"Time approaches slowly, but leaves quickly" ©

Working day after day, I often caught myself thinking that I still had plenty of time, and that I would manage to socialize with Americans, get enough rest, and see America. Over these three and a half months, I might not have done everything I planned, but I managed to do a great deal. In particular, I got acquainted with American food. And now, for everyone who thinks that low-quality goods are sold in Russia, pay attention to the following paragraph. It is time to break stereotypes.

American food turned out to be simply terrible. Everything—from fruits and vegetables to restaurant food—seemed absolutely unbearable to me. (Bullshit). I tried every way to keep myself from going hungry, namely:

· Eating at a restaurant

· Eating at fast food

· Cooking for myself

I am not the best cook, and it is unlikely that Chef Gordon Ramsay (host of the popular show "MasterChef") would take me on his show (No chance), but I cooked at home, and it seemed like everything was tasty, yet with the same ingredients in the USA, it turned out to be absolutely tasteless. Restaurant food didn't impress me much either, despite costing a decent amount of money (Waste of money). And one would think that the homeland of fast food shouldn't fail in this regard, but again, not everything is so smooth. I love Subway. It is my favorite fast food in Russia, and walking into an American franchise, I knew the recipe for my perfect sub. But the ingredients for my perfect sub simply weren't there. Sadness (Sadness). But every coin has two sides, and what is truly cool is the sweets. Donuts, ice cream, chocolate, marshmallows, Oreos—it's worth going there just for that. That is cool, that gets a like!

I had no shortage of communication with Americans. The thing is, two Americans once came to the motel where I lived and invited us, foreign students, over to hang out and have dinner. At first, the Russian Ivan suspected something suspicious, since it is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch (Dangerous). But that is in Russia, and over there... Josh and Trent, that was their names, came every Sunday and took us to visit their parents. Golden people. We talked about everything, complained about how bad our motel was, how hard it was to work sometimes, and it was wonderful. Americans will always listen to you; they won't shy away from an uncomfortable conversation.

We talked about politics, the economy, and sports. I became very close friends with Josh, and we started meeting more often to play video games or watch some movie about Russian spies. All of this seriously improved my English. I started speaking faster, better, and more clearly. My accent began to level out and become Americanized. The best assessment was the moment when a customer didn't realize I was a foreigner because of my clear pronunciation. That was when I realized that it was all worth it, and this trip lived up to my expectations. But it was already August 28th...