Video Coming Soon, I Have the Cable

I was able to get the cable for the computer!! I am almost positive I previously wrote about accepting the answer of “no” or rather not accepting that answer. If I am wrong then someone point it out to me and I will correct the mistake and tell you all about my feelings on accepting the answer of NO.

I have noticed in my travels a general theme of, if the person does not understand me or the question is outside of their reality the answer comes all too quickly and it seems to be mostly, no. Here are some examples:
I am going to a blues bar; No, it does not exist.
Do you have the—NO—cable I need (We were interrupted before we finished the question)
Can I buy a ticket to Copenhagen; There are no tickets to Copenhagen, it is impossible
Is there internet here; You cannot be on the internet.
We are going out for some fun would you like to join us; No
Do you mind if I sit here; NO (ok this was a good one to hear)

When searching for the cable for the camera I ran into a similar problem. Macktie had agreed to join us for a little excursion into Arbat Street. It was previously a street filled with outside vendors selling their wares for discount prices. It is now a pedestrian street lined with upscale tourist stores. Either way it is a nice place to visit. We had been there last year but did not know the name or the significance of the location. This year was more enjoyable because we knew what we were getting into.

It seems that each time I explained about the cable I needed to buy I was assured it probably cannot be done. For you tech people out there the cable is a 1394 (firewire, ilink, etc) I needed the mini plug version of this cable. This is a fairly common cable and seeing as computer hardware is pretty much standardized internationally I was confident, that if I could find a computer store, then I could find the cable I needed. After taking a slight detour from the metro we arrived at Arbat Street and met up with Macktie.

Macktie was skeptical as to the availability of the cable but true to our friendship he trusted that I might know what I was talking about and went along with me to the stores to ask. You may or may not have guessed at this point, but I am fairly goal oriented. If it is something I am set on doing and I believe it is possible to succeed then I WILL do it. This being said I could have gone in alone and inquired about the cable, but it was so much easier with Macktie there asking for me. The first store was a cell phone store and I did not have high hopes but it was right next to where we were standing so I did not want to pass up the opportunity to look. Of course it was a total bust. The guys behind the counter seemed to at least consider the question before rejecting our request. Even though they had told us no, I still looked around just to make sure.

We hit up a Starbuck’s for some coffee, it was great for me, but not so great for my friends around me. I have not had much caffeine since I have been here, and any small amount is an enormous boost to my already high energy levels. I was literally bouncing in place for the next two hours or so. I recommend everyone try it at least twice.

We slowly meandered our way down the street popping into soap shops and souvenir shops along the way. Macktie knew of a Sony shop down near the end of Arbat street. We made it to the shop and I had a cable with me that was correct on one end but not correct on the other end. As Macktie opened his mouth and started asking the lady behind the county he was interrupted by her saying, in a very pleasant matter of fact manner, no we do not have it. I do not understand much Russian but I was pretty sure he was not even able to complete the description before being rejected. This store looked like the right kind of store to me, there were Sony laptops (actually my laptop was there), Sony DV cams (the newest version of mine was there) and general computer stuff all around. The women was insisting that the cable end I was showing her must be old outdated technology and that I would not be able to find it in any stores with new equipment. I am fairly sure that 1394 and USB cables are the most common and newest means of transferring mass amounts of data quickly. That is of course excluding optical cables which are not as common in DV cams or computers yet. By this ladys statement I was reassured that this was just another case of denying the existence of something to mask ignorance. I stayed in the store for another 5 minutes looking around. I found a section with cables behind the counter and peered at each one as the woman twittered on about how my cable was old technology or something like that. Ignoring her I spotted what I was looking for, about half a meter away from her head. I pointed it out and she told me it was the wrong cable and it would not work. She said it only looked a little similar but it was totally different. She told me that the cable I was pointing to was for newer technology and was not compatible with my camera. Keep in mind this woman has never seen my camera and has no idea what brand or model I own, she has only seen the cable I brought with me as an example. I insisted on purchasing the cable.

