To Russia with Love

Edit: This post was published prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I stand with the people of Ukraine and against this horrific war.

In 2010, I traveled with my mom to Russia. It was my first ever international trip, my first ever plane ride, first ever subway ride (there were a lot of firsts). We went in the middle of January, so the entire city of Moscow had frozen over into a magical winter wonderland.

That trip was a (relatively) long time ago now, and my memories are hazy. I can remember some things very clearly – the plane taking off for New York, watching the world fall away outside my window. I can remember the twinkling lights in Red Square at night, the smell of incense in a Russian Orthodox Church. I can remember having hot tea for the first time. I can remember the towering New Year’s trees decorating the city, and learning that not everyone celebrated Christmas the same way I did. I can remember sliding down the hill outside of the Kremlin walls, where someone had poured water over the snow to create an ice slide. I can remember riding in the beautiful Metro, and the excitement I felt when I understood the announcer well enough to tell my mom that we’d reached our stop.

The rest of the details have faded away over the years. I can’t remember everything we did or everywhere we went. What I remember the most is a feeling – absolute joy. Wonder, even, at the idea of a whole world waiting out there beyond my doorstep. People to meet and languages to learn and mountains to climb – I can’t put into words the entirety of what I felt on that trip to Russia. It was something like starting a book and thinking you knew exactly what it was about – that you were maybe halfway through learning all it had to offer – and then finding out that you hadn’t even turned the first page. “You aren’t nearly through this adventure yet,” as Bilbo Baggins once said. So to Russia, thank you, for inspiring me to travel and for reminding me to keep turning the page. до скорого. With love, Emily