putting the dream into action: Shai

Hey Everyone,

In full disclosure this is Shai posting about our transition between Saratov to St. Petersburg, a hard 24-hour period that held many lessons for both myself and Em. This post comes from the both of us after days of processing and sifting through the lessons we have learned. After 3 days spent in Saratov, a time filled with rich and deep-hearted experiences, we were ready to head back to big city life. Both of our nerves were a little frazzled by the difficulty in communication and unfamiliar food choices and hoped that St. Petes would bring some ease (Lesson #1 as much as I would like to think myself a go-with-the-flow and up-for-any-travel-challenge kind of person, there is comfort in the familiar and I am a creature of habit).

Our travel day started with an early morning heaving of our suitcases down the hotel stairs and down the street to try and find a taxi to the train station; for lack of morning activity we decided to head to the train station early, thank goodness because figuring out the train station was one of the scariest and most challenging traveling moments I have ever had.

First, the police presence was overwhelming and ever-present with a police check-point metal detectors between each area of the station. While attempting to go outside to take the picture below, I go frisked trying to enter back into the station; an experience that caused me so much fright that I basically remained in a state of disassociation the remaining hour that we had to wait until our train arrived.

Another pic of the station from our train platform

The second challenge was the total language barrier; unlike Moscow (or any other country's train/boat station that we have travelled in) there was absolutely no translation to English and not one person (employee or just passer-by) that was able to help us understand the timetable or our ticket. Out of fright and anxiety about potentially missing our train, we literally spent an hour standing in the cold hallway staring at the timetable, watching the minutes go by on the wall clock. It was only past travel experience and some lucky guesses that we were able to figure out how to get to the correct platform/train on time.
Lesson #2. As "open minded" as I think I am, I still have ethnocentric ego-based American ideas that English should be translated everywhere in the world, and a total flood of fear and anxiety (and some mild undercurrent of anger) when it is not. More growing needs to be done around that.

Soooo.....
Juiced up on adrenaline from a 2-hour anxiety and fear riddled wait, Em and I finally see that our train is arriving and we, complete with two 80 pound suitcases, two full backpacks, a food bag, and Em's 15lbs full length fur in tow, hurdle ourselves to our platform and onto our train. Here is where Lesson #3 comes in.
The train is filled with people, mostly getting off, but some settling themselves in for the ride. Unlike our first train to Saratov, where we had our own cabin because the other two top bunk where empty, this time around we are a full house and two complete innocent bystanders need to find a way to fit themselves into a bunk along with us and our heavy-ass bulky belongings. I have never felt so embarrassed by the amount of things that I have overpacked and panic-level manner that I bulldozed my way into the cabin, totally ripping apart the bedding to try and cram our suitcases into the minimal storage space. I completely offended an older gentleman who could do nothing by try to stay out of my way as I man-handled his bags to try and fit in ours. Lesson: the way that I packed, the amount of things that I brought on this trip, was just another form of "taking space." That out of fear of the cold and the lack of familiarity of my surroundings, I overpacked as a way of feeling safe. However, ultimately what I thought would bring me security just became a burden and perpetuated the way that many foreigners think of Americans. I became that cliche that I work so hard to break.

As a peace offering I volunteered to take the top bunk, which was originally booked by the older Russian gentleman, but I think even that was a drop in the bucket to the tainted view he had of us. So lesson learned, there are SO many ways to take up space and next time I really dont need to bring so many pairs of pants to have a good vacation.

Needless to say we had a safe trip to St. Petersburg and aside from a hurried train station swap in Moscow, where we had to hustle into a cab and drive a few miles to our Moscow-St. Petes bullet train, we were lucky to get out of Saratov with minimal stress. Other passengers on the bullet train spoke English and chit chatted with us and upon landing in St. Petes we had strangers on the Metro offering to help us find the way, which was a first for us in Russia.

I guess ultimately the lesson here is that I have more ways to grow, and that really is the reason why I want to continue to travel for as long as I am able. Yes, its really amazing to see pretty things and have experiences, but more importantly traveling teaches me my shortcomings and how to be a more gracious person in the world.
Here are some pics:

Last day in Saratov and is Em hyped up on caffeine from Coffee and Tea

Anxiously settling into our train cabin

view along the train ride

6am total energy crash on the Buller Train to St. Petersburg

Fancy Dancy Sleek Train

A wall map at the St.P train station, please note that its 10:30am and its just getting daylight

Cartoon map of the area where we are staying

Cool map of St. P hanging up all over our hostel

St. P has a series of canals running through the city. Some of them have decorated bridges like this one. The cables holding the bridge is coming out of the creatures mouth.

Look! Burgers and Donuts, not just a Bay Area favorite

The view outside our hostel window

Church of Our Saviour Spilled Blood; designed after the famous Kremlin in Moscow. Took 23 years to build!

After a scavenger hunt for a dinner spot we settled at a St.P Hypster Cafe. This was our first meal in St. P and we were so stoked that we found the food so yummy, we ordered 4 dishes and took home leftovers.