Dreams don't come true in Russia

Hypothesis: "People try to find happiness more and more by turning back towards nature and
towards their inner selves."

Dreams don’t come true in Russia… or at least so I’ve been told by a Russian young man.
Dreams don’t come true in Russia… kind of hard to believe while wandering the streets of two of the
biggest cities of this country – Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Moscow – with its majestic metro stations that trigger the memory of fairytale ball rooms, with its
internationally renowned ballet and theatre, with its cheerfully colored churches with onion shaped
towers, with its amazing buildings covered in the dust of ruthless time…
Saint Petersburg – with its imposing architecture and opulent grandeur, with its beautiful parks and
gardens, with its shivering producing bell rings, hosting one of the biggest museums in the world which
is in itself a dream for many…
Now that I think about it… there is actually one thing that I have noticed in Saint Petersburg – lack of
kids between the ages of 5 to 15. And that could mean two things. First, that there is holiday in July and
the children get shipped off to some relatives living in the country side to enjoy their summer more
authentically. It happens quite often in Romania too, so it could totally make sense.
The other reason goes a little bit deeper. Children represent hope for a better future. And if people
don’t see that projection of the future bright enough in their minds, then they probably choose not to
have children. And that would make me to draw the conclusion that they are not happy enough as to
look at what is to come with an open heart and a cheerful soul.
Sadly, I don’t really know which of this two options is closer to reality. Or maybe it is a combination of
both. Defying our expectations, Russians don’t really speak English (not even the ones from the big
cities), so my conclusions are mostly based on observation.
Anyway, travelling further away from this two famous cities, you encounter a surprisingly desolated
Russia. Abandoned buildings, stray dogs, holes in the streets, rats, weird smells, tangled bureaucracy
that lasts for hours, incredibly muddy roads… it all reminded me of my home city probably 20, maybe
even 30 years ago.
But I expected more from Russia. I expected more from a country that claims to be (and is recognized to
be) one of the most powerful in the world. I expected more from a country who has the courage to seize
territories of others. First you organize your stuff in the territory that you have – you make sure that
people have what they need and that things run smoothly, and only afterwards you can find the courage
to claim pieces of other countries as yours. Or not? Well… apparently not for Russia.
As Russia was such a huge soft spot of mine, I tried to learn more about its times of glory. And it was
actually in the library of Hornsjo that I found a book about the USSR, few days before leaving to Sweden
for my pre course. I took it with me – and it was this book that made me understand how difficult it was
to rule such a huge country, how the grandeur that I saw as an outsider when thinking about USSR was
actually not at all reflected in the inside of the country, and how all this system was so poorly organized
that it was obviously just a matter of time until its implosion.
I read about all this with curiosity, and probably with a little bit of disappointment. But I definitely
expected things to have gotten better until now, twenty years after. Sadly – I’m not sure they did. Not
for the average Russian, for sure.
Walking around the streets, you can see that people don’t look happy. Factories have been replaced
with shopping malls, there are not enough working places for everybody, corruption and bad
management are thriving, the old and the new (typically Russian buildings in desperate need of
restauration and huge shiny buildings, most surely brought there by globalization) intertwine in a
hideous way which emphasizes the discrepancies of the world we are living in. On top of this, Russia is
currently undergoing economic austerity and this affects people’s everyday life in a strong negative way.
The power of their currency shrank constantly in the past two years, prices varying from day to day.
Inconstancy began to rule people’s lives – and living in insecurity is for sure not a reason for happiness.
I noticed that people are drawn to materialism. Getting a new job makes them happy, of course. But
they still compare themselves to the ones who have it better. Which is not a bad thing in general, if you
keep in mind to also appreciate what you have. Comparison with the ones superior (in any kind of way)
might produce competitiveness and performance. I can understand that people need a certain security,
moneywise speaking, before they can focus on the spiritual part. But the moment you live in an almost
luxurious apartment (although rented), and consider that you are not even in the middle class, just
because you don’t own a car – well, there I see a problem. It probably means that you don’t really know
what poverty actually is, and comply yourself in complaining instead of appreciating.
As these measures of austerity that I was talking about earlier were imposed to Russia as a consequence
of its political choices (regarding Ukraine and Crimea), I was curious if people were upset with their
ruler/rulers for making these choices. They were not. They welcomed the annexation of Crimea as if
they were reunited with their brothers and sisters. They were not happy with the economic status of
their country, of course, but believed that what happened was right and was what should have
happened – so Russia was not to blame for the economic situation in which the country ended up (at
least in their eyes). About Ukraine, the people I have asked considered it to have fallen in between the
conflict of Russia with the US – sort of a bad luck.
Not all the people we have talked to about this subject liked Putin, but all agreed that he was the best
ruler Russia could possibly wish for at the present moment. They felt the need of a strong leader, and
they saw that in Putin. On the other hand, they were reluctant towards the transparency and correction
of the elections. They were convinced that their disapproval could not make a difference. They saw that
the system was failing them every day, but were resigned about it.
The only thing that I saw Russians frustrated about was the fact that they are not officially
acknowledged as the winners of the Second World War. Americans stole this recognition from them, as
Americans believe themselves to be the ones who won and brought the war to an end. But Russians
consider that they were the ones who actually carried the burden of the war on their shoulders, the
ones who stopped Hitler and made him retreat - with a lot of human sacrifice, of course; the ones who
won the war. And they seem annoyed that the general international perception has been distorted by
the Western media machine.
I saw Russians as very proud people. Partly because, as I said, they truly believe it was them who won
the Second World War, and consider this something exceptional. Also, because they were part of this
huge empire, to which they tend to go back to. It is said that the image of Putin in the hearts of the
people resembles more and more the one of a tsar, and that gives an even stronger feeling of patriotism
to the Russian people.
As I have previously mentioned, most Russians only speak Russian – and I believe this is a huge proof of
patriotism, stubbornness, but also ignorance. They do learn English in school, but the English teachers
are not very good themselves with the language. Even the young people – you ask them a question and
