Pros, cons, and everything point by point.

What annoyed me in the USA and a few recommendations:

Life as a pedestrian in small towns turns into a daily challenge: getting around and surviving. If you think a bike will solve this, it won't, though maybe partially.

v Cycling life

· Cycling is very dangerous, especially if you ride on sidewalks.

Tip: Check your bike's condition daily, get a lock (essential), and preferably a helmet (mandatory if you decide to buy a moped).

· Tires tend to deflate or pop. Tip: Find a place where you can inflate them quickly. This could be a student center, a gas station, or the garage of the family you are living with.

Paychecks

· They are issued every Friday for the previous week. Some employers won't issue them without an SSN.

· What to do with them?

There are two options: cash them or deposit them into a card.

Instructions:

· To cash them, you need to take the check and your documents to the bank that issued the checks for the company.

· To deposit them, go to the bank or an ATM of the bank where you opened your card. (!Note: this isn't possible at all ATMs.)

Checks are very inconvenient.

Rain, whole days of rain, weeks of rain.

· If you work indoors, there is definitely air conditioning, and it's very cold. If you arrive at work wet, there is a huge chance of getting very sick. (Though this risk exists even without rain, as the temperature difference between outside and inside is significant.)

· If you work outdoors, there is a high probability that you won't be working or will be on call waiting to be summoned. Consequently, you lose money.

· If you have a day off and no friends with a car, you will most likely have to forget that you have a day off.

American ignorance and 5XL sizes

· I encountered 5XL shirts at work and had to fold them as neatly as size S.

· Don't even ask where your country is. Most people don't know where Russia or European countries are.

Food

I had to get used to the lack of familiar dairy products and fresh bread (not the kind that lasts 100 years).

And to the presence of sugar in milk and everywhere it shouldn't be.

And the ubiquitous fast food.

Especially since I am a vegetarian, it was very difficult to eat properly.

Tip: Get a group together (ideally someone has a car) or call an Uber and head to Walmart. (Prices are low and it's convenient to buy in bulk). It's better to shop together (it's cheaper) for a week or ideally 2 weeks at once.

Undeniable pros or what I remember with love.

People.

J-1 students, neighbors, host families, coworkers, everyone in your radius, tourists, passersby, homeless people. The absolute majority are incredibly positive people. Smiles, good morning wishes, jokes, conversations, an incredible amount of accents, energy, and acquaintances.

People are probably 50% of a successful summer.

The Ocean

This is simply beyond words. It was my outlet for all my suffering. Morning, day, night. I walked here, and later rode my bike 3 km alone. You drop your backpack and run into the waves. Sunrise, sunset, the night ocean. It is always perfect, and nothing can ruin it, not even the rain.

Birthdays and parties in America.

Clubs, let's be honest, are so-so. Wooden houses with Mexicans, Black people, and older Eastern men. They close around 3 AM.

But private parties are more like American movie parties. People of different nationalities, Spanish music, and red cups.

Perhaps the only thing that warmed me on the day I got my visa was the thought of turning 21 in the USA.

Briefly about that day.

On the night of my birthday, we went to our local club for the first time, and exactly at midnight, the girls congratulated me. I was the only one of legal age (21 in the USA), so I went to the bar for alcohol, and that's how we danced and sipped from 3 cups. Then many acquaintances, dancing, and Max Korzh songs.

But from lunch until 9 PM, my "beloved" work awaited me. Before work, I bought that very chocolate Frappuccino at Starbucks. Arriving at work, I was told I had to work an hour longer. And at 10 PM on Tuesdays, there was fireworks in the park where my store was located. And so, hurray, the last minutes and freedom, but they hand me a box of hangers and send me to a small room to sort and put them into other boxes. And then, I hear the sound of fireworks and see their reflection in the windows and realize: this is the perfect birthday overseas.

After work, we all met on the beach, ate red velvet cake with candles with our hands on a towel, listened to music on a speaker, and it's a magical feeling to eat a birthday cake at 21 while gazing into the night ocean.