Where the Day Takes You

Living in Moscow and being involved with Rotary can bring unexpected and inconvenient, but also rewarding experiences. My host Rotary club asked my Rotaract club to help with a small group of Rotarians visiting from Greece. Information was sketchy, but there were four people coming for some fundraising dinner, and there was supposedly the son of an ambassador in the group. Further details there were not, we’re getting info from the secretary of a Rotarian who is handling the visit. I volunteered to meet them at the airport, and offer to show them the city, invite them to our Rotaract meeting; simply find out what help they need in Moscow.

On Tuesday mid-day I make my way out to the airport, an hour and a half by subway and bus. Rotary has hired a small van and driver; I am to meet him at the airport and we will attend to our guests. I meet the driver and we wait for the passengers from Athens to exit passport control and customs. We wait for an hour, no one. I call the gal from our Rotaract club who coordinates our international activities, to tell her what happened. She contacts the above-mentioned secretary and finds out that a car from the French embassy has picked up the guests. I am to take the van to the embassy, where they are waiting for me. Fortunately, the driver, Anatoli, and I are getting along quite well, and we have fun chatting as we make our way through famous Moscow traffic jams to get to the embassy. He tells me that he has been instructed to await instructions from the guests, whether they need him or not after the embassy. So I ask him to wait as I go into the embassy, I will call him on his cell phone to give him an update.

Next thing I know I am sitting with these Rotarians from Greece and the wife of the French Ambassador to the Russian Federation in their private section of the embassy drinking very good espresso. It turns out these Rotarians are all French, but live in Greece and have formed a French-speaking club there. Then in walks the Ambassador himself. Quite an exciting thing for this poor kid from North Dakota who is studying international relations. Being a Rotaracter, however, I don’t feel overwhelmed, and am grateful for the timing, as when they asked me what I’m doing in Moscow, I can say I was studying but will soon start work with an investment bank, which doesn’t sound too shabby. Something I couldn’t have said a week ago.

The Rotarians ask me if I have any plans for the evening, they are looking for something to do. I invite them to our Rotaract meeting, and they are very pleased to accept. We have a few hours before the meeting, and they ask if we can see a bit of Moscow, maybe go to Red Square. I reply that this is no problem, I have a van waiting outside.

You just never know where the day will take you.