Ferry ride and some other great things

             As I had the entire morning open I decided to my next “Must to Visit” place – the Ferry. As everything in New York, it was very easy to find it and get there. The whole idea of having such a ferry in the city seemed just crazily awesome to me. First of all, it was very convenient – every half an hour on weekdays 24 hours a day the ferry would go down to Brooklyn and back to Manhattan. Second of all, it gave an amazing view on the financial district of NYC and the Statue of Liberty. Last, but definitely not the least (especially for me being a student) the ride is free!

             To have a full and realistic picture of what exactly was happening try to imagine a pretty decent size of a crowd of business people constantly talking on the phone about the upcoming meetings and decisions, workers going back from all-night shift in Manhattan, housewives who just got finished with their first massages and manicures for today and hobos concentrated in their own thoughts about the world. All of these people were very involved in their thoughts, concentrated on things they’ve done or were about to do.              And then there was me - constantly smiling excited kid. When I got to the ferry I didn’t have a chance to sit next to the window, but the lady in front of me saw my reaction everything that has been happening and asked if I wanted to take her place which was right next to the window.

             Ferry made a leaving signal and we departed. The view I saw was truly amazing! It was absolutely breathtaking and I just couldn’t say a word. On my way here I downloaded a few songs about NYC. The self-made life soundtrack with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” and PH Electro’s remix “Englishman in New York” made my trip even better.

             And then I saw the Statue. It was so gorgeous, so great and strong. Whenever you see something on pictures and in life you understand how big the difference is. Seeing this symbol of freedom and independence I somehow felt why it’s always referred as the symbol of the United States. It was truly Lady America.

             Whenever it was time to go back to Manhattan I ran to the departing ferry standing not more than 50 m from the ferry I got there on. It was a lot bigger and you could just stand on the open deck watching the water, horizon, the Statue of liberty, other boats and ferries. At one point I got a very cool feeling that I was getting to Manhattan just like the first immigrants who got here by boats from all over the world.

             Getting back home on subway I heard two Russian women talking about recent exhibitions, plays and concerts. I’ve always been very fond of art and I knew that NYC is definitely a place to be to explore a lot in this area. I introduced myself to the ladies and asked for a possible art guide advice they could give to me as a person who just got to the city.

             I made a few notes of the things they suggested and then one of the ladies asked: “Are you by some chance looking for some part-time job at the moment?”

             There definitely was some magic in this city as this woman turned out to be the owner of the gallery that was in need of the bilingual person who could sort the photos in the gallery. We decided on meeting the same day at the gallery. Not concentrated on job searching, I was discovered by the potential employer.

             I decided to get some lunch before going to work. I texted the guy I met at the morning show. I just realized how random I was talking to all of these people I’ve never met in my life. Oh well, that’s probably the only way to survive in the city where everybody is minding his/her own business.

             After exchanging a few general texts Nick, that’s was the guy’s name, offered to show me the city. Without over-analyzing  I accepted as I apparently was going to finally make a friend in the city. Crazy to me but probably not that much to people who live here, after two weeks I still haven’t met any friends here except for my roommates!

             The gallery was in the heart of Manhattan right by Central Park in Fuller’s Building. Just this fact already made me excited to start working there. All of these people walking in and out of the building were looking preppy and nice. I felt like my outfit was a little bit out of this, but I took a deep breath, put my back straight and confidently got into the elevator. I couldn’t believe how fast the elevator moved. Less than 15 seconds and I’m on the 14^th floor.

             The gallery manager, the woman I met this morning, explained me everything I was supposed to do. It definitely wasn’t anything too hard or overwhelming. And I started. Little kids playing, young woman in some deep thoughts, a couple holding each other’s hands, the views of New York City… And then I saw a huge stack of old photographs.

             ‘Stalin?’ – I asked myself shocked by how rare this photo was. However, in a few minutes I realized that most f the photographs could be characterized as rare. Russian writers, governors, the pictures of streets and squares, and (here the tears came to my eyes) I saw the pictures form the 2^nd World War. An old woman thanking a young soldier who just gave the occupied village freedom, the victory parade on Red Square, some soldiers playing the guitar and reading their girlfriends’ letters, the after-battle picture with dead soldiers on the ground – these photographs created the whole historical movie in my head, tears were unstoppable.

             I’ve always respected the veterans and knew the history, but because of the fact that in school we don’t see the actual photos that make you feel the atmosphere of that time, I never really realized the history so realistic before.

             I loved working in the gallery, as I got a chance to do what I love and get money at the same time. When I was almost asleep when I smiled to myself as my life was getting so much more stable and organized: I got a chance to get some money working in the gallery, started doing very cool things I’ve thought about for a while and finally I started meeting people!

2 People Birthday Party in NYC

                 - Morning, Alex! Are you still up for meeting today?

                 - Sure I am! Columbus Circle under the globe at 2, right?

             It’s hard to explain how much I valued the fact of meeting Alex. Here I have to clarify something. I’ve never met her in person before. That’s definitely something I would never expect form myself – meeting a friend online through another online fiend.

