminal for internet ($3 - 4 minutes =/) an hour and a half until departure, even less. Running to the AirTrain, to the 1st terminal. Good mood, don't remember the details anymore =)
Checked in (is that what it's called??) by the way, seat numbers, window seats and all that, for both flights, both to Milan and Moscow, they give them to you together right there! Then luggage, I have a bag and a hiking backpack. The bag only has clothes and papers, when I came here I took everything on board - now there's nothing to lose, so I decided to check the bag, give it a try... I'll see if it makes it =) it's even interesting, I've read so many stories about lost luggage...
Boarded. Took off. My seat is on the edge of the middle row, number 20D (it turned out to be just in front of the wing), need to check the layouts to try for a window seat next time I check in. By the way, the seats on the plane are actually more comfortable (just a little=) than on the Greyhound bus.
September 18th
8 AM, I'm in Milan, Italy. A layover that lasts all night. Everything is expensive and in Euros. Crowds of Russians around, but I don't feel like talking yet. Out of practice =) By the way, we flew to Italy with a girl from Los Angeles, a Black-Korean (yo) =)) Very cute, I enjoyed talking to her the whole way. At the Milan airport, I somehow guessed, as it turned out, the terminal for my next flight and laid down to sleep among the other homeless people. The plane is at 15:25, so I went online at a kiosk, wasted a bunch of money (4 Euros), but sent the message.
Boarded. Took off. Here there are two rows of three seats, but I'm still next to the aisle =/ My seat is 11C, the layout is like this - /|ABC DEF|/, the plane seems to be an A-305, or is that not it?
They're showing a movie here, with Nicholson, it's comfortable to travel, just like the last plane, the seat in the middle of my row is empty. And outside the window, those mountains were just there, the Italian ones, beautiful, the Alps!
I'm so glad I bought the book about Indians after all! It's called Indian Spirit, it turned out as if the gods swapped one guidebook for another for me. It's as if my own sad thoughts are developing in the book, only through the mouths of Indian chiefs! I'll get into this... By the way, other passengers are interested in the book too, an Italian man and his wife took it to flip through, they've been flipping through it for an hour already =) The flight to Moscow should take two and a half hours.
I'm in Russia! Everything's cool, I like it! A bit dirty compared to the Milan and New York airports, at the entrance to the terminal (from the inside, if you're coming from the arriving plane) there's an ugly "Welcome to MoskoW" sign, the W is highlighted in red, the fabric is wrinkled, stained, in general, a really ugly greeting =)) There's a line before passport control, and what's annoying is that people smoke here. I'm out of practice =/ In this holding area before passport control, there's only one toilet in the bathroom. In terms of cleanliness, it's the same as at the bus stations in small southern American towns =)
But at least you can call home without that stupid three-step dialing!!! And send texts! With trembling hands (or maybe not trembling, I want to dramatize the situation a bit right now =) but actually I didn't care at all, as if I hadn't left, I didn't notice any increased heart rate) I insert my native Tele2 SIM card. The phone makes those familiar ringing sounds! And my bag, checked into luggage, I walk up to the belt - it's coming up, it's here! It made it =) Everything is fine, need to get to the center. Mood is good =) 21:30 our time. The right time - also nice =)
