A Day In My Life in Russia

Twenty five years ago today, on March 20, 1984, I arrived in Moscow on a very cold winter morning (7am Moscow time; 12 noon Manila time) to attend the 27th UNIDO/ UNDP Fellowship Program in Iron and Steel Industry at Zaporoztahl Iron and Steel Works in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. I was one of the two engineers representing the Philippines (both of us were from National Steel Corporation in Iligan City) with 15 other engineers from 9 other developing countries attending this 4-month training program. It was my first foreign travel and I traveled alone (my other colleague would follow a week later), and the jitters of experiencing all the firsts in my life I would never forget.

It was a long trip. I left Manila the day before at 3pm bound for Singapore. Here, I would change aircraft, (from Philippine Airlines to Russia's Aerofloat) and had a brief stopover at New Delhi (India) where I was almost left behind. I could not forget the stewardess announcement as we were about to land in Moscow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a few minutes, we willl be landing at the Shereyetmevo International Airport. Ground temperature is 10 degrees below zero. Welcome to Moscow."

Below, I could see airport and police personnel on guard, in thick fur coats and hats, the red insignias prominently visible. At the arrival area, for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of helplessness. Nobody spoke English; I could not understand a single Russian word nor comprehend what they were saying. The only word that made sense was "NYET" which I understood to be "NO" because I took out a trolley which the guard prevented me from taking. I was fortunate, a kind European lady helped me in filling out Customs and Immigration papers.

I was expecting and looking for somebody to meet me. But when everyone else had already gone out, I decided to go out also. Just then, a stocky medium height guy approached me and asked "Are you Mr. Delid?" When I answered back, "Yes I am," he offered his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Oleg. I'm from UNIDO. I have come to meet you. Welcome to Moscow." I felt a big big relief.

In the taxi, I asked,"Mr.Oleg, the aide memoir says it's springtime now. But it's still winter." He replied, "Mr. Delid, to the Ukrainians, it's still wintertime. But to the Muscovites, it's now spring." It seemed to me then that Ukraine is far and different from Moscow. Events later will tell that indeed, they are a different people and two different republics.

I stayed in Rossia Hotel, reputedly then, the largest hotel in Europe with 3000 rooms. It was a stone's throw away from the majestic and famous Kremlin and the Red Square. I slept the whole day. In the evening, I joined my classmates from Peru and Yemen for dinner. With the Red Square and Lenin's tomb in the background, we toasted for our safe arrival and wished for our pleasant stay for the next 4 months.