Здравствует!
I’m sorry it has taken so long to write to you and
at the same time I’m not. It’s been quite the experience so far and I’ve enjoyed
being immersed in it all.
My flights from Canada went off without a hitch.
Nearly all my flights were early to arrive and on time to leave. I managed to
get a decentish sleep throughout and thus arrived at the Sochi airport tired
but not exhausted. My plane landed at 4:30am and I was quickly informed that
the buses were not running this early in the morning and in fact one of my bus
routes did not yet exist. Not a problem. I’m a well-rested, travel savvy, slightly
Russian speaking Canadian. I can do this. And do it, I did. It took me 8 hours
to get from the airport to my beautiful new home but I made it intact. I was
assisted by some really great Russians along the way who went above and beyond
to ensure that I was safe and arrived at my destination.
So now I am here. I’m all settled into my abode with
3 other lovely girls. I believe we have the most multinational room in the
accommodation complex. One of my roommates is Canadian (from Toronto
naturally), one is Australian (I try not to be disappointed she isn’t a Kiwi –
just kidding dear I love you), and the other is French (finally a true
Frenchie). We are getting along famously.
We haven’t been working much yet (I’ll explain that
in a second) so we’ve had plenty of time to gallivant around Sochi and area. We
discovered and mastered the bus, train, cable car, and walking routes. We can
now get around Sochi, Adler, Olympic Park, Rosa Khutor and Vesoloe without any
issue. Yesterday we discovered the largest dolphinarium in Eastern Europe and
watched a pretty impressive dolphin show. We also found a small amusement park
nestled into the hillside and I got to hold an adorable monkey clothed in the
tiniest Adidas gear I’ve ever seen. Describing our walk-abouts is tiresome and
would be full of a ton of you-had-to-be-there moments so I’ll spare you all of
that. But I guess, for those of you that were there with me, I would just like
to say “Yellow Blue Bus”.
Speaking of speaking Russian – I’m definitely
improving. I have been told that my Russian sounds quite good and that I am a
quick learner. I’m pretty stoked. I was actually able to speak enough Russian
to purchase a Russian phone and SIM card without a translator. Our volunteer
village (aka accommodation complex) houses mostly Russians and a few
international volunteers that all work in the mountain area in some capacity. The
Russian volunteers have been hand-picked because of their English skills and
personalities. Each day I make new Russian friends and each day they try to
teach me a few more words.
The best way I’ve found to make new Russian friends
is to pull out a deck of cards. Cards truly are the international symbol for “I
want to meet new people and have fun”. This trip I tried something different
too. I brought Dutch Blitz. The first night here I taught the other
international volunteers to play. They loved it. The next night I accosted a
Russian boy and his friend and in my ever impressive Russian (haha) I asked
them to play. They hesitantly agreed. It was a hoot trying to use my Russian to
explain the game. I surprised myself with how much I was actually able to
communicate with my extremely limited vocabulary. Needless to say, they loved
the game too. I mean who in their right mind doesn’t like Dutch Blitz. The next
night I taught a few more Russians. Now word has spread throughout the village
and I have people asking to play every evening. New volunteers are arriving
every day as well and they are often drawn to the commotion in the corner and
are soon slapping cards on the table, yelling in frustration or triumph, and
generally having a good time. The only bad this is that I only have one deck. I
really need to figure out how to get a couple more over here ASAP.
My roommate has just reminded me that we have been
here for just over a week now. Time has really flown by. For the most part we
have been adventuring but I’ve also had a couple volunteer shifts. I am working
in the mountain area in the athlete’s village. Right now we are still preparing
for the arrival of the athletes so there isn’t a huge amount to do. Once
everyone arrives things will get crazy! I can’t wait to greet athletes from
around the world and to create an incredibly positive, fun atmosphere where personal
bests, friendships, and the joy of the Olympics can be shared.
This truly is a life changing period of time for so
many people. I am thrilled to be a part of it.
I’m so thrilled that while I love updating you all
back home, I also just want to be out and about. So with that in mind I’m going
to forego the prose and hit you with a list of other things I’d like you to
know but am simply not committed to expounding fully.
1.
There
are the cutest, kindest, most adorable stray dogs everywhere. We have about 10
living on/around our complex. You can’t go more than a block without running
into a new pack of strays.
2. We
live on the 5th floor so I do about 15 sets of 5 stairs per day. We
also do a ton of walking. I suspect between 10-25km per day.
3. Russian
food is very similar to Canadian food just cooked with few spices. I enjoy it.
Also Russian have this super tasty ice cream bar that tastes like cream cheese
and yogurt and is coated in chocolate. They are 3 bite sized and cost about 30
cents. I’m going to miss them.
4. Our
uniforms are sweet.
5. About
50% of the Russians I meet say I look Russian, the other 50% say I don’t look
remotely Russian.
6. I
will definitely come back to this country.
7. The
weather in Vesoloe where I live ranges between 5-15 degrees. On the mountain it
has been ranging between -10 and 10 degrees.
8. I
was given a beautiful deck of cards with the 55 best views of Saint Petersburg
by a Russian volunteer. She’s basically my favourite person. I forgot a regular
set of cards at home. Now I have a much cooler deck to take with me on the rest
of my travels.
9. I
can’t wait to watch Canada play Finland but have discovered that I forgot to
bring any Canadian gear… L I’m going to try to mooch some off
other Canadian volunteers.
10. I
love all of you guys. I want to send specific love to my family. I love you
Mommy dearest. Faja, you’re pretty cool too. Berly Face, Tiger Lily, Kimbly,
love love love. Stevo. You’re killin’ it in Brazil. Rock on.
I suppose that’s good
for now. I haven’t got my pictures sorted out yet. I’ll try to post those in
the next week or so… Don’t rush me… Haha.
From Russia with Love,
Julia
