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The phrase "we're not in Kansas anymore" is so far removed from Belarus than Lenin belongs in the docklands of London but it is one phrase that has cropped up so many times in my first few days of this Belarusian family adventure. It has been several years since I last visited this former soviet state and things have been pushed forwards to make Belarus a lot more western and visitor friendly, certainly by the initial greeting that welcome us. Recalling the last visit you arrived in a marble clad entrance of the airport with what can only be described as a former female shot putter (with no sign of humour having crossed her face since her Uncle Ivor shot himself in the foot in a vodka fuelled rage) sat in front of you with only a feeling that she will may let you cross over the border! This has now changed, the illuminated sign "Welcome to Belarus" certainly impresses you and then you walk into the westernised lounge with air conditioning, plush toilets and ample trolleys and chairs. When I say walking what I actually mean is as a Westerner I walk and allow the elderly and young in front to avoid any cultural embarrassment. Not so the Belarusians, as soon as the plane touches the Tarmac they are running for the exit, the old, the young and infirm are pushed and often tossed aside in order to achieve their goal of the airport, to get through immigration and therefore out to their continuing journey before anybody else. Grabbing my children so as not to get trampled, Yuliya and myself amble into the airport to see 12 lines at the immigration checkpoint. We choose the least busy and patiently wait. The line in front slowly grows as the Belarussians regroup and realise in there desperation to get to immigration they have forgotten grandparents, child and indeed newborns! This is where one of the changes was noticeable, when other lines became quiet an officer with a smile (even rarer than pro-Ukrainian supporters in this area) offered us a place in a new line! The guard in the booth was friendly and allowed us into Belarus without any issues. What I saw next filled my heart with joy. With all the changes to the airport and no extra flights the baggage handling was still archaic! All of our champion sprinters were now queuing in quiet desperation watching a silent and very still baggage carousel! Now normally this would somewhat irk me but my delight in watching the athletes having to wait for their bags was somewhat pleasing in my normal moment of displeasure. As it turned out we and the others had to wait over 2 hours until the first sign of our luggage arrived! By this point I was ready to stab (with my plastic aeroplane spork) anyone who tried to push in front of me! There were only 2 aircraft arrivals in those 2 hours into Minsk.... It begs to be asked who the f*** works behind the curtain of the carousel and what is it they exactly do! Eventually to rapturous applause the carousel started to move. Our luggage came out quickly! So quickly in fact that we left behind our Belarussian counterparts and quickly walked through customs with smirks on our faces and the thought that they might never actually get out of the airport, they may still be there now just slowly watching the carousel turning for eternity!
To see the reaction of my parents in law seeing their grandchildren is priceless! Tanya (Yuliyas mother) has more contact with my daughter and son (through technology) than my own parents, through the joy that is Skype but to see and to hold her grandchildren in reality is something she can't do on a daily basis! The children had trouble breathing for the first 5 minutes with the continuous kissing and hugging they received. This was the first time Victor had met his first grandson James. I foolishly 3 years ago whilst in a vodka fuelled session with him said that the next time I came to Belarus I would bring him a grandson! The pressure was on but I really needn't have worried! 30 seconds effort on my part had produced this bundle of fun and indeed the much wanted grandson for Victor! Don't get me wrong Victor adores Maia but like a lot of things in Belarus Victor has old school sensibilities and one of those is to have a male heir! It was only through the next few days he would realise that Jamie loves prams, dolls and jewellery (the dangers of growing up with a female sibling). I know over the coming couple of weeks Jamie will be encouraged with shooting, trapping and fishing by Victor in a hope that he can in some way hammer in some masculinity!
The car journey from the airport which normally takes a little over 3 hours seemed to take near enough 5! Normally this would not be too much of any issues but we had two cranky children, both of which were vying for their mothers attention! We stopped for some food after an hour at a lay by next to the main Minsk-Brest highway! As soon as we opened the door it was like something from a Stephen King novel! It was as if we had parked on top of a wasps nest, as a swarm of wasps covered not only the food but poor Jamie who was still strapped into his car seat, we all ran leaving Jamie to fend for himself. Tanya did her best to whip the wasps into oblivion but to no avail. Within 5 minutes we were on the road again looking for the next, hopefully less terrifying, lay-by! Jamie didn't seem to mind as he had some pets to play with.
If you have never travelled in Belarus there is one thing you should know! It is flat and very featureless! Hundreds and hundreds of miles of arable farm land, dotted by villages and factories. Normally this is quiet monotonous but at this time of year, and the fact that there has been no rain in 6 weeks, it is harvest time for the farmers and their hundreds of thousands of acres of wheat! This is a surreal sight. With the sun setting and a mist of dust across the landscape giving an unearthly palette of colours! In England we don't get the massive combine harvesters but here every few miles a new team of combines criss cross the landscape gathering the wheat and spitting out massive bales ready for gathering!
A long trip is always going to be a challenge for any young child but I must say the kids coped remarkably well. In total 9 1/2 hours of travelling saw us leaving our home and arriving at the farm house in Beryoza!
Arriving at the farm late at night we settled the kids into bed, luckily Jamie had finally succumbed to the sandman just before we arrived and Maia only took a few extra minutes! The journey had been somewhat warm! Warm would be one word! My b******s felt like I was wearing a pair of satans undercrackers! I needed to cool down and there was one way that I knew of to achieve this!
The farm is adjacent to a lake, it is here that Tanya from spring to late autumn took her daily bath (the wonders of a bathtub have now prevailed). The lake beckoned us on the first night so once we had ensured the children were asleep we headed down! It's only 2 minutes walk from the farm and it was silent! The water was still and unblemished without a breeze to disturb the silence! The weather had been hot for the previous few weeks so the ambient temperature of the water was luke warm! Even saying this when I lowered myself into the water the refreshing exhilaration took my breath away! Lying on my back and drifting out into the bottomless unknown I looked up at the sky and gasped in awe. In England, even at its best, the stars will never look this plentiful or neverending! The arch of the milky way stretched from horizon to horizon! Looking at this belittled my entire being, my entity, my everything! The insignificance of my life came into focus and the realisation of living every minute and hour to its whole! To complete this life with a purpose and meaning! "Steveskie! Steveskie! I hear my wife Yuliya, who brings my tired and slowly refreshing mind into focus! I am drifting out like a piece of of driftwood into the middle of the lake in danger of being lost into the night!
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