21st December: The Last Week

My last day in Yaroslavl has finally arrived. It’s a surreal feeling, knowing that I may never come back to this place, where I have spent four months of my life.

This week, which once seemed a distant and unattainable milestone in the future, came and went in the blink of an eye. With so little time left, I made it my goal to finish buying all the necessary presents, including for the Vishnevskis and Julia. So, on Monday afternoon I braved the cold and headed to the Christmas market not far from the town centre. However, since the majority of stalls were selling food or fur, I returned empty-handed, even after searching the souvenir shops on the main street. That evening, as my fitness subscription was up and no one had planned to meet up, I was more than happy to avoid going out into the -26-degree-weather and to stay in with the Vishnevskis. They seemed, as usual, glad to have me around and Natasha was keen to show me one of her favourite films, “That Old Feeling”, a romantic comedy with Bette Midler, dubbed over in Russian.

The next day I continued my search for gifts in the town centre but once again the only thing I came back with was a mild case of frostbite. I just had time to go back to the flat and bolt down some food before heading to the last Lingua Café meeting. At the bus stop I happened to bump into our teacher Julia, who was also on her way to the meeting and was struggling not only with the biting cold but also the darkness which was making her barely able to see anything. She’s only in her thirties but her eyesight is so poor I had to tell her when our bus had arrived and physically lead her onto the bus. When talking to her during the journey I realized just how difficult life must be for her. As a teacher, she’s on minimal pay, which is why she has to live so far out of town and can’t afford any treatment on her eyes.

On a more positive note, Julia seemed to cheer up when we got to the Lingua Café, where the theme for the evening was Christmas and New Year, and we shared not only chocolates, sweets and biscuits, but a sneaky bit of wine too. It was fascinating to find out about the Russian traditions, which are so different from our own. The main difference is the fact that Christmas isn’t really celebrated here; the big event is New Year, when, like us, they have a big party, but for them this is the family celebration when people stay at home, open presents and catch up with their relations. Christmas itself is on 7^th January – our Epiphany – but this is a quiet day and not a big cause for celebration. Our teacher Larissa suggested that the reason for this is that all the excitement is over after New Year, but I think it’s more due to the taboo over religion that’s left a definite trace even after the fall over Communism. Anyway, when the meeting ended a group of us headed to Baradas, a cheap but chic local bar which had just opened up opposite Your Bar, and ended up spending the evening there.

Wednesday was another rushed day as I decided I had no other choice but to get the marshrutka out of town to buy the presents I needed. I wasn’t wrong and emerged from Рио laden with gifts – a necklace for Julia, a clutch bag for Natasha, and the finest cognac and vodka for Ivan and Vanya respectively. A bus and a marshrutka later I was back at the flat, with just enough time to wash my hair, grab a bite to eat and get ready before rushing to the theatre.

The production was on at the famous Волковский theatre, which, constructed in 1750, was Russia’s first official theatre. We had expected to see the opera Carmen, but were surprised to discover it was the play. It was an unusual interpretation riddled with outrageous racial stereotypes, including a surreal moment when the cast dressed up in Easter Parade costumes and danced around the stage to the Guantanamera.

After the play had finished we walked over the road to Baradas for drinks. At first it was just Joe, Alexia and me, but it wasn't long before everyone else arrived. This was going to be our last night out in Yaroslavl, so everyone was up for staying till the early hours. When Baradas closed, we moved on to Cocktail Bar before I eventually shared a taxi back with Yana and Akob.

The next day being our last day of university, most people didn't turn up until at least halfway through. Apart from a bit of translation, we did little work that day, but it was worth turning up to get our certificates, say our goodbyes to the teachers and get the feeling of having properly completed the course. Coming out of those big wooden double doors for the last time gave me a strange feeling of relief and nostalgia.

That evening, with everyone suffering from lack of sleep and too much booze, it was nice just to be able to sit in the theatre again. This time we went to see two short stories by Chekhov, Медведь ('The Bear') and Предложение ('The Proposal'), which were surprisingly easy to understand and, more to the point, actually very funny.

On my last day in Yaroslavl I took advantage of the free time and slept in until gone midday. Then it was time to sort out my packing once and for all – and after discarding all the non-essentials I could and trying any possible combinations of luggage to try and reduce the weight of my suitcase, I resigned myself to the fact that there was nothing more I could do; I would just have to hope the airport staff were lenient. At 3 o'clock Julia arrived so we could spend just a little more time together before saying goodbye. We exchanged gifts and chatted in front of the TV for hours, trying to drag out the time before our inevitable parting. When she had to leave we hugged three times and waved and called to each other until she was down all three flights of stairs. We'd become such close friends and we would never forget each other. I would never forget any of the people who'd been so kind and good to me here.