After a truly wild night yesterday (we went to a wild beach to watch crabs and swim!!!), the day couldn't start with a 'good morning.' In fact, at 8:40 AM, when the alarm went off, I felt like it was winter again, it was cold, and I had to go to class. I definitely didn't get enough sleep, and out of habit, I lounged in bed until 9:00, when I was already planning to leave. BUT, I even managed to have breakfast! Speaking of food, it has its own specifics here—it seems similar to ours, but everything has a different taste, and you can't always guess! In general, you can find whatever your heart desires in the stores. For breakfast, we eat Great Grains Protein—about the same as in Russia, although I haven't tried this specific one. We brew it with milk in the microwave for about 2 minutes.
A nice little thing: at 9 AM, we got a text from our night companions wishing us a good morning and a good day at work!=)
It was already 9:20 when I rushed out of the house to get my bike fixed. The day before, or rather the evening before, I discovered that the handlebars were broken, and the wheel didn't depend on them at all. I don't know how it happened. So I had to go in the morning to where I bought it. Unfortunately, riding wasn't that easy; I had to stop often. Well, I thought, I'll get to the boardwalk, it will be easier there—the road is flat and straight. But at that time, there were so many tourists on foot and otherwise! People ride on all sorts of things—there are many of those carts, you can ride them yourself, or with a 'coachman.' It seems like all the tourists were trying to ride as much as possible on the boardwalk for the day, because you can't ride there after 11 AM. So I rode very carefully, and I had to go all the way to the end of the promenade, to that used bike shop.
On the spot, the seller, an elderly American, asked me what happened; he seemed to think I had been hit by a car. And I just replied: 'Nothing, nothing, I don't know what's wrong with it.' Maybe the old man thought I was making excuses to hide the truth, but I really didn't know. I think it's just an old rusty nut, and it will constantly come loose. They fixed my bike quickly, with one flick of the wrist, and I had to rush back immediately, even though there were more vacationers. I reached the famous Wildwoods, checked the time—only 13 minutes until work. I picked up speed, rode on the highway, it was great! Almost no stops, no curbs, tiles, or manholes! And I even arrived 2 minutes before the start.
Actually, our boss was late, we waited for her for about 10 minutes; I shouldn't have rushed so much. I hope she (Christina) will pay for those 10 minutes too. And a hard workday began. Christina taught us how to clean rooms and bathrooms. And all this was in the terrible heat, and so exhaustingly long... We were very, very tired. I don't want to write about it. Sometimes it felt like I wanted to quit everything, find another job, even at McDonald's, at least there would be English communications. I hope that after the first paycheck, I will like this job more!
We came home a little after four, started cooking, wanted to eat something and quickly. Again, we overcame the temptation to go to McDonald's, boiled some macaroni, and had chicken left from yesterday. By the way, cooking here is easy and pleasant. I don't know why. Actually, I love to cook, it's just that at home there's no time for it, plenty of other things to do, and here there is free time. Today I was cooking all evening, made shchi. Russian shchi, American style. It didn't taste this good at home. I will definitely post the recipe, with the American names...)))
We don't have a big pot, and the neighbors weren't home. And I want to cook soup for longer so I don't have to cook from scratch every day. I tried to cook in two pots at the same time, it turned out not bad, although later I relaxed, forgot, and half of each pot boiled away. So in the end, it turned out to be just one.
Sonya wasn't there, it was boring, the internet wasn't loading. On long winter evenings, I dreamed that in such moments, I would walk the streets, talk to Americans, swim, and generally have a fun time, but now I don't want to, I want to rest, make the house cozy.
Monday, I only remembered in the evening that I needed to pay for housing. Sonya was getting ready for work by 9 PM, and I was bored, so I took the money for myself and for her and went to Trish—our landlady. It's humid outside as always, but it was also stuffy, like before rain. Trish wasn't home. I sat down to wait. Opposite me, 2 houses are rented out, apparently to students, just not from Russia. They are shouting on the balconies, having fun... That's how I thought I would spend time here, I hope such days are waiting for me ahead. Still, it's a bit boring to live just the two of us, and especially when everyone around is Russian.
I decided to go to the store. Whenever sadness creeps in, I love going to the store. I think many girls will understand me, shopping helps overcome a bad mood. I wanted to buy something tasty and special. In WW, I only know one decent supermarket so far, and I like it quite a lot, only it's cold there). Acme—is located on Park Blvd, a little further than McDonald's (3 blocks). There is a large selection of everything there and decent prices! I walked around, wandered—bought chips—my soul and stomach rejoiced. Pringles here are only $1.89. Also took cabbage and green onions—will be useful for the shchi.
Trish arrived soon, she has such a remarkable car—the windows inside are covered with children's stickers. And Trish's dog is cool. I don't know what breed, something like a bulldog, named Sasha, just Sasha, but with pink nails!
