Siberian Sabbatical

Hello to one, hello to all. This marks the eighth month since I said my goodbyes and departed. I feel like an old timer at this game of life in Russia. So many things would seem confusing to a foreigner, but to me it all seems perfectly normal. I think back to my first months here and just break out laughing thinking how naive and inexperienced I was. Everyday encounters, like going to the store or riding the bus, were major difficulties for me way back when. Now what scares me is very little because I have experienced just about all of it.

This last month I spent traveling among different parts of Russia. I spent almost one whole month traveling to Moscow and Petersburg with my fellow exchange students here in Siberia. I have so many stories from this incredible trip that I will be reciting them for many years to come. Some stories good and others, well, all I can say is I am still here without any physical deformities. I went to many different places and met an equally number of interesting people.

One of the things I enjoyed the most was just meeting other North Americans, which may sound a little strange but Siberia does things like that to you. The other exchange students (and yes there are others here in Siberia – 14 of them) were kind of like an oasis in the desert. We just spent hours speaking about Russia and all her oddities. It was healing to know that I wasn’t alone and it can actually get worse than Irkutsk.

Let’s take a girl living in Yakutsk for an example. The city is half the size of Irkutsk, a population of about 300,000, and it is real Siberia. The only way to get to Yakutsk is by airplane. Its lowest recorded temperature was -90 Celsius. This winter was a warm one and the coldest temperature was a mere -70 Celsius. The permafrost there never melts and the buildings have to be placed on stilts, as they can never dig through the permafrost for foundations. She is also the only foreigner there. There were many examples like that, but I feel that hers is the most extreme. I feel though that however hard our situations may sound, our exchanges are the best and most cultural. It may be a hard exchange but it is definitely a real exchange.

Along with meeting the other North Americans, I was able to see that not all of Russia is Siberia. It was incredible to see the beautiful city of Petersburg with all its architecture and history, and the very western city of Moscow. It was hard to imagine these two cities being in the same country as Siberia. They were so different culturally and economically.

In terms of economics, Moscow controls everything. Moscow is where the money is. I felt at home in the United States seeing how people lived. When I saw a traffic jam and all the cars were Mercedes, Audis, or BMWs, I knew this wasn’t Siberia. Pensions in Moscow are maybe five times larger than in Siberia and the Far East. All this wealth in Moscow, however, left a bitter mark. Why were these people able to live these comfortable lives, while people in Irkutsk had to struggle for their bread?

While Moscow is where the economic and political center of Russia is located, Petersburg is the cultural center of the motherland. Petersburg is the most beautiful city I have ever been. Everywhere there are 300-year-old beautiful buildings and exquisite monuments. Along with the differences in architecture, there are also differences in the people. The people in Western Russia are very, very different from the people of Siberia, to the extent that they look different and speak with different dialects. The people’s dress, their hobbies, and even their humor was a night and day difference from Irkutsk. The citizens of Petersburg enjoyed sitting down in the morning and reading the newspaper or some sort of literature – sometimes even in English, for Petersburg has an English newspaper and English bookshops. People in Irkutsk, I am not saying all of them are this way but there definitely are a few, sit down with their tea and watch the Russian versions of cheesy American game shows.

This trip I took really gave me an insight as to how big and different the country of Russia is. Before the trip I felt that all of Russia was somewhat similar to my city Irkutsk, as that was all I have known for the last eighth months. The cities of Moscow and Petersburg gave me an insight as to just how great and incredible this country is. I learned so many things and saw so many differences that it taught me just what exactly this country is. I know that when I come back I’ll have so much to tell and explain because I feel that Russia is definitely a misunderstood country – I can’t wait for that day!