Kinshasa: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

Day ten Ah, gay parade, ah, gay parade... Here's someone's friend, here's someone's brother... A vulgar song from Comedy Club comes to mind. I'm working all day today, so, to Helber's disappointment, I couldn't go and watch. They call it a Pride festival, meaning they are proud of who they are. David came in heavy, after some party, went down to his room, to the computer with 'No porno' written in big letters, locked himself in, and sat there until evening. There were few people. And not because everyone went to the parade, it just started raining heavily, so the planned gay march was canceled (as one gay guy later told Vova, it rains every year on this day). So, mostly they were 'acting out': taking vulgar photos (for example, Kinshasa would get on all fours, and 2 men would get behind her, she would squat, take the tips of the waiters' ties into her mouth, they looked like Helber's favorite word), annoying each other (of course, Helber with his inclinations and the phrase 'slap me'), and, of course, drinking. They tricked me by saying it was Brazilian coffee, but it turned out to be a chocolate Martini, then they made a 'mojito', I tasted it with my tongue, the acidity was almost gone, but then the aftertaste remained. In short, few clients + a 'heavy' manager = debauchery. There were also Russian clients, they left a good tip (reminded me of Brother-2, 'Russians don't abandon their own in war'), although at first they wanted to leave $1, but then they laughed and wrote 25. So the day was sluggish, but interesting.

Day Eight Today, July 4th, is Independence Day in the USA. The day the country became free from Britain and its influence. Fireworks, "mass festivities," and lots of drinking are expected. I have work from 4 to 11, so this holiday will pass me by. Since I go to bed around 3 a.m. every day and wake up at 10, I'm not getting enough sleep, which results in me missing my subway stop and, consequently, being late for work. On the way back, there were two Southern women in the subway car; one of them came up to me and asked, "Do you have change for $10?" This is one of those questions like "Haven't we met somewhere?", so I replied no and gave a sweet smile. Russian speakers often come to us; it's so nice to hear my native language, my native swearing))). Today, towards the end of the workday, a young couple with a child came in (he's one of ours, she's Southern, the boy is also Black). The kid was shouting "give, give" in Russian so loudly when I brought the meat that I was a bit taken aback and almost dropped the meat on him. By the way, our people always leave decent tips; I'll mention that later. We have a new girl, Leticia. A pleasant blonde, but she speaks very little and poor English. It turned out she is the manager's daughter. As soon as Helber saw me talking to her, he ran up to me and told her: "You like him," "She's an interesting girl." Then Helber started justifying his orientation. Although I didn't understand what he was saying to her in Portuguese, I guessed because he kept glancing at my crotch area and talking to her very emotionally. I had to show a photo of my girlfriend to the whole restaurant. Everyone was absolutely delighted: "Is she a model?" (Kinshasa), "she is awesome!" (Helber), "Mmm, what a wonderful and cute couple, you suit each other so well" (Natalia). But our lesbian colleague Lisa topped everyone: "Did you download that from the internet?" But I expected this question and then showed a photo of me next to her. She was just stunned and asked, "Aren't you afraid that she's there and you're here?" Today my knowledge of Russian national dances came in handy. I danced a squat dance and elements of the sailor dance "Yablochko" in front of Lisa. As they say, I "lit it up"! Now she's asking me to teach her those moves; she liked them so much))). The evening threw another unexpected question at me. A girl living in the same apartment as Sasha asked, "What are your plans for October?" "What do you mean, plans?" "Are you not planning to stay here?" "Are you crazy! I have my studies there, my family, people dear to me, what would I do here as an illegal immigrant?" "It was the same for me, but I'm living here." No, thanks. Staying for a bit, earning some money, and seeing the USA is fine, but not living here! Especially as an illegal immigrant. I still have a head on my shoulders, I hope, so I won't throw everything away for the sake of who knows what.

Day Six A new day, a new job? I handed in my resume at Starbucks (coffee chain), Baskin Robbins (ice cream), and 911. I'll talk more about the last one later, but first, a quick word about the first two. Actually, the idea of a second job started to captivate me after calculating my potential income and expenses (microeconomics, damn it!). I concluded that the trip wouldn't pay off without a second job or extra hours at the first one. Although my parents replied that they'd rather I go somewhere and see something than bring money back. At the coffee shop, they gave me a pen without ink to fill out the form—maybe they were testing me, I don't know—but Sasha brought me another one, and in the 'why are you interested in working for us' section, we wrote: '...I was so impressed by your work that I immediately wanted to become part of your respected company.' The ice cream place was a bust. You have to work as an intern for too long, I won't have time, and they pay a maximum of 6.5 an hour. About '911'. You all know, and for those who don't, it's the emergency number (they want to do something similar here, 112). They sell cigars and pipes, but there's one department that sells not-so-'ordinary' goods. Life often does this to me—I can't have milk and many other things, but alcohol is allowed and even recommended. And here: I'm such a 'good boy' and might end up selling things like that. If it works out, I'll definitely write about it; I owe you one. It was a 'slow' day, as we say—only 11 customers. And this happened on the very day I became a meat delivery guy! Because of this, we chatted a lot. Helber didn't fail to note that my hairstyle is great (but if I want, I can shave it all off), but said I need to shave ('you have such a baby face, I just want to pinch your cheeks. You're cute and handsome, but it's not your fault'). He advised Vova to become an emo. In conversation, it seems to me, people most often mention what they lack. Take Kinshasa, for example. What she said is just incomprehensible. She learned a couple of Russian words and comes up to me. The most 'neutral' thing she said was: 'f*ck me'! Yes, it's a joke, yes, it's not serious, but what is this?! First Helber, then her, what's next? Maybe someone else will offer too?! As Karamzin wrote, if I'm not mistaken, in response to why construction is so slow here: they steal! Yesterday I discovered that one and a half packs of sausages and some butter had 'dissolved.' And everyone is silent, as if that's how it should be. Naturally, I raised a fuss. I was outraged not even by the fact that they disappeared, but that they took my things without asking! Let me come in and use your lipsticks, jump on your beds, would that be pleasant? In the end, I had a little talk with everyone, and one pack of sausages reappeared. The others either didn't want to or kept them. In short, these people have never lived together, you can feel it. #travel #workandtravel #usa #lifeabroad