Weekend getaway

This weekend I traveled to a small town outside of Moscow. When I say  “travel” I do not mean what you would normally think of. I realize that I have taken the ease of traveling in America for granted – walk 15 meters or so to the car and go. That is all. Here, you walk to the metro, ride the metro for 45 min or so, wait for the train, ride the train for over three hours, take a car or bus 40 min to the settlement, park the car down the road, and finally make it to the house. Now, that is hard-core traveling. There is no last minute runs home. It was certainly an adventure though.

Forty minutes from everything else, nestled between snow banks and pine trees, is a small settlement of Kaluga.  There are a few apartment flats, a couple of houses, endless fields, a recreational center, and a small tin store. For miles that is it, and it was wonderful. The family we stayed with are the parents of one of our Russian friends. From the moment we arrived, they were incredibly hospitable. We didn’t speak each other’s language but it was never a problem. They offered us warm clothes and a warm meal, and I couldn’t be more grateful.  In fact, I think I am still full from visiting. His mother cooked every meal and served us the whole time. When I would finish my plate she would ask if I wanted more. Id say no thank you, she would ask why and gesture for just a little more food. “Chute Chute” shed ask. “A little?” Id say ok, and she would pile on the food. Don’t trust a woman housewife when she says “only a little more” ;).

I was incredibly impressed by this woman. She cooked, she cleaned, she worked, took care of the sick grandmother, sung in the National choir, played volleyball, and was just a wonderful person. She really did it all. Russian women are amazing. I do not want to give the impression that I say “housewife” in a negative way. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, and I almost wondered if she was taken for granted; however, after being there for five minutes I could tell that wasn’t the case. Her and her husband were sweet together. They both were hospitable, and he helped serve tea and cut bread, and if there wasn’t a place to sit she would sit on his lap. You could tell she absolutely loved her family. It made me miss my family a lot. There’s just something comforting about a mother.

On Sunday we celebrated the coming of spring. We went to the festival and watched the activities. They had a pole climbing competition, food, a raffle, and the burning of “winter”. We were entered into the raffle and won 30 kilos of potatoes, 3 tons of manure, and an oven mitt. Id say we came home BIG STINKING winners! :)

After the raffle we were abducted by the sweetest women and played dress up. She thought it would be fun to play “Barbie” with the American girls. She put us in traditional Russian dresses and made us pose around the room. It was both a fun and extremely awkward situation. Nobody was speaking English, and we were all laughing and talking at once. My heading was spinning but it was a lot of fun, and certainly a one of a kind experience. The same lady is also a National singer. Their group is amazing – I mean incredible. I was very much impressed.

 

This weekend was amazing, and it was nice to get out and see “real” Russia. The air was fresh, the stars were bright, and the people were friendly. I could not have had a better time.