We left the store on good terms and headed to McDonalds to warm up and get a cherry ice cream shake. That is a total logical contradiction and I am fully aware of the irony. We spent the evening at Vitya’s house and had some soup and bread and other stuff to eat. Eventually Maria joined us there for the sole purpose of annoying Vitya, very commendable I must say. Mitch is pretty sick now and has been for the last three days. He has a 101-102 fever. He has been to the doctor and is on antibiotics now, while under the very attentive care of Sasha, Vitya’s mom. Last night he asked if I could find some Tylenol PM or NyQuil for him. So Vitya and I went on a scavenger hunt at 9 PM to many different pharmacies. I found out that Tylenol is not available in the 6 different pharmacies we went to. I even asked for it by the generic name of acetaminophen. I was able to find some stuff by coldex that seemed to be the same thing as NyQuil. I was a bit surprised to have such a hard time finding such a common medication. I guess this is a lesson to me to bring a healthy supply with me when I travel just in case something happens to me.

Now back to the cable story. As I write this post I am loading the video from my camera to my laptop without any difficulties. I watched all the raw footage and there are some really funny clips coming along with some great examples of Russian Sign Language. Turns out I did know what I was talking about. Also it turns out that accepting the answer of NO is not always the best course of action.

As my friend Michelle would say “toodles”

Dana

Oh Man I Need a Cable

I thought I had brought all the cables I needed to upload video to my laptop. This is the same set up I had used this summer while in Europe. Unfortunately I left one of the cables at home. Really the only reason I brought the laptop with me was to post video for you online. Thankfully it is not an uncommon cable to purchase. I guess I will spend my day today looking for a cable instead of editing video.

Some of the video is from Heather's excursion with the large group of deaf Russians. I have not even seen it yet. I am looking forward to taking a look and editing it so that we can all enjoy the video. I have not decided if I will add music for an audio track or leave the audio as is, yet. If you have any preferences let me know and I will probably follow whatever you all want.

Later
Dana

Gesturing with Hearing People 101

I teach at Gallaudet University in the summer time. I work in the personal discovery program under Jean Berube. I am also one of the few hearing staff she has working with her. It has been both an honor and a challenge working within this program over the last 8 years. This has awarded me many wonderful opportunities both in personal development and adventures. I am going to talk a bit today about what it has been like for me being a hearing person working in the discovery program with so many deaf coworkers. I will also demonstrate how the skills I have learned working with my friends and the discovery family at Gallaudet has helped me in the programs I am teaching here in Russia.

When we teach at Gallaudet Jean will generally pair up two staff members per group. With this technique we are able to take turns teaching and help one another with various problems that arise. I am an interpreter by trade. When I first began to team teach with a deaf partner all of my groups were deaf. Everything worked out well and I was able to personally develop my leadership skills along side the other deaf staff members. It was not until about a year of working with the discovery program, that I encountered my first challenge as a hearing person. The group I was given consisted of all hearing people and they did not know sign language. My natural instinct was to provide interpreting services for the deaf person I was team teaching with. It took only about 10 minutes for me to see the obvious inequity I had created. Without meaning to, I had usurped the power from my partner. When the group had a problem or a question they would only approach me.

Needless to say my partner had a miserable day, as did I. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was not sure how to make it better. I asked Jean if she would let me not teach for a few days so that I could observe the other deaf leaders and see how they were teaching the workshops with out the aide of an interpreter. It was over the next few days that I gained an enormous insight and a set of skills that would benefit me both in teaching in discovery and in my professional life. Of course I knew that the deaf people would not be leading by only using sign language, I knew there would be gesturing and miming involved as well. The problem was I had never taken the time to actually watch how they did it. Now I took the time to watch them work their magic. After three days I felt I was ready to participate again. I had made a decision to totally change my approach to what I was doing and how I was doing it.

We all meet early in the morning to set up the equipment and to discuss our plans for the day with our groups and partners. I talked it over with my partner and told her I was not going to use my voice at all. I felt some conflicts in this decision because I did not want to pretend I was deaf, but at the same time I felt that by doing this it would force the group to see us as equals. All day long I spent hours gesturing out what the group was to do. I borrowed skills from my fellow facilitators and came up with new solutions on the fly. I still provided some interpretation but mainly during the discussion, and only secretly so the group was not aware what I was doing. My goal at this point was to ensure my partner was fully aware of what was going on with the group dynamics. The day was a wild success. During our debriefing at the end of the day I informed Jean and the rest of the group, what I had been doing all day. There were mixed feelings on my approach to this problem. Then my partner for the day spoke up and expressed what a success the day had been and how well it had worked out for her as well. Thanks to her comments the group was sold on my solution. Over the years I have spent a lot of time revising and fine tuning my techniques. For example if my partner is hard of hearing they may prefer to lead with their voice. Sometimes I will intentionally still not use my voice which actually puts me in a lower role from the groups perspective. This is a great way for my team to develop their own skills in a safe environment. At times I will use my voice with my team member and we will lead the groups as equals. I have worked with many discovery staff members over the years and each experience is a little different but now I have a better equipped tool bag to choose the correct tool for the job from. While the task is physically exhausting the rewards are worth the work.

