In two days i’m taking a 9 day trip back to russia. It’s hard to even begin to describe the excitement that i’m feeling. My parents took me out of russia when i was only 3 years old, and i have never been back since.
It’s weird. I’ve lived pretty much my whole life here, 23 years, and yet still i totally feel a strong connection to the country in which i was born. Even though i don’t really do russian activities, or talk in russian very often, i still definitely feel that i have this core russian-ness about me. I just feel that in so many ways, i really understand russian people. i know where they are coming from…. what their mindset is. And yeah, granted, pretty much all of the russians i know are also pretty americanized…. but there’s still this weird common bond that all of us have.
It’s gonna be so weird to all of a sudden be somewhere where *everybody* has that common bond. every person i see will have that same core and inner culture that around here i see so rarely. i’ll be hearing russian spoken everywhere. i’ll be eating russian food… and seeing russian sights. i’ll be totally immersed in it all.
It’s always nice in life when you can connect w/ people about your past. for instance, pretty much everyone i know now used to go to raves, and on a certain level we can all connect in that way. we all shared a certain lifestyle, certain experiences, and music together.. and because of that there’s this common feeling that we all have. even if i met someone i didn’t know, who used to go to parties, i’m sure we could have some great conversation and bond over past experiences that we shared… even though we didn’t share those experiences together. in that same way, i feel like there are so many russian past experiences that i share w/ millions of people that i don’t get to reflect on quite as often. and now here’s my chance. a dream come true…..
-vlad
Is that you when you were a baby? you are SOOOOO CUTE!!!!!
I sometimes wish I had more of a heritage. My heritage is the Bay Area. Both parents born here. Grandma and Grandpa born here. I am so native bay arean.
You should’ve been a greeting card baby!
are you sure that’s you vlad? >)
dude!!! of course that’s me!! punk!
-v
Hi. I’m with American Greetings. It’s our *dream come true* to find such a cute poster-baby.
I can totally empathize. All my life, I’ve been totally fascinated by the place of my birth – the Philippines. I came to this country when I was about a year and a half old and (of course) I have absolutely no recollection of it. I’ve always wanted to return and explore that half of my heritage, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do so… yet!
I remember when I was little, I could always tell the Filipinos from the other Asians – and obviously other nationalities – and I always felt a special closeness to them, like we shared a common bond… despite the fact that I didn’t (and don’t) speak the language. I always felt like they had something to teach me about where I came from. That’s part of the reason that I’ve taken such a keen interest in my cousins that just emigrated from the Philippines – they’re a connection to my past, my roots!
dude.. why don’t you make a detour when you’re in thailand? you’ll be sooo close!!
-v
…because I’d like to wait to go with my mother. I’m a little hesitant to meet my entire family, which is *huge*, without my mother present.
Jamie