My previous blog detailed my journey to and from Russia but the excitement didn’t end there. The whole trip was one adventure after another. While in Moscow our group of Camp Directors was heavily supervised by the government allowing us access to only what they wanted us to see. They held our passports and travel documents and planned our every move. We were bused from one event to another but couldn’t avoid noticing, as each day lengthened that the number of business men staggering along the streets increased rapidly. As many of them left work they stopped at kiosks for a shot or two or more of vodka. Some were falling down drunk while others made it to the train stations and eventually, home. It was November and there was snow on the ground causing me to wonder if any were ever frozen in place in their suits. It was very depressing.
Our excursions included visits to schools where we were treated like royalty. Students performed for us: dancing, singing and gymnastics at levels far beyond what we were accustomed to for the particular age group. And there was always food. Plates piled high with salami-type meats and other unrecognizable items were pressed on us. Before I wised up, I struggled to make a good showing of cleaning my plate only to have another and another course follow. It was not advisable to decline, I discovered, but painful to soldier on.
The evenings were also planned for us; one night, a visit to the Moscow Circus and another to the Ballet. At the circus, our guide produced tickets for the group but the large female at the door wouldn’t even look at them. She was yelling and gesturing for us to leave. Our guide took up the challenge and the two went at each other for several minutes until suddenly she threw up her hands and stepped aside. Even our guide couldn’t explain it. After a stunning performance we joined the throng to leave and found ourselves tightly massed together and headed for the one door that was unlocked. You hear about people being trampled to death as crowds surge forward in semi panic. I was in full panic mode. Hands were shoving me from behind and yet the wall of people in front was barely moving. At one point I was no longer perpendicular and was unable to regain my balance but luckily there was no room to fall. Somehow we made it out.
Some of our group was taking a side trip to St Petersburg and I wished I had made this plan in advance. An older couple from Mississippi had befriended me and absolutely insisted that I travel with them. Before I could say perestroika the arrangements had been made and we were on our way to the station to catch the overnight train. Since my ticket was booked separately I was assigned to a compartment many carriages away from my friends. It was very small with two sets of double bunks and barely enough room for me to maneuver onto the top one. Once there, the heat was suffocating. My companions, two men and one woman, Russian-speaking only, were unfazed and quickly bedded down. The porter came by to offer sheets, a wonderful improvement on the vinyl covered mattresses, at the daunting price of 12 cents. That was a no-brainer. It was only later that I found out that my ticket cost only $3. For $12 I could have had the compartment to myself!
We arrived at first light, spilling out onto the platform already packed with people. My discomfort from the sleeping arrangement was nothing compared to the panic that seized me when I recognized not one soul. Remember, my passport, travel documents and even my return plane ticket was still in Moscow with the authorities. Stupid! I can’t speak the language and didn’t have a clue what I would do next. With that, a hand took my arm and steered me towards my friends …it was our wonderful guide to the rescue.
The plan that day was to visit a children’s camp in the far reaches of the steppes many miles out of the city. The others in my group had no intention of going as time was short and the city had so much to offer. We toured the summer palace of Tsar Peter where my Mississippi friend’s grandmother had been born. It was quite emotional for her as she explained that her great grandfather had been the ambassador to Russia and he and his wife had been graciously invited to stay there for the birth of their child.
Next was a mandatory visit to the Mayor’s office. Many Russian women over the age of 40 are quite large in girth. Some are large all over. And so it was with the Major. She greeted us in her office through an interpreter, produced tea and cakes and gave us our orders for the camp visit. As we explained that we really didn’t have time for this overnight trip and would much rather enjoy her city, her color rose and her stature grew. There was absolutely no discussion – the group was going. All except me. I was to return to Moscow that night on the train in order to catch my flight back to the US the next morning.
A nice young man was dispatched to accompany me for the rest of the day and make sure I returned to Moscow as planned. So there I was completely alone in a very foreign city with a guide who spoke no English. Our only form of communication was gestures with an odd French word thrown in. It was going to be a long afternoon and evening. Somehow I conveyed that I would really like to go the Hermitage, one of the finest art museums in the world. It is magnificent – floor after floor or masterpieces and almost no one there. My guide clung to me, afraid for his life if he lost me, as we wandered from room to room.
Our next stop was a tall office building where I was seated in the lobby while my guide disappeared into the elevator. It seems he had to pick up my train ticket. Don’t ask why it was there. We then sat together for dinner and to kill several hours before it was time to leave. I was actually looking forward to getting back into that stuffy train compartment for another night.
It was still dark when we arrived in Moscow and I had no idea what was to happen next. What if there was no one to meet me? How would I ever join up with those who held my passport and ticket home? Once again there was just enough time to hyperventilate and then, like magic, a familiar face appeared and scooped me up. We rushed to the airport where I was reunited with a couple of my earlier companions for our flight home. And I thought the worst was over!
If you haven’t already read my previous blog - read on.
