Together in Russia

When my sister and I were in school, my family would frequently go on trips to various places in New York. Those were the days I dearly missed when I went to college and then started working. We, as family, stopped going out together. We got so busy with our own stuff that we never found the time to share the company of just the four of us - my parents, my sister and me.

And then this month, everything magically changed. I won a couple of return tickets to Moscow, and my sister and I decided to make that trip together. When I broke this idea to my dad, he suggested we all go. I couldn't believe my ears! All the four of us were going to be #together in a foreign country again after thirteen long years! :-)

I am writing this post sitting in our room in central Moscow. And yesterday was our first day here. It was a little difficult to find our hotel and communicate with the locals who only speak Russian. But after the long flight and car ride, we finally found the place. And the people all around us have been really kind. The locals go out of their to help you, and even find people who will speak a little English so they can translate for us. Another nice thing here is that everyone is really willing to help and speak to you. We mostly try translating using Google Translate. I have been talking to our hosts by typing out the English stuff. The host then reads the Russian translation and types back the reply, which I read in English again.

But honestly, the best thing has been being together with my family. Last day was one of the most memorable I had. We walked about the famous Red Square in Moscow. We took hundreds of pictures and ate a lot of delicious Russian food. We are vegetarians, and most people back home told us we would hardly get any veg food in Russia. Our delight knew no bounds when we had an array of veg dishes to choose from. We gorged on kartoshka (potatoes drizzled in olive oil), pumpkin salad, an exotic beetroot preparation with lemon flavours, champignon with buckwheat, pirozhki ( a soft stuffed bread) and sauerkraut. We also drank some kalka vodka and, a berry-jelly drink.

Yesterday was not just a day of exploration, but also one of optimism. We had faith in the fact that we would certainly have a great time despite not knowing any Russian. We did try on our part and learn the Cyrillic alphabet. And that has been helping us immensely! We also believed that we would find great vegetarian food in a country that loves meat. With my family by my side, I know I will always have the strength to find ways to make the best of every moment I have. I will stay optimistic and #lookup.