Two Months From Home | Pt 01
Elesey and I boarded the train in St. Petersburg and located our cabin. A woman was already sitting on one of the bunks and introduced herself. She looked like the typical Russian woman you see that age with a very short, boyish haircut and a lack of smiles.
My brother and I introduced ourselves, “we’re headed to Volgograd to visit relatives”.
Elesey set the bag of groceries on the small fold out table that contained tea, sugar, bread, cheese, butter and deli meat and tucked our luggage under the bunks. We sat down to get to know the lady as she had many questions for us.
“We’re visiting from America”.
Her eyes went wide, “and your parents just sent you here on your own?”
“Well, not really on our own”, I said as I got tea ready for the three of us. “We’ve been staying with relatives this entire trip and exploring the cities with our cousins”.
“Still…” she responded with amazement. “I don’t know if I would have the courage to let my children travel to such a large country and so different from where they’re from”. I was twenty years old and Elesey was eighteen. We weren’t children but I understood the sentiment.
I shrugged my shoulders and sipped the tea, “It’s been alright. We haven’t had any issues and St. Petersburg is incredible. We left one of our suitcases here with family to make sure we have a chance to come back”.
The train jerked and started the slow roll out of the station. We have a two day trip ahead of us and the woman had one. We got settled in and began our journey.
We passed many fairytale like cities. I watched as a young girl herded a cow through a small, colorful, village. Orthodox churches decorated every town we passed, even the smallest and oldest ones that seemed insignificant.
A few hours passed and we made our first fifteen minute stop. The three of us stepped out to stretch our legs and see what they were selling at the market. Our roommate called us over to the ice cream vendor and told us to pick one out.
“Oh you don’t have to do that”, I reassured her.
“I’d like to know someone was taking care of my children abroad if I was in your parents shoes. Let me do this for you”. I nodded to accept her wish and we thanked her for the ice cream.
Elesey and I sat on a bench to lick up our ice creams while the woman stood near the train to smoke. I thought to myself how different Russians speak to each other compared to the American culture. They communicate like they’ve known each other for years and are straight forward and honest with whoever. The way she just immediately took us under her wing without a question or trying to figure out if we’re worth her generosity really stood out to me.
She stomped out her cigarette as we climbed back up the steps when the train conductor was offering items for sale. The woman leaned over, “don’t tell him you’re from America. People might charge you more, but I do recommend purchasing a pair of slippers”.
He had a striking resemblance to a walrus with his thick mustache and big eyes. I picked out a pair of brown slippers that had a puppy stitched on them. The conductor wanted to chat with us longer but I cut the conversation short, following her advice, and walked into our cabin.
Switching out of the shoes into slippers was a nice change and I was grateful for the recommendation. I watched a movie, journaled and admired the scenery. We had a few more stops throughout the day and night came.
I lied with my head next to the window while everyone else was asleep and looked at the thousands of stars scattered across the open sky. The train rocked back and forth through the steppe of Russia and I watched the tail end of it snake through twists and turns. I thought of Dennis and wondered what will be when I get back. Will we start dating? I was pretty confident he was going to ask me out from how our conversations were going and he would be my first official boyfriend. Not just talking and going on casual dates for months only to lead no where. Dennis was different. He was pursuing me and excited to get to know me as well as encouraging me to enjoy my trip and not be too distracted by his messages.
We said goodbye to our new friend as we arrived at her destination. She thanked us for sharing our tea and food with her then stopped the train conductor for a quick word.
“Make sure you wake them at their stop at 2 a.m tonight”, she said with a stern voice. He looked at us and nodded his head before continuing on his way.
We knew that my aunt, uncle and a few other relatives were supposed to pick us up. By the time the alarm rang, I jumped out of the bunk and started gathering our things. There was a knock at the door and it was the walrus conductor, letting us know our stop is here.
Tucking my slippers away, I put on my shoes and we rolled our luggage to the exit, poking our heads out in the pitch black, silent town. Then I heard my uncles voice and saw him running up and down the platform to every door shouting, “I’m here for the Americans! Where are the Americans”? Elesey and I looked back at the conductor who was standing right behind us. So much for keeping a secret.
Uncle Misha was out of breath by the time he got to us and took our luggage. We piled into the tiny car and were on our way to greet more relatives we’ve never met.
