Trip to Russia

Margaret Dryer, who happens to be my wife, and I are members of the Friendship Force Club of Charlottesville.

"The Friendship Force is an International organization that brings people of the world together through homestay exchanges, creating unforgettable experiences that build lasting bonds of friendship. Friendship Ambassadors and Hosts are persons who believe that friendship can be the catalyst for improved world relations. Key qualifications are an adventurous spirit, a flexible approach to new situations and a wish to make new friends.

Friendship Force Clubs now exist in sixty countries world-wide and there are more than three hundred Clubs. During each "Exchange" the "ambassadors" live in the homes of the "host" members".

There is no finer way of making new friends.

This year the Charlottesville Club was invited by the Friendship Force Club of Moscow to be hosted by their Club. The invitation was accepted and six members of our Club, joined by eight members from New Jersey, made the trip to Moscow.

Before we left, Margaret and I were informed that our host in Moscow would be Oksana Vassilieva, a single female, age 25, a cosmetics consultant whose English was "fair". We were also informed that she lived with her mother and father and a younger brother.

On Saturday September 17, 2005 Margaret and I drove to Washington Reagan Airport where we joined up with the other four members of the Charlottesville Club and flew with them, first to Kennedy Airport, New York, and then to Helsinki. In Helsinki we had an eight hour stopover and this gave us the opportunity to hire a taxi and view the city and harbor. In Helsinki Airport we met up with our companions from New Jersey and then we all flew to Moscow Airport where we were met by our host-guide from the Moscow Friendship Force Club. We were then taken by bus to the rendezvous with our home hosts.

We met our hostess, Oksana and she introduced us to her cousin Anastacia Belyaeva. Also we were informed that Oksana’s home was being redecorated and we would be staying at Anastacia’s apartment and so would Oksana. This arrangement turned out remarkably well because Anastacia spoke almost perfect English so that she helped Oksana to understand everything and we enjoyed a wonderful week with these two lovely ladies. Every day of our stay in Moscow was well catered for by the host club. We visited numerous art galleries, museums, churches, monasteries and cathedrals, including the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square and Kremlin, and everywhere we had a first-class guide. On the evening of Friday September 23 we had a farewell party from our new friends where we were entertained by dancing children and singers and treated to a delicious meal. The following evening we visited the Moscow Bolshoi Circus. On the last day in Moscow, Sunday, September 25, we visited a Market where I bought a Russian hat. That evening we were driven by Anastacia’s father to the railroad station where we sadly said farewell to our new found friends and boarded a midnight train for St. Petersburg.

In St. Petersburg we were met by a regular tour guide, traveled in a tour bus, stayed in a hotel and became "tourists" rather than ambassadors. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful four days; visiting the Hermitage, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Catherine’s Pushkin Palace, Yusupov Palace and Peterhof – the Summer Palace of the Czars. We also enjoyed Russian folk dancing at the Nikolaevsky Palace.

We flew home from St. Petersburg, via Helsinki and JFK on Friday, September 30.