sometimes they seem to understand, but they can’t answer back. They either don’t know, or they are
not confident enough about their knowledge.
The perception of the common Russian people is that they don’t need more than their own language.
Russia is a huge country with a lot of places to visit and an incredible amount of people living in it. If
Russians want to travel, they can travel in their own country without having to learn English. Also, they
can meet new people every day in the same manner. As far as I noticed, tourism in Russia is also mostly
focused on Russian people, and it is quite difficult as a foreign tourist to find directions, explanations or
anything else in English, for that matter. The general attitude is that, if foreigners chose to come to
Russia, they should have learned Russian before.
But this closes the country very much, and it closes the people living in Russia inside its borders. If they
don’t speak English it is very difficult for them to travel to other countries, to experience other kind of
people with other kind of cultures. If they don’t speak English, they don’t have access to international
press, and considering that independent press is pretty much dead or dying in Russia, they are very
susceptible to manipulation.
Dreams don’t come true in Russia… maybe they don’t. Maybe they do. But anyway, it doesn’t mean that
people don’t dream. It is what makes humans to keep going in their quest towards happiness.
In all fairness, I met happy people too. Travelling for four days in the Trans-Siberian, we were befriended
by three mothers and their six children. Only the eldest of the daughters spoke some basic English, but it
was enough as to manage to get along. We found out that the mothers were very good friends,
travelling for holiday to some relatives from the Asian side of the country. I can imagine that, having two
weeks of holiday out of which at least one you spend on the train trying to get to your destination, you
must learn to also enjoy the ride, and not just to wait to get to the ending point. And they seemed to
have managed that.
The little girls (aged 7 to 16) were playing around and having fun all day long. They were also very much
into creating some type of bracelets out of rubber bands. After we became friends, we were given as
gifts some of this bracelets, and afterwards we were thought how to do them and encouraged to do
some for ourselves – using the colors and the patterns that we liked. They also thought us how to count
in Russian, how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘your welcome’, and how to spell some of the colors. The
youngest of the daughters was especially sweet, as she forgot from time to time that I don’t understand
Russian, and she started to speak to me in her own language until somebody stopped her and explained
once again that I can only understand English. They were all very friendly and nice to us, and they
brightened our long, long journey. Their mothers also seemed to have fun together, sleeping during the
day and laughing and storytelling during the night, when the air was much cooler and breathable.
Out of all the people that I have met in Russia, I was most impressed about this one young girl named
Aliona. We met in a hostel in Irkutsk (our couchsurfing hosts actually owned a hostel, but in times when
the hostel was not full they were accepting couchsurfers; as we wrote to them almost two months
before arriving they accepted us without truly knowing how many guests they will have, and it
happened that the hostel was full when we arrived, so we ended up sleeping in a tent, on a porch in
front of the hostel). But the atmosphere there was really amazing, and the hosts were finding time to
interact with everybody and make sure that people were having a good time. Their way of handling
things actually inspired us a lot. They were the ones who introduced us to Aliona.
Aliona is a 20 year old Russian girl from Saint Petersburg. She was travelling together with her boyfriend,
a huge backpack that he was carrying, and his guitar that she was carrying. His guitar was called Friday,
like Robinson Crusoe’s friend. They came from Saint Petersburg to Irkutsk, half way through the country
and 5500 km distance by hitch hiking. It took them two weeks, and it was during this travel that Aliona
realized she is pregnant. She knew she was too young, but she seemed happy about it nonetheless.
I liked her a lot because she was incredibly energetic, strongly positive and very communicative
(although her English was not the best). She was waving her hands in the air a lot when she was talking,
and she looked a little bit silly (in a good way). We talked about a lot of things from Russia and not only;
she told us about her hopes and dreams. She had just finished a collage in order to become a teacher,
but she was not sure that she wanted to do that for the rest of her life. Moreover, she realized that she
was to become a mother soon, and she had to accommodate the baby in her future plans too. But the
plans were plenty. She loved reading, and was dreaming of writing a book someday. She was thinking
about the possibility of opening an anti-cafe, or owning a hostel.
She was playing the guitar, as well as composing her own songs (we asked her to play a few songs for us,
and she tried to explain to us what the songs were about before singing – one was a traditional Russian
folk song about mountaineers who die in their quests to conquer the heights; the other one was
composed by herself and it told the story of a red cat who brought sun in people’s lives and who left
pieces of fish as gifts in their dreams). I asked about her relationship with nature, and she told me that
she is not going to the mountains as often as she would like, but that it is one of her family’s traditions
to go every summer to some lakes near Saint Petersburg and sing guitar songs around the fire (both her
parents are singing the guitar). I asked if she was happy, and she was. Although she didn’t have a very
well organized plan for the future, she painted her future in bright and colorful lights.
Based on the glimpse that I had into the hearts and minds of the Russian people, I could say that my
hypothesis is wrong. People are much to anchored in their daily lives and problems as to have time to
search for happiness by turning back towards nature or towards their inner selves. Maybe things will
look different after the country manages to stabilize a little bit and find an equilibrium point. After
people will have access to the basics of their necessities, I’m quite sure they will be tempted to look for
more. And perhaps then they will find the path towards nature.
Still, the ones who were in contact with nature all along know how fulfilling it is to connect with it and
how much peace and tranquility you can acquire by getting in touch with nature once in a while. Also, by
spending time in nature, away from all the technology and distractions of our everyday life, you
automatically acknowledge your inner self more.
Metro station in Saint Petersburg
Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg)
Not so shiny parts of Saint Petersburg
View of Moscow and one of the seven sisters buildings
Happy to reach Red Square
Creepy ghost window in the yard of the Architecture Museum Moscow
Graduation ceremony in Moscow
Neighborhood in Saratov
With the inventors of Cyrillic Alphabet in Saratov
Statue of Lenin with his pointy finger from Saratov
(similar statues with him can be found all over Russia)
Entrance of the open air museum about the 2
nd
World War in Saratov
Stairs with the years and the battles who took place in those years during the 2
nd
World War in the open
air museum in Saratov
Friends made during Trans-Siberian ride
Street in Irkutsk

