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Siberia Russia Part 2 Where Are We And What Day Is It
tanding in the airport in 4. Fly from Anchorage on Aeroflot
San Diego, I began to [gulp] to Khabarovsk, Russia.
wonder exactly how long it
was going to take to get to the 5. Take train from Khabarovsk to
city of Chita in Siberia. The Chita.
combination of a vodka hangover,
three flights, one train ride and How bad could it be? Very, very,
a jump over the international very bad. Did I mention "bad"?
date line didn't help. At first
glance, it looked like a total of Day 1
two days, which wasn't bad for
going to the other side of the The flight to Seattle was no
earth. problem. I met Tom Dickinson, the
founder of Siberian Intercultural
I should have paid more attention Bridges, but we couldn't find the
in math. other teacher. Turns out the
flight to Anchorage wasn't till
The itinerary for getting from the next morning, so it didn't
San Diego to Chita read like really appear to be a problem.
this: Around midnight, our attitude
changed and we had written off
1. Fly from San Diego to Seattle. the teacher.
Day 2
2. Meet charity representative
and other professor. At 8 a.m., Grea Waters from
Kentucky appears out of the
3. Fly from Seattle to Anchorage. Seattle mist. We have our second
professor and he speaks fluent
Russian. This is a big relief as
I had spent a lot of the previous better.
evening contemplating my Russian
skills. That is to say, I had Our flight from Seattle to
none. I couldn't even pronounce Anchorage was uneventful. Yes, we
the name of city we would land flew Alaska Airlines. While
in, Khabarovsk. I nearly had a waiting for our connection in
panic attack during the night Anchorage, two thoughts kept
when I bolted up in bed upon the running though my head. First,
realization that I would have no isn't Aeroflot the airline with
way of knowing how to get to the all the crashes? Second, how did
train or when to get off. You a man from Kentucky become fluent
see, the Russian language is in Russian? I mean, what about
based on the Cyrillic alphabet. his accent? I was feeling less
There is no way to wing the confident about my translator and
Cyrillic alphabet. For example, decided to investigate. I started
the letter "y" is pronounced "ch" rubbing my temples when he told
as in Charlie. I was in definite me that he had never been to
trouble. Would the rest of my Russia. Alas, there was no
life be spent riding around turning back. Trust me, I tried.
aimlessly on trains? The But that's a story to be told in
continued grinning of Tom Part 3 of this nomad adventure
Dickinson didn't make me feel any travel series...
About the Author:
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - Preserve the experience with writing journals for traveling, hiking, rock climbing, fly fishing, bird watching and more. Check out http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more travelogues and articles.
Source: www.isnare.com
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