— How was life, who did you communicate with?
— My girlfriend was with me. And I communicated more with the Australian Liam Rose, the team captain Eric Calvillo, and the Swedish striker Petar Petrovich.
I wouldn’t say there was anything interesting in El Paso itself—it's quite a sad city, with the desert nearby, a hot climate. But if I had to highlight, I really liked the city of San Diego: it’s calm, family-oriented, cozy. For entertainment, of course, Las Vegas and Miami are better—we went there for games, and had a chance to walk around a bit in the evening.
Next to El Paso is the Mexican border, and dangerous situations can occur.
— Did anything happen to you?
— The only thing that happened was that someone cut me off on the road, and I caught up with the offender. I rolled down the window, and he also says with a smile: “Do you wanna bullet?” I honestly didn’t understand at first and just smiled back and drove on. Then I translated it—then it really hit home.
— Did you then improve your English?
— I was communicating at a decent level before that, just didn’t know that expression.
— Did the team inquire about the war in Ukraine?
— Yes, they asked quite often, and did a lot to support. Once I was interviewed, and then news outlets used my words alongside footage of the destruction in Ukrainian cities. I tried to talk about the war at any opportunity, draw attention, and I can say that there was a lot of feedback.
Vadim Takhtirin
Denis Kostyshyn