China

Beijing

Monster between cities, Beijing offers to the eyes a giant show of urbanism and colors. One thing that visitors- who want to know something about Beijing- should see is the view from the plane; when you travel by plane you can really see how big this city is. And this can offer you an image about where you are really going. From a plane you can see how the urbanization is shaped in Beijing: areas covered just by flats which have mostly the same shape but different colors. You can also see areas covered only by houses which are- how I could later discover- mostly in poor condition and pressed together in such a manner that those neighbors know everything about each other. But you can also find combination of huge flats with poor small houses, mixture which has not so many features common with some urbanization.

Another modern symbol is the new center which is created by skyscrapers and other buildings signed by the modern architecture. Skyscrapers are not so big like in Shanghai and Hong Kong but the city is growing up very fast and with it also is the number of new buildings.

Air pollution in the city during our stay in Beijing wasn’t that big as expected but still from plane was possible to see cloud which I can connect with fog but the difference is (as I know from Czech Republic or Norway that fog is white) but in Beijing it was always yellow.

Let’s move inside the city. After our arrival at the airport we took the bus to the city. When the bus arrived people were pushing each other as they wanted to get inside of the bus. During the way to the center of the city I had to sit on the floor of the bus.

When we arrived to a bus station near central railway station in front of the bus there were waiting few persons who offered travelers accommodation as close as possible. In first night we took some cheap hostel but next few days we had accommodation with one Chinese guy in his flat (guy that I met on Couch Surfing).

When we arrived to his house I was a little bit surprised that he lives alone and his home is so big when many bigger families have to live in small flats; but we were happy for this because it meant more space for us.

If you want to have a picture about how big is Beijing, imagine that if we wanted to get from our accommodation only to Central Railway Station which is near to the center of the city it took around 40 min. by metro; and if we wanted to get on the other side of the city it could have taken more than 2h by metro. When I’m talking about metro you have to know that this is the right place where you can feel the overpopulation in the city. When the metro arrives in the station it is hard to get inside metro but also out of the metro. Inside the metro you can feel like tuna in the can.

Living style in Beijing for me seemed quiet strange: flats everywhere; from plane how I said We could see many flats, but when you get in the city you think that there must be maybe 30 times more flats than you could see from the plane. Some people even if they live in the huge flats they have in front of them small cages with chickens or some other home-bred animals.

As well, drying clothes on the streets is a normal thing which We have never seen in Europe. Just imagine that you are driving a car on a big road with many lines and next to the road there are trees which are connected with ropes and on this ropes people dry clothes. So now you know that Chinese use every space in the city. I can say that actually Beijing is not such a modern city comparing to others. For me Beijing is a city created from Chinese villages where houses are pressed on each other with the only difference that they have access to hot water and sanitation but this doesn’t change the fact that inside their homes you can find a total mess. Yes, Chinese people don’t have such a big sense of clean household as western countries. Our sense of organization of our own things doesn’t say anything to them. You can find it maybe in educated families which are numerous in China but if we will think about how many people live in China the proportion is not in favor of this number.

Security in Chinese big cities is high and I can say that many times also annoying and this is the security that checks places like metro, train stations or some other areas where can be a lot of people together. Only when we wanted to get near the Forbidden City we had to pass through a small area we had four security checks which were as usually busy so we have spent also a long time waiting.

When we talked to some people they told us that they don’t understand why the security checks are such a big deal and what exactly the security guards are doing. Because many times when we went to the metro we just put our luggage inside the roentgen and person who was responsible to check the screen didn’t care about it. So it seems like that government is wasting money for some security which is not effective.

But on the other side, the Government manages in this way many working places for people. A city of 20 million inhabitants cannot provide jobs for all of them using just the help from investors, it needs to create also its own work places.

Also you can see in the city many workers who have to clean the streets sometimes you can even see that they are working in Chinese highways, work that has to be really dangerous. Nice thing is that you cannot find so many homeless because most of the people have job even those jobs which from outside seem a waste of money. But I don’t want to say that there are no homeless. Comparing with Prague there are not so many or at least is hard to find them.

Shanghai

(Shanghai as center of Chinese Economy)

Not an historical city but a rich city. Master piece which constitutes a symbol showing the growth from fishing village to a giant monster between cities. I cannot say that there is a difference between lives in Beijing and Shanghai. The advantage that Shanghai has comparing to other cities is the port and the sea which bring more goods from other countries. Nevertheless, the rest is similar to Beijing. Many constructions, poor parts separated jus by walls. Many poor parts in Shanghai are separated by walls from beautiful parts. When I was walking around one wall in a poor part at the end of the wall I arrived to a new street with beautiful shops.

Way in the train to Yunnan province

36 hours in the full Chinese train that was real experience. Because we wanted to save some money we chose hard seats in the train.

People were everywhere. Some of the people had ticket for standing as we discovered and that was the reason why the train was so full and carriages for sleeping were locked so all this people had to stay in the same carriages where hard seats were. I don’t know if I should say we were lucky or we had bad luck but around us was a Chinese family.

A grandmother and two married couples with four kids and between them there were always sitting some other two persons. And for these 11 persons plus Liga and I, there were 10 not so big and- I can say- hard seats. In front of me was sitting the grandmother which was always carrying one child and many times it was really annoying to have these two persons in front of me because the kid was always putting his legs in my space and the grandmother also. I felt like fish pressed very well in the can. Also if you travel a long way with the train you can see some advertisement in the train for selling some goods like special towels, energy banks for phones or some electronic devices or what looked special and have big

success was presenting a book for math. The promoter started to give passengers math exams and many people started to buy this book.

One week in the village

After the long way by train we arrived to Kunming capital city of Yunnan province.

We also visited HQ of HPP in China and with their help could get more experience between people; we spent two days in one city where we could see school for small kids who can learn English and we were also invited there for Chinese lunch. We could also try there to teach these small kids. It was nice because the kids were willing to learn English and I can also say that it gave me some ideas which I hope I can use in my project.

Another experience from Yunnan province is that Euclid and I spent one week in a village which is 40 minutes from Dali, being hosted by a local family. We could see how it looks in normal Chinese village how the life is going on there and we also tried to work in one of the many brick factories which were around the village and also, one day we went with the family to the mountains where they have tea fields and nut trees.

The paradox in the Chinese village is that buildings are very simple but sometimes you can find expensive car inside. But on the end of village there are the poorest people. Chinese houses in the village are very simple many times the rooms in the house are missing front wall so that some rooms are open and you can see inside if there is no wall around the house.

We had a beautiful room but with a bad odor. People in the village were mostly friendly and neighbors were visiting each other as they wanted. Small kids had fun seeing people like us in the village because most of them have never seen people from other parts of the world.

I remember when we arrived in the village in the first hour I smoked around five cigarettes because everybody we met gave us cigarettes. It looked like it is a Chinese hobby to smoke like mad. I didn’t see any woman smoking cigarettes, it seems like they are not allowed. It looked also like that man was the head of the family and had the only authority. We couldn’t see this exactly, but the woman in the family was doing almost everything: cooking, working, washing, taking care about home-bred animals.

As well, when we were in the brick factory and worked with them, women were working really hard. And some of them were older so I can say that Chinese women are really strong. We also went to see how the work in the mountains was.

