I went to visit an old friend, whom I haven't seen in over three years, in his hometown of Suwon thinking it would be a convenient stop along the way to Incheon airport. Well, it was convenient, but not necessarily my best decision. I forgot how much he loves to drink. We met up at 7pm and I don't remember getting back to his place, but he tells me it was around 3am. The last conscious moment I had was at 11pm. That's a lot of lost time. I honestly have no memories, but I will forever remember the worst hangover of my LIFE the next day. And this is how I began my 36 day journey to Russia.
I got to the airport and, despite my hangover, I was feeling like a total BAMF with my coat, backpack, and nothing else - ready to take on the hugest country on earth. It was only when a man came up to me at the gate asking me something in Russian that the reality of how little grasp of the language I have really hit me. I totally choked. My default in this situation is to smile and nod however, Russian people don't like when strangers smile. They see it as insincere. That's when I realized I'm in for a month of really awkward situations.
Now side note, whenever I book a flight, I ALWAYS choose the special meal option. Why? 1) You get your food first. 2) It's always healthier and more delicious. I SWEAR by this. I bring this up because I did not do this on my flight to Russia. So our inflight food was a smoked salmon sandwich. Now, I loves me some lox, but on a plane? Like, in the air? Where did that salmon come from and how long was it sitting in a paper box. I want to know. But maybe that's just me.
My plane arrived late and I, very unfortunately, had to take a taxi to my hostel. It was expensive and I had a fight with my driver because he tried to swindle me. Also, he stopped to get gas midway through the drive and kept the meter running. I was having none of that. I won the fight, got to my hostel and despite rooming with some true characters, I slept.
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