My Russian adventure

After a mammoth train journey from Riga to St Petersburg on Sat. 14 July,  the train stopping at 2 border posts, Estonia and Russia,   having the authorities in my cabin, while I was sleeping, searching my things and not sure where Africa let alone South Africa is, I arrived in St Petersburg.  My friend Pasha was there to meet me,  an absolute god-send as the taxi drivers waiting at the station seemed like the Russian mafia and it was in the moment that I got off the train that the language barrier here became evident to me.  

Pasha and I,  had had 2 skype conversations the week before and within those conversations I had gathered that there was not accommodation organised for me in St Petersburg, and that he had arranged for me to go to a festival, about 2 1/5 hours from St Petersburg, via a mini bus to camp until the 22nd July. This was not quite what I wanted to do, so he had then offered me a friend's apartment which was away from the centre but on the metro route.  He took me directly to this apartment and I thought that my whole world had just come to an end.  I was tired, very overwhelmed about this visit, and the apartment was far away and I was terrified at the thought of staying there on my own and not being able to communicate or even read or understand a sign.  I did not want to appear ungracious in any way as I was a visitor,  so I took some really huge,  deep breaths, and a few moments of silence, and was then able to express to Pasha that this was not where I wished to stay at all and that perhaps I should find a B&B in town where I could at least be close to people and life in the city.

When I had booked my Russian visa I had made the registration through Youth Hostels International, so off we went to the youth hostel, which on line looked really nice and they spoke English and offered internet facilities.  Often online and in reality differ and this is was evident for this hostel, again it just didn’t feel like a place where I wanted to stay at all.  Pasha had to leave but before leaving, we called Vasudeva who lives at a Eco Village,  Grishino, which is 300km north of St Petersburg, and speaking to him made me feel so much better.  He offered for me to come stay with them and although rural and primitive, they had a cabin for me, hot water and I was more than welcome.  His voice was so soothing and it felt that this was where I needed to be.  I made a decision then and there that I would stay in St Petersburg for 4 nights and leave on Thursday to go to Grishino where I would stay for 10 days and then go to Moscow where I had a booking from the 31st July.

I booked a single room at the Youth Hostel for the night and thought to make other plans on Monday, but when I asked for a towel and was handed a thread bare towel, I just broke down.  And I cried – I felt so unbelievably lonely and desperate.  And then I called Richelle, my friend, my soul mate and my absolute rock, who has always been able to ground me and get me to see the bigger picture.  My connection to home and to to hear her voice of reason just helped me.  I looked on line and found aq B&B in town, Cornwell Inn, where I was able to get a room immediately, got a refund from the youth hostel, caught a taxi and went to my new accommodation.  This  was so much better, I had all the things I needed to feel comfortable and safe, and had such a good night sleep.

My time in St. Petersburg went quickly.  The hotel was great, and on Monday evening I met Pasha and Natasha at a lovely venue called Sweet Tooth for coffee and delicious cakes and we had such fun, went walking down the famous Nevskiy Prospekt, and ended up at a Kenyan cafe, an African cafe about 100m from my hotel, with great African decor and a terrible menu – which we didn’t try. 

On Tuesday evening I caught a taxi to Aurora Palace to see Swan Lake Ballet by the Russian Ballet Company and it was amazing. I was completely mesmerised by the ballet and the music.

After the performance while waiting for the taxi at the bar, a young girl asked me if I was from South Africa ? I was so happy to meet her I gave her a big hug and we chatted for a bit.  She is from Cape Town and here in Russia for a youth conference. It was so amazing to be able to communicate and have a flow with someone from home and get a response that was warm and friendly.  The next day was Madiba’s birthday and I didn’t know how to do my 67 minutes of service which was making feel sad so I was so appreciative of meeting someone from my beautiful South Africa.

Russia felt completely different to anywhere I have ever been and especially on this journey.  The people are serious and very few people smile.  I experienced a few incidents where I was harassed and nearly robbed,  which didn’t make me feel so good inside and I felt a bit depressed and down.  I felt it best for me to stay indoors, and this was helped along by the rain. Maybe the lack of sunshine contributed to my melancholy and this was the first time I didn't feel safe.

On Thursday the 19th of July, I left St Petersburg and Vasudeva met me at Svir station. It was so amazing to see him after 3 years and also to have a friendly face welcome me as I got off the train.  Just being out of the city and with someone I could talk to and share with made the hugest difference and I started to feel a whole lot better.  Grishino is beautiful, surrounded by forests, rivers, beautiful summer flowers everywhere and peace – absolute peace.  When we arrived at the village the river was pumping because of all the rain and Vasudeva put my bags, and me, into a boat and rowed me across river to the village.  Its very rural and simple, my cabin very rustic but was so cozy and I felt so comfy and at home.  It was so amazing to connect with and share with beautiful, open hearted people, and slowly I started to feel more at peace and relaxed.

    

Their land is blessed with an abundance of a plant Epilobium Angustifollium which is harvested  in summer,  processed and made into Ivan-Chai or Russian tea.  Many people, mainly from Russia, work on harvesting and picking, stripping the leaves for fermentation and drying and processing the tea.  This production is the income for their village so its important work.  There is an open – Summer Kitchen – where the daily meals and teas are prepared for the volunteers working on the harvest and production.

 

Life there felt simple, peaceful and wholesome.  Amazing flowers, an awesome river, trees and forests and a very holistic way of living.   By the end of my first day I felt so much better and everyone was so open and welcoming, wanting to chat about South Africa and interested in my stories, and sharing their own.  A few of the volunteers spoke English and they were genuinely interested in what I had to share and say – and visa a versa.  As time moved on I went from being quiet and a bit reserved,  to sharing a lovely sunsets, listening to singing of traditional Russian songs, and feeling a sense of belonging and comfort.

