The ‘real’ Sochi from the eyes of a teenager.

I have been really saddened by the comments Putin has made regarding homosexuality.  It does a huge disservice to the many many kind Russians that I met when in Sochi in 1993.  Although the polictical landscape is not to be celebrated.  The beautiful people and sceanary of Sochi should be.

I was privileged enough to go on an exchange to Russia, spending about ten days living with a family in Sochi.  Sochi just happens to be Cheltenham’s twin town, a spa town.  Although the spa looks very different to Cheltenham’s Pump Rooms which is where you can drink the salty spa water that supposedly has magical qualities.  The family I lived with happened to be the most caring, hospitable people that you could wish for.  On arrival at their flat (all the host families were typical Russian families) we were surprised by the size of homes that the family lived in, they were very small.  We were shown to our room which my best friend and I were to share for the duration.  After being shown the other rooms we realised that we had been given the parents bedroom.  The three children all in the second room.  That was the first sign of their true hospitality, they took us in and treated us as their own.  We feasted on traditional Russian food washed down with shots of vodka! We ate soups and broths and even a frog.  Not how the French dish up frog we actually had a whole frog on our plates.  The following day the frog bones were boiled up for our soup.  We made a pact together that we would eat whatever was put in front if us knowing how much extra it would be costing to feed us.  It was our very own version of I’m a celebrity, eating various bush tucker trails!

I have watched on the news how Sochi has been redeveloped for the Olympics and I hope that this has bought work for the locals and will improve their outcomes.  I was there when a Barbie doll was the equivalent to a years salary.  When Vadim came to Cheltenham to stay with us we ensured he wore levi’s home and we bought gifts for all the family including dolls for Masha his younger sister and beauty treats for his older sister and mum.

At the time Sochi was unbuilt, a mass of concrete with a beautiful sea.  Children ran and played amogst the rubble, men all drove lada cars.   Sochi was beautiful in the sunshine and we spent many hours with Vadim’s friends on the beach.  We were supposed to be rehearsing daily for a drama and music concert we were putting on with the Sochi students.  However we landed on our feet staying with Vadim who broke all the rules going!  We were often late for our sessions and he was the cool kid. We were taken  to see the real Sochi and feel the warmth of the real people.  His family had klout and didn’t appear to experience the poverty of most.  They were able to have a huge jar of hot chocolate appear one night after I had mentioned that we drink it at home in the evenings! Weawoke in the morning and there it was on the dining table!  We asked no questions.  When Vadim came to us he bought more dollars that the rest of the party and had strict instructions of some electricals to buy for his dad.   We only realised just how much money he had when he realised my mum had washed his jeans.  He panicked, ran out to the washing line then showed mum that he had hidden a few hundred dollars in the tiny little pocket on the waistband!

I want people to remember that the views of a political leader are not representative of all the people.  I hope that Vadim and his family have benfitted from the tourism that the Olympic Games will bring.  I often wonder what happened to them and remember our stay in Sochi with great affection.

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