It so happened that I have always lived at the intersection of Western and Eastern cultures. Naturally, my acquaintance with the USA began remotely. I watched, listened, and read: the TV showed American movies, Western music flooded first the audio cassette shops, and then music channels. Many still remember the real MTV. Perhaps that is why I did not feel any hostility toward this country, and to some extent, I even felt the need to dispel all those silly rumors that hovered around the States myself. Better to see once... Perhaps I caught the most perfect time to carry out my plan: twenty years ago, people sacrificed a lot to go to the States without having the opportunity to get to know this country. I simply found out about Work and Travel. Before this, I had never been outside the CIS, and on my own at that! Was I worried? You bet! Phew, it's good that I wasn't going to fly alone, but with my boyfriend. But more importantly, I intended to experience this in person, not from the handouts of the internet or Zadornov. On the night before the flight, I didn't sleep. Packed suitcases stood in the corner, giving me no peace. I still couldn't believe that I was flying to the USA this summer, and not spending the summer as usual at home, where every street is walked and familiar. The feeling that I was setting off on a journey did not leave my heart, as did the anticipation of adventures. As soon as I landed, I realized that I was already in the States: a huge queue at the airport, colorful, bright, and so diverse. And so my acquaintance with another culture began. Four hours remained until our departure to our first city, Virginia Beach. By subway, my boyfriend Adilet and I reached New York, or rather, its very heart — Times Square. Here, a thrill gripped me. Despite twelve hours of flight and fatigue, I looked with childish, inexhaustible curiosity at the place where movies were filmed; a place I had seen on screen in childhood. There were so many people that I involuntarily felt as if they had flocked here from all over the city, forming a human sea with its own currents. Diverse, multifaceted, and insane New York! A city-legend; a city that Spider-Man saved; a city where superheroes and the mafia live, and to which King Kong was brought back in the 20th century! Times Square stepped off the film strip, spread out in episodes from hundreds of movies, played in my head with familiar actors and memorized lines. Even before leaving, I was worried that people would point fingers at us or whisper suspiciously — that's how a person heading to a new country worries — and only upon finding myself in Times Square did I realize how much I had flattered myself. What was happening looked like a closed film set: we caught an awards ceremony for TV series actors; people were walking around who were so strange that tourists like us realized that it was pointless to keep our mouths shut; a turn in any direction threatened to reveal a new miracle. 360 degrees of endless surprise, exclamations, and camera flashes. Standing in place, we only watched the movement of people, but as soon as we moved, everything came to life. The feeling resembled entering a river current: as soon as you start walking, you realize that you have already become part of the wave. It was not without comedy. An incredibly friendly Iron Man, Mickey Mouse, and Spider-Man called us over to take a photo. Pleased, we took photos, and only when the cartoon gang demanded five dollars did we realize that one has to pay for a photo with childhood heroes. We were confused, not yet used to the fact that five dollars is not that much money in the States; we ran with our suitcases, caught up in the human current of the eternally busy New York. Surely, the scene where a huge mouse and two superheroes are chasing you looks quirky. New York painted caricatured people whom we never imagined seeing in life: half-naked people in caps covered in tattoos could run out of the general flow, fly
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