Chapter 7: Theft in the church.

Rehoboth Beach is called the "Summer Capital of America" by Americans. The reason for this name is that people from Washington mostly come here to relax. The city's residents are kind and cheerful. A united association of churches operates here. They provide free bicycles and free food for international students who come from abroad. This generosity lasts every year from May 27 to September 2. Consequently, many students from all over the world come to this city. At first, the free bicycles distributed ran out.

I arrived in Rehoboth Beach on May 27. On that day, the Epworth United Methodist Church was serving dinner, but I didn't make it. Here, churches help not only with free food and bicycles, but also with accommodation, and some even help find work.

After spending one night in an expensive hotel on the day I arrived in the city, I went to my job, but I didn't hear any good news there either. The person who sold us the "Job offer" sold one person's job to two people. "We will split the 40 hours into 20/20 hours for both of you. So keep looking for another job for yourself," he said. My position was a kitchen assistant. To be honest, the Greek employers didn't like me after I arrived. And I didn't like the job either. Hot items, sharp knives, it was very possible to get injured at any time. In addition, they rush you, saying do it fast, do it fast. Right here, I will reveal a secret: this is a situation typical of many workplaces. Because the salary here is paid by the hour. Therefore, it is profitable for American employers to make the workers do the work quickly and send them home. If you finish the work quickly, they praise you and rush to send you home. As a result, many people do the work poorly. My friend Akbar does all the work quickly, but the quality is not satisfactory. When I am doing the work slowly, they praise Akbar for doing everything fast, but when they see poorly washed dishes, they scold him for doing everything in a hurry and not doing it right. As for me, I do every job carefully. In return, it takes a lot of time. As a result, I was constantly receiving warnings that "You work very slowly." Of course, I could have done it sloppily like Akbar, but it is not profitable for me. First, the risk of injury increases when doing the work quickly. Second, you get tired. Third, you will have fewer hours. After you finish the work you are supposed to do, they praise you and send you home. Since your hours are few, your salary is also low. And the understanding here is "Time is money!". That is why I deliberately dragged out the time at work. Later, the Bulgarian guys and girls who worked with me at the hotel also scolded me to finish faster. They themselves do everything quickly, and then come home and sit around smoking. Then, every two weeks when they receive their paycheck, they complain to each other in their own language that "our salary is low." And thanks to the fact that I deliberately dragged out the time, I received a little more than them. My Greek bosses didn't like this behavior of mine. However, Greeks are a fast-moving people. 27-year-old Irene and her father, 65-year-old George Vrentzos, move very quickly.

When I went to St. Edmund's Catholic Church, they also offered me a free bicycle, but I didn't take it because I couldn't ride a bicycle.

After arriving in America, one of the issues that needs to be solved urgently is registering in SEVIS, and after our status there is "Active", going to the nearby Social Security Office and applying for a Social Security Card. Many students apply without their status in SEVIS being "Active" and end up not being able to get their Social Security Card for a long time. This is a very important document in America. Without this, you can't find a second job!

After solving the apartment issue, the issue of applying for a Social Security Card remained for me. On May 29, I agreed with a Lithuanian girl named Justina, whom I met at the Lutheran church, to go to the office located in the neighboring city. So, at first, only the two of us went, and quite a few people joined us on the way. This was on Tuesday, June 3. On this day, dinner is provided by the Epworth United Methodist Church. While we were coming back after applying for the Social Security Card, a Kyrgyz guy named Elzar Isaev, who joined us on the way, refused to enter the church. Even though I barely convinced him to bring him to the church, he turned back from the corridor of the church. When I met him on the street later and asked why he did that, I was surprised by his answer. When entering churches, several people stand at the reception. They ask the arriving students to mark the place they came from on the political map of the world mounted on a tree there. I also came from Kazakhstan, from Aktobe, and I stick the needle into the map. When one of those needles was given to the Kyrgyz guy, he couldn't find his country on the map. On the map hanging in that church, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were marked as part of China. Not believing Elzar's words, when I went next time, I deliberately looked at that map, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were merged with China, Georgia with Russia, and the Kashmir region, which is disputed between India and Pakistan, was shown as an independent state. Surprised by this, when I asked the church staff there, none of them could explain it. Of course, they are not the ones who made the map. They bought the map and hung it up. Apparently, the map was made in China....

This church provides food for international students twice a week. Dinner every Tuesday and lunch every Sunday. On Sunday, I left work early and came to this church for lunch for the umpteenth time. There are many students inside, the church is crowded. I took my food and just as I was about to sit at the table, a girl sitting opposite me at the large table was crying. A group of people led by the pastor were busy comforting her. I couldn't understand what happened. It turned out that the girl's bag had just been stolen, inside the church! Yes, inside the church!

Later, I met that girl on the street and asked about the situation, and someone had stolen her bag, taken the money inside, and put the empty bag in the trash can in front of the church. "A lot of money was lost," says the owner of the stolen bag, a Russian girl named Olesya Egorova. This was June 8, 2014...