PART TWO, TRAVEL How I gave up on everything :), Honduras

August 10

...you can start the countdown, 40 days left until home! ho-ho-ho...

Well, okay, the most difficult and interesting part is still ahead! The organized tour isn't working out, and my heart isn't really in it (although I'll try to book it tomorrow=) I'll probably go solo. I'll coordinate actions with my grandmother. Now I need to sketch out a route, buy a backpack, a sleeping pad, a sleeping bag, a hard drive, a camera, batteries, etc. (sandals too) So yeah. There's a lot to do, I'm nervous and sweating =) It's a bit scary. Even a lot... But my soul is calling. If everything works out + I don't get kicked out of the institute for being late - I'll be a hero and for the rest of my life I'll have the full right to eat chips on the couch in front of the TV! Heh =)

Tomorrow is Grandma Toma's birthday! Must not forget to congratulate her!

August 14, 1:47 AM.

I was worried about returning the laptop for nothing - the operation took 5 minutes, the lady didn't check anything except the components! Although I ordered the recovery CD from HP, and the envelope (a huge one) arrived a day early, for $30, via FedEx. So I spent the whole night copying music, 22 gigs, onto five DVD discs. And then in the morning, I reset the laptop to its original state and took it to return. As a result, they will transfer $900 to my card today or tomorrow =)

Travel. Everything is pushing me to go on a "round-the-world trip" =) There was a murky situation where, no matter what, I was literally a few dollars short for the Greentortoise tour. And the spots, accordingly, must have run out. I messaged them on Skype 9 days ago - there were 2 spots, the next day - one.

Yesterday I called my former classmate, Sanya. He left for Boston, I think, in the 9th grade. He seems kind of depressed (I'm quietly thinking that I depressed him over the phone - I'm out of practice talking, there's so much information - I dumped it on him like a dump truck =() He suggests "Dude, come to Philadelphia! Come on, it's only five hours!" He lives well and doesn't count gas expenses.

Just now another Sanya called, with whom we are planning a round-the-world trip via the internet. He sounds like a great guy + we are both 190 cm tall + his budget is also $1500 + he also likes the idea of sleeping on the bus. Plus, Sanya is going to bring a 14.1" laptop and a Canon PowerShot S5IS camera, known for excellent video recording (on 4 batteries). Nothing but pluses, in short. It's even interesting how it will all turn out - usually when it seems like everything is cool, it actually turns out badly... We'll see...

In the morning I'll go to Philly, look for a sleeping bag/backpack/camera + try what it's like, in an unknown city for a day, without maps and internet preparation =) Why aren't my parents calling... ugh... =(

August 17 - I'm going! On the train! On a round-the-world trip!! A lot has happened during this time, now I'm going to recall...

August 14

I went to Philadelphia. $2 bus to the station + $7 train to the city. I wanted to buy gear and a camera. I found a tourist shop online, IGoldberg Army&Navy I think, very good according to reviews. Two-story, cheap, large assortment, right in the center, next to City Hall. I found it easily. Although the city scared and stressed me out a lot - lots of people, homeless people begging, the city is sooo tall!! My head is really spinning and I can't believe what I'm seeing. It's very unusual to orient myself, such a loss of space appears =)) City Hall is also super tall. Everything is also very clean, and the people are funny =)

I had already picked out a backpack and a sleeping bag, but didn't find the right sandals and in the end didn't take anything. I also didn't find a guidebook with public transport, only roadmaps in bookstores. In short, I got upset, time is running out already!

On the bright side - I got through to my mom from the store. They are doing well =) and I'm not doing bad either =) Great! We also compared gear prices with St. Petersburg ones.

In the evening of the same August 14, I stopped by our nearby Exton plaza. And there in the EMS store, I bought a backpack, a sleeping pad, and sandals! for $207 for everything, with a 15% and two 20% discounts (without discounts, the backpack costs 165, sandals 80, and the pad 20$). Super. Plus they have a 30-day free return policy! well, I'm unlikely to need it...

And then in the same plaza, I bought a camera at Walmart. I wanted an A720, but it wasn't there, even though it was on display, the bastard. I thought about it and took an A590 for $178 + a 2GB card (there weren't any bigger ones) and batteries. As it turned out - it's great that I bought the A590, the 720 was discontinued. Happy as an elephant, I headed home. Spent only $450 on a bunch of useful things.

I crashed to sleep, slept for 6 hours, then woke up around 2 AM and went to film my comrades at Giant.

August 15

Back to the plaza. Bought batteries in the mall, an octopus (tripod for the camera), eneloop batteries, and found a cool guidebook, it's called Rough Guide to USA, 1330 pages, city maps WITH TRANSPORT, the whole pleasure for $30 =/ Bought it at the two-story Barnes Noble Booksellers bookstore, there are escalators and tables where you can crumble cookies right onto the books, and a cafe, a good store... Met a grandma there, again like yesterday - she kept talking about Colorado, Indians, Obama, about the Americans. I must admit her brain is in place... Then I went to my restaurant, filmed what we usually do there =) Good people there, funny!

I spent the whole night packing, sorting papers. Threw away four bags of waste paper like brochures, schedules, receipts, etc. Put all my clothes in the wash. Chatted with my friend Ilya, who lives and works in the Grand Canyon. He told me how great it is there and how you can sleep right on the tables if you have a sleeping bag. And I, according to the planned plan, will have one =) At 6 AM I passed out, slept for nine hours.

August 16

Woke up at 3 PM and packed, packed, unpacked, packed... In the end, I missed the last buses to Exton. At 11 PM, Kirill picked me up in his car, he was returning from work. Nice =)

We are going to Mike's house, pizza, chatting half the night, then we decide to go for a ride =)) To Turtle Creek first, I saw a real deer for the first time! There was such a joke: I got out to pee, as we thought, in the woods. It turned out to be someone's estate... Imagine my feelings when suddenly the lights turn on in the forest around, I hear people running, shining flashlights... "Faster, faster!!!" the guys yell at me. "What do you want here? Are you here for my son??" a man yells. "Pitstop!" I answer modestly in pure English while zipping up my fly...

At home, we had a photo session for the last time and went to sleep at 6 AM. At 10 AM I woke up, for some reason cheerful and rested =) These guys, Kirill and Sveta, are just amazing, he jumped with a parachute, she on a bungee from a bridge. Cute, developed, interesting. (I'm wondering how they both get such clean skin?? =) In short, they became almost like family to me in just two weeks of time spent together. At 1 PM they leave, it's time for Kirill to go to training, he is an acrobat and maintains his form here, jumps on a trampoline on skis... 0_o

We are not saying goodbye - I hope to return here. The train to Philadelphia is at 2:15 PM, Mike is giving me a ride. Thank you, Mike!