Today while I was working with a hearing group in the Basement theater my co teacher/interpreter had to leave the group to drive Mitch (he got sick) home. I was left with a group of early 20's female psychologists who only know Russian. I bet you will never guess what techniques I utilized to instruct them on the events. The one down side in this skill I have developed is in leading the discussions afterward. As I said the discussions are there to show the groups what they already know, unfortunately this is more challenging if I have no idea what they are saying. My solution was to hold off on the discussions until I could recruit the aide of a Russian interpreter. This seems to work out well with my group.

It is amazing that when I was developing this approach to teaching discovery I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would employ these skills in another country teaching other hearing people. I do have a translation program on my phone that I used a bit to facilitate some of the discussions without an interpreter. I think today was a wild success and I am looking forward to working with these groups one more time tomorrow.

These skills have also improved my ability to interpret. I find that when I come across a difficult concept to interpret I will utilize my skills form discovery to express the concept. This allows the deaf person to understand the topic more fully that may have been possible for them previously. This also allows me to communicate more effectively with the deaf person I am interpreting for.


On a totally separate topic. My friend with no goals read my blog and we had a long and wonderful discussion about this topic. It turns out that we have different views of what the word "goal" means. I was amazed to hear about her dreams and aspirations for life. The many wild and wonderful things she would like to accomplish fill me with inspiration. I was also deeply moved to hear of the thought and consideration she puts into each experience she has with the discovery programs. It seems that after each program she chooses to isolate herself to fully reflect on and internalize what growth she has experienced and to be ready to implement her new found skills at the next program. I find this to be a wonderful skill and one I can only hope to achieve at some time in the future. Odd how we can find little nuggets of knowledge in the most unexpected times and places.


Perhaps I am able to more clearly explain myself though writing than I am in person. It was only after reading what I had written that we continued our discussion and the misunderstandings were clarified. I love it when that happens it is like a brilliant light suddenly and expectantly illuminating a darkness that you never even realized existed.

Until next time,
Dana

MOTIVATIONI find that motivating myself is one of the hardest things for me to do. It is so easy for me to tell someone else to do something. I can even keep track and confirm that they are following through with whatever it is they started. This does not mean I do not self motivate; it just means it is a challenge for me. The best way I find I can motivate myself is to set goals both large and small. Along the way I do things like post to my Blog because my goal is to share my adventures with friends. Without my goals I would be content to just sit in bed and do nothing all day long.

Perhaps because I struggle so much with motivating myself to do, anything, I am intolerant with apathy. I think if I have gone to this much trouble to get my lazy but up and ready to do some stuff, then darn it the least the people around me can do it jump on board for some adventures. It is so easy to join someone else in an activity that is all ready to explode. This was one of the reasons my group in the unnamed city frustrated me so much. I was there to motivate and encourage and they just did not want to do anything. At times I was surprised they found the motivation to even breathe.

New Years day I was talking to a friend here in Russia and I asked what her life’s goals were. She had only one, to graduate from the university. This for me was a moment of epiphany, without goals then of course there will be little or no motivation to do anything. I have read several books on goal setting and worked diligently to improve my ability to set and follow through with my goals in life, but I have always had dreams and aspirations to motivate me to go beyond what I was currently doing. Heather told me to learn to accept this as it is just a cultural difference. Without goals, without constantly expanding your abilities and skills, without dreaming, you will never grow. Instead you become a mass of unrealized potential. Every person is capable of doing so many wonderful things in their life time and while I can accept cultural differences, I will not accept seeing a friend, choose to not live up to their enormous potential. At times it feels like I am beating my head against a solid brick wall, but it is worth it because with enough effort eventually the wall will crumble and a world of limitless opportunities will be revealed to my friend. I can only hope that my head is solid enough for the task. Perhaps I will include the task of goal setting in my workshops from now on to motivate them to action.On New Year’s Day we all slept for the greater part of the day. Remember, I did not get to bed until 8 AM. It was about 5PM by the time I was awake and ready to leave the house. It was a nice leisurely process. We had all agreed to go skating today so I headed out in the correct direction while keeping in contact with my cohorts through SMS. I arrived at the skating place and they were still meandering around the city doing, well I have no idea what they were doing, but whatever it was, was keeping them from being at the skating park. As I was standing in line at the Kacca (ticket booth) I saw several Deaf people in line in front of me.

