July 21. The beginning of a new chapter. A sleepless night. Packing.

05:00 Seeing Tanya off to Russia. LAX Airport.

06:30 A fun drive home, grabbing breakfast on the way – right in the car)

07:30 Time for a nap)

13:00 Well, that was a good sleep – and now... time to pack the suitcase! Laundry-trash-cleaning.

18:30 Making a serious effort to order a laptop online. Bestbuy and ebay to the rescue...

I find netbooks for $20 – I can't believe my luck, naive me) Turns out, it was just the start of an online auction. I got played(

Alenka loads the suitcase and me into the car – ahead lies a completely new, unknown life...

We stop by BestBuy – we meet Yulka and our new friend Amayak. It's a small world – you can even run into acquaintances in LA by chance)

But the random meetings don't end there – in the parking lot in front of Vitalik's house, we meet Kamila from the agency... The world really is a big village! I didn't even run into people I knew back in Tyumen.

20:00 Moving into the new house. 660 Veteran...

The first thing I hear: "You are the spitting image of Jennifer Garner!!!"

I have no idea who that is or what that means. But the nickname Jenny has stuck to me for a long time now.

Julia, Bella, Yulka, Raluca, Andrea – wonderful and fun roommates) Two are from Romania, they don't speak Russian. I'm glad that practicing English is just around the corner)

Our apartment is magical – beds under the ceiling, with study desks underneath! My first thought: we need to do this in our dorm too. The fact that it's impossible doesn't even cross my mind)

21:00 I didn't even have time to open my suitcase to unpack – Raluca invites me to a party! A guy from Moldova is celebrating his American coming-of-age today – 21 years old. Damn! This is a dorm, not an apartment complex)

22:00 We arrive (by tradition) without a gift. But it's not needed there anyway – the guys are having fun. Plenty of whiskey, tequila, fruit, and cheese – what else do you need for happiness? And I'm slowly falling in love with DrPepper... Mmmm

The apartment is two-story, everyone lives mixed together – guys and girls. The party was as good as any American one)

01:00 I find out about the legality of marijuana in California! Everyone smokes, everywhere, and a lot. That's news, I can't even believe it at first! We meet Nastya – she works at a Marijuanna Shop, so she filled us in on all the most interesting details of this business)

So today, the tequila tasted sweeter, the oranges had a hint of chocolate, and the guys seemed tall and tanned...

On the balcony, we chatted with a namesake – they were recently at a Rihanna and Eminem concert. What emotions people have!!! Even I, who was never into their work, wanted to see the show)

03:00 Sitting by the pool, in the room with gym equipment and billiards: life is beautiful, guys! Three languages don't confuse anyone – we understand everything without words!

04:00 So I found my favorite place – dorm Number One: Emily, our manager, comes down and asks us to be quieter) I almost blurted out: "Hello, beloved dorm supervisor Olga Yuryevna"! hahaha)

Unlike the dorm, we actually followed the request: I went to sleep. Because butterflies were starting to sing and chase bearded daisies in my head...

July 22

13:00 Crawling off the top bunk, which I share closely with my Ukrainian friend Yulka. And I smile at the new day – a whole life ahead! And it starts right now!

16:00 Attention... IT happened! Terenya finally ate an American hamburger!!! After two months, but still) Although I wasn't a great judge – it's hard for me to compare Russian and American fast food – I haven't eaten it in Russia for almost a year!

18:00 Meeting with Lesha. A mysterious event – I'll tell those interested when we meet;)

It makes you think. Time will tell.

19:30 – 21:30 Waiting for the bus! So long!!! But we met some Russian grandmas at the stop and had a nice chat with them! And also – Amik – a wonderful person!

23:00 Tolik from Nizhnevartovsk came to visit! Naturally, I remembered my dear friend! I attacked the guy with questions, asking if he knew Tanyushka Usoltseva... Oh, I'm so naive after all.

A very handsome young man... But... he recently converted to Islam.

No comments.

July 23. 2 months

16:00 I'm at Gulya's. I spent about two hours looking for the way to the new place...

03:00 Returned – work tires me out, but you shouldn't relax at Veteran: before we knew it, our black friend Tim was already visiting. Fun and interesting.

I feed the girls – Gulya packed some to-go with the words: "Poor things, 6 people in a room! Eat, my students!". Yulka ate saying: "I love your job!".

