Living In Siberia - Lenin's Revenge
In 1999, I moved to Chita, a city in Siberia, Russia to teach
for a year. After seven days of planes, trains and, well, more
trains, I was ready to experience Chita in all its glory.
Day 1 - Lenin's Revenge
Riding on a train for three plus days does weird things to your
equilibrium. You tend to develop a natural compensation for the
swaying. Unfortunately, your body doesn't just snap back when
you finally get on solid ground. As I stepped off the train, I
did this sort of forward, sort of sideway shuffle. I can only
image I must of looked like I had been investigating the better
brands of Russian vodka. On top of this, I hadn't had a shower
for three days. Things quickly got worse.
Awaiting Grae, a fellow American, on the train platform and me
were our hosts Natasha, Oleg, Dima and a few others. They were
in formal wear. They didn't smell. In retrospect, I have to give
them an incredible amount of credit. Upon seeing us, they
continued to smile, didn't roll their eyes and nobody grabbed
their nose. Heck, I was holding my own nose. Greetings were made
and off we went to promised food and showers.
Being a San Diego local, I had often warned out of town friends
about "Montezuma's Revenge" if they drank water when visiting
Mexico. There isn't anything wrong with the water. It just has
different bugs than ours. You would think I would be smart
enough to follow my own advice. [Don't say it.] Yep, I was
suffering from "Lenin's Revenge" by the early afternoon of the
first day. My hosts were kind enough to leave me in peace once
they noticed my distress. If only I had learned the Russian word
for "Pepto!"
As seems to happen all to often, I had made a less than stellar
first impression! What the heck, I was only going to be living
in Chita for a year.