Union Station: o que há por perto, como chegar e quando ir · 2026

ENEmil Nabiullin3 de dez. de 2022Ler

Introduction. The story will be told from the perspective of 2 people. Let's meet: Emil and Vladimir. Our dream of going to America finally came true. Before this, it didn't work out due to COVID. This year was also under threat because the embassy in Moscow closed due to politics. Chapter 1. The Beginning One sunny June day, we were informed that there was an opportunity to get a visa in Mexico. Without thinking for a second, each of us agreed. And so, on July 3rd, our group of about 30 people met at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. I (Emil) flew to Moscow alone. We started getting to know each other and chatting at the airport. We successfully arrived in Mexico, in the resort city of Cancun. We were organized a transfer to a hotel that was a 5-minute walk from the Caribbean Sea. We ended up having a mini-vacation as well. After hanging out in Cancun for a couple of days, we flew to Mexico City. A very beautiful and large city. We stayed 10 minutes away from the US Embassy. We walked around the city, explored the sights, and brushed up on our Spanish. In parallel, we prepared for the interview. On July 7th, the first batch of people went to get their visas, and I (Emil) was in it. I stood in line for the consul, maximally focused, with a cool head. I approached the window, smiled, and said hello, and the dialogue began. He asked me 3 questions, and I answered them all in detail. I heard the coveted phrase: "Your visa is approved. Have a nice summer!". I was happy at that moment, realizing that years of waiting and the risks with Mexico were not in vain, onward to the dream! Out of our group of 30 people, every single one received a visa. In the evening, we went to celebrate our success. Chapter 2. America It so happened that I (Emil) flew to America alone, having found a good ticket. Vladimir and 2 other girls arrived the same day, just in the evening. My flight was Mexico City-Cancun-Denver. I landed at Denver airport, surrounded by Americans, everyone speaking English. I arrived alone to conquer America (ha-ha). I asked the locals how best to get to the city, took a train, and went. I got off at Union Station, near downtown. I flew with one backpack without suitcases, so I was traveling light. And so I was walking through the city center, looking around, and just smiling. But I wasn't walking for no reason; I was looking for accommodation options because our employer, Elitch Gardens, did not provide us with housing. We were very unlucky with the date because the MLB All-Star Game was taking place during those days, and all motels and hostels were booked. I walked through the entire center, called all possible options, but couldn't find anything. Evening came, and Vladimir and the girls arrived (from this moment on, the narrative will be from 2 people). Together we thought about what to do. We seriously considered staying overnight in a church with local homeless people, but the girls didn't want to. We went to a park, thinking maybe someone would offer us something, but they were closed, there weren't even guards. In the end, we found a motel, but all the rooms were taken. We agreed that they would give us a room, perhaps it was a staff room, and gave her cash. The next day we went to get settled at Elitch Gardens. We asked them about housing, but their options were all sold out. We left the park feeling sad. My supervisor, Ricardo, caught up with us. He found a motel for the first time, paid for it for us, and we agreed to pay him back after payday. Happy, we moved into the motel. At the entrance, we met a local named Caesar, chatted with him, and went for a walk, already without him. That day, four other guys from Russia were supposed to arrive. We met them at the station and went to sleep, 8 people in a 4-person room. Tight but cozy. The next day these guys moved out, and we went to hang out by the pool, where we met our good black friend Alonso. In the following days at this motel, we talked to him every day. Our work started