And waitress Kristina drove me home. She gave me an idea about the hospital: if I check in there for a month, after signing a contract with a doctor, they will test new drugs on me. And then they will pay me $6,000... I WANT IT!!!

July 24

12:30 Just woke up, went straight to breakfast. "Americanize yourselves, chicks" - Bella stated confidently! And it's an indescribable feeling – you go out into the street, without even washing your face, and you feel... normal!!!

14:00 Breakfast at Starbucks... aaaaaaaa

16:00 Almost late for Talisman. Today I was taking photos of Gulechka and all the workers who have become like family)

03:30 Sitting at home. The guys are smoking again. Feet to the ceiling... Discussing the day that passed!

05:30 Are we going to sleep today?!

July 25

08:00 It would have been easier not to go to bed.

15:30 The second banquet of the day started in the hall. And intrigues are happening in the kitchen – Zhenya and Gulya are dividing up the young girl Svetka Terenya: they are offering me to live for a month with pensioners (each has their own) for $700. I listen to them with fear – it feels like my fate is being decided without me.

In the end, I got tired of it! I am still young and beautiful (ahem...), I don't want to bury myself in a house of pensioners! I gathered my strength and said my firm and confident "I'll think about it")

23:30 I love my roommates!!! I love 660 Veteran!!!

July 26

12:30 Good morning, Westwood!

15:00 Going to look for work in Brentwood.

Another batch of applications and lunch at Yogurtland. Everything is losing meaning... There is no work.

20:00 My American mommy Alenka came to me – she brought a blanket, a pillow, and three novels! My caring one...

21:30 Dimka and Amayak are doing their "dirty deeds" and leave satisfied! How dear they have become...

July 27

14:00 As always, we set off late for the search. Bella goes for an interview at a Russian store: they don't hire her.

Julia tried to work – but couldn't. Handing out flyers for $6. It's really sad. But tomorrow we want to try too – it's a tanning studio after all;)

18:00 Meeting curly-haired Yulka. She's awesome! Sam, the girls' American friend and future lawyer, also comes to In-n-out)

Visiting Yulia (later on), we found more Russian guys sleeping on mattresses – there you go, guys, that's AMERICA for you!

22:00 Amayak put on a shirt with cherries, just like my earrings) Even this insignificant fact lifted my mood. Dimka gave me a cap – I'm happy to the limit:%

Ahead – a party by the pool.

02:30 The guys tried their best – they treated the girls to shashlik and fresh vegetable salad. Only we had to have fun in a whisper – Emily was relaxing with us

July 28

13:00 The girls left for Montana – The Great Job Search continues. And I felt ashamed of the calories I ate at night and I...

15:00 ... rode a bicycle!!! THESE ARE EMOTIONS!!! We live in a hilly area now and the constant descents and ascents give extraordinary emotions! Speed, wind in my face, and huge skyscrapers all around: that's where happiness is!

19:30 Explored the area... Returned with this fixed in my head: I will study at UCLA! And that's that!

21:00 Our favorite "99 cent’s" store turned out to be closed. Zi and Sam drove us to Ralphs. Everything is so expensive there(

21:30 And at home, wine and Amik with Dima are already waiting. The caring "almost older brothers" gave us an electric kettle (we used to heat water in the microwave) and... A COFFEE MAKER!!!! Happiness has no limit. Where do so many emotions come from???

So now we are waiting for a plasma TV and a new refrigerator;)

01:00 Downstairs I met Lesha and Yulia from Saratov. The conversation ended with the conclusion: it is ACCEPTED to bum cigarettes in America! But only for Russian students!)

July 29

15:30 "Terenya's training" is complete: I'm falling in love with bike rides...

15:30 Found Ross in the area. The day wasn't wasted.

A difficult area to navigate – it's not Sherman Oaks, where all the streets are strictly parallel to each other!

16:50 Going to the ocean. Craigslist said there were vacancies

18:00 Getting our resumes and preparing for an interview tomorrow. The sunset at the ocean is beautiful.

21:30 Amik is getting my girls high again;) And I'm enjoying the speed, the wind, and the freedom!

July 30

12:00 And Bella spoke in the Kabardian language, which is terrible to me, all night. And I dreamed of

Him.

13:00 The now-mandatory "bicycle run" and a shower. Oh, if only I could quit smoking too.

