Wind of Change

Perhaps I should start with last night. My friend Ear, or Uxho as he prefers has spent the last 8 months working as an English Language Teacher at the Unicorn English Language Center in Yaroslavl. As you may have read he is leaving on Sunday and heading back to Finland after 10 months in Yaroslavl. Last night the Unicorn Singing Club arranged a little going away party for Ear. We spent the night drinking champagne and singing English songs. The clubs repertoire ranged from Queen and Scorpion to Roy Orbison and Elvis. Scorpion’s “Wind of Change” really brought down the house and even brought out a few tears. Apparently the song and Scorpion enjoyed a re-birth around the fall of the Soviet Union, and a whole generation of Russians has a special place in the heart for the German Rockers.
(“I followed the Moskva. Down to Gorky Park, Listening to the wind of change.”) After “Love Me Tender” the conversation turned to “Aura Lee” which subsequently led to a discussion of American Folk Songs and before I knew it, I brought the house down with my signature number’s “Lop-eyed Gal” and “Old Mountain Dew.”

After the night wound down a few of the others decided that they needed to “play guide for the new American Friend tomorrow during city day.” So I met up with Ear, Olga and Anna to take in the festivities. We had a grandiose time. A naked child hit me with an inflatable hammer, I got a sunburn and Russian Special Forces stared me down while patting their billy-club against their hands. Most importantly I’ve been invited to go to Moscow next Saturday. Spending a month in Russia without visiting Moscow is something that would be difficult to live with, so I’m glad that’s been taken care of.

I’ve been in Russia for 17 days and I’m beginning to realize that there are people and things that I will greatly miss. I’ve assimilated, I’ve made friends and I’ve begun to see how I could have a life here. For the first time I’m looking at these next 11 days as days I have left until I have to leave and not as days until I can come home. Don’t get me wrong, I miss family, friends and Lubec (the 15 year old dog who barks at me if I breath just isn’t the same) and will be happy to be home, but I’ve carved out a life for myself here, and I will miss it.

Tomorrow I’m supposedly going to Rostov Veliky (wikipedia it) with Natasha and Svetlana so I’ll let everyone know how that goes. I’m also going with Ear to the train station to see him off and to buy tickets for Moscow next weekend.