New York is not America, just as Moscow is not Russia, though in a slightly different sense. Recently, the Captain had the chance to take a trip to the small town of Eaglewood, New Jersey. After that restless megalopolis, it was wonderful to walk through a completely green area, dotted with grass, trees, and fresh air. Apparently, that's where the 'one-story America' begins, because in a few hours we only saw one 5-story building, while everything else was just houses. There is an opinion that Eaglewood is a bedroom community for New York. You really want to live there; there's hardly anywhere to work, but if you have a car (or 2, 3, or more), it's even closer to drive to Manhattan from there than from Brooklyn. There are practically no people on the streets, only squirrels and cars. Part of our trip was the Jackson Hole cafe, founded in 1972. Old-school atmosphere, just like in American movies. Bill Clinton himself visited this cafe (we saw a newspaper clipping where he is sitting there). One of the most authentic details was the jukeboxes hanging over every table, where you drop a coin, choose a song, and it starts playing (we didn't check if they worked). The old, large cola glasses also made us smile, and near the entrance, there was a whole display of the evolution of Coca-Cola, old bottles in wooden crates, and all that.
Besides its green air, Eaglewood presented us with an abundance of car dealerships. I have never been a car enthusiast myself, but you definitely won't see such beauty in Russia. I think I already mentioned that America, and New York in particular, suffers from gigantism in everything. Cars are one of the main indicators of this gigantism. The Captain couldn't even imagine that an Audi could be almost a head taller than me and as long as a Range Rover. Moreover, on average, such gorgeous cars cost $65,000, which can be earned in 2-3 years if you have a decent (or even cool) job. Good cars, but slightly used or older, can be bought for $15,000–$20,000, which, in general, is not much money here if you make at least a grand a month with the minimum wage ($7.25 per hour). However, that's all just talk.
MESSAGE TO J-1 JEDI!
Now to the point regarding work. When people start looking for work in New York, the first thing they do is go to Brighton and buy the 'Russkaya Reklama' newspaper, and as they call through the numbers, more than half are agencies. They have a very bad reputation here, especially the Russian agencies. However, desperate in their search, the Captain and his faithful companion decided to turn to one of them, at their own risk. Many of them, according to local stories, simply scam students out of money without ever finding a decent job. On Monday, we will go there again to look at the vacancies they find for us. Agency services here cost at least $100. If they place us properly, we will give you recommendations on whether to use them; otherwise, you will know exactly where not to go. Looking for work in New York on your own is a hopeless endeavor and a waste of time and money. We plan to go to that same Eaglewood, to the Crowne Plaza hotel, to work as housekeepers; we'll see how much of our plan comes to fruition.
The Captain is starting to get stressed because there is no certainty about tomorrow, and that really throws you off balance.