The situation in the team was escalating, and the boss started getting stressed too. No one wanted to train me, so I learned on my own, and naturally, the quality sometimes suffered. A new mass of innovations was piled on me that wasn't in my job description. Problems with housing appeared when I found out about the sublease I had fallen into. I wrote a petition and went to the employer. Why should a waitress who was so 'needed' have to clean toilets, and why am I only on the official shift schedule for the second week? Why does the contract state free housing when I'm paying $200 a month and getting kicked out by the boss's friends? Why was my work uniform bought at my own expense, which, after 10 days of 2 weeks of 6-hour shifts, only added up to $30 in small change tips... what a pamphlet...! It just doesn't work like this here, girl. I realized that alongside the law, there is an unspoken side to it. I tried different methods of discussing problems, but to no avail. So what to do, give up and quit everything? That's not right, you have to fight!!! And I launched a similar campaign solo. Financially, I was already suffering losses, as I never received my $3.25/hour salary. Don't make such mistakes! Always record your arrival at work and its end, don't clock out before you finish everything along with 'side work', otherwise your labor will be unpaid! When it comes to rent, check the property owner, don't get hooked on subleasing, sign contracts, otherwise you are a nobody. To calm my nerves on the weekend, I went to Ocean City. My further path came to me on its own - a need for movement arose, and within 5 minutes I was holding bus tickets from Ocean City to Washington D.C. on the day I received my Social Security. I applied for it back in Salisbury, after wandering lost in an empty city without pedestrians for several hours until I found a kind person at a gas station who gave me a ride there))) At work, I asked the boss to sign a resignation paper that I wrote myself since there is no standard. There was little to take, and I never waited for payment for my labor. I had nowhere to spend the night, but I was lucky to be picked up by a waitress. She drove a Jeep and lived in a trailer packed with expensive equipment and hungry children who eat scrapple from scraps at night and are happy with regular apples from a health food store... Where is this American dream... is this really its manifestation? I received my Social Security and sat on a huge bag by the ocean. I met a woman from Poland who came there at 19, and now she has a daughter... an American. I also talked to an ordinary homeless man at the station who put every last cent into his mother's surgeries and was left with nothing. I saw a Red Light District right at the exit of the city... Is it all about the perception of life, or maybe that's how it was, I couldn't figure it out. I left, and my road led to Texas and Mexico. I had nothing to lose, and I was lucky to have Mexican friends at the border, or rather a Friend with a capital F... The plane was from Ronald Reagan National Airport. I got off at the bus station at Union Station and entered a world of tall buildings and very different people, like a Mexican taxi driver who promised the airport for 50 bucks when the subway there costs 1 dollar and 80 cents... I planned the trip carefully, including the subway;) http://www.wmata.com/

EExchangeexchangeiec · 29 de mai. de 2009Ler

Washington, Washington D.C. There are a huge number of Russians here—they are really easy to spot. Students, some heading home, some still traveling. I have big plans for today, I need to get going... Okay. Washington. According to the map, it's a bit far from the station to the center, but in reality, it's close. What the guidebook says about "sketchy neighborhoods" near the station is nonsense; it's quite decent and not scary, unlike Los Angeles, for example. I made it to the Capitol, checked out Union Station on the way (a huge railway station in an antique style)—it's cool, statues of ancient warriors with the American flag underneath them =) There are homeless people sleeping in front of the station. I spent half an hour making scary faces at the camera in front of the Capitol security =) By the way, there is a terrifying number of cops here! And a terrifying number of squirrels! From the Capitol, I briskly trudged (or so I thought) toward the White House. I kept walking, and residential blocks started appearing, two-to-three-story private houses (reminded me of my home in West Chester). According to the map, there should be monuments to George Washington and a bunch of tourists here, but instead, I have some semi-students/semi-homeless people sitting in a circle on the lawn in front of the library, discussing a magazine as far as I could tell, and no one else is here... What's going on?? I ask a passerby. It turned out that some wise guy in Washington decided to name the streets symmetrical to the Capitol the same way... They are mirrored, and I had walked in the completely wrong direction according to the map =) It took an hour to get where I needed to go. All the monuments, memorials, museums, etc., are mainly concentrated around (and directly on) a huge, trampled green field. In the middle of the field is a huge rectangular pool half a meter deep, familiar to me from the movie Forrest Gump, when he ran through this pool to Jenny at an anti-war rally =) Special people walk around the pool and fish out trash. (By the way, speaking of Forrest, I've encountered Bubba Gump restaurants in all the big coastal cities.) On the way to the center, a Chinese saleswoman gave me free bananas in addition to the apples I bought. I had to throw half away—I was stuffed =) I went into the Museum of the American Indian, one of the famous Smithsonian museums. Okay. A drunk Turk just tried to talk to me, I couldn't concentrate. The Turk has been dealt with and I'm continuing =) In short—the museum sucks, there are hardly any exhibits + they are arranged senselessly + half of them have little to do with Indians anyway. But there are tons of bells and whistles, lighting effects, "architecture," and music—it's shoved everywhere, whether it's needed or not. I bought a book there with photos and, as stated in the table of contents, quotes from Indian chiefs; I paid $15... Then I went to look for the Abode of Evil. It's easy to find the Federal Reserve building, everything is nearby. Initially, the plan was to throw a rock at it. But upon arriving at the scene, I decided that the guards with M-16s (I don't know what kind of rifles they have now, but in the past, I played Delta Force and that's what it was called there=) well, these guards might think I threw a grenade. I didn't. The building is really like a fortress—a bunch of cops, fences, booths, and cameras. I asked a woman in uniform, "Why are there so many of you here?" "Security is improved since 9/11," she says, smiling, the bitch =)) I honestly asked her for permission to at least spit on the abode of evil. Not allowed. I also climbed the Washington Monument (200 meters, free, you just had to get an entry ticket in advance at a special booth. They write the date of entry on it; I got one for 3 days later). Took photos from above. I fed the squirrels an apple; it was the first time I'd seen so many at once, there's a photo where there are 5 of them =) Ducks also started eating the apple.