                                

I realised that this was where I was meant to be.  I slept  well, ate well – completely vegetarian and stopped coffee.  Daily I wrote, I walked, connected and shared with the people working and living at Grshino and loved the feeling of being so honoured and welcomed by each and every one of these beautiful people, of being part of a community.  On the first Sunday evening we had a spontaneous drum circle and it was so much fun to play, share and feel the connection of rhythm with everyone and create a circle of people sharing.  This feeds my soul and I love it and we went on right into the early hours of the morning, 12 of us squeezed into the front room of my cabin and Vlat, who knows a few African songs, sang while we drummed, played shakers, tambourines, rain sticks and even rattled some dried leaves.  This is making memories wherever I go on this journey, and connecting with these people felt so right for me. 

I know that each experience is important and vital to my adventure, and those bad moments, which have honestly been very few, are important to get me back into the truth of what I am doing and why I am doing it.  Looking back after the drumming circle at my experiences in  St Petersburg, made me realise the learning curve, the amazing gifts which I will treasure forever.

As 23rd July is Anestasia’s earth day, for those at Grishino is a day of sacred gratitude and rituals for each person to do in their own way.  In the evening people came together in a circle of meditation. This was such an amazing experience and a chance to really connect with the beautiful people of this community.  Each person introduced themselves, shared where they come from and why they were there.  One of the volunteers offered to translate so that I understood what everyone was saying and also translated what I shared with everyone.  It was a very beautiful ceremony and its so amazing to witness the pureness of community where people work together to create a life that honours the earth and all living beings.  There was a deep feeling of gratitude in the circle and the common feeling of living with nature, in an eco-community with clear vision,  that is how to heal the land and inspire other communities to form  connecting and sharing love, peace, tolerance, safety, light, joy and so much more.  This was an opportunity for me to say how grateful I felt at the way they have welcomed me, with so much respect and honour and to thank them for the amazing work they do at honouring Mother Gaia in such a blessed way.

One of the mornings at breakfast, while the people at the table were chatting in Russian, I realised that my life in the past 4 months has been that of Witness – being in so many different places and positions, where the language around me is like music without words, and I have spent so many moments in spaces where I have sat, silently, hearing other languages and just hearing it as sounds in the background.  Each language has its own rhythm, its own sounds, some words so beautifully expressive, some words so easily identifiable and all just sounds to which I have the opportunity to sit, in silence and be the witness.  No output no input just being in the moment – its a wonderful place to be, creating within me a space of absolutely neutrality.  Just another observation within my adventure.

On Friday 29 July we have held a 3 day drumming workshop - The Pulse of the Earth – as Pasha was still in St Petersburg I opened the workshop with the help of Vasudeva translating for me and it was amazing to facilitate and run a workshop again. Pasha and Natasha arrived at 03h00 on Sat morning with a few drums and a box of amazing instruments. The process flowed, we sat in a circle at Vasudeva's house right next to the river, in an abundant garden  one with the nature surrounding us and the earth beneath us.  I loved the flow, how easy it was to share and inspire with rhythms from home, share what Pasha gives, how he facilitates and there was a comfortable, gentle flow between us and the group we drummed with and facilitated.  Each participant gained and shared so much within the 3 days of drumming and for me it confirmed so clearly my passion and the work that I do with so much love and so much connection and rhythm.  What a blessing it is for me to have learned to drum and to be able to facilitate and work with groups in the way that I do.  I am truly blessed with this gift and am so extremely grateful and honouring of the playing with beat of the earth beneath my feet and rising into my body and flowing from my heart to all.

I left Grishino on Monday 30th July and it felt really touching.  I have genuinely made a Russian Family for whom I feel so much love and connectedness and am so extremely grateful for this experience and the gift of community.  As I sat on the train leaving Svir, in a compartment with 3 Russian woman with whom I couldn't communicate at all, and watched out of the window, taking it all in, and unplugging myself from nature and community, while preparing for Moscow and the future, I was able to witness once again how everything really manifests perfectly as it is and the moments of doubt, confusion, fear, not trusting, sadness, lethargy etc. are the opportunities to connect to what is important and see what is really happening.  I felt refreshed and re-inspired, so excited for the next 3 months and also for my future and how it will unfold.

Moscow has been such a wonderful surprise for me.  I have been staying in one of the oldest parts of Moscow in an apartment with Olga, the host of her home on Air B&B.  She has been a great guide, and her home is 10 minutes walk from Red Square and all the wonderful sights and buildings that the capital of Russia has to offer.  A further surprise is that the apartment in right next door to an extremely old synagogue which is really beautiful and has a small Jewish Community attending the weekly services.

Its been easy to stay here, catch up, make all necessary arrangements for next 2 months of my travelling and explore the wonders of Moscow.  I went to see The Nutcracker Ballet yesterday evening, and I loved it - the absolute magic of Russian ballet in a theatre with marble floors, and balconies, royal boxes and a feeling of culture and days gone by.  The venue is opposite the Bolshoi theatre, a majestic building, closed until mid September.  It has felt safe and wonderful wondering the streets in the hot evenings, witnessing the full moon above the Moscow skyline and seeing people enjoying and celebrating their city.

I haven't been able to see much of the Olympics, but each time I see on Facebook that we have won another gold medal, I have followed the stories, watch interviews on line, cried tears of joy and pride and bless my homeland with so much,  I love South Africa, its my home, my country and I am so looking forward to walking on its rich, pulsating land again, feeling the African Sun and beating drums with rhythm of the rainbow nation.

Until next time, be blessed always.