Chapter #6

[Scrap #1] Standing on the side of a major highway with a big sign hung around my neck and helium filled balloons floating above was not how I had imagined my first job. The sun would never go away and the constant exposure to it quickly turned into a deep tan. Because the sun was always to my right the tan covered mostly just one side of my body - Byran thought it was hilarious. I now fully understood why the construction workers putting new surface on the highway would wear long sleeve shirts - the heat was still so high that it didn't matter anyway. With my first savings I went to the Westfield shopping mall and bought myself a brand new CD player. I also refreshed the playlist although I got so used to the Japanese music that I decided to keep it as well. Every shift would start with the same ritual - I would ride a bicycle to the restaurant, pick up the sign, the bottle with frozen water and then walk to the corner. Brenda kept assuring me that as soon as customers started showing up I would be able to finally start my training inside.

[Scrap #2] Psychology was going to be a challenge. Most classes were held twice a week and lasted about ninety minutes but this one was to be held on Friday morning and would take three hours. As with all of the courses we were handed out syllabuses and were told that to make sure we keep up with the material every class would start with a quizz from the material covering last week. It was going to be a big part of the score. To make it a bit worse, most classes would finish on Thursday and that's when a lot of house parties would start so while I would love to join Akira I would end up cramming up for exams. With the vocabulary it was going to be a challenge so I decided to keep up with the material carefully translating all the words before the class began so at least I had some idea what the teachers was talking about. The effort seemed to be paying off when I got an A from my first quizz. First test I took at American school and a boost to my confidence that I could actually compete with others.

[Scrap #3] I had my first drink at the age of fifteen as back in Poland no one really cared to ask my ID when I wanted to order one at a club. So it was quite a surprise where Akira and I were standing in front of a karaoke bar in Palm Springs (we drove there with our windows rolled down letting the warm wind in) being refused an entry because of our age. To a karaoke bar! It was going to take me two more years to finally become legal again and in the meantime we just had to stick to private parties. With Akira's good proximity to make new friendships that wasn't much of a problem - soon I would find myself surrounded by other students - both international and American ones. What I did like about Akira, and which was probably a reason why we met, was his curiosity and ease at which he would approach new people without any obvious bias. He in return saw in me inspiration with my drive to look for a job and better knowledge of English. We were both looking for an adventure and we found ourselves perfect companion to start it together.

[Scrap #4] My 'Magnesia Falls' corner was a good to watch the traffic and see how quickly it was picking up. The three lanes were now full of cars which one could divide into two groups - nice American shiny ones and trucks belonging to the lawn movers and construction workers. American invasion on Afghanistan had been on its way for the last few weeks and more and more cars kept carrying small American flags. Byran was a veteran of Vietnam war and seemed to have a distant approach to politics. In fact, I don't think we ever really spent much time discussing the events of 9/11. He was then at Salton Sea, a nearby lake which with eastern winds would bring smell of dead fish. By the time he came back home there was so much that had been said that there was not much to add than express our amazement at what happened. But he was becoming a great host father. The whole house had very informal atmosphere and while other American host families would host polite barbeque parties ours were filled with music and the sound of crashed ice in a blender filled with triple sec and margarita mix.

[Scrap #5] Although my financial outlook was now much better I was quite eager to finally start working inside the restaurant to finally start making tips which would greatly boost my income. I was now able to afford rent but there was soon to be tuition fees to be paid and at some point I also had to start making savings for the future. Being placed in air conditioning and around people wouldn't hurt as well. It was getting a bit boring - I would count down towards the end of my shift counting the number of songs of albums to play left. Just eight, seven, six... I tried to do some reading which made Brenda remark I should've showed more enthusiasm. Occasionally a car would stop by and ask for a menu or a bus school (a yellow one, just like in the movies) full of kids flipping me a middle finger would pass by. One day a drunk guy was walking by wrestled my balloons and went away with them. He did stop by the restaurant the next day and apologised. Finally Brenda asked me to buy black shirt, nice pants and shoes. I was finally starting my training.

