So, we've settled into America. What's left to do to feel like a real American? That's right, go to work with other Americans! If you're tired of the "First, second..." format, let's rejoice together; I'm moving away from it in favor of more informal stories. For now x).

In truth, different people can have diametrically opposite experiences; it all depends heavily on where you end up and what position you get. As for me, I got a job offer as a housekeeper. I'll note something here.

I almost didn't choose jobs that would involve excessive interaction with people. Not even because—or at least not so much because—I wasn't confident in my English. For some reason, I didn't really want to talk to clients in general; I was afraid of conflicts and unreasonable behavior from them. Anyway, don't worry! Everyone on a J-1 Visa I met agreed on one thing: clients always treat you as an equal. As a rather introverted person, it was surprisingly easy for me to communicate with Americans. And really, if they are tolerant enough even to the quirks I mentioned above, why wouldn't they be easygoing and free in everything else? In short, don't be afraid of Americans; they are good and sociable, you'll get along! x).

Even when walking to work, there's a desire to stop and take pictures of the surroundings. Probably just not used to it yet.

As I said, I was supposed to be in a "housekeeper" position, but... Can you guess? Everything didn't go according to plan! Perhaps complicated relationships with management should be the red thread of this "chapter." In general, my relationship with one of the supervisors (who, formally, was called a manager for some reason) didn't work out because she wasn't satisfied with my work. Based on my knowledge, this happens quite rarely, but as you can see, there has to be someone with whom some nonsense happens x). In short, the first conflict occurred, as a result of which they wanted to fire me, but instead, something else happened: I was moved to a houseman position. A small fact about this job: as far as I can tell, it's generally accepted that whoever sees the tips first has the right to take them. That's why they most often go to supervisors, and sometimes to housemen. I often didn't take them, which is perhaps why my colleagues grew to like me x).

Even though the hotels are packed with tourists, there are many abandoned buildings in the city.

By the way, a funny story. I had a colleague on-site who wanted to be a houseman but thought it wasn't a woman's job because of "man" in the name. She was very surprised when she found out that "housekeeper" in Russian implies only women's work, even though half our staff were guys x). Also, I was put in Laundry—it's not a dusty job. Too easy, actually. Basically, if you can keep yourself busy watching something on your phone (as I did), you'll essentially be getting paid to watch videos on YouTube, how cool is that! True, if you don't have that opportunity, it will be the most boring pastime of your life. Just get headphones with decent noise cancellation; it's noisy there. Anyway, nothing more to say here, so I'm returning to the houseman role. Besides the fact that my work schedule became terrible, there was a plus: this position involves significantly more interaction with clients. Specifically for me, it was because I had to respond to guest requests that came in on the registration board. I'll give only one piece of advice here: do everything for the clients! I did many stupid things for which I was scolded, but I was never reprimanded for giving my all for client requests. With one exception: if someone's room is a branch of a landfill and they ask you to clean it, you don't have to do it x). By the way, an instructive story. Once, I went into one of the rooms at the end of the hall to check something. After making sure everything was fine, I hurried back to the elevator when suddenly... A family came out of the door in front of me and blocked the whole passage! What to do? I have so many things left to do, these people are slowing me down, and it's tiring to wait for them to pass... Yes, let's drive those thoughts far away, put on a smile, and wait patiently! Personally, that's what I did—smile ear to ear, leaned against the wall, and waited calmly. Suddenly, the father of the family turns around, opens his wallet, and gives me $10! And you think good service isn't appreciated by everyone x).

But the historical buildings here aren't very well maintained.

But what about the conflicts with management? I was, relatively speaking, lucky—another place was found for me, but some might not get a second chance! You won't believe it, but such a story happened to other J-1s who worked at the same hotel. I heard two versions of what happened, but I can draw one moral: don't defy managers, and don't slack off. So, three guys lost their jobs together and... They just found a new one! Yes, most often the sponsor will give you a second chance. As long as you follow the contract and don't break the rules, they will likely meet you halfway. In short, even if you have problems, don't be afraid—you won't be lost. Maybe you'll even find a better job than the one you had!

A piece of home in a foreign land.

By the way, it didn't end that simply for me, otherwise it would have been boring, right? In short, as a result of some titanic misunderstanding (and no, it wasn't related to the language), it turned out that I didn't know half of my new duties. And when did it turn out? Well, 2 months after changing positions! Still funny. But in general, they threatened to fire me again in a very... interesting form. I clearly remember the phrase "You gonna go home." What's most important about this moment? Know your rights! As we've already seen in three examples, the employer has the right to fire you, but not to send you home! Personally, I chose the tactic of diplomacy and didn't blow things out of proportion prematurely. That time, they gave me a list of complaints for about 10 minutes, after which they asked something like: "Well, can you fix your mistakes?" to which I simply replied... "Yes." Since then, I haven't had any conflicts with management. Not scary, right? True, I'll make a reservation. You can find different stories about disgusting employers, because not everyone is equally lucky with their reasonableness. But don't think that everyone is a jerk. All kinds of confusion can happen to anyone. I still don't consider myself particularly guilty for most of the complaints I was given, but a calm and polite dialogue saved me from being fired every time. And so you don't end up like me, I'll traditionally give you advice: ask about any questions that arise immediately, don't be shy, because that's how misunderstandings arise.

By the way, don't be afraid of your colleagues; often they are normal guys. For example, they periodically gave me rides home x).

Some buildings you won't see anymore on the way to work.