The field of the family who hosted us was around 1h far from the village at the beginning of the mountains. During the walk there we could see other people from the village how they have to work. I was surprised how heavy were the boxes they have to carry up to the hills and that they have to bring up to the hills water in leather bags on the horses.

Is it Communism?

This is a good question: which system is working in China?! Is it Communism? I believe that people who have experience with communism, I mean people from countries which were under Soviet Union will say that there is no connection with communism. But censure is one of the biggest sign of communism as I know and I’m not talking only about blocked facebook or youtube but they are also checking the personal things which you can send from your PC.

When we were in village (we were there for one week) it looked that they don’t even care about the fact that they would be under communism.

The people that I could see there, looked as they had everything they needed. They wake up, go to work, work which maybe doesn’t even have some strict schedule after work at home, chat in the streets and that’s all. I didn’t even saw during this stay that somebody got angry.

People in the big cities for them have higher living conditions than the people in the villages and it makes them satisfied. It seemed that if they had enough electric devices they wouldn’t need anything else.

When you get in the metro you can see that 80% of the people are using smartphone and are playing games, listening music or watching videos. This is the way they make time pass faster. But 90% of them?

That is way too much people! I couldn't see this anywhere in Europe. I could see in Europe funny picture about what Chinese people do in the metro and there were five persons, two of them were playing with smart phone, one was reading a book, one was reading news and the last one was an old lady. But I have never seen anybody read a book in the metro and even old ladies were playing games on smartphones.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau are very interesting cities which are still somehow part of China but just because of their own government the living style is completely different. We could as well feel that the atmosphere in the streets is different, I don’t know why but we felt freer and also people were a bit different. Hong Kong in comparison with Shanghai looked for us more modern, even if Shanghai has a higher development index. Hong Kong looks newer and you can feel the influence of colonization from the British part. A city built especially for businessmen and the biggest and strongest economic companies in the world, Hong Kong is for China what the Western countries are for Europe. Main land China is like cities which are still in developing process but Hong Kong is fully developed and the poor parts are hidden very well that you cannot feel them. It is a city made for rich Chinese people who own flats here, go for shopping and enjoy typical western rich live. Huge buildings with the most famous and expensive brands for clothes or other fashionable brands as HUGO BOSS, CHANEL, LOUIS VOUITON, ROLEX and many others and rich Chinese are ready to stay in huge queues just to shop in this shops. When I was walking with the guy who hosted me during my first stay in Hong Kong he told me that these people are 90% Chinese and it is something when you have in front of the shop PRADA 60 persons waiting to get in this shop.

Macau is another interesting city which is not build that much for shopping and typical business but especially built again for rich Chinese which are coming here for another kind of fun. This kind of fun is now hazard and gambling in the casinos. Yes Macau is a city built mostly from the income brought by casinos. And life seems also different than life in China or Hong Kong. In Hong Kong you can see people with very nice fashion medium class cars, but Macau is fashion somewhere in the middle. I think I can say that I never saw so many expensive cars as in Macau, Ferrari, Lamborghini and many cars with very expensive tuning. Hong Kong and Macau- these two cities are good examples how you can build city with help of rich people- on one side, strong economies of the big international companies and money from Chinese people which are spent for shopping and on the second side is spending money for fun in casinos.

In these two cities there are also differences in what people do on the streets. I mean spitting on the ground, smoking or riding bicycle. These things are in many places forbidden. Also it is hard to find parts where people dry clothes in the streets. And population in these cities is multicultural. You can find many people from other countries.

Conclusion

It probably seems that this report is full of criticism but really I cannot imagine my life in China. There are so many things which don’t look good for me probably just thanks to the very fast development. I’m used to live in cities which don’t have a population counting more than 100 000 people and this is probably what makes China different. Being in the village for one week, living and experiencing with the locals was the best time spent in China.

Malaysia - A country with beautiful people

The first things I heard about Malaysia were not positive. A relatively high crime rate, a large number of tourists robbed, car crash, dirt and indifference. Moreover, Johor Bahru, the first town on the border, was known in the past as a vanity city, with mobs, gambling and prostitutes.

Fortunately, our statistics were old and in the meantime the situation had changed for the better. The government took action in eradicating corruption, imposing drastic laws and punishments, cleaned the country of mobs and prepared the city for a peaceful existence. Moreover, tourist programs have been successful, as 2014 is considered the year in which Malaysia brings the highest number of tourists in the country, giving all its best in terms of tradition, religion and beauty of the country and its people.

Thus, while fearfully reaching Malacca, a city which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage, our surprise was huge.

We met Howard by mistake, but we went to his house. He had a villa with 11 rooms where he was receiving tourists from all around the world at low prices. But this was not his main quality. In the eight days that we lived in one of his rooms, we became good friends. Howard is an open-minded person, friendly and eager to show to everyone that people of Malaysia are more than nice.

He invited us to have a lunch with his friends, sharing some of their traditions with us: how to prepare tea, how to wash the cutlery before the meal and their eating ritual.

In addition, I first entered the house of a man found in the lower strata of society with Howard. The house was simple, with Chinese signs at the entrance, a statue of Buddha and a special altar for prayer. It was consisted of a simple room for guests and a dormitory where the old woman was sleeping. Howard was careful that his mother did not miss anything, but the mother chose to live modestly, as she had done her entire life.

Then, Howard took us to visit a local market, away from the tourist area of the city. He explained to us that ordinary people gather weekly in the market for nutrition or for selling various products for locals.

There, friendly people made us feel the atmosphere of the place by giving us traditional dishes, telling us how they prepare them and by expressing joy and hospitality.

One evening, Howard told me that a family in the village remained homeless after a fire. I immediately asked what I could do to help them. We took his car and, after a long way in the night, we arrived at the house where those escaped from the calamity found refuge. When we

arrived, the firefighters had already left and despite the darkness we could distinguish somewhere nearby something what I suspected to be the remains of the house burned.

We did not spend too much time there. All that we did was to get those poor men and to go to Howard’s home. A child of about ten years with mental problems, a man that looked older than he was because of the hardships and misfortunes that he had to pass be and his wife, a lady who remained paralyzed because of the fear that she felt when she saw her house burning.

We went back to Howard’s home, where the generous man offered them a place to live. The next day, I went cycling with other people who wanted to help the family after we told them about the tragedy to buy food. Apart from the other persons that we took the day before, other three children and an aunt that were living in the same house arrived. They were away on the day of the fire and had the misfortune to come back and no longer find their house. Howard hosted everyone and bags full of food were offered by all who were mobilized for charity. Besides food, I felt the urge to offer a sum of money for the affected family. Words could not explain what I felt when I saw the father's eyes when he shook my hand. He was a man burdened with needs that had lost all his savings in a fire that became homeless with five children, among whom one had mental problems and a paralyzed wife. No matter how much money I would have given to them, it would not have been enough to give me a feeling of relief. However, people cried out of gratitude for any amount that they received.

