Last Look

My last week in Voronezh was a whirlwind. After my Siberian adventure, I had only four days left in my beloved provincial city. Here are a few photos of some of the memorable individuals I interacted with to some extent during my stay.

Dear readers, you may remember the carpenter from my first week who put together my closet and was very eager to introduce me to his four sons. The day before I left I ran into him and amidst complaints about USA and NATO he asked me when I was leaving. “Tomorrow!” I exclaimed. “Tomorrow?! We need a picture. You haven’t met my sons! I have four! You remember? Four! I will bring the youngest. No the second youngest. Tomorrow!”

The next morning he was ready for a photo op but without the son in tow. I think whichever son he advertised the idea to was even less thrilled than I was with the idea. (Perhaps he mentioned my lack of cooking skills?). He made me take two pictures. One where we did thumbs down for Putin and Obama and thumbs up for us and the rest of the world (Fulbright diplomacy at work!). And the other in front of his car which was a Ford. “Tell America even carpenter in Russia has this car!”.

These ladies sold me my Thanksgiving turkey and also meat on the very rare occasion that I attempted it. As I wandered through the market one last time I heard them cry out “devushka” (girl) and motion for me to come over. “How are you? How is America? How is your cooking? DO you want meat?”. I explained I was leaving in a few days for home, and we chatted for a few minutes before I asked to take their picture. “For America? We must fix our hair first”.

Normally I stop and buy nuts from a sweet guy near the entrance of the market who figured out very quickly I was a foreigner by my limited Russian when it comes to ordering quantities of almonds (I hate declining numbers in Russian more than almost anything). That day as I turned the corner of the market to buy almonds I was confronted by the fruit man who demanded to know my name and age since he recognized me. I normally quickly flee these situations but since it was my last week I decided to humor him. The conversation went a little like this:

Man: Girl! Girl! Girl! I know you hear me, girl. What’s your name? I’ve seen you here before.

Me: Maria

Man: How old are you?

Me: 22

Man: 22? What a joke! You’re 15! Stop pulling my leg.

Me: Ok…

Man: where are you from? What part of Russia?

Me: deep breath…I’m from America

I quickly walked away and thought I was free as he stared with googly eyes at the first American he had ever seen. Then I heard “Maria! Come back here”. His fruit partner in crime apparently refused to believe I was actually from America and over the age of 15. As these two burly men with just great breath got uncomfortably close to me, I knew I needed an exit strategy. Before I knew it, the almond boy had come up, grabbed me in his arms and heroically exclaimed, “She’s with me!”, and whisked me away to the nut stand.

Here is my almond hero shying away from the camera as he packages up my almonds.

My colleagues and boss decided to throw me a going away party, so we all gathered in a classroom to eat pirozhki and discuss how quickly my time in Voronezh had passed. I was grateful for a chance to see them all one last time and was showered with gifts and books and food and bells and magnets. Anything and everything they could think as a parting gift they gave.

Lastly, I have to mention my students. Each group found a special way to thank me and say goodbye. Here are "last day" pictures with a few groups. 

You may also remember me mentioning eating plov with Ira and her friend Luda on my first night in Voronezh. On my last day in Voronezh, Ira and Sasha (dressed in his American shirt, hat, and shoes) picked me up, and we decided to stop over to Luda’s again for some cookies and tea. It felt very “full circle” since the last time I had been there was on my first day in Voronezh when I was shy and terrified of teaching.

Marina and Maya, two other colleagues, met me at the station, and we stared at each other trying to comprehend that a year had passed.

After our goodbyes I was able to snap this picture of my three favorite Voronezh ladies as we waved to each other through train windows in a very poignant moment of farewell.

I have tried coming up with ways to describe what it felt like to return to the States after these nine months. In true Meri fashion, the only metaphor that works in my mind is to compare this year to a great book. After turning the last page of a truly compelling novel, one begins to see the world through the lens of the revelations and epiphanies one had reading the book. One sees the world differently and desperately wants those surrounding to also share in these discoveries, but no one else has read that book on that day. Therefore, it is truly impossible to explain the feelings and impressions it invoked without lengthy explanations that almost ruin the fascination of it all. My year in Russia felt a little like that. I came home half expecting everyone to have “read” with me the joys and sorrows, met the new friends, ridden the same train rides, but explaining every bit of it in detail doesn’t come even close to reading the book yourself. Thank you all for reading this blog- at least it gives you a shadowed glimpse of my wonderful year in Russia. And who knows, perhaps there will be another chapter of adventure abroad in a forthcoming “book”. In fact, I’ve already begun the first chapter. Stay tuned!