This trip I have seen more deaf people in Moscow then I thought possible. It seems every time I turn around there is another group of deaf Russians to talk to. I started up a conversation with them using a mixture of Russian sign language and gestures. They explained the complex ticket process to me and how to rent skates as well. They then invited me to join them around the park. I accepted of course. I told them I would meet up with them as soon as my friends arrived.

After texting back and forth with Heather and the others, I gave up hope on them and decided to take advantage of the opportunity that was right in front of me. I am not sure what the big delay was with the rest of my group, but at the moment it was not my problem and I had no control over it. I met up with my new deaf friends, and we rented skates and headed out on the ice. It was an awesome time and I have a few pictures here of them. Eventually Heather and the rest of the gang arrived. I bid farewell to my new friends and rejoined my old ones.

I was very excited to see them. One, I had not seen Heather for any period of time since her solo adventures and I wanted details. Second, to my surprise Ilya and Lala were there as well. These are two of my friends from Russia that I had not seen yet. I am not going to lie, many hugs were exchanged in public and several people smiled. I just hope no one else saw how much fun we were having out in the open. After a few hours of skating we parted ways and headed to our respective homes.

Again it was another marvelous day with friends and family. Have you figured out the secret ingredient to have a good time yet? Remember, it is the one thing I always remember to bring with me and I keep it on me, almost at all times.

Best to all,

Dana

The Biggest Party of the Year and I was There

In Russia this time of year you will see signs all over the place with a phrase in Russian (obviously in Russian because it would be silly to have signs in a different language). This Particular phase translates to “happy new year”. New Years here is bigger than Christmas or as far as I know, any other holiday in the country. It is very cool that we were able to be here and be a part of it.I spent the day of New Years Eve sleeping a bit then hanging out at Maria’s place. My friend Christina wanted to go out and do something and I was definitely game for some fun!! I had previously promised Sean, Sarah, and Mitch that I would let them know if we were going out. I sent messages to them and exchanged every one’s text number so we would all be able to stay in communication. I heard nothing back from the three at Vitya’s house and Maria did not want to leave her house, so I headed out with Christina alone. Our goal was to go ice skating at a park pretty close to Maries place by metro. I had no idea what stop it was at but Christina had been there before. Of course we ended up at the wrong metro stop, but not before we took several wrong directions and accidently exited the system more than once.

Just so you don’t think that I am some super great traveler or something, I make mistakes all the time on my trips and hit stumbling blocks often. This trip on the metro is pretty typical for me. The key is how I deal with the problem that makes the trip enjoyable. Luckily Christina is of a like mind. We just went with the flow and had a good time exploring the metro system and talking with each other. We finally made it to the metro stop we were looking for and, oops, it was the wrong one. Turns out she had taken us to the metro with the blues bar nearby. We decided that going out for a drink would be a good idea at this point. We did just that, and had a wonderful time just talking about life and adventures. Funny Christina and I were talking about how we met and I just assumed I had known her for many years. She just feels like the kind of friend you have known forever. We came to the conclusion that I had actually only met her in late 2006 and really only hung out with her a few times. I guess when you meet a friend, and then time is not important, because with friends the bond is the important part.

We made it to the skating place, actually a park with pathways that had been sprayed down with water and left to freeze. This may be one of the coolest skating places I have ever seen! Unfortunately we arrived in time for them to close. Christina had skates but I did not. We left and headed back home, she to her sisters and me to Maria’s. Maria met me at the metro and we headed to Vitya’s place.

At this point Heather had returned safely from her private excursion in the unnamed city. I have heard second hand that Jean was very worried about her. I have also heard conflicting reports that Jean called several people crying asking if heather had returned yet. It is sweet that she cares so much. I know Heather well and I was fairly confident in her ability to take care of herself. I was of course relieved to hear she was back. Vitya picked her up at the train station so she would be meeting me at Vitya’s when I arrived.