Also in Malacca, we saw another face of the Islamic religion, which was nothing like the pictures full of malice that we had to see every day presented in the media. I was with Smaranda and Mark, and, as we were walking under the scorching sun, I saw a towering mosque few steps away from us. It took more than a moment to understand that my colleagues share the same desire to enter the courtyard of the mosque. Admittedly, it was impressively beautiful with its clear crystal waterfall that we saw glowing from the street. I slowly entered the yard and stared at the imposing building, when I heard a friendly voice that welcomed me inside the mosque. We all entered inside, but not before taking a coat suitable for Islamic ceremony.

The Mosque was gorgeous and smelled like peace and quietude and we walked with small steps in order not to disturb the tranquility from inside. Then, a middle-aged woman with a serene face approached us and told us that we could take pictures if we wanted. She stayed there looking at us with a friendly grin on her face, and after I asked her to take a picture with us to have it as a souvenir, she began to tell us about the real significance of Islam and the relationship between Christianity and the Islamic religion. She spoke with such warmth and love that I could not peel it long. So, I learned about Islam and about life in general and after an hour spent in the mosque I felt like an old friend of the community. After she told us everything everything that could be said about Islam and mosques, Norma (this was the name of the woman) invited us to sit with other members of the community, offered us as a gift an Islamic perfume and invited us to eat with them. We joined them and I was charmed by the friendliness and warmth that I felt from all those present. At one point, Norma sent someone to buy ice cream and served us with ice cream, while talking about the importance of accepting that you could make mistakes and the will to admit when you were wrong. That ice cream has meant a lot to us and I was impressed by the generosity with which we were accepted by the community. As we wanted to thank them, we found out that that day was very special for Muslims because it was a celebration. In fact, Norma and other community members were living in Kuala Lumpur and they t came just to visit in Malacca. We said goodbye to each other with friendly hugs, but not before we promised them a visit in Kuala Lumpur. Even after they left Malacca, we felt the warmth which welcomed us in our hearts and we put our little Islamic perfume bottles that were to remind us how friendly were the members of the Malay community with us in our backpacks.

We left Malacca after saying a hard goodbye to Howard and the grieving family, while thinking at the friends that we had made in the local community and the beautiful places we had been through. Nevertheless, we headed with big smiles on our faces to Kuala Lumpur, the meeting place of the entire team.

There followed three days full of joy and enthusiasm that we were all together again, each of us recounting stories from the road. It did not matter too much who, where and how it was, as each

of us wanted to do what the others did or at least to overcome the limits that he did not manage to pass over before.

Following the advice of the loved ones from Hornsjo, but also of Ole who came here to meet with us, we devised a new plan to try to accomplish more in the last weeks of the trip spent in Malaysia than during the whole journey. And I could say I did.

It is said that Cameron Highlands is a dream place. We have seen and can vouch for it. The huge mountains with forests, springs and rivers, the very diverse flora and fauna and the constantly serene sky, make this place a towering paradise of Malaysia.

As the place became more and more popular, fame went on to place as fast as investors began to buy land that indigenous people still spend their lives in tents far from civilization that they consider to be harmful . And as soon as the news went, the tourists invading the little paradise multiplied. The investments increased, living standards evolved and natives were forced to take their tents and to give the lands where generations lived before. And if all this would not have been enough, a government decision that is no longer recognized by anyone but nobody wants to cancel allows explorers to „invest in the area „by any methods. Thus, the forest is cut for wood, the mountain for stone, while houses, commercial complexes, hotels and gas stations are built in a large scale. All these are done in the name of attracting investments and tourists. Unfortunately, the abusive investment unstoppable now because lands have ghost owners, will completely destroy this place. Yes, it is true that Cameron Highlands is still a dream place. But in the next few decades it will become nothing but history. But, until then...

I got a local ride with Smaranda, Lili and Alina in the evening. It was very cold and the weather continued to cool down. I had been advised that in the area the temperatures fall down from 30 degrees during the day to just 2, 3 degrees at night. But we were armed with sleeping bags and prepared to sleep in the woods if necessary. But we were willing to fight to stay without being forced to choose a hotel resort. Remembering Norma and the fact that she told us to mention her name if we go to a mosque, we went to the only mosque that we found in the area and we mentioned her, relying on the fact that she was well-known all over the country. Thus, we went to talk with the people from the mosque and we agreed to get accommodation in a location of the church. Kind as they were, the people drove us cars a few miles away, where we were welcomed by other people and after carrying another discussion about our work as volunteers, we were offered a room. Unfortunately, after those who brought us left the place, the host came to us asking us an exorbitant amount of money for one night of accommodation. After we politely explained our situation, people seemed to have vanished and we did not manage to find them even when I went to look after them yelling. We did not meet them next day either and we left the house without managing to find someone to say goodbye to and to thank for hospitality. I deduced that they felt ashamed that they asked for money after we were brought there with the promise to get free hosting.

After leaving our first place to stay, we started to explore the surroundings. Thus, we woke up in a place full with strawberry farms. Trying to enjoy the red fruits, we were surprised to discover everywhere depleted stocks. All farms that we were had been selling their production of strawberries for the day first thing in the morning, most often on demand made a few days before. From place to place and in talking about, we managed to get into discussions with some local people and find out more about these farms. All belonged to the people around the place and they were opened and developed only on personal investments.

However, business became prosperous and experienced profit because that one was the only place from Malaysia where they grow strawberries. Fruits had three purposes: they were sold in large quantities for food companies, in small quantities to various local producers and what remained was processed into jams, compotes, natural products, which then were sold across the country. We did not get any strawberries for free, but they were offered for sale, even if they officially announced that the stock had been exhausted. We were allowed to visit the farm and then they told us how the simplest process that gave the best results worked (note and the photos that each plant has its own irrigation system that allows irrigation in controlled amounts by plant growth). That day was warm and sweet there in the mountains, but the real challenge was to come in the next days.

