As a Russian went to the United States, worked as a taxi driver and went into the American army

A resident of St. Petersburg Ildar went to the United States in search of the perfect life. He managed to work as a waiter, taxi driver and ambulance driver, and eventually went to the American army. "Lenta.ru report»Published a Russian story about life in the United States in the first person.

Photo: personal archive

I moved to America in September 2006 after receiving a family reunification visa. My ideas about the United States were built primarily on the basis of ours and foreign films, but the most influential was Brother-2. To my great surprise, this film turned out to be very truthful in many aspects.

I settled in Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love. The city is quite old, the northeastern part is populated mainly by immigrants from the CIS countries and partly by Americans. Ethnically, the city resembles a puff cake, where white and black people alternate. In general, Philadelphia is far from the most beautiful city: the narrow streets in the center and two-story houses, garbage along the curb ...

In the north-eastern region, you can stumble upon a string of Russian shops. Here you can buy everything from Russian pickles and sausages to gingerbread. Of course, with Russian grocery stores alone, things don’t end there, and there are Russian dentists, law firms, insurance agents, car repair shops, where honest mechanics will “deceive” you by acquaintance. In recent years, a lot of people from Central Asia have arrived, among them I can be attributed. I was born in Tashkent, but almost immediately went to Russia, lived in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg.

In Philadelphia, as elsewhere, the rule “do not deceive, cannot live.” Unfortunately, it often works between compatriots. Ordinary Americans are fairly open and straightforward people.

In the state of Pennsylvania (where the city of Philadelphia is located - note. "Tapes.ru") is quite a strong weapon lobby, which is supported by a huge number of fans to hunt deer and other living creatures. Buy a gun here is not a problem at all: with 18 years, you can safely buy a rifle or shotgun, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an AR-15. From 21, it is allowed to buy pistols. Usually the entire purchase process does not take more than 15 minutes. Probably for this reason there are a lot of people who shoot uncontrollably in public places.

Photo: personal archive

Photo: personal archive

Medicine here is very expensive, especially if there is no insurance. For example, once I accidentally cut myself when I was working at a construction site, I had to sew a serious wound. As a result, I was billed for several thousand dollars, and insurance usually covers a certain percentage. So if you are going to move to the United States, I definitely advise you to begin to cure your teeth in your homeland, as here it is worth just crazy money.

Upon arrival, I entered high school. The first impression was rather strange: the windows on the windows, the metal detectors in the building, the guards, several police officers and video surveillance cameras at each exit were very surprised. I even had the idea that I was in prison.

I was sent to an ESL class in which English is taught as a second language. The class mainly consisted of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. There I met my first American friend. The school was located in a white and relatively prosperous area, where the Russian-speaking population predominantly lives, but children from poor African-American or Latin areas were brought to us, which led to numerous fights and fights. At the moment of danger, Ukrainians, Russians, Georgians, and other like-minded children united and beat cocky African Americans and Latinos.

After finishing school, being in search of my place, I helped my father at a construction site, and at the weekend I worked as a waiter in a restaurant of Uzbek cuisine. Restaurant "Tashkent" became my second home, I became friends with the owner of the restaurant. He worked a lot - 16-18 hours a day, soon had to give up work at the construction site. My father did not like my decision, and he asked to vacate the living space. I lived with a friend and worked in his restaurant - so I met my majority.

A year has passed, and I met a beautiful girl from Russia - Alina, who later became my wife. I changed my job to a more prestigious one, got a job as an ambulance driver and took courses from the nurses (EMT).

Work on the ambulance was interesting and well paid. He worked an average of 60 hours, sometimes reaching 80 hours per week at normal 40 hours. I note that then my comrades at work surprised me the most: Americans, who loved money very much, did not want to work and complained about life and the poor existence. For the year of hard work, I bought a new Honda Accord.

Photo: personal archive

After several years of work, I opened my business with a partner. Having obtained licenses from the state health organization, we bought an ambulance and got a couple of contracts for the transportation of patients from nearby hospitals. It turned out that the hospital staff responsible for the distribution of transportation orders love sweets very much, and this played a key role in getting a job. Business went to success, but, unfortunately, my business partner turned out to be unreliable. And, as is often the case, everything was covered with a copper basin. The business had to be closed, followed by a divorce with his wife.

After that, I had a chance to work as a Uber driver. Then I learned all the most interesting places in Philadelphia and met a huge number of completely different people - from celebrities to simple hard workers. The accent immediately betrayed my origin: when I said that I was Russian, everyone had the same smile as the trucker from Brother-2. Once I was driving an African American to the airport, she was an aspiring singer and was heading to record a new album in Los Angeles. Instead of a tip, she handed me a bag of marijuana, which eventually had to be thrown out.

