It has been a month since we arrived. Lots of impressions, experience, failures, jokes, and even more to come. But not for everyone... The captain's loyal companion decided to head back to his Russian land. Saying, "I wouldn't have seen this America for much longer anyway." The situation is truly depressing. There is no normal work as such, and by "normal," the captain implies not only the jobs they hire Mexicans and J-1 holders for, but also the locals. Our work is strictly manual labor in any service sector for these locals. After all, locals can't serve locals xDDDD.

All this is aggravated by a chronic illness. I won't go into details, but the point is that Jedi Pablo cannot lift heavy things and needs to eat a lot and on schedule. Any work here implies physical labor for us, and it's not a fact that you'll manage to eat more than once a day. Although, it would seem, working in a restaurant, they should feed you and all that. Yes, of course, they will give you food (and not a hot dog, but something fancy), but on busy days there is no time to eat, you won't even sit down until the evening, and then you just want to get home, have a beer, and die sleeping with terrible pain in your legs.

Moreover, this work is not permanent for everyone; some waiters need their busboy only on weekends, and on other days one busboy can help several waiters.

Money flies away quickly, nothing is left for food and housing, there are Jews everywhere, and there is no one to expect help from. That's when you think – "I could care less about this place, back home there is family, friends, a car, livestock, internet, local hoodlums... streams, birches."

Also, they are telegraphing from home – "what are you still doing there? fly home sooner." The decision is not easy, but for some, it is the only one. Moreover, changing the departure date from the States also costs money – 50 euros (65 dollars), and they won't set your departure for tomorrow, but for a time when there are free seats. Therefore, if you have serious health problems – don't even try to conquer/punish America.

At the time of writing this post, Jedi Pablo has been successfully delivered to Moscow, via Milan with a 6-hour delay. Ahead is another plane to Tyumen.

The captain was also tempted to deport himself to his homeland, but the captain still doesn't understand how one can wait a year, sink 3 kilobucks into this business, and leave after a month? For that money, one could have spent until the end of August lying in a 5-star hotel in Turkey or Cyprus. The captain is an iron man, he can not eat, not sleep, functioning exclusively on tea, cigarettes, and instant noodles for at least 3 months (but cigarettes are expensive here, and instant noodles are small and not tasty).

I like to move it, move it...

By a happy coincidence, our neighbors were also kicked out of their place and they moved the next day. The captain didn't want to tempt fate and found his shelter with them.

Manhattan Beach is a great quiet area, not far from Brighton, 15 minutes walk to the subway. A private house, we were given a semi-basement with two rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. There is enough space for now, we did a general cleaning, all that's left is to fill the fridge with something.

Regarding furniture. Initially, there were only 2 sofas in the house. I didn't want to sleep on the floor. When the captain was living out his last days in the building, we went to the laundromat, and OH MIRACLE! Someone threw out 2 sofas, armchairs, and a couch. And the couch was a good one, single, folding, just needed a small correction of the legs (they were missing). Without thinking twice, we carried it to the 10th floor and left it for better times. When those times came, we dragged this thing to Manhattan Beach. We dragged it because the services of movers cost from 50 to 100 dollars. The crap, i.e., the couch, turned out to be heavy and we dragged it in pieces. One piece was left lying in the parking lot of the neighboring house, and when we walked halfway, we also threw away the second piece, because we found a pretty decent folding bed, wide, long, but it was missing 2 wheels. While dragging this folding bed, having walked another third of the way, where the rather wealthy areas begin, someone threw out a huge painting in a chic frame, and six gorgeous chairs! Here we thought even less – painting on the folding bed and run! Then in 2 more trips, we carried away all the chairs. On the way, there is a street restaurant, and they started laughing at us after the 2nd time, and we didn't miss the opportunity to troll, every time we passed by them we started singing "I like to move it, move it". In short, we furnished the apartment, but I feel that this is not all... they say you can find decent laptops on the streets here.

p.s. TO THE JEDI – REGARDING DOCUMENT TRANSLATION

The captain is not sleeping. Today, after receiving CERTIFIED copies of my diploma by mail, I printed them (for a buck) and took them to a notary office in Brighton. The prices are as follows – if your entire diploma consists of one spread where everything is written, then the translation costs 25 bucks, if you have a cover separately and an insert with grades separately - then 40 bucks. In general, it's not expensive, considering that somewhere they do it for a hundred and more, and even more so it's not money if after this there will be an opportunity to get a normal job. BUT THE CAPTAIN FORBIDS rushing headlong upon arrival to do all this until he gives the command! The scheme is new, not yet tested.