Hey all! As MongomeryFest is off driving wild, wonderful Europe they asked me to contribute something to their blog. Their exciting trip reminded me of one of my favorite driving moments – not exactly a relaxing holiday drive (and, uh, I wasn’t exactly driving), but a good one nonetheless.
The first thing you should know is that I’m an ESL teacher in Moscow, Russia. The second thing you should know is that Moscow’s traffic is among the most soul-crushing in the world. Unluckily for me, my school was actually outside of the city, requiring a 15-kilometer, hour and a half bus ride at least twice a week.
So there I was, trapped on the very last row of the bus. It was stuffy and uncomfortable, but I just kept chanting “it’s almost over, it’s almost over” in my head. I only had two more weeks of going through this purgatory and then I’d never have to ride that damned bus again!
Unable to relax comfortably while wedged between two hefty grandmothers, I decided to scope out the bus. I almost immediately made awkward eye-contact with a cute Russian guy about my age. Easily embarrassed, I looked away (and thanks to my red hair, likely blushed bright red). I snuck a look back and he was still looking, turned almost all the way around in his seat. I assumed he was someone I had met and forgotten about since that happens quite often.
After a moment he turned away smiling and I intrepidly tried to ignore the weirdo for the duration of the hour long trip.
Upon reaching my bus stop, I hopped off, assuming I’d never see anyone on that bus again. While crossing the street I heard a “devochka!” (girl), turned around, and sure enough it was bus boy. I let him catch up – he was tall, good-looking, and we were surrounded by people. I felt pretty safe I wouldn’t get ax-murdered.
I spoke mediocre Russian for a bit before he figured out I was American. He spoke tentative English. It turns out that he lived a quick two-minute walk from the school I worked at! We agreed to trade phone numbers and the rest is history!
Oh, except for a quick kiss outside the school’s windows which caused another teacher to abandon her class of children to grill me on what was going on.
Oh, and the fact that I just took that very same bus this morning from his house to get a decent wifi connection. They say love makes you do crazy things, but they never said it would torture you with Russian traffic jams!
Adorbs, right?! We always love hearing how the couples we know met, especially around the world. Always different, quirky, interesting, and gives a little sneak-peak into what is to come. Check out what Polly and the Russky are up to at A Girl and Her Travels, and thanks Polly for adding your story while we’re out on our adventure (updates to come!).
MontgomeryFest 