I went back to Russia again in September. This time I went for a whole month. Every other trip I ran out of time to do what I wanted. This time I still didn't do everything but I found some of the answers I was looking for.
For those of you who don't remember I went to Russia in January, fell head over heels in love with a beautiful lady. In June I went back but she had some major personal problems. These problems kept us from spending a lot of time together. I came home confused as all h3ll about what was going on. Over the next few months we sorted everything out and I was ready to go back again.
I flew out of Canada 1 week after what happened in New York. The planes were just starting to go again. The airports were nuts. When I arrived in Moscow I was stuck in passport control for an hour and a half. I made it to Sheremetyevo 1 just as my plane left. I was a little upset about this. I called a friend in Moscow but she was very sick and her car was broke down. So I notified my friends in Volgograd that I didn't know when I would get there.
I was put on a waiting list for the next flight. I spent 6 very nervous hours waiting to find out if I would make it to Volgograd that day. I spent some time visiting a British guy who was going to work in Volsky. That helped to pass the time. I did catch the next flight but I wasn't able to tell my friends in Volgograd about this. I was hoping they would br at the airport because they knew I had a chance to make it.
But unfortunately this is my life. Nobody was at the airport. Now I've done some studying of the Russian language. I sound like an idiot but I can usually make myself understood and handle simple things. It was midnight and almost nobody was at the airport. I found were I could use the phone and called my friends. They said it would be about a hour before they could pick me up.
I sat down on the floor next to the door with all my bags around me. I was exhausted and totally relieved I had finally made it. Two women walked by and started laughing at me. A little note - Russians never sit on the floor! They apologized and went on their way. After awhile I bought a cold beer and went and sat on the bench out front to wait.
A Russian man sat down next to me and started talking. He was an of duty cab driver and was wondering what I was doing. We sat and talked for awhile. He pulled a bottle of vodka out of his jacket and we each had a couple of shots. Another man came over and my new aquaintance got up to leave. He asked me again if I needed a lift. I told him no. I have very good friends in Volgograd. They are people who can be counted on. Eventually my lady and her step father came.
I thought that they had an apartment ready for me. Well sort of. The man who they had rented an apartment from said it wasn't ready yet. So at 2 in the morning they dropped me of at his apartment. I spent the next day living with a bunch of people who were total strangers to me and my Russian friends.
My new aquaintances had a big apartment but about 8 or so people lived there. I think I must have displaced half the family by taking the one bedroom. I slept for a long time and then spent the rest of the day trying to visit with these people. They were very friendly and the one teenage boy spoke some English. Finally at about 9 that night I made it to the apartment were I would spend the next week or so.
This apartment was the worst I have staid in. It was getting some renovations. Almost everyday the owner and some other people came to fix things. When I got there all the furniture was in pieces in piles on the floor. I was only supposed to be there for a few days until my lady and I went to Sochi.
That's enough for now. If anyone's interested in reading more about my adventures I'll add more later.
