russia on my mind

i use google earth a lot for my job and i was bored the other day, so i decided to check out russia on google earth.  this actually had nothing to do with the olympics and everything to do with me wanting to see if i could find my apartment in ufa and spy on its current tenants.  it took me a few minutes, but OH MY GOSH!! THERE IT IS!!!  i got so happy!!! and nostalgic!!! and...emotional.  which was really embarrassing because i forgot that i was sitting at my desk at work and not walking down the tree-lined sidewalk of prospekt oktyabrya.  and then i worked real hard to find my houses in chelyabinsk and perm, too.  it took a few days, but i did it.  there was a great sense of accomplishment afterwards, which is kind of sad, don't you think? 

and then the olympics started up and i was glad about that because it's nice to break up the law and order once in a while.  i love the opening ceremonies most of all when all the athletes (i think some of these events really stretch the meaning of the word "athlete"...curling?  really?) walk around waving.  my favorites are the countries that have sent only one or two delegates.  and then russia comes out with their 200+ delegates and my heart swells with pride.  why?  i do not have one drop of russian blood and i do not like cabbage; there is nothing russian about me. 

i watched the interview with the russian hockey coach and his interpreter with tears in my eyes.  and of course, i had to laugh because that guy did not crack a smile even once, no matter how cheerful and jocular the interviewer was.

and then that evgeni plushenko performed his flawless routine and spoke very highly of himself afterward.  not bragging, not boasting, just stating the facts-in typical russian manner.

when pictures of conditions in sochi made their way around the internets, a flood of memories washed over me.  more than once i had to dodge an open manhole.  rust colored water was a familiar sight.  we always threw our used toilet paper in the trash.  

also, i do not love when the united states and russia verse each other in any event, because although i always cheer for my homeland, it feels like i'm picking favorites between my two beloved and wildly different children.  

i love the olympics...and not really because i care about the sports or the competition so much.  i haven't been in russia for nearly 12 years and i will probably never return, so the olympics give me a chance to catch a little glimpse of russia again.  i love seeing those russian delegates out there representing the land they love even more than i do.  i love watching and listening, hoping to hear a snippet of the language that, despite sounding so severe and guttural, is like music to my ears.  i love being reminded how much the russian people, with their seemingly cold exterior, wormed their way into my heart forever.  after living among and with them for a year and a half, these people are my people.  i am not like them, but i understand them.  and i love them.

life in russia is so very different than life in the united states and for this average american, it was far more difficult, both physically and emotionally. but strength was found through trials and beauty and joy were found in the most unlikely of places and, to me, russia will always be a sacred place.

god bless america, but also god, please bless russia.

                                                                                             photo by jessica wood