[003] The Russians
This year at Breakwater Beach I had the pleasure of working with some of the most wonderful internationals I have ever met.
In particular there are four ladies who won my heart: Ekaterina (Kate) Mironova, Bayn Dzhomaeva, Olesya SIminyuta and Irina Dolgova.
First of all, let me say that their English was superb. Aside from a few American slang terms and pop culture refrences, they understood nearly everything that was said to them. They were also all very hard workers. However, it was when I started to talk to them outside of work that I truly became friends with these girls. Let me tell you a little about them so that I can share these beautiful women with the world.
Let me begin with Irina.
Irina is an absolute sweetheart. A goofball, yes, but a sweetheart. She is very in to photography (as were a lot of the internationals) and she's quite good at it too. The big joke this season was that Irina and I were twins because we were always getting hurt together. When my knee cap popped out of place, she twisted her ankle; when I broke my finger, she hit her head; when I broke my knuckles, she had a black eye. You get the picture. We had "first aid dates" on a regular basis at work. I think the two of us used most of the band aids in storage at the back of the park.
Irina is a hard-ass. Or at least she tries to be. She listens to hardcore rock and screamo music and curses like a sailor in both English AND Russian. She's a bit of a tomboy but so I am. We had a lot of great nights listening to System of a Down on the boardwalk and her teaching me bad words in her language.
Then there's Olesya.
Olesya was the heartbreaker for all the boys at work. Everyone was in love with her. And I must say, she is quite the gorgeous girl. Outside of that she is very intelligent and easy going.
She always wore the cutest clothes and looked like she came straight off of a runway somewhere in Milan. Olesya is the kind of girl who looks like she should be snotty and up-tight but then she just smiles and introduces herself and is polite as can be. She is always so friendly and open.
And then Bayn.
Yes, I know what you're thinking: "You said 'The Rusians'. That girl's Chinese!".
Wrong.
She's from the Republic (which is a part of Russia). Think about it. There are Asians, Italians, Russians and Mexicans in America. that doesn't mean they aren't American does it? ANYWAY:
Bayn took a very long time to come out of her shell with me for some reason. She was very shy and didn't speak to me very much for most of the season. But then when she DID begin to talk... THAT'S when things got interesting.
Bayn is a shopoholic. I must have driven her to the mall a million times. Her favorite store was Marshall's in the Seacourt Pavillion because of all the designer names on discount.
She's a sweet girl too. She's always smiling and cares very much for her friends. And she LOVES music. Every time we were in my car she would ask me to turn the music up so she could dance in my car. She always kept me laughing and smiling.
And then there is my dear, sweet Kate.
I fell in love with this lovely lady. Period.
If I could keep her here in America, I would pay all the money in the world to do it. This girl is incredible. She was the first to open up to me. We were sitting together under the bridge one day at work and we just started talking and the next thing I knew we were good friends.
I never thought I would have a best friend from anoter country but yet here I am.
She always tells me things like "you are so beautiful" and "I love you, my Amanda" and "I will be miss you when I go home" (which is the most adorable way to say that ever, btw).
Also, she does the funniest impression of a hampster that I have ever seen in my life.
She always hugs me so tightly and kisses me on the cheek. She's adorable, funny, and smart.
To say the very least, she is a beautiful soul. And I pray to the universe that our paths will cross again.
And today I said goodbye to them. Tomorrow they will go to JFK and get on their planes to head home to Russia. We all cried, and I told them all that I will be trying my best to save up my money to visit them all in Russia as soon as I can. They told me that they will try their best to come back to America next summer to work here again. I hope they do.
I miss them all already...