After some failed experiments with the “field,” I decided: “That’s enough adventures for now.” My immediate goal was to wait for that friend of mine who was arriving in 2 days. I thought that at least with his help, we could find decent housing. So, in the morning, beaten and sleep-deprived, I returned to my hostel. Hearing my story, the hostel owner had a good laugh and even knocked a couple of bucks off the price for 2 nights.

I spent those 2 days relatively calmly, without any strange incidents. I explored the city and was amazed by the variety of goods at the local “Publix” supermarket (some Russians nicknamed it “Rublix”). A curious fact: after a month of eating fast food, I lost 10 kg...

I also observed the strange residents of the hostel; I swear, you don’t see this in Russia. A guy who was always giggling, a woman around 55 in a miniskirt and a revealing top. At first, it was hard to look at this without surprise.

But the 2nd day came to an end, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the airport to meet my friend and, at the same time, give him a good number of smacks on the head. Having successfully accomplished the latter, we waited for dawn at the airport. In general, American airports have often saved me. Free Wi-Fi, no one kicks you out at night, and they haven’t even asked for a ticket once.

At night, we found a fairly inexpensive hotel online for the time being in a black neighborhood. In the morning, we went there and checked in for a week. It was a typical cheap American motel: a TV, a fridge, a big bed, and a black housekeeper who barely spoke English. During that week, we met 2 girls from Kazakhstan. They were leaving for Pittsburgh and left us their room for 3 days. We relaxed and didn't notice how 10 days flew by.

So, what’s next? There’s still no work or housing, and the money is steadily going down. More on that later.