My EVS in Russia

INTRODUCTION

I have always been interested in Russia and a plan to go there has always lived independently somewhere back in my mind. So, after the graduation, when I asked myself this fundamental question ”What do I want from life NOW?” there was only 1 possible answer. 3 months later I entered the office of NGO “One World Association” in Poznan. Agnieszka, my best coordinator ever, who has known me earlier, wasn’t surprised that I wanted to go to Russia. “Find a project for me”, I asked. “I have to go to Russia.” After 3 weeks I knew that I was accepted, I would live and work in Nizhny Novgorod for 9 months and take part in a project “Konkort”, working with mentally disabled youngsters. At that time I was simply happy.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 14TH OF FEBRUARY

The train is slowly reaching the station. I’m standing in the corridor with my suitcase (20 kg), a rucksack (15 kg) and a handbag (100 kg?). It’s hot. It’s very HOT. What’s more I have a down jacket on me, have just spent last 24 hours half asleep and I’m holding 2 tones of luggage. But I feel nothing, but an enormous excitement! My dream is actually coming true right now. Stepping out of the train onto Moscow’s station and realizing where I am makes my mojo going crazy :) Russia, the middle of the winter, plenty of snow, – 30 degrees, murky streets and gloomy people. Well, not really. The middle of the winter in Russia – yes, but nothing more. BOOM! The 1st stereotype about “the real Russian winter” melts together with the snow melting under my feet on Moscow’s streets. There is a few degrees over zero, muddy pulp on the sidewalks and I start seeing the reality in the sequence of pictures: colorful neon signs, people running back and forth, chic ladies wearing furs and high heels, Asian-looking like men squatting on the sides of pavements, packs of skinny homeless dogs, black limos with dimmed windows and sirens on the roofs, small shops one next to another with fronts covered by one million types of beers, cigarettes and bread. Going down to the metro station on the unusually steep and precipitous moving stairway I’m nervously clutching the handrail being sure that if I release it I will fall down, or rather fly down. Moscow smells differently than any other city I’ve visited before. Is that air pollution, a mix of smells of fumes, hot food sold on the streets and snow or only my feverish imagination?

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA, 17TH OF MARCH

The Library of Sormovo as lots of other nice places in N. Novgorod is hidden behind a big, depressing, grey, steel doors. But when you open it you find yourself in a warm, bright, clean and calm place full of quiet children and smiling, nicely rigid ladies. It’s definitely a good place to start up my project! Youngsters from Konkort are gathered in the conference room. I’m nervously trying to prepare myself mentally for the presentation about Poland I made. The group consists of young people and their parents. I don’t know anything about their illnesses except the fact that they are more or less retarded and between 18 and 33 years old. For that moment they are already a bit bored, waiting for me to entertain them. I’m starting… But at the same time a skinny, dark haired boy suddenly runs into me, hugs me and starts talking to me stammeringly and very fast. All I can understand is that he is repeating my name every 3rd word. I hug him back, immediately forget about stress and let him accompany me during the presentation. Do I have to say that after this significant, literally ice-breaking moment initiated by Vova everything goes well? After the presentation we draw a Wawel’s dragon and made Russian and Polish flags from ribbons. I hadn’t noticed when the parents left, forgot about my fears if I’d manage the group, if I’d be able to communicate with them, if they accepted me… [They accepted me although it wasn’t so natural for everyone of them as it was for Vova and it took some time. But after a few weeks I could only say that 1 of the biggest advantages of my project was the connection I got with the youngsters from Konkort. They supported me and made me feel that they really needed me. There was no better motivation to work than this.]

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA, 13TH OF APRIL

I’m sitting in marshrutka on my way to the office of my hosting organization – Sfera. Marshrutka is one of the most significant phenomena of Russia. It’s a kind of a small bus, very retro. So retro that often you can see strange open valves or parts of the bus that you have an impression don’t really belong to that vehicle. There are always a lot of people inside. And it’s extremely hot, especially during winter when the heaters are on. You can buy tickets from the driver or a conductor. The driver usually listens to the extremely loud music – popsa (Russian version of pop) or chanson (it’s hard to describe it… romantic, kitschy love songs for people over 40). The place where he sits is usually customized with colorful mascots, flags, posters, ribbons, badges etc. I have always liked marshrutkas. Like in most cases in Russia, you never know what would happen after getting in… After an hour of a crazy ride, after passing a bridge over melting Volga and Oka rivers we finally reach the center, where Sfera office is located. I have to book the tickets to Finland and need someone to help me. 3 months will pass soon and unfortunately I need to renew my visa (and it’s easier to get Finland than Poland to do that). Visa means barrier, visa means frontier, visa means an effort, time and money you have to waste to enter Russia. Even if you get the reimbursement for the costs, even if the visa trip is an adventure, it’s still a frontier– literally and metaphorically. I have always had the impression that cooperation between Russia and other countries, especially on the youth exchanges level could be much easier if there were no visas. Anyway, as we (young, beautiful and experienced in international volunteering/exchanges) can’t really change visa procedures, we can work on international relations by talking and communicating on a personal level. What Russia learned me is that it’s absolutely priceless to TALK to people, to ask and to listen to them. It doesn’t matter if you are talking with a student of a good university, a bus driver, an old lady met on the street, a young businessman or a rock star. The real knowledge about a country you are in comes from them. It works for both sides. Even if it’s annoying sometimes, you are always an ambassador of your country while being abroad. Many times I was ‘1st Polish girl they ever met’ not only for the Russians but for some people from the other countries as well. And willing it or not I represented my country, because I knew I’m perceived as a girl from that particular part of Europe. It wasn’t very unpleasant though if it turned out that I helped some people getting rid of negative, murky stereotypes about Poland just by being myself.

