Sharing a Moment in Sheremetyevo, or: how my plan to study maps of Central Asia and brush up on the Russian language was foiled by Strawberry pulp vodka

Yep, that's right: I'm in Moscow.  As in Russia.  I am finally making my dreams happen and I am going to Bishkek, which is what all young men should be doing on their journeys to "find themselves."  Thank god I spent so much time reading War and Peace because it has really prepared me for the raw Russian spirit and the harsh realities of the Russian landscape.  Or at least it would have if I were allowed to leave the airport without getting shot.  You have no idea how tense it was flying into this place and not being sure if my flight was in fact leaving from the same terminal.  And the worst part is that I did not even get a Russian stamp on my passport.  It's like I wasn't even here.  

Anyway, during my 7 hour layover at Sheremetyevo a lady dropped her keys in front of my and when I handed them back to her she saw my map of central Asia and sat down next to me with her friend and immediately began asking me questions about my trip to “Tashkent.”  No sooner had I responded with “Bishkek” than she pulled out a 1 litre bottle of strawberry pulp vodka, cracked the lid, and passed it around.  She was from Yaroslavl, was flying to Belgrade to meet her husband who works in oil, and had a fear of flying that only strawberry pulp vodka could cure.  She absolutely loved me too.  I would say, “Thank goodness I’m an attractive, Caucasian male” but I don’t think I’m that good-looking as I always have that weary traveler look.  Although I do seem to appeal to the over-35 crowd.  Anyway, I think she was more drawn to the fact that I spoke Russian.   In any case they kept saying “Tashkent” and I kept telling them “Bishkek” but I think we need to stop for a second and remember that in the Russian geopolitical imagination, it’s all “Turkestan.”

Other features of Sheremetyevo include insanely overpriced beer, stale sandwiches, and these fantastic vacuums that smokers all hover around and puff away.  They are very powerful.  Apart from that, there wasn't a lot to do except finish the strawberry pulp vodka and wait for my 11pm flight to the heartland.  Just watch me permeate the World Island, MacKinder.  

Moscow Moment.