From Russia with love

Yvonne Robbins’09

"Reflecting back on my year abroad in Moscow I realize that I could not have asked for a better one. I was extremely fortunate to have been given such an opportunity this early in life. Although there are many stories I could tell you about all of the great experiences I had there: dinner parties with my host family, trips to the dacha, seeing the dozens and dozens of magnificent churches scattered throughout the country; the story that comes to my mind most often is not such a happy one, but I believe it defines my experience in Russia and with the Russian people.

One spring day I was coming back home on the metro. As we ascended the stairs I was being bumped and jostled by the crowd behind and in front of me. I had made the mistake that day of taking two bags with me. I tried to keep my hand covering both of them, but when I looked down I realized one bag was lighter than it should be. My wallet was gone, and my stipend, documents, and credit cards were in it. I turned to the man standing next to me whose hand I had just seen close to my bag and stupidly asked in broken Russian if he had just stolen my wallet. He told me he would prove to me that he did not have my wallet when we got off the escalator, but when we reached the top of the stairs he ran off. I did actually pursue him. That was probably not a good idea. Long story short I did not get my wallet back. I found the nearest policeman and he directed me to the police station located in the metro. In the station I sat next to a row of what I assumed to be illegal workers. We were separated by a small table, next to me there was one empty chair. After explaining what had happened to the police, they told me to sit and wait until someone became available to write down my story. I sat and sat. After about an hour the adrenaline started to wear off, and I became quite depressed with my situation. I was out quite a bit of money. How could I have been so stupid? I went through the incident over and over in my mind, and thought of how I could have prevented it from happening.

Just as I had decided that I was the most careless person in the entire world, a man sat down next to me. He had the look of a businessman, but not of a multi-billion dollar corporation. His suit was well-kept but definitely not new. He seemed more like the owner of a small business, perhaps one that he had put his heart and soul into, but had never given him much in return. It’s obvious that I have done a lot of pondering as to who this man might be. I guess I would just like to know what kind of man would go out of his way to reach out to someone he did. After several minutes of silence a new policeman came by to ask me to repeat my story about the wallet. I did so, and he told me that someone would be by shortly to write it down. After the policeman left the man sitting next to me asked, “So you got your wallet stolen?” I nodded. He said, “That’s happened to me twice. They’re very good at it. I’ve even watched it happen.” I was a bit confused as to why he was talking to me. It was obvious by the way I spoke Russian that I was an American, yet he was speaking to me as if I was an acquaintance. He spoke slowly so I could understand, but not in a way that was condescending. His speech was fluent and calming. He went on to explain how his wallet had been stolen, and how he had watched the same happen to a poor woman in line for a kiosk. He said that you feel so stupid after something like that happens to you, but you have to realize that there was no way of preventing it. With that he stood up, tipped his hat, and left. Who, in this day and age, tips their hat? And what business did he have at the police station? He left without even having talked to a policeman?

What I learned from this is that there are good people, and the differences between us are not as big as we think they are. It takes a few words to bridge what the seemingly great distance between Russia and America."