The day just didn't start right. I was 1.5 hours late for work... (I was working in cleaning today), I set my alarm for 6:40, but lately, my alarm has just been pleasant morning music that I don't even hear! So, after accidentally waking up at 8:50, I realized I had to be at work in 10 minutes, and it takes 1.5 hours to get there! I shoved all my makeup into my bag, grabbed some sandwich, and 13 minutes later I was already at the subway station.

I spent a long time thinking of an excuse for being late, but I decided that a kind woman wouldn't be too angry, so I told the truth. She really just said that I should have warned her I was running late because she was worried something might have happened to me!!!))

Of course, since I was late, I decided not to skip my break, and it was during this short time that my phone rang. It was around mid-August. They were calling from a Russian restaurant (I didn't immediately realize which place it was) and asked me to work as a waitress for banquets on the weekend. I decided I needed to earn some extra money and agreed. Then, vaguely recalling all the restaurants I had visited, I mentally traveled back to June 2nd, when I walked all along Avenue U in Brooklyn looking for work... And at that Russian restaurant, they told me they would take my number and call if they needed people (usually they pay visiting waiters 50 dollars a day - not a fortune, of course, but it'll do). I was there in the first days of June!! And they call me in mid-August!! Mark (the owner of the Russian restaurant) also invited me to work as a permanent waitress, but since I was planning to start traveling soon, I decided not to mess Mark around because he turned out to be a very good guy; I said that I was leaving soon anyway and could only pick up shifts on weekends.

I already knew what it was like to work in service, how hard it is, and I prepared myself for the worst, but in the end, it wasn't that bad. First of all, the restaurant wasn't big - it held about 70 people (while the country club where I worked held 300-400), and secondly, you didn't have to bring a plate of food to everyone, just put a large platter of food on the table, which made the work much easier))

Of course, this job wasn't without its adventures...

I worked 17 hours for 50 dollars...

I ate such awesome food!! I've never tried anything like it in Russia))

I met some very interesting young people. It didn't immediately dawn on us that we all spoke Russian...

I didn't understand the Russian speech (because one young man spoke so fast... he has lived in America for 8 years and apparently the American pace of speech has carried over into his Russian)

The birthday girl gave me side-eyes when the people she invited were flirting with me))

For some reason, I ended up in the arms of 3 guys who were swinging me like a swing in the middle of the hall... I thought I was going to get fired)))

Admiring me, the man who was decorating the hall for the party gave me a huge bouquet that weighed a ton...)))

I lost one of the earrings I bought for 50 bucks!! But then it was found!!

I found someone... but then I lost them...

I had fun and even managed to sleep on the floor, on the stage, because I was incredibly tired.

They offered me some cognac to cure my headache when it started hurting.

And why did I refuse????))

And working in that place makes me a little sad, so I don't want to remember it anymore...

In the photo is my cleaning job location. Unfortunately, there are no photos from the Russian restaurant!

I'm just glad I worked there...