Getting ready for an interview.... But the girls are leaving for races with friends, and I...

14:30 ...and I, as always, am having yogurt for lunch and going to meet Yulia in Hollywood.

We walk and finally chat from the heart!

18:00 We eat at a Chinese restaurant on Amik's dime. Now I love Chinese cuisine too!!!

20:00 Yulia flies off to work, and I am once again convinced what a wonderful Amik we have.

23:00 Andrea invites me to a party, but tomorrow we are planning to go with Alena and Jeff for shashlik at Olya's pool. So I'm not going!

00:00 No, I'm going after all!

02:30 WOW!

Houseparty is cool!!! I felt like a star of an American teen series!

The party was held in the fresh air. In the gazebo. And also around the gazebo, on the gazebo, and even under the gazebo for the particularly drunk ones. Who came, to whom, and why – no one cares. We walked in, drank what we saw, and let loose. All around are Americans, black people, Indians, Chinese... The latter declared that Sveta is an Indian name! I disagree completely!!!

That's how you should relax!

04:00 Friday night wasn't lost after all! We gathered and went to visit Amik! We washed down everything we drank with Russian vodka and felt like goddesses. For the first time, I'm also drinking champagne in America. Ooh, a burning mixture Oh, boy...

July 31

11:00 Good morning!!! Wake up, Lana! Alena is taking me to a "girls' day with Jeff"

13:00 Huge pool and barbecue. We sunbathe on lounge chairs and drink ice-cold (with such a pleasant Russian taste) Duchesse)

14:30 Met Tatyana Mikhailovna, Yasya's mom. She knows my grandma and mom! Meeting such a person in the City of Angels is a rare rarity. Once again we are convinced that the world is a village.

19:30 We got a decent tan, and ate to our heart's content – it's hard to breathe, my stomach is resisting the amount of food thrown into it. But everything is ahead, don't relax!

Alena and Jeff are going to a traditional Saturday dinner with their parents, and I'm going with them – to get ready!

22:00 Aaaa!!! For the first time, I tried Malibu rum – the drink of the gods! I almost swallowed my tongue – a real summer drink...

23:00 We arrive at the Isla club (donkey paddle – the girls joke). We can't stand it there for more than 20 minutes – it's too crowded and there's nothing to breathe.

23:50 And we are already at a Russian restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. I'm staining the glasses with the same drink and with a sly grin I imagine someone in the kitchen standing and washing them in a basin with foam! I'm evil...

00:30 We are blowing up the dance floor! I know even Jewish songs by heart – the set is standard, and Talisman taught me a lot)

Gulya called me to work tomorrow, but I already have completely different plans)

01:30 Two clubs and not a single photo

03:00 Just got back. And in the morning we are going to the roller coasters at Six Flags. Getting up at 8...

August 1. The first day of the last month of summer...

08:00 Yulka just got back and is going to sleep!!! Getting up is postponed until 10

13:30 Getting up was postponed a little more... The girls wake me up with screams and drag me to work!!! I don't want to go anywhere. What work? We won't find anything anymore.

14:00 Going to the ocean.

Wow! Promoter vacancies at the Marijuanna Shop are ours!!!! WE DON'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING! Thoughts don't fit in sleep-deprived heads! Us?! Working?! At the ocean?! In a drug shop?! Getting a whole 9 bucks an hour?! No, this is all not happening to us...

17:30 No, it is happening to us...

• Medical Marijuanna!
• Get a legal right now!
• Kush doctor is in!
• Comon in!
• The best price on the broadwalk!
  My throat is dry and I want to drink.

My legs are gone. I'm already tired of the phrases. The sun is baking and I just want to go to the bathroom. All passersby are taking pictures of us. Everyone is interested that legalized marijuana is sold so openly.

We look at people: so many strange and interesting ones. There are really no two alike here, everyone stands out in their own way. There is no crowd.

Venice Beach. Our new place.

19:30 Ran away. There was no strength left. Out of joy that we could sit down, we mixed up the bus... and arrived... at the airport!!!!!

What for?!

A kindest driver (who, by the way, had already finished his workday) took us to the stop (we drove for an hour and a half), told us where to sit, and even gave us tickets for a free ride. A person with a capital letter!!! In America, they won't let us be offended

22:30 Got home. Yulia Kudryashka and Naum are visiting. We chat. Finally, evenings in America have become unlike each other...