Maxime has a skill and is doing well. This is more than four times the average Russian monthly salary. Maxime worries about the youth of today. They start hustling goods on the streets at age 14 and make more money than their teachers. He thinks their teachers no longer serve as an example to the youth.
People work two or more jobs.
Community spirit is dying. A soccer field that the men in his neighborhood once built now stands empty, overgrown with tall grass in the summer. Everyone worries about money. Maxime is glad he is not young and starting out in this scary world of the new Russia. The sleeping compartment is hot.