Although, I do not consider myself a very religious person , I felt a warm shiver that reminded me of home when I read on a plate of Tanah Rata town ( Queens of Cameron Highlands ), the place where we went to collect information about the life of local farmers, The Catholic Church. It was unbelievable that in a Muslim and Buddhist world, which seemed so far away from Europe, I found traces of Christianity. Yet so it was. I headed to the gate of that chapel with small steps, a little doubtful, but sure that there I would find something more than I was looking for. Near the entrance of the chapel, a man with a friendly voice asked me from what country I was. But I was scared and I rushed up, as if awakened from my dream state. I had not given any attention to that friendly, with curly black hair, tanned skin and eyes of an extraordinary clarity. A few hours later, after I choked fear and entered into conversation with him, I found out that his name was Father Eugene Benedict, priest of that parish. I searched for a few hours for the priest, asking for its address without knowing that I had actually talked to him. One of the people I asked one who worked to repair the church (I forgot to mention that the front part of the church resembled a building site) called the priest and so I had the chance to talk to the man to whom a few hours before I did not even answer the greeting. But he did not seem bothered by it. On the contrary, he received me with a warm smile and a familiarity like we were friends for a lifetime. Encouraged by his attitude, I began to talk to him about me and about the program, about the journey and what it means for me this travel. I said I wanted to go for answers about what it meant to be poor, to see hope in the eyes of poor people , to see how was the life of refugees and that I was not afraid to explore the world that so many people chose to ignore. Then, he offered me something that I would remain grateful for a lifetime: to accompany him in his visits he made weekly to immigrant families that were working in nearby farms and a school where their children learn. He suggested talking with other colleagues of mine who would be interested about and to meet in the afternoon in downtown, near the Indian restaurant nearby. I was anxiously waiting with my colleagues for the priest and he came with his car to pick us up. After we got in the car, Mr. Father asked us if we were to walk behind the main street. The question seemed to have no meaning and I answered honestly that I had not explored that area. Then, the father of the crankshaft on a street that leads behind the hotel and asked us to look at the alarming danger that threatens the region. After a seeming forest, a huge brown abyss in which they were immersed fifty cranes that were digging the ground that was part to the mountain few days before dominated the skyline.

Vali rushed to take some pictures, deeply impressed by what he saw. The priest explained that what we see is the site of a government project to build a new housing district with the price of cutting piece by piece large parts of mountain and forest deforestation. As all things were intertwined, employees who handle these machines were illegal immigrants from poorer nearby countries like Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh. They had an extremely hard work that many of them end up in a car accident because they fell asleep at the wheel. So I found out that the priest is a passionate defender of the environment and sent numerous petitions to denounce illegal logging and the type of housing projects. After the visit to the site, we headed towards the school for refugee children. We found out that the school was founded five years ago at the initiative of Father Eugene and there, from Monday until Friday, 17 children aged 4 to 13 years studied. Although the school was recognized in 2011 by the UN, most of the funds came from the church and from contributions of $ 400 per month that parents pay to give their children the chance to study and have three meals daily. The school was a small building, dusty, near a Christian chapel, which consisted of a dormitory, a classroom, a tiny kitchen and a dining room. I could not get inside the dormitory, but I understood from the priest that children slept on wood, there as there were no mattresses or beds.

The classroom left a bitter taste to all of us, because there were only few old and dusty books, no toys and a little board that seemed sad in the whole ensemble. Just a dirty illustration with alphabet letters on the wall and a neatly written schedule of classes were giving little optimism to the empty and dusty room. But the kids were happy. The priest asked each of them to hold small conversations with us in English, and each, with small, large, came in front of us smiling and serene to shake hands and tell his name in English. Their joy made me cry even harder because these children, who proudly presented their blue UN backpacks were kids who could no longer return to their homeland and remained in the world without any protection. School was nursed by two teachers and the wife of one of them, dealing with cleaning and kitchen.

After about an hour we got in the car with a bitter taste, but still smiling, because these children had shown that we could smile and we went to a Burmese refugee center that was in our way. I took the opportunity and we asked what advantages did legal registration as a member of Chin refugee community bring , what one’s need to be registered and how dangerous it was to get from Myanmar in Malaysia. We found out that he spent 12 days in the jungle along with other refugees and one year in prison for illegal border passed in Malaysia; then, he paid a large sum of money to get his wife into Malaysia. We understood from him that this was the way in which all Chin refugees arrived in Malaysia, but the situation of conflict in the country forces them to resort to illegal border crossing. After one was accepted as member of the Chin refugee community, it passed at least one year to be registered by the UN. The process was very long, but it was their only chance. That was because this community could protect a member if its rights were infringed or was physically abused.

Then, the priest took us to a Burmese family. I did not know who was more scared: us or them, but I remember the efforts he made to made us feel at ease. He showed us their home kitchen, what they cooked and talked about their financial situation. There were two women and three men in a small house, poorly isolated. The husband of one of the women, who was also head of the family, showed us that he had a diploma received after graduating a course organized by the UN in the field, but he was working on a nearby farm and was sometimes dealing with the illegal cutting of trees to support his family. After a few minutes, we got in the car and we ventured with the priest through some rough roads to reach a flower farm managed by a family of Indonesians. I deduced that they were more fortunate than many of their nationals, as even if they stay in a shack iron, it was clean and spacious. There were seven men, a woman and a newborn, who I found out that, was declared by the priest in order to be registered. Probably that was a reason why they were friendly: they had a reason to celebrate.

Later still, in the hours of the night, we left the priest with a handshake and a great regret that the next day we had to leave Tanah Rata. I thanked him for the day he offered to me though the words were not enough for what I got. I was lucky that I met him, and for me, Father Eugene would remain a man that I would always admire.

Malaysia was surely a blessing for us: amazing places and beautiful people, simplicity and desire for life. Every man that we met, even by chance, gave us, first of all, regardless of his social condition, a smile. That smile was for us one step ahead!

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Russia - St. Petersburg&Moscow

The tiles were dirty and cold. The snow carried by the boots of the hurried passengers filthy melted in the diffuse layer on the whole length of the cold corridor. A guy with a floor cleaning machine was struggling without any chance to remove the dirty water from it. I searched some drier spots and seemingly untouched by steps of the travelers that were transiting the room. Under normal conditions, it would not have been a good waiting place. But there were a few degrees better off less than zero and snow did not cease to fall heavy and cold. The strap of the heavy backpack was hanging on my neck, while the small bag that I was carrying on my back caused me a trail of sweat down my spine. On my head, the cap was wet as well and my thick jacket felt suffocating. In these conditions, entering one of the halls seemed the best option. Shortly after we got rid of luggage, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and I grinned worried when I went over behind my wet back. The first impulse was to get rid of the thick clothes that I felt cold on my body. Still, I kept my clothes on, as the cold from outside and the cold stream corridor would make me feel more refreshed than I wanted to be. I arranged the luggage in order, one by one, making sure that the bag left beneath touched as little as possible from the black and filthy snow.

