It’s now a few weeks since we returned form our visit to Perm, Russia and I now feel ready to write about the impressions made on me by this remarkable, beautiful, mysterious and hospitable country. In this piece I’m just going to outline first impressions and then hope to develop the chosen themes, a little like the pieces on Afghanistan written last year.
Since our return I’ve been in touch with the others and we have all been suffering from jet and train lag and some of us have had colds and coughs. By ‘us’ I mean seven people who visited Perm as part of the Perm/Oxford twinning link. We were a diverse group and I learnt a great deal from my travelling companions on our long journey and many outings made in Perm. Some spoke Russian, some were regular visitors and all had a fascination for the country.
I’m hoping to write about travelling on a Russian train, religion and culture, water, visual impairment and other disabilities, Perm State University and our hosts, and what ever else springs to mind.!
Two of us had no Russian at all and tonight we are signed up for a beginners’ Russian course.
Our two week stay in Perm has left me with a desire to explore the riches of this vast and paradoxical country. Whether I am able to return remains to be seen but yesterday I signed up for a course at Woodbrooke, the Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, on Quakers in Russia. This seems a good way to proceed and perhaps I’ll be able to make contact with Russian Quakers.
Live Adventurously 