20-21 May 2010

The 20th was a long long day. As you may recall we checked out of our hotel around 9 AM in the morning and then hiked and metro’d all over St. Petersburg. We did not, sadly, get to shower or anything like that before we got on the train at 10:01 PM. Folks were tired, sweaty and just plan ugly. The bathrooms on the train leave a great deal to be desired and the cleanliness by U. S. standards, is, well, somewhat below expectations. There will be no time between arrival in Moscow and transfer to the airport to shower—so our troop will fly 10 hours to Washington, then on to Portland on top of all of this without showering. They will be understandably tired, somewhat “fragrant” and likely hungry when they arrive home. It is hard to guess what the order will be of shower, food and sleep. You might hear them using phrases and words you do not understand—it is a lingering effect of spending two weeks in Russia—the words and phrases are Russian.

When your loved one comes home, you need to engage them in discussion about the entire trip and what they found funny, surprising, and different in their time in Russia. Please get them to share their impressions of Russia and go back to the photobucket site as I will add more photos and videos to it. Each individual has literally hundreds of photos and videos to share and with each one there is a story or sequence of events. It was funny to watch their reactions to different foods, to how people interact with one another in both formal and informal situations, and the general pace of society. At times I was amused when they wanted to experience Russia but simultaneously wanted it to be like the U. S. Bonds on trips like this can be incredibly strong—both among the travelers and with the families that they stayed with—it is always a great gesture to say thanks back to them.

The arrival in Moscow is at 5:30 AM (a rather rude awakening for all of us) and train arrived exactly on time—surprisingly the trains run very tight schedules—and given the distances involved, this is impressive. The bus ride to the airport was quiet as many were simply in a stupor from lack of sleep. We arrived at the airport around 7 AM and could not check in until approximately 9 AM. So we found a convenient spot on the floor and some collapsed in sleep and then others went seeking food and/or a shower (which you can do here) I always find this part of the trip melancholic, as folks are tired but realize that this is the end of the entire trip for them and the time that they have spent together as a group.

As promised, we showed them 4 Russias, the Russia of the 21st Century in the capital, Moscow, the Russia of the smaller community, Syktyvkar, with home stay, Ancient Russia in Yb and the romantic Russia of the Tsars in St. Petersburg. We were absolutely gifted with gorgeous (at times hot) weather and the sun shined every day and I think that lead to a great attitude on everyone’s part.

This country is huge and even though we have traveled by plane, boat, bus and train we have actually seen only a small part of the country. We had great presentations in Moscow, Syktyvkar and St. Petersburg and the students were alert and asked good questions of our presenters. The students also had an incredible opportunity to live and interact with Russians in their homes in the stay at Syktyvkar. I have travelled a great deal and have never had the opportunity to actually stay in a home in the host country that I was visiting. This was an open door for them to foster greater understanding of Americans and to develop deeper understandings of the Russia people.

The trip would not be possible without the extensive work of Andrei Strukov both before the trip and during the trip serving as constant interpreter for all in each and every situation. Having someone who is fluent in Russian (and in fact from Syktyvkar) is a blessing beyond price. I tip my hat to him and thank him for his service to the students and the University. His enduring patience with language issues and a dozen students simultaneously asking for help is simply remarkable.
We were also blessed with the company of Bill Halteman on this trip. Bill is a UM faculty member (in mathematics) whose Russian was exceptional and whose ability to help other students was greatly appreciated by Andrei (as it gave him a break) and by me.

As noted everyone but me leaves Moscow around Noon and I will see them off—it will be odd, after 13 days of being part of a group of individuals, I will be alone as they head home. It is about 1035 AM here (2:35 AM in Maine) and the last of them have gone through security. I cannot even check in until 3:30 PM for my flight at 7 PM. By the time I get to London the band of travelers will certainly have arrived at Washington (and perhaps even be on the plane to Portland). Only a few needed some upset stomach medicine (which might be related to personal sadness at the trip ending and not necessarily food related). Final last surprise, this airport has full body scanners in use for trips to rest of Europe and U. S.,

This is the final blog entry you will receive from this trip—enjoy the return of those you love and see if you can “experience” Russia through them.

John