Feature

Destination Russia!

Nushrat Zareen Ahmed

WANDERING for five hours in Dubai Airport, I was almost in tears when I lost my way in the terminal to catch my flight to the next destination. Frustrated to the point of cursing myself I knew I had to get my acts together. Little did I know that fate wasn't going to let me off so easily! On arrival in Moscow, the capital of Russia, the immigration authorities of Domodedovo Airport detained me for verification. After 30 minutes of intense questions and answering, I was allowed to board again. After forty excruciatingly long hours of my journey, I finally landed at Samara, one of the largest cities in Russia, to participate in an international internship programme through AIESEC, a youth organisation that commenced its operation in Bangladesh in 1997.

As an intern I was assigned in Birozki Camp, one of the reputed summer camps of Samara, to work with children of ages 7-15 years. My main responsibilities were to plan, design and implement the summer camp activities. I incorporated Bangladeshi traditional sports, songs and dances into the daily curriculum in the hope to promote Bangladeshi culture and tradition among the Russian children. Initially, it was very difficult to communicate as children knew very little English and I knew negligible Russian. Nonetheless, thanks to the pre-emptive hand gestures and being quick learners in due time, things became more reasonable and interesting for all. I taught children how to play bou-chi, cricket, kut-kut and also how to sing and dance on Bengali folk music. I presented them the history of Bangladesh and our fight for independence. I prepared few Bengali culinary items and told stories about clothing and wedding ceremonies. Children were very enthusiastic and were always keen to learn about our rich culture. While doing so, I picked up few Russian words, tasted Russian delicacies like the borsh soup and the pilmania. I had a wonderful time dancing and swimming in the lake with the children.

To make my trip memorable, Karina Meletlyan, one of the AIESEC members took me to different places in Samara. I slipped and fell hard while ice-skating, was awed at the view of Volga embankment, and was amazed while visiting Cosmonautics museum and Soyuz Launch Vehicle Memorial Complex. It was more than I had envisioned. After my internship with Birozki Camp, I decided to visit other cities of Russia. Eventually, I reached St. Petersburg travelling for 40hours by train. Besides visiting Hermitage Museum, Peterhof, Sir Isaak's Cathedral, I also had the opportunity to experience white nights, a time when sky is never dark rather twilight lasts all night. I had difficulties to sleep without drawing curtains of the room.

Ending my three days stay in St. Petersburg, I set my feet towards Moscow, where I was flabbergasted at the sight of the extravagant metro stations. They looked like opera theatres rather than underground train stations as they were artistically designed with marbles and decorated with chandeliers. In addition to Red square, Kremlin, Russian White House, I also witnessed Ostankino Tower, one of the tallest freestanding radio and television tower in the world. It was extremely difficult to cover the whole tower in one photograph. Just as I was getting accustomed to my host country, it was time for me to get back home. Thinking about returning to the most beautiful country, Bangladesh, my heart was filled with joy.

'All's well that ends well' a quote from Shakespeare, is just the perfect statement to describe my journey to Russia. Even though I encountered few dilemmas in the beginning, however, I did have a trip with memories to cherish for a lifetime and stories to tell my children and grand children.