The others were in a similar mood. Smaranda hardly breathed under the thick scarf, with her hat fallen on one side. A few strands of blond hair can hardly been noticed sparkling on the light. She left her luggage in my care and sought to refresh herself while curiously watching the display of souvenir shops. Mark looked at his watch and seemed even more baffled that we had to spend two hours more on that dirty tiles. I said that I was going to check what time and at what line the train was supposed to come. Balu smiled beneath his thick mustache continually typing on his Nook in a rather desperate attempt trying to find a network connection. It was certain that latest information would be useful to us, as the train would have no connection with the outside world. I went out in the cold with wet clothes under the jacket. But I knew that's the only way to prevent a possible cold: to keep myself on the move.

We were in one of the train stations from Moscow prepared to embark in a journey that can be an experience that you live once in a lifetime, a journey of six days by train to Beijing, across Russia to Lake Baikal and then to the far Mongolia eventually getting to China. But until then, we had to endure two hours of waiting in unfriendly conditions.

There was no waiting room in the station or we did not know where to look for one. There were two huge underground holes, two cafes without seats and an open -air pool with desks where they sold tickets directly in the street. No roof, not even a cover to take refuge from rain or snow caught our sight.

We spent four days here, in Moscow, the capital of Russia and we thought that nothing could surprise us anymore. We were fascinated by a lot of contrasts and quirks, but we kept our enthusiasm in such a way as to be able to explore the places and see people and facts with emotion and joy in our soul. And if we add the four days of St. Petersburg, I could certainly say that Russia would remain a memorable experience for each of us.

Let's take them one at a time for me to be able to live them again and recollect from my memories the precious moments that we lived in Russia:

We arrived on October 24, at around ten in the evening in Oslo airport (Gardemoen). It wasn’t the first time when we were supposed to spend the night sleeping in an airport, so I came prepared for it. The emotion of the previous happenings, with the goodbye party and the farewell to our mates was still deeply overwhelming each of us. Even so, at four o'clock in the morning, the boarding time found all of us exhausted and not in the mood for talking. Moreover, the first plane that would take us to Riga was empty and rather strange. With only 12 passengers on board and the flight engine noise amplified ten times, the plane left the impression that it can open up at any moment and crashed to the ground. Luckily, the entire flight lasted less than two hours and the feeling of anxiety disappeared once we got down to earth. We quickly changed the plane to a more crowded, but less noisy one and after two more hours, we arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Besides, we passed customs control unexpectedly quick and we found ourselves out in a center of a city, as if we came out of a station instead of an airport. We had a look on a map and we lost several minutes to realize where to go. As everyone probably knows, Russia uses the Cyrillic alphabet, an alphabet totally different from what we are normally used to see. A bus driver saw us confused and took us under his protection. He understood where we want to go and explained that he could lead us near in his language. Although skeptical at first sight, we still left ourselves in his hand and we took the bus. I withdrew money from an ATM, but just enough to pay our ticket. Because of the extraction fees, the commission was more than the money that I got, but this, I found out later. (Actually, this made us aware that it would be easier to pay by credit card or to use cash, as foreign currencies can be exchanged anywhere in Russia without commission). After we got on our bus, we soon realized that the road would last more than half an hour and we relaxed while admiring St Petersburg’s architectural wonders. And, thanks God; we had what to look at. Wide boulevards, with huge buildings of specific architecture, traditional Russian columns that seemed to touch the sky and churches with their multi colored or golden towers that resembled sweet twisted candies amazed us from the very beginning. Therefore, we left ourselves stolen by the view until the nice driver told us that it was time to go down. Then, more than one hour had passed until we eventually managed to find the booked hostel. No, we were not lost as one may be tempted to assume, but we went slowly suffocated by our luggage and delighted by the many wonders that came on our way.

When we finally arrived at the hostel, we were headed towards our booked room. It was a room for ten. We chose the most crowded one not because it was necessarily the cheapest, but based on the assumption that there we could easily get acquainted with more people and we could enrich our knowledge with a variety of new and exciting information.

And this proved to be right. Thus, we met Miles and Sonia, both coming from the U.S. in order to study Russian. From Miles, we learned about local interest for football and the local team Zenit. On one of the days we spent in Petersburg, 60,000 people braved the cold and snow to sustain and track their favorite team in an important match in the Champions League against a strong team from Spain (Atletico Madrid). Miles was there and he helped us understand what devotion meant to him even if it was about a football team. What matters the most would be to have confidence in what you love.

Sonia was working as a volunteer at an orphanage nearby. Unfortunately we could not go there because of rules that were not related to us and to our short time spent in Sankt Petersburg. Nevertheless, we talked for hours about her work with those kids and her enthusiasm and emotion was hard not to be noticed by us. Thus, just thinking that we could have to opportunity to get into this place, made us realize every child was beautiful and deserved all the best. At the children's home in St. Petersburg, volunteers were trying to prove there was no difference between orphans and children who have parents. Or, between children with Russian parents and those that belonged to different ethnic minorities and were not able to speak Russian. We all knew that every child, with or without mom and dad needed and had the right to education. Well, Sonia explained to us that the main task of volunteers and social workers employed by the Russian authorities consisted of providing to children all they could in order to have a happy childhood and hope for a bright future.

Also, in the hostel room we met two students from Russia that gave us a lot of useful information about the education system. I learned from the beginning, as I was advised before departure that discussions and communication with strangers could bring a lot of benefits to us. Thus, our interaction with people of all kinds, locals or tourists, sketched us a rather panoramic view about education and life conditions in Russia.

