24/06/10 After meeting Gleb at JFK, we decided to buy plane tickets to Chicago first thing, but that didn't go as planned!!! The tickets went up from $120 to $200 :0 We definitely didn't expect that. After checking the local Internet, we decided to take a bus for $105.

Having arrived at the Port Authority bus terminal in New York, we bought our tickets, and since the bus was leaving at 10:25 pm, we had about 3 hours to spare to see New York :)

*Note: In the USA, they can sell as many tickets for intercity buses as they want, so I advise you to get in line as early as possible, otherwise you might just run out of space and have to wait for the next bus. Which is exactly what happened to us! Honestly, I was surprised; having heard about how well-organized everything is in the USA, this was a disappointment (

We had about a 17-hour bus ride ahead of us! It was good that we were traveling at night and managed to get some sleep)

In the morning, we arrived in Cleveland. All I knew about this city was that it's the largest city in the state of Ohio. From the bus window, Cleveland gave the impression of an industrial center. The population is clearly not more than a million. The city is unremarkable and, in my opinion, ranks high in terms of crime and high taxes. So, I'm not setting foot in Cleveland again))))

And here is Chicago! As we approached the city, you could feel the pulse of a metropolis) A beautiful view of huge skyscrapers opened up from the window (5 out of 10 of the tallest buildings in the USA are in Chicago)

• Wealthy Obama is from Chicago, I hope I manage to take a look at his house)))
  A more detailed review of Chicago will be on a separate page.

After making a few calls to our friend from CouchSurfing, Joseph, we still couldn't get through to him( But we had his address! We went to his house...

Finding Joseph's house turned out not to be so easy! In a state of extreme fatigue, we wandered the streets in search of the address we needed. It was dark outside, and the prospect of sleeping in a park didn't make us happy( Finally, having found the right house, we were happy, but after an elderly woman opened the door and said she didn't know any Joseph, the smile vanished from our faces instantly!

And there we were, standing in total darkness under a dimly lit street lamp, with an A1-sized map and wondering what to do next, when suddenly we heard in a language not our own:

• Hey guys, can I help you!? - it was Randy

*Note: You can get help in the USA when you least expect it! People here are more trusting and ready to help at any moment, setting aside all their own business.

Randy explained to us that we just got the wrong street! The funniest thing is that the house numbers on the opposite street are the same! He walked us to Joseph's house and promised to help with housing for our 3-month stay in Chicago)

Joseph turned out to be a cool guy! He immediately showed us where we could sleep and take a shower)

PS That's how a complete stranger can help you) and this is a perfectly normal phenomenon for America;)