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Saratov → Voronezh

  • September 18, 2019 by Uncle_sam01
  • 24 years
  • 3
  • 504 kms
  • 67 kmh
7 hours and 30 minutes    44 minutes    G 6 hours and 10 minutes
2nd ride

The Caucasian

Nice Lezgin guy who was born in Azerbaijan. He seemed a little too nice, so I became a bit suspicious. He topped it with “Are you gay?” when I told him I had no girlfriend, so I thought “Ok, here we go” and said “No.” He actually surprised me and said “Good, there’s a lot of them in the West”. I told him I thought it was the same everywhere, regardless of the place, but in Russia they were scared. He replied that he “hated faggots” and I tried to explain that I didn’t really care and they didn’t bother me. The conversation got a bit awkward at that point, but he still remained nice. Was driving from Saratov to some middle of nowhere after visiting his daughter who got sick. Showing true Caucasian hospitality, he invited me to a roadside restaurant for a meal :)

3rd ride

The Almaty Russians

An ethnically Russian family moving to Voronezh, having taken advantage of Putin’s resettlement program for ethnic Russians. They got a grant for which they bought an apartment and left their old life in Almaty behind. Had a very long conversation with the dad (I sat with him in their van with their dog, while his wife and son drove their second car) about everything, but mainly about Kazakhstan and their choice to move. It became increasingly clear throughout the ride that this was a huge change and that it would take a while for them to adapt to what was basically Europe. We stopped a couple of times to get snacks and rest, every time their son (who could’ve been 17) asked me a lot of questions about my travels and seemed genuinely curious – I tried to spark wanderlust, hopefully I succeeded :) I observed culture shock in its purest form when we went into a Western style mall for dinner, where the family got really surprised by plastic silverware and plates at the food court. The dad also poured vodka into a coffee mug under the table and just sipped it after the meal. I thought the mother wasn’t too happy about it until she started to take sips, too :D I later realized that I’d witnessed a pivotal moment in their lives and that these moments rarely happen, so I’m really glad to have been a part of it. I also realized that despite these guys having been ethnically and culturally Russian, they were more Kazakh than they realized.

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