Vitya’s parents are the epitome of a mother and father figure. Before you even make it in their house you feel the love and caring flowing around you like a cool rain on a warm day. Sasha the mother is constantly chattering away at you making sure you have everything you need, that your boots and clothes are placed in the correct spot, and that you have done everything you are supposed to have done at the right time, just like a mother should. Vitya’s father sits there in silence most of the time as a casual observer and ready to offer aide whenever you need it, just as a father should. Visiting their place is like going home to the family that you only read about in books. I can see why Vitya turned out to be such a good person. We had a marvelous dinner at Vitya’s house that of course ended in several toasts of vodka to bring in the New Year.

On TV and Movies the Russian people are made out to be a very stoic people, and in many ways this is correct. While riding the metro or walking around town the people in general look very serious. I am of the belief that the universe works in balance of various elements from the macro to the micro levels. The Russian people I have had the pleasure to be with have shown this to be true. When interacting on a more personal level they have proven to be a very warm and caring people. The stoicism is well balanced with a deep and genuine ability to express emotions towards others. This is much more intense than I experience at home in LA. In LA we maintain balance by behaving the same in public as we do in private. For all you tech geeks out there the term is WYSIWYG.

On the topic of public stoicism, they were true to form at New Years Eve in Red Square. Everyone just sort of stood there quietly for about an hour talking quietly to friends. I was actually able to hear Maria talking without difficulty, in this sardine packed area. It was slightly disconcerting, but interesting at the same time. I had done my hair straight up with a small stuffed ox attached for good measure. I stood out a bit and I loved the double takes I received when I would wish people a happy new year and they realized what was on my head. We all cheered in unison as the clock stuck midnight then quieted for a minute before calmly and orderly exiting the square. As my friend gentry would say “Awkward”

In our little group we had Sean, Sarah, Mitch, and Maria. Heather decided to stay home because she was exhausted from her trip. Mitch wanted a bar to keep his buzz going so we headed off in a random direction to find a bar. I took every opportunity I could to wish strangers a happy new year. My enthusiasm was infectious, as my group started to join in the fun. We were suddenly a roving band of well wishers. No one was safe from our merry wishes of a good year to come. At one point, we found another outside party with well ordered revelers. As we were leaving, some girl yelled in excitement so I joined and yelled back in excitement. Before I knew what was happening she had jumped on me wrapping her legs around me as we spun down the pathway dancing for about 10 seconds. She was holding a beer and according to Sean we made a wonderful sprinkler as the fluid flowed freely from her open bottle while we twirled. I was able to extricate myself and rejoin my friends on the way to the metro. We never did find that bar. Sorry Mitch maybe next time.

We made it back to the metro and we sent Vitya’s three off to find their metro stop while Maria and I headed back to her place. I spent the rest of the night picking on Maria and talking. Her great Grandmother is a famous poet here in Russia. She was a prolific writer as well. I found some children’s books she had written in the library. Maria helped me muddle through some of the poems. We finally went to sleep at 8 AM on New Year’s Day. All in all it was a marvelous day and a marvelous night and a marvelous morning. Adventures like this never come twice. Grab life by the horns and hold on for an outstanding memory, before it is too late and you can only reminisce about the things you never tried!!!

Later guys I will post again soon.

Heather's Solo Adventure

(written by Heather)

So, as Dana said, I took on a journey that was beyond any journey I have ever taken before. I have traveled alone in the US before, and I have traveled outside of the US with family, but when I ran into the opportunity to do some traveling alone, I had serious doubts about my abilities as a Deaf person to navigate in a country that speaks a language I can't even read or write.

When we arrived to the place (I never found out the name of the place we stayed at), I happened to notice two young women gesturing to the hearing cook in the cafeteria. I waited for their conversation to end, and then approached them with nervous excitement. I asked if they were deaf, and of course they were. They told me that 60 Deaf Russians from all over the country would be arriving the very next day. We agreed to meet up after the Discovery program was finished, and I began to ponder the possibility of us hosting a program for them. Jean did try to set up something, but it seems that it wasn't doable. At any rate, I saw the opportunity for lots of communication, socialization, and friendship. After our program, we (the five of us from the Discovery Program) met up with the Deaf Russians and discovered that they were part of a church group and that was why they were hosting a group of 60 Deaf Russians. They told us a bit about themselves, and in our gestures/ASL/RSL/international sign, we managed to chat all night long. It never ceases to amaze me how 2 hearing people who speak different languages always have difficulties communicating, but 2 deaf people can come together and they become immediate friends. There is also the feeling that you can understand where the other is coming from because no matter where we are in the world, our experiences as Deaf people are very similar.


