Final post for my Russia adventure 2009

Well, this will be the final post for my Russia trip.

The last day at Rebyachya Respublika was beyond fantastic. I brought my nice camera to Melissa and I's divisions. The kids had an absolute blast playing with the camera and getting their pictures taken. Before leaving, the camp gathered on the totalski plats for a farewell to Melissa and I. Each division presented us with something, ranging from songs to smiles to posters to a flash mob hug. It was really touching, and of course I started crying during it, as did some of our boys. My boys started crying as I said goodbye to them, which was extremely touching.

The flight back to Moscow was pretty uneventful, except for almost missing our shuttle because we were too busy buying food and souvenirs. My ear was fine during all three flights because Melissa convinced me to head to the first aid place one last time. They poured something really strong into my ear (we think it was vodka) which cleared it up overnight.

The first night in Moscow, Melissa and I walked down some of the pedestrian streets. We almost went and saw Harry Potter, but didn't. Back at the hotel, I reconnected with many of the 8week-ers as we shared our experiences at camp. I was upset to hear that a lot of them had less than fantastic times at their camp with problems ranging from the camp administration to kids to counselors to theft. After listening to everyone complain for a few hours, I decided that we should just compile a list of what we thought needed to be changed about CCUSA to make next year's experience better. The list was not received as well as we had hoped when we presented it the following morning, but I think there is still hope :-)

We had free time the rest of the day, which was spent with Zoe and Kieran souvenir shopping. We bought something at each store, and seemed to get good deals at each store. We also walked a long time to "dom knigi" (lit. House of Books), only to find that it was close to the street we were on before. We had our final closing dinner at the hotel, where we each received certificates for working/volunteering at our respective children's camps.

After dinner, a bunch of us headed out to see Red Square at night. I have to admit, it wasn't as beautiful as I thought it was going to be. I had some last things I needed to buy, so I split off from the group and walked around Moscow by myself. I passed one subway station in search of a bookstore. After not finding anything worthwhile in the store, I decided to continue heading down the road in search of a different metro station. I found the station, and I didn't realize how far I had walked until I looked at the map. It must have been at least a good mile. So I took the metro to the souvenir street we were on before. After buying what I needed, I decided it would be quicker to head out to the main street that "dom knigi" was on since we earlier found out how close they were. After passing three dark alleys, I headed down the brightest one I could find that looked like it opened up to the road. The road never opened up, so I turned left, then right... in total, I think I walked down something like six dark alleys, had three police cars pass me, and saw many less-than-reputable figures. I finally found an exit by a skeezy gentleman's club. After walking around shady parts of Moscow by myself I took a 30 minute metro ride back to the hotel. Upon returning, others were happy that I showed up because apparently there were many people that were uncounted for that night because they decided to consume lots and lots and lots of alcohol. It was very evident at the hotel as five or so people were well beyond sober.

The next morning, we said our final goodbyes as we headed off to the airport. Melissa and I agreed that we'll see each other at the 2014 olympics in Sochi! At the airport, we passed through three separate security checkpoints on the way to the plane. The plane ride over was quite long; I was dead tired, but unable to sleep. I sat next to a very nice woman who teaches Russian and ESL at a university in New Jersey. I also watched the new Star Trek movie, which turned out better than I imagined. Once at JFK, the four of us rechecked our bags and didn't have to pay the fee for domestic flights! Karen and I headed up the stairs after security to wait for Zack and Kristine, but unfortunately they never came up the stairs so we were separated and never got to say goodbye.

Karen and I loitered around the Delta terminal, eating and shopping, until her father called and said that her flight was cancelled. Thus, I spent the next hour helping her try to get some new arrangements. We said our quick goodbyes as she had decided to take the train to Washington. Later, I found out my flight was also cancelled and quickly got a flight to Cleveland the next morning. Consequently, I spent the night on the floor in JFK. It turned out to be not that bad. I guess many flights were cancelled that night because I talked to lots of people the next morning who we supposed to fly out to different cities the night before.

The flight to Cleveland was pretty uneventful, except that I read National Geographic in Russian, which I decided I'm going to subscribe to. I tried to pick up my bags, only to find that they went to Pittsburgh instead. A short five minute conversation later and my bags were going to be delivered to my house the next day (today). I was really impressed with Delta and how easy it was to reschedule a new flight and how quickly they handled my lost luggage.

And thus ends the story of my trip to Russia in 2009. I loved every part of this trip, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The people, the camp, the kids, everything was fantastic. Thank you to everyone who made this summer amazing; I will never forget this summer. I can't wait to return next summer!