HELSINKI, FINLAND, 3RD OF MAY

I’m staying in front of the Russian embassy in Helsinki with my friends (also EVS vols). We have just learnt that they gave us visas to Russia for only 6 weeks, instead of 12. A quick call to Sfera. One million quick thoughts. Axiety. Is this adventure really going to end just because of some moody clerks from the embassy? Sitting outside a Fazer cafe, drinking coffee and nervously swallowing big pieces of a croissant I’m surrounded by bags with clothes and shoes (reaction for stress – shopping). It’s the beginning of spring. I feel cold wind and harsh sun on my face and I can’t stop thinking that instead of calm, clean, relaxing Finland I’d love to come back to Russia. Right now.

POPOVICHI, UKRAINE, 20TH OF JULY

Could there be a better place to spend a lazy, romantic holidays than the Ukrainian countryside? I don’t think so. I’m inside a village shop, drinking delicious cold квас (a non-alcoholic drink, something between coke and beer) and biting семечки (roasted sunflower seeds – the fun is to take them out of the husk using your teeth and eat afterwards). I’m the part of a team preparing international open air art festival – Fort Missia. It’s taking place on the Polish – Ukrainian border in the ruins of an old Austrian fortress from the 1st WW. The aim is to show to the world how beautiful and interesting this unknown part of Ukraine is and commemorate the 3 nations’ (Ukrainian, Polish, Austrian) heritage. I was “sent” to Ukraine because I had to leave Russia thanks to too short Russian visa from Finland. Sfera figured out that combining my vacation with a project in Ukraine is the way to deal with my unexpected “expulsion” from Russia. I have always had a good communication with my hosting organization and if I needed something they were always eager to help me. I always felt backed up by them while being in Russia.

KERZHENETS, RUSSIA, 26RD OF AUGUST

Coming back to Russia after a break was difficult. My EVS friends left and Sfera was awaiting a new shift. My Russian friends were on vacations as well as were youngsters from Konkort. I got a proposition to join them on a summer camp in Kerzhenets, what I did. My group welcomed me as an old friend which was touching. They treated me more as a sister and sometimes as a lost and little limited sheep, what is totally understandable for a foreigner being in such as big and diverse country like Russia. And I’m not being sarcastic here. In Kerzhenets, in the middle of nowhere, in a forest next to the lake, with only one village in the neighborhood inhabited by mysterious Old Believers, I realized how I missed my pupils and had time to carefully plan my last 3 months in Russia.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA, 10TH OF SEPTEMBER

Someone told me that there are around 100 theatres in Nizhny Novgorod. How is that possible for the city of 1,5 million people? And how many concert halls, museums, galleries etc. does Nizhny have? I can tell you – A LOT. Dasha is my best mentor ever. She organizes valuable and interesting time for me, not mentioning hours spent over a cup of coffee talking about everything – Russian celebs, politics, the newest love affairs of the most popular oligarchs, ethnic conflicts inside some Russian republics, the new exhibition of the modern art in Moscow etc. We just left the theatre after a play “King Lear”. It was absolutely genius, overwhelming with a bunch of feelings and thoughts provoking. The actors were extraordinary, the performance modern and sophisticated and the audience full of respect and gratitude towards the artists. In Russia I could almost physically feel the esteem and admiration people have for the art – doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor, well – educated or not educated at all…

IZHEVSK, 18THOF OCTOBER

Izhevsk is the capitol of the Republic of Udmurtia and the hometown of Mikhail Kalashnikov. I’m making one of my dreams come true by following the tracks of Daniel Kalder (author of “Lost astronaut”) who travelled around the not very well known republics of European part of Russia. Visiting overwhelmingly modern museum of Kalashnikov, having fun in a shooting gallery in the undergrounds of that museum, getting to know about udmurtian culture and language (ugro – finnic) and tasting traditional food prepared by grandma of my Russian friend made me almost forget about the fact that my EVS is going to the end.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, 31ST OF OCTOBER

I had my last day at work today; got last hugs from Konkort’s youngsters and gifts made by them. I received a few dolls called “bereginia”. As I was told as they were prepared especially for me and have something in common with the goddess of protection and safety they will always keep me out of trouble. I couldn’t speak… And I couldn’t believe that it was my last day in Nizhny Novgorod. I had my good – bye party that evening. I tried to pack during the night after but finished by throwing my clothes all around the room, almost putting my rucksack out of the window, wanting to kick someone or something. My EVS was over. My closest friends were with me being patient and supportive. I couldn’t believe that I’m leaving them, Russia, my job, the system I’ve created, places I’ve got used to, plans I’ve made…

THE END

The decision to become an EVS volunteer and to go to Russia was one of the best decisions in my life. The experience I got there is priceless. It thought me to notice not only black and white colors, as there are many shades of grey as well. I can’t say that all stereotypes I had about Russia magically disappeared, but many of them did. I got to know Russia as a foreigner in 2 aspects: as a Polish girl (by spending time only with Russians) and as an European girl (by being part of a group of international vols). EVS showed me as well how to enjoy the moment, how to catch the while. Life in Russia was very intensive. Sometimes you could only say ‘yes!’ to all your intuitive impulses and be curious where they lead you. Having that motto in my mind I spent absolutely great 9 months in Russia. I also learned something that since then has kept me from staying in one place for too long – the more you experience the less you are sure about the world and the more you want to see, touch, taste, get to know and feel…

by Barbara Woroch, Poland

December 2, 2010 | Categories: Barbara Woroch | Tags: English, Federazione Russa, Poland | 5 Comments »