so as the title says, i too have my own little story involving Russian Public transport.
this wednesday is my host parents 10th anniversary, so i went to the local (huge) shopping conter in the city called "citi moll" or "city mall" translated. to buy them an anniversary gift. I was really happy that I knew enough Russian to be able to manage slaes on my own. and while I was in the mall it did start to rain. well the city moll offers free public transportation to and from themselves. so everything was fine going there, I got on the bus to Yuzhno (alone) then waited and got on the bus to City mall (alone again). i figured i would take the 1:30 bus back to my house after i get back to the station in Yuzhno. however on the way back from City Mall. because the snow had picked up so much, they canceled the free transport. "ahh great.. host parents are at work so now what?" then i did over hear some people say that a bus stop existed across the road, so I then go over there to see it and soon realize that It's true. only I dont know the bus routes. I had done all my bus route managening out of the station in Yuzhno. nothing about city mall. luckily for me the Bus has signs of where it will go. yet unluckily for me i dont know half of them. so it starts to rain and snow (dont know how that was possible) and im getting kinda cold as you can imagine. and more busses come up that dont lead to where I need (mainly because i dont know where they go). however I did see that one bus was going to the Checkhov Center (anton Checkhov is a famous writer who visited Sakhalin) a theatre establishment in Yuzhno that ive passed most days when I go to listen to russian folk songs at the local music school ethnoc. I thought "ok, ive missed the 1:30, so ill just make the 2:40. naturally, I took the bus. yet at the time, I didnt know it to be the Checkhov center. I just knew that the building i was thinking about had a picture of Anton Checkhov on it. so im still nervous. it didnt help when most of the bus route went a way i have never seen before. yet out of no where I see (to my reflief) I saw the hugу face of Anton Checkhov on the building and the driver stopped. I got out and walked the rest of the way to the station. which wasnt really far from the Checkhov center. when I arrived at the station, my bus pulled up that takes me to my house everyday. I couldnt help but smile and be happy that i knew I could survive in Russia when I didnt know the language. it would of been the first day when people didnt know I was foreign, but when I got off the bus at my house a man got off also who talked to me so quickly that I had to ask him to speak slower and then he says "ahh youre foreign, where are you from?" but I was still happy about the day. and soon Ill know if my host parents liked the gifts or not. I got Sasha (host dad) a flashlight/torch/tripod flashlight. and Lena a bag that depicts the dangers of alcohol abuse. and both of them cards. so besides the Gift part of my story. Greg Miller, I tip my hat to you ;)
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