[Scrap #6] The day in the restaurant was divided into two shifts - lunch and dinner. The lunch shift was all you can eat buffet. That's right, you paid a fixed fee at the entrance which entailed you to loading on your plate as much food as possible. It was a bit more expensive than Home Town Buffet where Kamil took me a few weeks earlier but Brenda hoped that it was a good way to attract more customers with not too much effort required - all you had to do was to make sure that there was enough food in the warmed up pots and the drinks were constantly being supplied to the table. I was pretty nervous when I was finally allowed to approach my first table. It was occupied by two ladies. My opening line started with 'Hello' followed by 'What do you want?'. It was obviously too late to take it back but rather than apologising and acknowledging the mistake I gave the ladies my best smile. 'Are you still on training?' one of the ladies asked me and proceeded to order two ice cold cokes. If in doubt, always smile. Lesson learned!

[Scrap #7] In a simple restaurant the tasks on the floor were usually divided between waiters who took orders, talked to customers and busboys (or busgirls) who made sure that tables were clean and you your drinks were constantly refilled (refills in America were free). Tips were the major part of income - waiters would keep majority of them and share the rest with busboys. Our restaurant was run by Juan (the waiter) and his wife Rosa (the busgirl). One Saturday evening customers started pouring in so Brenda also started to serve customers while almost simultaneously taking reservations from the headphone attached to her waist. Originally I was just supposed to watch and learn but seeing so many impatient customers I jumped into the action and started taking orders as well. This time I knew to present myself better. I had a nice chat about Poland with an older couple while they waited for their food to finally arrived. At the end of the evening they left the table with a 20 dollar bill which was way above the average fifteen or eighteen percent. I almost ran to Brenda to share the news to which she responded that maybe it was just a mistake.

[Scrap #8] I would now hang out with Akira almost on a daily basis. With gas costing just over a dollar per gallon we started taking more trips outside of Palm Desert. We would discover the nearby Big Bear Lake or Pasadena. The trips, when we didn't fight about directions or my style of driving, were great but what I quickly started discovering that apart from friends and family I was also missing simple things. Back in Poland I would have often walked to the train station to look at the schedule and train destinations. Knowing that I could just jump on any of those trains would give me a sense of freedom. Public transportation in California, especially in the desert, was lacking that magic. With some effort I could probably catch a Greyound to Los Angeles but if I wanted to come back the same day I would need to catch another one to get back as soon as I arrived. For now I would need to stay happy with occasional trips on a local SunBus which would at least take me to Palm Springs where I would sit outside of Starbucks with a Mocha Frapucinno studying for my classes.

[Scrap #9] During the class taught by Dr. Rios one of the students in the front row suddenly raised his hand and asked what was the difference between words 'subjective' and 'objective'. What surprised me the most was not necessarily the simplicity of the question but the time the professor took to address it. It seemed that no one was afraid to ask questions. The classes were taught in relaxed atmosphere but there was amount of respect between students and teachers. Students were supposed to do their readings and teachers would help guide through the material. Ethnic and racial relationships in the United States was a huge and very sensitive topics in the States. The consisted of many backgrounds and ages but Dr. Rios' open and friendly attitude moderated the discussion in a way so all the opinions were welcomed as long as people were respectful of each other. After getting first two As on test and exam that my I could raise some valid points. For the most part I was active in discussions but there were times when I didn't raise my hands out of fear that I could not articulate myself well enough in English. It was frustrating.

[Scrap #10] I entered Athena's one afternoon and to my surprise neither Rosa nor Juan were in there. Over the last weeks I had grown used to both of them - Rosa always greeted me with a smile and Juan explained how I should encourage customers to buy more alcohol so they would tip better. One evening Brenda left us to host a private party and both of them had highest praises for how I handled customers. Brenda was next door talking to her friend gesticulating with her hands. She was upset. When she saw me all I was told that Rosa and Juan were not working there anymore. It did remind of one of the calls from Brenda after a night shift. There was some money missing and she had asked if by accident I took some with me home. I thought it must have something to do with this. My second thought was that I could start working inside full time. But those hopes melted when Brenda pointed at the sign and balloons. I was back at my corner. The temperatures dropped so I didn't need iced water but I knew that I was not coming back inside anytime soon.