Day Four
Finally! I have my long-awaited break!!! And I need to make good use of it. But how? Of course, go to the store and buy some food. In general, as I wrote before, groceries here are much cheaper than ours. After going to Walmart, we headed to a super important match: Germany vs. Spain, the Euro 2008 final. There is a national sports channel here, ESPN, and a bar where Sasha and I headed.
Mostly, of course, people here were rooting for the Spanish, since the crowd is Spanish-speaking, and nobody really likes the Germans anyway. There were also German female fans in the bar, surprisingly without any male fans, just sipping beer. We had to stand because the place was packed. I won't describe all the emotions; you saw what was happening on the field. I'll just say that Sasha pointed out some girls from Syktyvkar who "didn't make it" to their employer. They were walking arm-in-arm with Spaniards, smiling sweetly, laughing. Indeed, America is a land of great opportunities; everyone comes here for what they need. Sasha and I were rooting for the Germans (I can't root for those who knocked us out, can I?)
Arriving home at 6 PM, I desperately wanted to lie down and rest. "Just a little bit," I thought. The "little bit" lasted from 6 PM to 11 PM. I don't know, maybe my body is still trying to get used to the time zone change, so it "breaks loose" sometimes. When loved ones are far away, you realize the importance of a simple phone call, a simple conversation about anything. When you hear that timbre, the intonations (even if sometimes there's dissatisfaction), the laughter, the joy from your call - damn, how great it is! Don't think that I'm already starting to get homesick, no (although a little bit, I won't hide it), but how pleasant it is to feel a person for at least a couple of minutes, to be close to them. In short, it's beautiful...
Day Five
Work starts at 4 PM today, which means I can spend time writing a letter. It was today that I started keeping my diary. I decided to write in detail, even if sometimes going into unnecessary details. The main goals are so that after reading it later, I can remember my thoughts, feelings, desires, and also so that you, my reader, can not only put yourself in my place but also draw your own conclusions about the country, about staying here, about the people. So, I started writing at 10 AM and finished around 12 PM. It was a bit long, but I think it was important to describe the flight, plus this is the beginning, later the days won't be so saturated. Again I wanted a "little bit" and it lasted until 2 PM. My notes are literally "sucking the strength" out of me!
Today I worked as an intern again, my knife got dull and the Mexicans sharpened it for me. Good guys, they help out, though their jokes are as flat as ever. As usual, I ran into a drunk lady. She started flirting, and when I brought her beef, she asked: "Is this dog?" and cackled wildly. The day was hard, I was carrying whole pieces of meat, I got home at 12:30 AM (an intern's salary is 5.85 per hour), I was tired, we went to the pool (we started swimming every day, maybe I'll bulk up). It's so great to rest after a workday, relax, lie in the pool and look at the night sky with stars, think, reflect calmly... I will end on this thought and go to sleep, it's 3:30 AM.
