June 1st
?10:30 (LA) Children's Day. I remember my last celebration like this. But, sorry, I'm still a minor here:) I'm not 21 yet!!! Woohoo:) I'm a baby!
12:00 (LA) "We are looking for a job". Heading to the Russian district. To search...
14:00 (LA) Bus. Subway. Bus. We made it. Went the wrong way. Came back. Found it.
15:30 (LA) Well, nobody needs "two beautiful, educated Russian students". No-bo-dy. Except...
16:30 (LA) Except for a wonderful Jewish man, Mikhail:) The owner of a grocery store with familiar "Bystrov" porridge, buckwheat, canned goods, and everything else:) Russian labels warm the soul! After preliminarily calling me cheeky but cute, and Tanya modest for some reason, he started from the beginning...
?Yes, this man's life is full of surprises! But not that much! We spent 4 (!) hours in the store. Results:
- Tanya was sent to the neighboring store to his "brother-in-law-cousin"
- I was trained to work the cash register
- He noticed that "my fingers are beautiful and made for the piano"
- He told us about all his mistresses
- What's fascinating is that half of them are his sales clerks
- In short, it's a total mess
20:30 (LA)? The salary will be 5 dollars an hour. But... First, a trial period, the duration of which is "maybe a week, maybe a month". And you know, "I sometimes don't pay the salary at all".
Obviously, we ran away from there as fast as we could. And he's waiting for us tomorrow at 8:00. Thank you, sir, for the fascinating stories, the job offer, and the apple juice. But... We haven't lost faith in life just yet:)
21:00 (LA)? The eternal savior Alenka picks us up from the subway and we go. Sore feet and cold. But... This doesn't stop us from stopping by to buy the best "frozen yogurt" in the world. Its charm is that it's... LOW CALORIE!!! Which is exactly what we needed:)
"Only a Russian gets cold, but still eats cold ice cream!" (c) Berezka
21:30 (LA) Packing our suitcases... Tomorrow to Russia. That's it, goodbye, USA!!!
No, no! It's not us leaving, but our beloved newlyweds Alena and Jeff:) Helping to pack countless suitcases:
- Sveta, well, it doesn't take up much space, and I love this blouse very much!
That was Alena fiercely fighting for her things:) Result: 20 pounds overweight... Well... All over again:) Everything from the beginning.
We also managed to do laundry. The "laundry room" is right in the house - washing in one machine - $1.25/ + drying $1.00. But it's worth it - the laundry smells... mmm... "I wash with Laska":)
00:03 (LA) Tired. Sleep. Tomorrow is a new day... No longer Children's Day. And no need - this holiday was a failure...
PS: And Vlad called today - a cook from the "Talisman" restaurant, invited us to ride around the city. Oh, Vladik, Vladik, you'd better have offered us a job...
June 2nd
11:50 (LA) Woke up! That's already good...
?13:00 (LA) Going to sunbathe by the pool. Roasting for 15 minutes on one side and turning over on command:) Sun, heat up and shine:)
We dive in headfirst and swim-swim-swim:) And the water is freezing... An American, constantly doing laps around us, asked if it was cold. With the smile of resilient Siberian girls, we answer our proud "Now, of course" with a great accent:)
Yes... It's cool. Sunbathing and swimming:) But it won't last long if we don't find a job...
15:00 (LA) I lost the postcards, written with such love to my relatives in Tobolsk... I have no idea what to do:(
18:00 (LA) The postcards were found!
21:00 (LA) "Quick! Get ready, get dressed, let's go!" Alena is taking us to a hookah bar. Agreed on an interview. God, what would we do without her?
Good place: not far from home. :) We sit "chatting" (to the extent of understanding/not understanding American speech, barely drowning out the loud restaurant music), they offered a hookah. We refused unanimously.
Work from 22:00 to 02:00. Salary $8 per hour + tips. Dress code - clubby and sexy. Knowledge of conversational English...
The owner hasn't decided yet, so we'll wait for a call... How tired I am of waiting...
01:30 (LA) How will we be without them?! No words... Just emotions... It's hard to see off the newlyweds who have already become like family to Russia... To the mosquitoes and midges, to the rain and cold, to the one and only club in Tobolsk.
Although... I already miss all of this...