After six months of working as a driver, I decided to join the ranks of the American army. I had nothing to lose, and I went to the recruit office, which was located in 15 minutes from home. There, I briefly told my story, showed the passport of a US citizen and passed the first test, on the results of which I was assigned the main ASVAB test at a military base. A couple of days later I was driving with two other guys in a mini-bus.

The test took almost five hours, I passed it pretty well, and my fellow Americans, it failed miserably. Returning back to the office, I began to choose which military profession I like and what I basically want to do. According to the test results, the computer issued a whole list of suggestions.

Three months later I went to the reception center. First, we were taken to a hotel where we rested, and the next morning, having had breakfast, we went to a military base. I checked in the first-aid post for the last time, filled out and signed the documents and went to the airport in the group of new recruits. Upon arrival, we drove another two hours to the base in the bus. At midnight the sergeant met us and shouted and sent us to the barracks, giving out bed linen. The first week was tedious: the rise at four in the morning, vaccinations and paperwork.

I remember that I really wanted to sleep, but it was forbidden. At the slightest attempt to talk to other recruits, sergeants leaped at us and shouted a few centimeters from the face. The barracks for new ones are designed for 60 people, they have single beds, eight toilet cabins and a shower. The guys were fooling around: at night they were smearing shaving cream on the pillows of the lucky ones who somehow distinguished themselves. It is worth mentioning that in the army there is a collective punishment for the offense of one of the soldiers. So those who set everyone up were not particularly loved. The first week we marched, I earned a huge callus, new army shoes had to be worn out.

So a week passed in the "reception room", after which it was time for distribution to the units for the next three months. We collected belongings in two huge knapsack and stood on the construction.

Photo: personal archive

Having received vests with numbers, we ran 200-300 meters to our new barracks under the heart-rending cries of sergeants. Recruits fell, they stumbled on, stumbled. One girl fell, lost her glasses and broke her hands in blood, and even at that moment, one of the evil sergeants shouted at her from above. I came back and helped the girl to find points, for which he picked off a select American mate with an abundance of "facks."

Running to the new house, we lined up on the parade ground, where we heard the speech of the new command. Later we were driven to a new hut, in which, it is worth noting, the girls live separately. Allocated alphabetically, we rushed into the shower, where 60 people had to take a shower in just a minute. We crowded and literally rubbed each other with asses, because the shower was designed for only six people.

During a briefing on the parade ground, one recruit hit the sergeant. He was arrested and handcuffed by the military police. Impressions, of course, were just extraordinary. The fact that they were shouting to my face was not scary, because I had been married for five years.

Gradually, the sergeants softened their tone, and later we learned the rules of the game. When I had to tell about myself, I surprised many: not every day sergeants and soldiers had to meet Russian in the American army. The name “Russian spy” immediately stuck to me, and my service began in earnest.

Every day I got up at four in the morning, quickly shaved, brushed my teeth and ran to the building, and then to the physical culture. On weekdays, we were waited by numerous trainings on passing the obstacle course and practicing discipline. With the latter it was very hard. Many simply refused to be part of the team, and everyone had to take the rap for it. We were punished quite interestingly: push-ups before losing the pulse or jogging to the nearest stop signs, until you stop feeling legs in heavy army boots.

For a month of training, I lost 10 kilograms. The general level of physical exertion in the army can hardly be called intense, and besides, I was in shape before joining the armed forces, and it was easy for me. Soon they began to call me specnaz for good form and strength of mind. Even when it was hard, I did not show it, because in my face I personified the Russian person, and here they are afraid. Everything else, I was able to reinforce my authority in the struggle between the cadets: no one could defeat me.

It is worth noting that during the service all the electronics are confiscated, so that the only means of communication is ordinary paper letters. After a grueling day of training, many after the release of flashlights turn on and start writing letters to relatives and friends.

During the training is strictly prohibited any relationship between recruits. But some still retire with partners and do whatever they wish. Often they are caught and driven out of the army in disgrace.

Photo: personal archive

Photo: personal archive

My sergeants often asked me how I felt about Putin, they were interested in other issues related to the foreign policy of our countries. In general, they treated me with interest and caution.

In the same place, I learned what the Hurry up and wait saying means, that in translation into Russian “Hurry and wait”. This, in my opinion, is the whole service: we are in a hurry like mad, and on arrival we sit and wait.

I especially want to emphasize the high professionalism of the management team. One of my sergeants was an infantryman, and with him I would boldly go into reconnaissance. Of course, there were not entirely positive characters, but they were a minority.

In general, I can say with confidence that I like to serve in the American army. Many join the army for free education, others because of their future career, the third simply has no place to go, and they find salvation in the army.

Photo: personal archive

In general, the American army is a real solyanka. Attitude to Russia is formed through TV. Because of this, of course, it is difficult to convey your point of view. In the service, I was able to make friends with people of different nationalities, and I realized that our life values ​​are in many ways similar. I hope that just as I found a common language with new comrades, our countries and their leaders will also find a common language.

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