Nizhnynovgorod

I just wanted to write a little about our experiences with the people of Russia. I'm typing now early in the morning from our Air B&B. We've spent the last 18 hours in a city called Nizhnynovgorod to see Sweden play Korea. Being here is an experience unlike any other for me as a traveler in my lifetime. It's obvious that people from Nizhny are very unaccustomed to seeing foreign travelers. Clearly, for them, we are the show. We've experienced so many friendly Russians, mostly young Russians, who just seemed amazed by the fact that we're here and who want to talk with us any chance they can get. I suppose a place like Nizhny is just not on the tourist map, even for the rare westerners who do venture into Russia. It's a fairly big city, but not one that has any major attractions for tourists to go out of their way to find. We feel like an anomaly, and it simply feels that the locals are completely enjoying being a hub for the World Cup and seeing people like us, who they rarely get to encounter during their day-to-day lives.

A couple of interactions stand out, both of them happening at McDonalds. Yesterday after we arrived into town, we were starving and couldn't resist the McDonalds just across from the train station. While the kids were ordering I took a seat at one of their outdoor tables. After a couple minutes a young guy, an employee, just walked up to me and started asking me all sorts of questions about how I like his city. He struggled with his English but he tried his best and seemed to want to know everything about me and what I thought about my experience in Russia. I complimented many things and every time I said something positive he would smile, give a thumbs up and say something that sounded like "skol." I'll have to look that up to see what it means.

The other McDonalds experience was last night after dinner when we went back there for ice cream. We walked up to this little window they have outside, similar to a drive-thru window but for pedestrians. After placing our order, the girl inside just kept saying things like, "We're so happy you're hear. This is so exciting for us. Thank you for coming." It was crazy. She was so enthusiastic. She kept talking and I kept telling her how happy we were to be in Nizhny. Finally, someone else inside had to basically pull her away so she'd get back to work. It was so cute.

And besides these interactions, almost everyone else we've encountered here has been nothing but helpful and friendly. At one point yesterday I went to the World Cup information booth to figure out how to leave a ticket for a guy I sold it to through a Reddit posting. These information booths all around Russia are staffed by young people, high schoolers and college students. In fact, almost every World Cup volunteer we've seen has been a young kid. It's fun. They're all so happy. Some are reading announcements into megaphones, some are sitting high up in lifeguard-type chairs watching over the crowds, some have giant foam hands and are giving high-fives, some are at these info booths. I don't know if they've chosen young people because those are the people who have free time and a desire to volunteer, or if it's really only the younger generation that knows some English. Either way, it's cool to see all these enthusiastic young volunteers.

Back to my ticket story. The volunteers, in particular a girl named Diana, were so anxious and willing to help me figure out my situation. Basically Diana took the ticket and said she'd be personally responsible to make sure the ticket got to my buyer. There was another Russian guy helping us as well, who was older and whose English was very good. He insisted that we can trust these girls and that they will take care of the ticket. It felt a little weird leaving a ticket with Diana, a ticket to Argentina and Messi that she could probably turn around and sell for over $500, but I think I can trust her. We'll find out when my guy, Eric, successfully gets his ticket. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, to sum things up, being here has been quite a ride so far, and the Russian people have been nothing but open-armed in their view toward us. I'm so glad I came, and honestly I feel like I'd love to come back.