TRU World staff member Karie Russell (wearing white) with friends during her student recruiting trip in Russia.

The following is from TRU World staff member Karie Russell, who is on a student recruiting trip in Russia. The email was received 2/5/2012 10:09am…

When I first started working at TRU, one of the first students I had the opportunity to meet was a young man named Andrey Vladimirov from Russia. Andrey changed my thinking of Russia and helped open my mind about his country and people.

This inspired me to add Russia to my bucket list of countries to visit. Who knew it would come sooner than I expected. With my new role working on the marketing team at TRU World, I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Western Russia and visit six cities to recruit students.

So far, I have visited three cities: Perm, Ufa and Kazan. Each has provided me with a greater appreciation of this large and amazing country and the people who live here.

PERM
In Perm I stayed at Ural Hotel, which is located in the heart of Perm. Close to the city centre, there is a park the size of a football field where I enjoyed viewing over 100 ice sculptors with some the size of my home in Kamloops and even bigger. The walls were made of ice, open ceilings plus stairs to take you up to another level to look out.

The fun thing about each ice building was you had the choice of taking the stairs down or sliding on your bottom down an ice slide. Guess which one I chose, yes I of course opted for the slide! There was even one that allowed for myself and 7 of my colleagues on this trip to slide down at the same time.

Following the fair in Perm, we traveled by bus to Ufa which was approximately a 7 hour drive. The roads were covered with ice and it proved to be a very bumpy and exciting at times. The small towns we drove past took me back to what felt like the 30’s and 40’s. Many of the homes were decorated with bright yellow and blue trim around their windows, and all were constructed of wood and seemed to be in need of desperate repair.

With the temperatures as low as -25, I was surprised to see as many people as I did out and about walking along long barren roads…. But the chill did not stop anyone from carrying on with their lives.

UFA
Ufa I would say surprised me the most when we arrived. It is a city supported by the oil and gas industry and refineries with large steam stacks around the city. Our accommodation was at President Hotel located on the outside of the city in a beautiful gated forest. I was surprised our bus managed to make it through the gates, I found myself holding my breath until we finally passed thru. The temperatures dropped even lower to -31 here and I really could not believe people were still out and about. Thank you Victoria for the down jacket. You are a life saver!

KAZAN
The trip to Kazan proved to be yet another long drive — approximately 8 hours. The funniest moment on the drive was when we stopped at a roadside café to have a bit of food — I decided to have a bowl of soup. The woman behind the serving counter was asking me in Russian what I wanted. I just blankly stared back at her wondering…. How do I ask for a bowl of borscht, so I proceeded to ask my colleague Katya (in Karie fashion calling out over everyone) she laughed as did everyone else in the line. Borscht is Borscht in Russian. The women behind the counter laughed as did many of the other guests. It seemed to break the ice and after that… people in the café seemed even more friendly and warm. So far people have been friendly and lowering their guard, which has allowed for me the possibility to enjoy this experience. So far, it has been very rewarding.

Kazan thus far has been my favourite stop. The attached photo is of Jane, Svetslana and my interpreter Jane (who I believe will be coming to TRU following our work together!) Not due to my stay at the Kazan Riviera (which you should seriously look up on the interweb), but due to my city tour with Svetlana and Sacha Bugravo and one of my interpreters from the fair, Jane.

They proceeded to provide me with a tour of the city and many of it’s historical sites: the Kremlin, Mosques and city centre plus, introducing me to local cuisine and customs. I was invited into their home and made to feel a part of the family. I don’t think I can truly explain the feeling of this, but it was emotional. They told me I had to return next year, but would need to stay with them as they felt they would provide me with a truer experience of Russian hospitality.

MOSCOW
I fly to Moscow tomorrow for a connecting flight to Volgograd. All internal flights within Russia connect via Moscow and/or another city in the east, they do not just fly direct. So, tomorrow will prove again to be an interesting travel experience for me. Can’t wait to enjoy yet another balmy Russian winter day! All kidding aside, the cold didn’t stopped me, but only opened my eyes to how people climatize and adapt.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings and the remaining three cities I visit: Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar.

Love to my parents, family and the rest of you hooligans. Lots of love to you Andy and the girls. I miss you and can’t wait to share with you all the photos and video footage I have captured “ya… GoPro!” This trip has been extremely eye opening, but also reaffirming for my love of different cultures and working with the international students.

Karie