Moscow!

Hello again,

We've been pretty busy, and I haven't had much time to update. I just got to Moscow after a 13 hr train ride with a character names Anatolii about whom I'll tell you in a bit. Kiev was beautiful and the people were great. We didn't see a whole lot of it, since we were busy and only really knew the main streets. We left and, sadly, said goodbye to about half our ETA's, who are stuck in a plush Kiev apartment (or flying back to the US, as the case may be) because of visa troubles. I'm going to miss some new friends a lot, but I'll see 'em in Moscow in January, if not sooner.

So the man in the train...

Before we set off, a very drunk man hugged our director and said something to him. As I was getting on, our director warned me to avoid the creepy guy who he had been talking to. As luck would have it, he was in my cabin.

He was pretty drunk. He shoed the mother and daughter out of the cabin so he could change into his shorts and, as I found out, so we could drink some vodka. He was too drunk to fold his pants or find his shorts. He forced tons of food on me, including some delicious pirozhki with berries and an ernormous, nasty tomato that exploded onto my pants and stained them. The mother was (with good reason) noticeably concerned for her daughter's safety. The daughter was cute and seemed used to dealing with characters like this guy.

So after he had fed me and forced a few shots of vodka down my throat, he pulled me aside to watch the sunset and talk about the universality of love and people, how there should be no boarders, how we should all live together in harmony, because people were all the same everywhere. It was a nice speech and I agreed. He wished God to be with me (as a doctor, he specified) about 20 times. He couldn't remember my name and wanted my business card. I didn't have one so I wrote my name on a napkin for him a couple hours later. He was either too drunk to read or couldn't, so the lady had to fill out his migration card for him and I had to write down his name and phone number when he wanted me to have it (in case I got sick, he swears he's a doctor (not a vrach, the Russian word for a doctor). He claims to have treated Pope John Paul the II's best friend and that he was going to treat the Pope, but that he died before he could. He says he didn't want to make a bad impression, but that he would sober up and be a real doctor again when he got to Moscow.

When I told him about my Ukrainian great-grand-father, he said he real relatives came from Kazahkstahn. I thought he was calling me a liar, but apparently there was a big migration a long time ago. He also read my fortune and said that two girls have deceived me (been unfaithful). Interesting news!

Anyway, it was a long and interesting train ride. He laughed, told stories of friends, cried (really), apologized to the girl for crying. He said this was him being weak, that he had a lot of pain in his soul, but that he used to be a strong man, used to read, write poetry, stuy karate, play instruments, all sorts of things. All in all, it was an interesting experience, pretty sad, but altogether telling. He was really a kind old man, full of good intentions and love for his fellow man. I don't know that I'll be calling him up, however.

That's all for now. I leave for Tomsk on Saturday night. More stories to come!

Love,
Jason