2010: A Russian Odyssey

Hey Russia, it’s been real

Today was our last day of classes and tomorrow afternoon I’m flying out of Russia! I’m heading to Budapest, Hungary and spending three nights there, then flying to Los Angeles on May 25. I’ve come up with a list of things, with the help of some friends, that I’ll be missing about Russia:

• Not getting what I actually ordered at restaurants
• Tractors on the sidewalk
• Vanilla-filled chocolate bars for breakfast
• Not having hot water, then not having cold water, then having no water at all
• Salami and cheese sandwiches – as in one salami sandwich, one cheese sandwich
• Getting touched inappropriately on the metro, accidentally or otherwise
• Fearing police officers more than actual criminals
• Having a city-wide apartment heating system that doesn’t go off until it’s 75º outside
• Sleeping on a pull-out couch made for someone five inches shorter than me
• Drying clothes on a radiator
• Water being more expensive than vodka
• Getting yelled at for expecting change in markets
• Stepping into cat feces and/or urine in the hallway
• Public drunkenness at 11am
• Traveling an hour to and from school for an hour and a half of class
• Being forced to take the most inefficient forms of transportation
• Traveling in packs of 50 Americans
• Walking through construction sites without protection, and being expected to do so
• Churches, monastaries, cathedrals, and palaces
• The smell of “Maliy zal” (where we have group meetings) radiating from the cafeteria
• Getting honked at for walking on a sidewalk rather than driving on one
• Passing a statue of the most evil KGB officer on the way to school
• Getting the attention of waitresses by yelling “LADY!” across the restaurant
• Fearing death by icicles
• Getting sick from tap water
• The possibility of somehow getting stuck at the Belorussian border
• Racism towards seemingly obscure ethnicities like Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Kazakhs
• Eating salad resembling Fancy Feast
• Drinking all beverages at a lukewarm temperature

So you may think that these are all sarcastic and cynical, which is partly true, but there’s still a lot of truth to all these things I’ll miss. I’ve had a great time in Russia, and I’ve become so used to all its quirks. None of us came here to be in our comfort zones, in fact this country doesn’t even effect anything close to a comfort zone. I came to Russia – not Britain, not Spain, not Australia – and maybe I didn’t really know exactly what I was getting into, but it’s all been worth it.

I’ve already had to say goodbye to my host dad, and I know saying bye to my host mom tomorrow will be even harder! They essentially MADE my stay in Russia, and I knew it wouldn’t have been the same without a caring host family. Here are a couple photos with my host parents Andrey and Svetlana and one with the cat/queen Yassa:

The first week we were here CIEE staff told us “nothing goes according to plan in Russia,” and now I know exactly what they meant. It’s been real, Russia, and I hope to be back sometime in the future.