....I never even imagined that America was so rich in greenery! I certainly suspected that the most powerful country in the world could boast not only of its achievements in economy and politics, but also when it came to Mother Nature. But I simply didn't expect such beauty! In general, our state is very famous for its indescribable natural beauty; I would have even mistaken it for the filming location of the famous "Twilight" trilogy if I hadn't known the right answer. Also, on the way to our small beach town, which would later serve as our home for 2.5 months, I remembered a phrase said to me by my groupmate:
-"Oh, you're going to the state of Maine, famous for its ghosts and witches coming out of the thickets of the forests."
-"Yeah," I said abruptly, and after thinking for a minute, do I know about the place where I will spend more than half of my upcoming summer?!
Of course, I scoured the internet for all the necessary information about this mysterious and nature-rich Maine and tried in every way to cheer myself and my friend up by saying that our state is the best, despite the fact that it is the northeast and it won't be as hot as, for example, in Florida.
Why did I choose Maine, you ask? The answer is simple: my cousin went there through the same Work and Travel USA program in 2010, and like all students who have visited the States, she remained on good terms with her employers or so-called bosses, who could easily solve the problem with an offer, or rather, hire you or your friends, relatives, or acquaintances. In general, everyone you can vouch for. And so I was the so-called relative who wouldn't let her sister down and, based on her good recommendations, would come for the whole summer and do her job just as well as my sister did before me. She also helped my friend Aigerim, and soon we became the owners of two prize jobs as housekeepers at "Beachwood motel". Everything was as it should be: $8 per hour, 30 hours a week, and 2 days off. (Americans measure their working hours by the week and also issue a pay check at the end of each week). Well, I will tell you more about this in another blog titled "10 facts about why I love America".
Before ending up in OOB-Old Orchard Beach, we made a difficult journey: New York, NY-Boston, Massachusetts-Portland, Maine-OOB, Maine. As you have already guessed, the city comes first, and after the comma is the state in which this very city is located. Well, so, having reached Portland, we could no longer stay on the bus and decided to take a taxi. We agreed on 40 bucks, and happy with our correct decision (as it seemed at that moment), we arrived in OOB.
At that time, the weather was nasty and cold, which, however, is very characteristic of Maine. My sister shared with me all the information available to her and, of course, knew those people who could shelter us. We went to one of them. It was Rosa, a Polish woman by nationality, who had long moved to the States, married a Jew, was a co-owner of a rather large beach store "Domino", and gave us the keys to her shelter. She spoke Russian well, and we immediately found a common language, both literally and figuratively. But she provided us with housing only for a week, as her students were supposed to arrive and take our place. We agreed and went to settle in. Having bought groceries and already prepared dinner, we chatted with my Aigerim about the upcoming day at our work. Everything seemed perfect to us.
The next day we came to our boss John and started our training day. To our deep regret, our supervisor, the head of the housekeepers, was not working that day and could not properly evaluate our capabilities. And 2 African-American women from Jamaica, who were also housekeepers, volunteered to evaluate Aigerim and me. In principle, everything was clear. Our duties included changing and properly folding towels, cleaning the bathroom, properly making the bed, washing the floor and dusting the furniture, as well as a small kitchen set. And we were given about 40 minutes for everything, no more, since there were 40 rooms in the motel. The hardest thing for me was making the bed, because it was necessary to lift heavy mattresses and beautifully craft a swan, which I hadn't succeeded in yet.
After our working day ended, we provided the documents to our boss and noticed his dissatisfied face when he looked at them. But like all typical Americans, he remained silent and smiled broadly, making us believe that everything was fine with us. Having enjoyed free coffee and Wi-Fi, we returned home. And by the way, our boss gave us 2 whole days off, since it was not yet the season and there were few guests in the motel. Rejoicing at this opportunity, we explored our town, went to the beach, tried to sneak into the "Palace Playland" amusement park, and went through all the shops in the city in the hope of immediately finding a second job. But as John said, it was not the season now, and the closed restaurants, half-empty and empty shops, and the closed Palace Playland amusement park served as proof of this. As it turned out, we arrived too early. Although it was already June 6th.
After our days off, we came to work. But before starting, our employer called us to him. I felt something was wrong, but quickly brushed those thoughts aside. As it turned out, in vain, our employer decided to fire us once and for all. It would seem, for what? He didn't like the dates on our visas in our passports. I had September 1st, Aigerim had August 28th. But what is the problem, actually? The fact that he needs workers who will stay until the end of September, and we won't be able to do that. We tried in every way to persuade him, saying that we have the whole of September at our disposal and we will be able to work for him within the time frame he set. (In reality, this was impossible, because we had to return by the beginning of the school year and we also planned a trip), but at that moment we had to force him to believe it by all means so as not to lose our jobs. But our persuasions were unsuccessful, and in addition, he called us liars who signed a contract under an agreement that they are not able to fulfill. Well, we didn't know that all this would turn out exactly like this, and my sister said that the same thing happened to her, however, she didn't stay with him until the end of September but left earlier, and he even paid her a so-called bonus of $250. Apparently, he was adamant with us. In the end, we were left without work. Salt on our wound was the news that in a few days we would have to vacate the housing, which was given to us only for a week.
Of course, we were desperate. Undoubtedly, every day we went out in search of work in the hope of finding it, at least some kind. But there was still no work. As they say, it's not the season.