ENEmil Nabiullin3 de dez. de 2022Ler

Introduction. The story will be told from the perspective of 2 people. Let's meet: Emil and Vladimir. Our dream to go to America finally came true. Before that it was impossible because of COVID. This year was also under threat, because the embassy in Moscow closed due to politics. Chapter 1. The Beginning One sunny June day we were informed that there was an opportunity to get a visa in Mexico. Without thinking for a second, each of us agreed. And so, on July 3 our group of about 30 people met at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. I (Emil) flew to Moscow alone. Already at the airport we began to get to know each other and talk. We successfully arrived in Mexico, the resort city of Cancun. We were provided a transfer to the hotel, which was a 5-minute walk from the Caribbean Sea. We also ended up with a mini-vacation. After partying in Cancun for a couple of days, we flew to Mexico City. A very beautiful and large city. We settled 10 minutes from the U.S. embassy. We walked around the city, explored the sights, and improved our Spanish. At the same time we prepared for the interview. On July 7, the first batch of people went to get visas, I (Emil) was in it. I stood in line for the consul, maximally focused, cool-headed. I approached the window, smiled and greeted him, the dialogue began. He asked me 3 questions, I answered all of them in detail. I heard the cherished phrase: "Your visa is approved. Have a nice summer!" I was happy at that moment; I realized that years of waiting and the risks with Mexico were not in vain, onward to the dream! From our group of 30 people every single one received visas. In the evening we went out to celebrate our success. Chapter 2. America It so happened that I (Emil) flew to America alone, I found a cheap ticket. Vladimir and two other girls arrived the same day, only in the evening. My flight was Mexico City–Cancun–Denver. I landed at Denver airport, Americans everywhere, everyone speaking English. I arrived alone to conquer America (ha-ha). I asked the locals how best to get to the city, took the train and went. I got off at Union Station, near downtown. I flew with one briefcase and no suitcases, so I was traveling light. And there I was walking around the city center, looking around and just smiling. But I wasn't just walking for fun, I was looking for accommodation options, because our employer Elitch Gardens did not provide us housing. Very unlucky timing, because those days the baseball All-Star game was taking place, and all motels and hostels were occupied. I walked the entire downtown, called all possible options, but still couldn't find anything. Evening came, Vladimir and the girls arrived (from this moment the narration will be from 2 people). Together we thought about what to do. We seriously considered staying overnight in a church with the local homeless people, but the girls didn't want that. We went to a park, thinking maybe someone there would offer us something, but it was closed, there weren't even guards. In the end we found a motel, but all the rooms were taken. We agreed that they would give us a room, possibly a staff one, and we gave her cash. The next day we went to apply for jobs at Elitch Gardens. We asked them about housing, but everywhere their options were sold out. We sadly left the park. Our supervisor Ricardo caught up with us. He found a motel for the first days, paid for it for us, and we agreed we would pay him back after payday. Joyful, we checked into the motel. At the entrance we met a local man named Cesar, chatted with him and went for a walk without him. That day four other guys from Russia were supposed to arrive. We met them at the station and went to sleep — eight of us in a room for four. Packed but not resentful. The next day those guys moved out, and we went to hang out by the pool, where we met our good black friend Alonso. In the following days we talked with him every day at that motel. Our work started the following week, so we rested. Our officia