Throwback Thursday - Im having the best time reading David Greenes, host of NPRs Morning Edition, account of his travels on the Trans-Siberian Railway with Sergei, his Moscow NPR partner to talk with everyday Russians about their life after the fall of the Soviet Union. I could identify with his accounts of winter travel on Russian trains--getting in the top berth, drinking tea and vodka, being stranded at country stations and meeting memorable characters. Because I had a similar --although much abbreviated--experience in Ukraine in December 2001. I was sent to western Ukraine by the U.S. government for about a month to help some farm womens councils get organized in a post collective farm era. To get to Carpethian Mountains where I would work I took a train from Kiev to almost the border of Hungary and Poland. My Sergei was a young woman called Inna--interpreter and fixer par excellence! We left from the grand Kiev train station and spent the night on one of these top berths drinking chai and making quick, freezing trips through the train car to the communal toilets. Photos clockwise: Kiev train station; Greenes book; me holding hands with Count Mucheve; berth; Inna and my local host and driver; country train station. And the vodka? Every meeting involved drinking a few shots of vodka with the Ukrainians. My host even offered me a glass with my breakfast bread and cheese! Inna finally had to start explaining that I was not much of a drinker. Got tired of apologizing for the angel tears, which was any precious vodka left in your glass!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 12:14:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015