After realizing that a large number of Deaf Russians would be in the area, and the Discovery group would be going back to their home base in Moscow, I began to ponder the possibility of a few of us staying an extra day. Alas, nobody else wanted to stay, but Dana saw this as a prime opportunity for me to experience traveling alone and encouraged me that I would be able to find my way back by myself. Having severe doubts, I unwillingly worked out plans for me to stay an extra day, food to eat, and a ride back to the train station. When I discovered that a woman from the hearing group we had been working with would be heading back to Moscow, I was relieved. Knowing that a Russian would ensure I would find my way back gave me the confidence to enjoy myself and to not worry about getting lost in the city.


When I said goodbyes to the Discovery group, I joined the 60-some deaf people and watched their leader preach to them. Of course, this was not my favorite topic (I am a christian, I just make it a personal thing and don't enjoy discussing it with others), but it gave me the opportunity to watch the Russian Sign Language and pick up a few signs. They even found an English translation on their laptop for me and I could read the story he was talking about as he preached. Afterward, they had social time, and I met a woman from Ukraine, who had a Deaf American friend and was fluent in ASL. She helped bridge the gap between the two languages when the conversations were more in-depth that they could not be gestured out. After that, they planned to watch a movie, and told me that they would have both the Russian and English subtitles. Confused, I asked how they would have two languages, but they assured me that they can have the English subtitles on the top, and Russian subtitles on the bottom. Amazed, I hung around to see this, but they ended up not showing the movie anyway. If it is true that you can have two different languages on the screen, heck, that's amazing!


One conversation that I had involved a young Deaf 6 year old who was cute as a button. I asked her if she wanted to come with me back to the states as she was so cute I would raise her like my own child. She replied that no, she would rather go home with her mother. Upon seeing this conversation, her father explained to her that America has lots of money, enough food to make you fat, gigantic mansions and loads of toys. He then asked her again if she wanted to join me, and her answer changed to an insistent nod. While her answer was hilarious, it was humbling to see their view of America.


A few conversations later, we ended up in the lobby where the Deaf Russians play a very interesting game of ping pong. Instead of two people playing on opposing sides, they had a group of up to 8 people around the table. As one person served on one side, the person on the other side had to hit it back, then instead of the first person hitting it again, the next person in the circle had to hit it. The people move around the table, and if they miss, they have 1 point against them. When a person has 3 or 5 (predetermined by the group) points, the player is out, and the group reduces and the speed of the players increase until there are two left, who play it like the Americans do until one player is the winner. This isn't easy to explain, but I have video, so perhaps when we have time, we can upload the video that I recorded.


After learning "good night" in Russian, I went to sleep and woke up to join them for breakfast. I learned more Russian signs, and they asked for many American signs. We had a short preaching time again before going outside for some games. We broke up into four teams, and the first game was to carry a balloon with a partner between the foreheads. After rounding a chair, the partners headed back and passed the balloon onto the next set of partners. The second game was where we each had to put a balloon in between our legs and hop our way around the chair and back (with the snow, it was not an easy task). The third game was so funny it put me into tears. Each person had five balloons tied to themselves, and we all had to try to pop them all and run back to our group before the other teams. My only regret is that I have video of the first two games, but not the last one. I'm sure you would have enjoyed seeing them... erm, thrusting into the bushes and pushing their butts into the trees, and people hugging into each other madly.


After lunch, I had to say goodbye and head back to Moscow. It was a truly enjoyable experience, and the Deaf Russians gave me a hat and a stuffed cow (it's the year of the ox) as a parting gift, and I gave them a small donation to their organization. I am truly thankful for their hospitality and the memories will be cherished. After finding my Russian friend who was to accompany me back, she told me that she had changed her mind and that she would not be heading back after all, I panicked. I had instructions for how to get back, but I guess I wasn't mentally prepared for the challenge. She did find me a ride to drop me off at the train station and I endured the 90 minute ride nervously. Alas, when I arrived at the train station, Vitya (our host) was there to pick me up and I arrived back safe and sound. The experience was immensely valuable and I can now understand the excitement and nervousness that entices Dana to travel abroad, even alone.