I used to think the saying “shop till you drop” was made up because it rimes beautifully, but now I know it actually is true. When my Friend Ann arrived 5 hours later I was asking her, if she has something to eat. 

After another two hours inthe next store I chose two items and was ready to go. Yes, only two. After all that time? Exactly. Whoever thinks shopping is just for fun or a waste of time… not true. I realized this is a way to build up your biceps, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, back, abdominals, cardio, and many more. Not to forget the brain employment that goes into sorting, comparing, analyzing and deciding.

The real fun awaited me in the end. The original total price was $84. But with all the discounts and the coupons the store offered, I ended up paying $1.52. I walked out of that store with the sensation that I got hit with a canister. Really? $1.52? Hah! What a steal!

I Love this Country. Who wouldn’t?

And listen to this. If for any reason I’m not happy with my purchase I can return it within a couple or three months and get all my money back. This is called the return policy. For that money, why wouldn’t one be happy with any purchase?

I’m sure glad they let me in. Cause at the border they got very suspicious, even if I’ve been here a few times before. I got flagged for a security check. It meant two hours of interrogating (I think you can call it so when you’re being asked the same set of questions a few times, right?), searching all my luggage, reading through my notes, my phone messages, my facebook, my skype and emails and through every little piece of paper they could find. "Standard procedure", I was assuring myself.

Trying to be friendly, when asked about my home back in Moldova, I told the homeland security guy that actually a Peace Corps volunteer is staying at my place. Too much info. Somehow he misunderstood me.

“No-no, America doesn’t need Volunteers from other Countries. It’s the other countries that need volunteers from America, not us”, he said.

I hasten to explain that's not what I've meant. As you can imagine, there was no room or place for disagreement there: “Yes, of course! US doesn’t need volunteers from other countries.” What else could I have said to the man? Perhaps, in his mind there is no poverty in this country. No human trafficking. There is the best education. Superior technology for growing food etc. etc. So people are healthier. That’s why it sends its people to help other countries with such issues and more.

I love this country. It has everything and it doesn’t need volunteers!

An echo of a childhood song about Moscow, the proud capital to whom all children sing songs of praise, popped into my mind. The lofty images of a “bright future in the greatest country of all” have lasted to this day in the minds of older generations who long for those “good old times”. Illusions.

In the end, I don’t know how I deserved such an amount of attention. Sometimes I wish I could better justify these moments. Maybe it has to do with the difficulty in trying to define my life; or, on a global level, with the dynamics of the world powers at play. Eh! For now, all that should matters is that I am in this amazing country and I get good discounts, right? Or at least this is what it ought to matter to a mere human of my gender, some will say.

p.s. Thankful to my friend Ann who knows about all discounts. I couldn't have gotten it without her.

p.p.s. Recently I run into Welcome to America - it has a point.