Славо Богу...мы приехали!!!

"Thank God...we've arrived!!!"  After a cancelled flight at 3am in Frankfurt, being awake literally for two days, seeing the sun set from above the clouds and then less that 6 hours later seeing it rise again, and 4- hour layovers in Germany and Moscow, I can finally say that we have arrived in Kazan'.  But before I talk about how incredibly amazing this small, fairytale town is, I need to catch up on the last couple days in D.C.  I had never been to D.C. prior to this trip.  Having spent those few days there, I must say, it absolutely deserves praise.  The political culture surrounding downtown D.C. can be seen everywhere.  Not only in the obvious (monuments, architecture, etc.) but in the faces of all the young professionals, government workers, military men and women, etc.  It seemed like everyone there was on a mission of some sort.  There was a real sense of urgency in the air, like there was work to be done.  I admired it.  I can really appreciate a city full of individuals who don't mind working very hard to get what they want.  

 

During the remainder of our orientation, we met some individuals who had definitely worked hard to get where they were.  We spoke with a panel of individuals from the private and public sectors who use Russian in their careers, which ranged from those in law to state dept officials.  Then, unexpectedly, the consular general from the Russian embassy in D.C. showed up to wish us well.  She chose only to speak Russian, which was nice, and then asked if we had any questions.  One guy asked a question about the Russian "Год Молодёжи" which means "Year of the Youth". She spoke about that for a bit and then I asked her (in Russian) to speak a bit about herself and about how she ended up being the consular general to the United States of America. Turns out, this was no easy task. Basically, when she decided she wanted to be a diplomat, she was asked which diplomat she'd like to be a secretary for. She decided to open her own exchange program for women in various aspects of Soviet society to meet, teach and learn from their counterparts in the US. This developed into something new and successful. She developed her skills as a moderator and diplomat, eventually becoming one of Russia's best. It was only then, some 20yrs of hard work later, that she was asked to represent her country abroad, a tremendous honor.

Then we met someone I will never forget. She was the recently appointed Executive Director of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Dept. of State. This was only her most recent desk. She had held others before, more than many career officials including senators. She walked into the conference room with her own security, two personal assistants, and a handful of interns. She was a very nice woman, spoke eloquently, was fluent in Hebrew and in three dialects of Arabic. Before her tenure at State, she did ten years in the upper echelons of the Central Intelligence Agency. Surely, a spy. Her advice, never stop learning, work hard and when given the opportunity to immerse yourself in a culture that's not your own, take it. Simple enough. She wished us all the best, took a couple questions and then, literally, rushed off to a meeting before congress. Like it was no big deal. What a woman.

That evening myself and two other colleagues took the metro to see the Washington and Lincoln memorials, as well as the WWII and Vietnam memorials and the White House. Again, this was my first time. It was breathtaking. I couldn’t believe how majestic everything was. Yes, majestic is a good word for it. Seeing that place was the perfect segue to a trip overseas. It made me so happy to be American, which is something that seems to have become a taboo in recent years. I mentioned to one of my colleagues, "You know, we've spent all this time going to other countries to see their monuments, to learn about their leaders, to remember their wars and to learn their languages, and yet, I personally have never taken the opportunity to see my own." Well, from what I've seen so far, ours is by far the best. Looking up at the Lincoln Memorial stairs from below at dusk is like dying and waking up at the gates of Heaven. Whoever built that place, surely, must have seen the light.

The next morning we woke up, took yet another placement test, and then left for the airport. The first leg of the trip was an 8-hour flight to Frankfurt from D.C. It was horrible. There was already zero leg-room and it only took about 20min for the assclown in front of me to put his seat all the way back, crushing me. He retained this position until we landed. At about hour 6, I was continually "accidentally" kneeing him in the back as hard as possible and physically restraining myself from jamming my butter knife into his neck. I wanted this man to die and still do. As far as I am concerned, he is satan's representative on earth and humanity would be better of if he were exterminated. If you find him, please let me know. When we arrived in Frankfurt, our connecting flight to Moscow had been cancelled, which really wasn’t that big of a deal. We had to wait a couple extra hours for a new flight, which was more spacious anyway. So, we set off to Russia.

After 4 hours in flight, it happened. We landed. Other than the fact that we made it there without dying, landing in Moscow, for some, meant something much more frightening. It was at the exact moment that the planes rubber tires squeaked and skipped along the Domyedyedova that English would no longer be spoken. And not just for the remainder of the flight. For the next ten weeks. Other than in private when speaking with family back home, out of ear shot of anyone, English will not be spoken on this trip. Personally, it's a challenge, but a manageable one that will produce tremendous results and has already begun to. After Moskva, there was just one more flight...to Kazan'. Sorry, however, to be anti-climactic. I'm tired of writing. Check back soon to hear all about this extraordinary place. I feel like I'm living in a pre-Soviet, Wild East, rural trading outpost that just celebrated its 1000yr anniversary. Oh wait. I am.