             The thing is, a couple of years ago, there was Ringo Starr concert in Moscow which obviously became an absolute must-see for me. And, as all dreams become true, I got the tickets to the concert as my birthday present! The performance went amazing, and, as I knew, the All Starr Band’s tour was continued in St. Petersburg, I found a girl who went on that show and asked how it went.

            It turned out that we have a lot of similar interests, and we started regularly writing long letters to each other. At one point, she found out about my plans on coming to the US to study. ‘My best friend is a student in New York, you guys should so totally talk to each other!’ – she told me.

             Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? However, Alex and I started Skyping and writing letters to each other. By some chance, we also had very similar views and interests and, more than that, a bonding fact of being a Russian student in the United States. Even though, we’ve kept in touch the entire time, we never got a chance to see each other as Oklahoma and New York aren’t the closest states.

             But, time has been passing and my life has been changing a lot, so today, after 2 years of online friendship I finally met Alex.

             - This is for you! – she said giving me a little bag. I know you’re a sweet-tooth just like I am, so I’m sure you’ll like it a lot! 

             As we didn’t have a certain plan, we just started going to place that looked like fun.

             I was pretty amazed that little ice-cream shop gave me a free frozen yogurt just because it was my birthday! It’s just so cool to be a birthday girl in NYC!

     

        'Toys R US' was one of the cool stops we made. It’s probably one of the greatest stores ever! I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing the carousel inside.  And being typical internationals, we got pretty excited about the dancing video game. We had to stop when we spent all of our coins though. Being in this store I felt like I was in Neverland, where childhood lasts forever. Nevertheless, I think it is person’s choice to keep the child in his/her heart or not.

           

      Later that day we walked down Broadway and I saw IT! Times Square at night – the view the visitor usually has when he/she is coming to the city. Commercials, movie trailers, cool interactive screens – all of this lightened up the entire square making it bright as it could be during a day. The skyscrapers looked so tall (obviously they are), people were all over the place and, for the first time in my life, I felt so small! I felt like I was just a little drop in the ocean. However, I didn’t get scared by this view. It gave a challenge to be on the top of the wave in this ocean.

                   -  Linda! Wake up! Haha, you got fascinated by the view, didn’t you? The more you’ll stay here, the more ordinary it will look to you.

                  -  No way! How can you get used to this? I mean, it’s like pure MAGIC out here!

             As Alex lived pretty far away from the city, I invited her over to my place. And, as we’re adventurous and pretty brave Russians, we decided to walk at least half way to my apartment which was, as you remember, in the very top of Harlem. Walking along Central Park we were talking about everything and nothing at the same time. All of this and even more was discussed during that walk - dreams, problems of the past and present, life views, thoughts about NYC, and even some girly talks about boys

            - Oh, no! I’m not interested in all of this right now at all. I mean, my family and friends keep bothering and asking me about that, but I’m just interested in career and studying right now, they’re definitely my priorities at this moment, - I said. (Just a little note, but don’t ever say ‘never’, as I bet your views or situation is going to change right away).

             Finally we got to my apartment. We had

some hot tea with the amazing cake Alex got me and planned out our next day which we were going to spend at Columbia University Campus.

            -  Good night, Alex. I’m so glad I met you!

            - Good night, Linda. I know! Me too! Oh, and Happy Birthday again.

Job in New York City

            Coming to New York City, I remembered one of my previous friend's words: 'If you're coming to NYC,there won't be a problem for you to find a job AT ALL.'

            As all people tend to believe everything they would like to believe in, I believed that without checking this information. However, it wasn't that easy at all. Especially for a youngster with no education except High School Diploma and no experience. 

            I decided to walk down the street and come in in every single place that seemed to be hiring. But every single place asked me the same question: 'How many years of experience do you have?' Neither my strong and passionate willing to work, nor my qualities were enough to get a job.

            One of my friends, who were now living in New York City, but who I found a lot earlier than these big changes in our lives, suggested me to look for
a job on Craigslist.

            - Craigslist? Sasha, you must be kidding me! What can you find there? Some sketchy invitation to massage position? 

            Sasha though insisted on looking for a job through this website. 

            - Try to look for an "open call" opportunities, - she said.

            The next day I was standing in front of the little cafe-deli-restaurant with a great promising name: Truly Healthy Manhattan Bistro. 

            I came in and asked about the post I found online. 

            - Ohh.... You need to talk to the Boss about that. 

            I got a quick interview, and in about an hour I got signed up for training. How excited I was! Even though this place definitely wasn't the place of my dreams, but it had people coming in and buying. That meant to me only one thing: I can make some money here.

            - You just need to finish a week-long training. 

            Every day I got up at 5AM to get to work for the opening, getting there on my bike all the way down from 153rd st. to 56th st. I left every day at 4-5 o'clock which wasn't too bad. As it happens in most of New York places (restaurants, cafes and etc.), I didn't make a single penny for the training doing all the work. But I was absolutely alright with that. I was on the first step of fulfilling my American Dream.