We even wanted to go to another state, believing that we would certainly find both housing and work there and everything would work out for us there. We called our friends Nurken and Shakarim, hoping that they would help us. But everyone had their own problems, and they convinced us that the same thing was happening in all states.
Pulling ourselves together, we continued to look for work and housing. By the way, on the first day of our arrival in OOB, we met a simply wonderful person. His name was Chico. Well, at least that's what they called him. He was over 50, he represented the Filipino nation, and he was a local here. He showed us the way to the supermarket, helped us buy groceries together with our other new friend Bob, his real name was Bobur, he was an Uzbek and, like us, arrived through the Work and Travel USA program. Later we met our Kazakhs, who helped us with housing and work. There were 4 of them - Banu, Azamat, Kuat, and Yerkebulan. They introduced us to that savior woman who provided us with housing and later got us a job with her acquaintances. Her name was Pamella - she owned several houses and rented them out to students like us. You would know how happy we were at that moment! As if we had won the lottery! Now we knew that we had a roof over our heads and, most importantly, work!
After moving from a small apartment to a large and spacious second-floor house, our happiness knew no bounds! It was very cozy and warm. It would be a luxury to live there just the two of us. Very soon, Pam promised to find us 4 neighbors who must be from other countries. This was one of her rules - cultural exchange and communication only in English in her house. This was very correct on her part, because we came to improve our English and learn not only American but also other cultures of different countries.
The next day, we went with Pam to our new workplace. Our new employers turned out to be simply wonderful. Like John, they were local Americans owning their small business called "The Gull motel" including not only a motel but also apartments, cottages, and an Inn. Their names were Barbara and Zan. After all, the system of "Seke and Bake" (nepotism) also existed in America, and on the recommendations of our Pam, they immediately hired us. This place was much better than the previous one. Although there were only 20 rooms and the motel was much older, our new bosses were much better. And our colleagues were just a sight to behold. Roxana, or simply Roxy, was both a supervisor and a housekeeper like us. So we didn't feel any inconvenience with her and became friends very quickly. Emilia was also very sweet and knew a little Russian because she was from Bulgaria. Nick was also a very cheerful and good guy performing the duties of a pool cleaner. And finally, Madalina, whose duties included laundering all towels and bed linen. Everything was going as well as possible. But as you understand, not without difficulties. We had no days off. We worked 7 days a week from 9:00 AM until lunch. It was very difficult, especially when your friends throw a party and you come home from it in the morning. By the way, about friends, soon a large number of students arrived in our small town who came through the same program as us. We called ourselves "J1-ers", in honor of our J1 Visa. An incredible number of students arrived from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Jamaica, China, and even Russia. There were also Belarusians, Uzbeks, and Tatars. From Kazakhstan, there were our four friends, us, and our Karaganda girls Dana and Anna. Two sisters, mixed-race. Everything was going as well as possible. But there was still silence regarding a second job.
Our cheerful Turkish girls and one Romanian girl moved in with us. Their names were Irem, Betul, Gamze, and Bianca.
After working at the motel, Aigerim and I worked part-time in different places: at a parking lot, in a souvenir shop, in a pizzeria, in small shops. But this was not quite enough for us. After all, we were planning a trip, buying gifts, things, and really wanted to return the money to our parents.
But the search for a second job dragged on for a long time. If before it was not the season, then this season had already arrived along with the arrival of a bunch of unemployed students. And we fell into depression again. Our supervisor answered the question of why we were still sitting without a second job when many already had one. She told us:
-"Dear girls, it is very difficult to find a second job with such a flow of students. Many don't even have a first one, let alone a second. When I first came to America, I spent the whole summer without a second job. But nothing, I found a way out of the situation. I enjoyed my afternoon rest by lying on the beach, traveling to other nearby cities, and simply reconciled myself to the fact that I would no longer find a job and replaced it with simple rest."
And then it dawned on us. After all, if we continue to be depressed and discourage ourselves with this thought, it won't get any better for anyone. And a new job won't appear from this. So, having listened to the sound advice of our boss and friend, we decided to follow it. Namely, to rest and get true pleasure from it!!! During this period, we went to Portland several times, visited Scarborough, sunbathed and swam in the ocean, ate famous lobsters, picked strawberries in a specialized field, went to the mall, and bought things there. We rested to the fullest. We also met two Kazakhs who lived in another city, but in our state. We went to visit them, they came to us. We cooked beshbarmak for them and just had a great time.
And then the offer of a new job came into our hands by itself: for me from Anna, who was already supposed to leave and needed to be replaced, and for Aigerim, an offer from our friend Chico, who had an acquaintance who had a suitable job.
...I will never forget the moment when we ended up at a concert of Justin Timberlake himself in Boston, Massachusetts... It was just a bomb! We danced, sang, screamed, and got the most out of this mega-show! It was simply unforgettable! Considering the fact that he is my favorite artist, I got all the pleasure, even though we were sitting on the balcony.
In conclusion of my blog about our small and cozy beach town OOB, I would like to add that I have grown very fond of this place and the people. And it was very difficult to part with them. All our international friends came to say goodbye to us, with whom we still keep in touch. They were like our little international family, to which I became so attached.
But everything comes to an end, and an exciting trip along the East Coast awaited us, which brought no less exciting emotions than the stop in OOB.