To get a different approach about our theme, we met with a professor teaching at two of the most important universities from the city in our fourth day spent. We chose to meet her due to her insight related to education and its relation to employability and her cosmopolitan view. Hence, she studied and taught a variety of topics in a university from US and she had a very good knowledge of English language. So, like in the case of Miles and Sonia, we had a common language that facilitated our discussion. Hence, we spent hours in a café near the university to get to know the Russian educational system, or, at least, get a clear view about it. We found out that nowadays the system seemed trapped in a transition period, with pupils disoriented from the discrepancy between what they learn in the schools and what they actually need to adapt to the market demands. According to her, they lack the initiative to attempt to find solutions by themselves and a critical judgment to analyze every situation they encounter. But, with a focus on self-initiative and self-motivation developed and encouraged by career services from universities, they may be guided towards professional development and a career that meets their individual expectances. Unfortunately, a lot of universities do not offer a qualitative career service and universities end up in seeing students as a source of income. It was strange to us to hear from a university teacher that universities were similar to business, but at a closer sight, this approach seemed reasonable and heavily sustained. It is the trap of political changes, a time when reforms make every social sector a room for experiment and stability seems a far-away goal. In this sense, I could connect the fault of universities with the fall of USSR and of the communist regime and the chaos created when people encouraged to take a workplace are suddenly forced to struggle for finding one. Therefore, as Elena Kournichkova explained to us, students would need to be guided and encouraged to develop their skills and initiative by teachers, instead of getting just the advice to accumulate data. Soft skills, such as communication, networking, and ability to learn foreign languages, precision and attention to details should be cultivated together with assimilating hard knowledge. So, it is not enough for a youngster to be professional in his field if he is not able to exceed market demands, which encompass team spirit and self-initiative.

Apart from the issue of employability, Elena gave us pieces of advice about our travel and the benefits of it for our development. Hence, she encouraged us in getting all the benefits that we can from this by getting to know people and finding a way of communicating to each of them, even if we do not speak the language. In this sense, she appreciated that we took the courage to struggle to become better and the will to adapt, as these features show our strength in cooperating with difficulties and getting prepared for integrating as good citizens to our society. As a personal observation, I learned from her insight the advantages that both the Russian and the American system of education offer to youngsters and I understood that getting the courage to act is essential for any improvement.

After four days, we left Sankt Petersburg and eight hours later, we reached Moscow by train. Buying a train ticket to Moscow was not an easy task, as we encountered difficulties related to the language and a long time of waiting because of the process to purchase a ticket. Hence, we found out that in Russia one had to present an identity document for being able to purchase the ticket. Whether you are a child or adult, you must be logged in STARE database trip. For tourists, it seemed almost impossible to buy tickets only from the agency or station ticket office and often the price paid was much higher than the real one. But we got help from Miles and owing to his fluent Russian, we managed to buy tickets cheap as we were locals. While getting on the train, we were surprised that despite the fact that the whole journey lasted eight hours, the train was special, with great coaches, comfortable seating and a large space for legs. I could not remember ever having so much space in any journey.

Then, we stayed relaxed with our legs stretched out and the eyes on the window catching every sight from the beautiful landscape. Winter took mastership over the entire country, while the wind was blowing and the snow seemed to form white waves with multi-colored lights. But in the landscape that was running in front of us, I saw images of the people that we met, places we had seen and museums full of history that we got the opportunity to visit.

In Moscow, we arrived on time and we took the metro to our accommodation. It was snowing pretty and delicate, and we felt joy and enthusiasm for discovering the second point of our trip. However, an hour later, after wandering the dimly lit streets of a Moscow district, with the same heavy luggage on our backs , our joy seemed to leave place for cold and discouragement. In this circumstance, I called the phone number that we got and a woman came before us. The woman, aged about 50 years, owned an apartment on the fifth floor of a block of flats. Smaranda heard about it in advance and arranged to sleep in her home for a much lower price than we had to pay at the cheapest hostel. The place looked similar to a traditional old house and nothing seemed to resemble to a location for tourists. With the dark from outside the night and our eagerness to experience life in Russia closer to the locals, we accepted the conditions and we found ourselves crammed into a small room. And if that was not enough, we had to share the room with a friend of the host, a Frenchman that was working in Moscow.

The room had two bunk beds resting on one wall and three smaller beds piled each on other sides of the room. A table placed in the middle and a black cabinet diminish the space next door in the room. The room was high -ceilinged with a yellowy light bulb in the middle. The walls were covered with wallpaper that had once dressed colorful and traditional Russian motifs. Unfortunately, in the present it was washed-out and shriveled in places, but with the same color as the ceiling and the frame of the dirty old door or the one of the window. On one wall, we noticed a traditional rug, while on top of the Wardrobe, an old traditional Russian painting tried

to make the room friendlier. The bathroom was down the hall, divided into two rooms, one for the toilet and one for the shower. The misery that came out especially because of the age of the house was easily to be taken into account. The kitchen, as tiny as a shower room with two sinks and taps included a hose, a sink with different old plates dirtied as the time passed by disorderly thrown on every corner and an antique stove probably much older than me that we were wondering how it still worked. Everything was sticky from tiles to tableware from the faucet to the sink window sill not open. What is more, half of the small ladder near the little table from the kitchen, the place where you were supposed to sit while eating, was occupied with old newspapers.

We said that in India we might face even worse conditions and should never weep for what we have. We decided to stay and adapt to it. Surely there are people in this world who live in conditions much heavier than that.

Thus, another four days when Moscow showed us why it deserved to be called impressive followed. Starting with the Kremlin wall on Red Square to orthodox churches with high towers that made you feel trapped in the pages of a storybook and continuing to Boulevard Gum Arabic where we found famous shops that remind us of market and consumerism and ending with the promenade street Arbat, we could say that Moscow offered us surprises on every small step that we took. The cold weather, the beggars in the subway, every shop with food from the streets, stores with shelves full of souvenirs and not the least the famous wooden dolls - matryoshka completed the image that we had about Russia: a rather vague, but at the same time complex one.

We did not care about the weather or I rather say we tried to fight against it. Although it was cold, we spent hours and hours from morning till late afternoon in the streets, eager to find out and know everything about Moscow. But that seemed normal for a city so beautiful and it did not pass long time until we understood that four days would not be enough for getting to know the capital of Russia.

Nevertheless, when I went to the station to embark to the Transsiberian or I may say the Trans-Mongolian, I felt like we managed to accomplish something important, that we can be proud of. . Everyone that we talked, each word that we managed to mutter in this strange language would remain in our mind and we would feel proud of how we managed to make ties to people in an unknown country, with a language and writing hostile to us, but nice and friendly people and landscape. We got a lesson from every place and picture that we took, but, more than everything, people that gave us a hand without any obligation and expecting no benefits taught us that one can smile even when outside is cold, and when the little sun-rays are unable to warm the air.

Yet, leaving Moscow did not mean leaving Russia, as the train would offer us five more long lasting days of Russia, with strangers, boredom and unexpected. After two hours of waiting in the cold, we embarked on a new adventure.

Next – The road through China, the Transsiberian experience

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