What can I say about the police, they work efficiently!!!

During our trip, we had to deal with law enforcement more than once.

Our first encounter was in NY, we just took pictures with them, they were just so cinematic, so iconic.

Then, already in LA, we bought pizza and drove to the Hollywood Hills. We wanted to have a feast for the soul in silence ))))

That didn't happen. Within the first few minutes, we saw a police car. I was scared.

Calm down! Just calm down!!!

They turned on a bright spotlight, we were blinded. The police love doing that. )))

He started being rude right away!

-What are you doing here?

Tolya played the fool and answered:

-We are hungry! We're eating. We were trying to find a safe, quiet place. We're doing nothing, just sitting and eating pizza.

-I don't trust you! I'll keep my eyes on you. If you make some noise or s*** here, I will give you a ticket. It is private property.

-ok!

Yeah, he was kind of rude. He kept watching us. We left.

The next time it was in Beverly Hills.

We were sleeping there too. And in the middle of the night, I woke up from the noise of an approaching car and a bright light in our direction. Tolya and I were sleeping in the front, Lyosha in the back. We opened the window. Some guys in a Jeep. They were shining a flashlight in our faces. It was impossible!

-What are you doing here?

Then Tolya just laid out the whole truth ))) That we are students from Russia, came on the Work and Travel USA program, have little money, rented a car, and are sleeping here!!!! I think they were in shock. They shone the flashlight on the back seat, there was Lyosha!

-who is this?

-it's my brother! He is our driver, he's tired!

If you had seen Lyosha at that moment, you would have died of laughter. He barely got up, exhausted, all disheveled, crumpled, and with an incomprehensible expression on his face and a clear unwillingness to talk, especially in English.

The guys asked:

-Do you know who we are?

-yes, police!

-no! we are neighborhood watch! this is private property. you can sleep here. ok?

-ok! thanks

They left, and about fifteen minutes later I heard a car pull up again. I nudged Tolya, he said if they need to, they'll pull up and ask us. They were standing behind us, then suddenly turned on their high beams, damn, it blinded us.

It was them again! They told us to move further away because they were going to wash the road now. Okay!

The funniest part is they asked us to repeat the phrase "we are under surveillance" twice )))))

And in the morning we saw that we had also been shot at with paintballs. What a night that was ))))

Once we met a guy, he was applying to the police, asked us to teach him Russian. He often came to see our friends, but then he disappeared.

The next meeting with the police was not so funny.

Once around 11:30 pm, the phone rang, it was Maga and Lyosha. They had recently gone to the store at a gas station, Maga wanted gum.

So, Maga says something incomprehensible on the phone, police, police, we are at the intersection, come here.

We all run out of the house, we see them and 3-4 police cars. It turns out one of their bikes was stolen.

Two guys came up and started taking it, Maga didn't give in and then one of them offered a choice: a gun or the bicycle, and showed the gun. The guys gave it up. And the funniest thing is that they took the broken bike and couldn't leave immediately.

The police were nearby, dealing with someone, the guys told them everything and they managed to catch one, they took statements, etc.

And the guys' statements were something like this:

Lyosha: he was chubby, in a white t-shirt, with a normal haircut and jeans.

Maga: he is thin, in a black t-shirt, bald, and plaid pants.

hahaha )))

The police called us later asking to identify other accomplices, but our Mexican friends advised us not to get involved with them.

Once Tolya and I were returning from a shopping mall and stopped at a small intersection (not a central one) to let cars pass (we were on bicycles), the cars decided to let us pass (that's the rule), Tolya was riding in front and a car drove at him. As a result, they just rammed him, the wheel bent. Thank God, Tolya was not hurt. A man runs out and starts shouting, like, what about my car. Nothing, but what should we do? How do we get home? Tolya was in a state of shock and didn't understand what was happening, so I dealt with it. In the end, this guy wrote down his phone number for us, we were stupid and didn't write down the car number or the driver's license number. He signed as Bob and the number was fake. Later we were warned that normal people aren't called that - BOB!!!!! 9 police cars arrived. Then they took us and the bikes home.

In general, the police in America are good. Always ready to help. Once, a policeman stopped me late at night, checked everything. Asked where I was going. I was going to our store. We were supposed to meet Tolya and go to friends. He offered to give me a ride, because it's dangerous here. I refused, so what do you think, he still drove to the store with me. ))))

So, guys, if anything, these guys will definitely help you.