I decide I should try to get some more sleep, so I lie down and put a CD in my portable player. Loreena McKennitt - The Book of Secrets. The music is dark and myserious, and adds to my mood. The song 'Night Ride Across' is particularily appropriate, as it was inspired by Loreena's adventure on the Trans-Siberian.

The rythm of the train is comforting, like a heartbeat, bringing me steadily close to my beloved.

I eventually do fall asleep, and wake again at about 6am. I decide to take the chance to use the bathroom and wash up now before anyone else is up. The washroom will close at 8:30, in preparation for arrival in Yoshkar Ola. I get back to my cabin, and listen to music for a while. At some point, I casually bring my left hand to my right to play with the ring on my right ring finger. It's made of black agate, and was given to me by Lilia last summer. I have worn it ever since. It's not there.

I search desperately. I can't understand what could have happened, since I never take it off. As I'm digging through every corner of the cabin, the konduktra comes by. I explain as best I can in Russian, and she helps me search, to no avail. I also search the bathroom (which is very clean, thanks to her), but no luck. We finally agree, 'zhalka bit', and give up. She brings me a cup of tea, which is very welcome.

She is cleaning the hallway of the wagon, and discovers small pieces of my ring. It must have broken in the night, and fallen off as I went to the bathroom. I know Lilia will understand, but I am still sad to lose something so personal from her.

I'm expecting the train to arrive in Yoshkar Ola at 9am, but I had the time wrong. It actually doesn't arrive until 9:28, and those are the longest 28 minutes of my life! The train slows to a crawl, and I feel like getting off and running!

Finally we arrive, and through the window, I see Lilia searching for me. She doens't know about the switch of compartments, so she doesn't know which wagon I'm on. I yell out to her, and then scramble to get my bags and get off the train.

We are both nervous seeing each other again. Her mother Nina is there as well, and has just gotten off working the night shift at ICN (a large pharmacutical company). They spend about five minutes negotiating with different taxi's, and finally get one with a price they like. I have no idea how much it is, but I know the difference was probably not worth the time spent standing there. Of course, that is my perspective, and that difference of perspective would come back to haunt me.

We drive to the edge of town, where, although apartment buildings are in better condition, that isn't saying much.

Lilia has her own apartment, but usually lives with her mother and grandmother. When I'm there, we stay in her apartment together. When I was there last, it was just being renovated. Now it's much nicer. The bathroom is done, and the bathtub is very large and very inviting. I'm looking forward to a good soak! The kitchen has new kitchen cabinets. They were Nina's pay last month. It seems the fifth largest pharmacutical firm in the world can't afford to pay their Russian employees cash, so they give them cabinets and tiles instead.

While I'm taking a bath, the ladies are putting food on the table. Anyone who has been there knows what I mean. It is said that a Russian will starve for a month, in order to put everything on the table for a guest. As we are drinking tea, and eating jam, and condensed milk, and cake that Lilia has made, Nina (through Lilia) explains to me that the variety of food that they have is thanks to my financial support. You can survive in potatos, but it gets pretty boring.

I bring out several plastic containers of almond rocha that I made. They are very impressed, which makes me very happy. I also bring out several framed photos from my last trip. The glass is broken on one, but the picture is unharmed. We do a lot of catching up, and talking. Nina finally goes home, I think to sleep. I should have known better. This lady is tougher than nails, and has already been up for over 24 hours. Right now, she's going home to cook dinner for her mother, before going back to work for another night shift.

It's getting to be late afternoon, and Lila and I are both yawning. She asks for help ironing some cotton bed linens. We spend some wordless very close time, passing the iron back and forth, ironing sheets and pillow cases, and those sheet-sacks they put blankets in.

When we finished, we made my bed, and then I helped her make hers, and returned to mine to yet another very deep sleep.

I woke up several hours later, and Lilia was already up cooking. We had some dinner, and she asked me to set up the TV and VCR. She has a collection of remotes and manuals, some from equipment back at the other apartment. I finally get the correct English manuals together, and start to play around with it. I finally determine that the antenae cable is broken somewhere. There is no signal on it. I do get the stereo set up, and we listen to some CDs, and I show her the photos from my last trip to Russia. Many of the pictures are from St. Petersburg and Moscow, shortly before I met Lilia. She was in St. Petersburg with her mother as a little girl, but doesn't remember any of it.

We continue talking, some with our pocket dictionaries, but for the most part we have learned to understand each other's language limitations. Some Russians can understand me better than others. Nina can hardly understand me at all, and Lilia usually has to translate my Russian to real Russian for her. I have been able to talk to other Russians who don't know any English, but Nina and I have a hard time.

I see Lilia is getting tired, so I go back to my room to get some sleep, although it's just time to get up back on PDT, and I don't really feel like sleeping.

Part 1

Trip 2 Index

Part 3