Leningrad as a local
In my list of magical Russian places that I wanted to
visit after hearing my stepfather's tales, Saint Petersburg definitively occupied
the first place. Home to the absolutely incredible Hermitage and a UNESCO
World heritage site, the beautiful Leningrad is considered the cultural capital of Russia and its second biggest city. I
always pictured myself as a tourist, strolling by its river near the stunning Church
of the Savior on Spilled Blood reflecting on the cultural heritage of Catherine
the Great.
However, I recently considered the fact that much more
could be added to this original idea of experiencing St. Petersburg as a museum when I could rather be part of it, at least for a while. One of
the most joyful ways to accomplish this goal could be exchanging my own life experiences
for the privilege of experimenting the real St. Petersburg first hand from its
residents. I was extremely happy to discover that there are numerous
opportunities to use my talents and career to have a very real experience like
the one I've been dreaming of.
GeoVisions (www. http://geovisions.org) is an organization
dedicated to make dreams like these happen, an international education and
cultural exchange group. Their vision really resonates with my view of the
world: that more cooperation and understanding between nations is possible, if
only we knew each other better. I was fascinated to find that it is possible to
organise through GeoVisions a 3 month homestay experience with a local family
in St. Petersburg. The volunteering job consists of helping the host family
with their English skills in exchange for the privilege of living with them and
learning their culture first hand.
I still look forward to the day when my image of
strolling by the river becomes true. I have, however, modified my original
dream a little: I might walk in the company of the locals, talking about their
lives and dreams. Learning a bit more about these things connects us as humans
and forgetting some of the ones that separate us.
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