Once, when I lived in Vancouver, I was in the steam room of the aquatic centre at UBC and some enormous old Russian man was asking me questions about what I studied. I told him post-Soviet economic reform and transition (because that's totes a thing) and he was asking if I had ever been to the FSU. Well, in 2008 I had not. In 2008 I was green as. He said I would love Ukraine, and that Minsk was a beautiful city. Minsk, Minsk, Minsk. Ugh, typically colonial Russian, am I right? I felt a little bit bad correcting him--but not too bad, you know, because being a student of the Geographies I still have no problem with letting people know I spent $25,000 learning how to point things out on a map and that I'm actually really, really good at it--and when I said, "Actually, it's Kiev" he bellowed, "Oh yes, Kiev! Minsk is…BYELORUSSIA!" To this day I am completely incapable of thinking about the White Russia without chortling and bellowing in accidental if reverential mimicry.
Anyway Minsk. THE be all, end all of Belarus. It's a lovely, lovely place, though it was nearly impossible to find the hostel I was staying at. the main issue was that there wasn't really a hostel, I was renting some apartment. I had the address but the downtown of Minsk is difficult to navigate with all the alleys and archways and honestly with the lack of free wifi I was really having a time. Everyone in Minsk seemed to be having more fun than me and there is nothing that stresses me out more than carrying a bag and having no idea where I will sleep that night while others have the time of their lives. It feels me with such anxious resentment. I finally found a vegan cafe that had wifi and I was able to figure out that the apartment was literally right above where I was sitting. I was able to ring up, wake up the girl who was supposed to collect the money from me, and then go right to bed to prepare myself for a whirlwind tour of the capital the next day.
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