THANK YOU TO MIGRANTS
MIRACLE (RUSSIA) – NEW TOURS (USA): YELLOWSTON RESERVED NATURE September 14-24.2016
THANKS TO MIGRANTS
As I already emphasized, I am not describing the route, you can read about it on the Internet. My task is to share my impressions that may be useful to those who follow in my footsteps.
So, I encountered the first interesting phenomenon immediately in Paris before boarding the plane to Salt Lake City. I submit a ticket (flight AF 8990, departure time 10.55, September 14). A hefty man (he should be turning barrels, not checking tickets) asks something. And I'm not a boom - a boom in ino. True, he memorized the phrase: "Ay from rush, English know. " The man glared at me from under his brows and gestured me to the table, where he literally turned my hand luggage inside out. He didn’t just shake it out, but untied every knot, carefully felt the seams not only of the backpack, but also of the shirts. And only at the end of the landing, apparently realizing that it would not be possible to provoke indignation, he graciously waved his hand. Why such close attention only to me. After all, no one else was shaken directly in front of the plane. Because I don't know English? Hardly. It remains - "rush"! Perhaps the man is our neighbor, friend, comrade and brother - a migrant from Ukraine. So, citizens, just in case, do not rush to admit that you are from Russia. Especially if you don't know English.
But that's a hint. And here is the fairy tale. More precisely, a story that you also will not read on the Internet. And which brought a lot of pleasure to our entire group. The fact is that in Salt Lake City we were met by a guide, who is also a bus driver, this time really a Russian emigrant from Belarus - Dmitry Grozovsky. Looking ahead, I’ll say that at the end they said goodbye to him, all in the group, almost with tears in their eyes. And it was from what.
It seems to be a simple, outwardly indistinguishable, slightly overweight, of medium height and no longer young. But from the very first minute he literally charmed everyone. At least by the fact that he immediately asked with maximum courtesy not to discuss politics, nationality and... women during the trip (the rarest case, there were half men in the group). Otherwise, they say, you will quarrel and get into such a quagmire, from which no one will find a way out. "You can only about the route. " And then he began to talk about it so penetratingly, even artistically, that we involuntarily forgot about everything else. And so from the first to the last day. Interspersing stories either with a movie (the richest collection, they chose in chorus), or with perfectly matched music (collected for decades) in the tone of the area through which they drove. And they wound a lot, almost three and a half thousand km.
I repeat: outwardly, a completely unremarkable person. Then - "from where, and what is this... " - as the poet exclaimed. After all, as I later found out, he does not have any special humanitarian education that would contribute to the talent of a guide. Even in Russia, he graduated from a technical school in his youth. But soon he was forced to emigrate. That's how fate happened. You can imagine: without a livelihood and a roof over your head, and most importantly - without knowledge of the "language". Yes, even with his wife, two small children and parents, both his own and his wife.
How is it? But the same way. I sat behind the wheel of a tourist bus, where the “language” was not needed with the local guide. Gradually on your own! (there was nothing to pay for the courses) learned to speak and even write in English. At the same time, he not only drove tourists, but stubbornly studied routes via the Internet, special literature. Patience and a little effort. And conscientious work is work in Africa, it is welcomed everywhere. Grozovsky was also noticed in the travel company. We tried it once - twice as a guide with a Russian-speaking group - and off we go. Moreover, it turned out, as they say, one god in three persons: a guide, a driver and - a talent in communicating with people. That's what I called Dmitry. He objected in all seriousness. Like, where is the talent. “You just need to respect people, do your best to make them feel good with you. There are no bad tourists and bad groups, there is a bad guide, ” Grozovsky gave his credo at the end. So Russia lost a wonderful hard worker. And America got it. Moreover, not only him, but also a no less hardworking wife and their four children, who have now grown up, received a good education and, like their parents, work successfully.
Of course, not all of our fellow migrants are worthy of praise. God forbid, and have mercy to encounter, for example, such as the host travel company "Banzai" in Japan. And yet, as practice shows, the majority of emigrants, at least in the tourism industry, are just like Dmitry. By the will of fate, they were forced to leave Russia. But he continues to do a great job, to work for us Russians. After all, thanks to his abilities and talent, we are much easier and faster, and most importantly, more productive, better learn all the best about the country we visited. So, no matter how blasphemous it may sound, but I personally do not regret that Dmitry emigrated. Personally, I (I have no doubt, and the whole group) needed it in the USA. Specifically - in Salt Lake City, in Yellowstone. On time and in the right place. In a word, our man abroad, with whom we felt at home to some extent. And thanks to him for that.
The next day after arriving from Yellowstone, I left for South Korea. Which didn't impress me personally. But the guides - that Maxim on the mainland, that Valentina on the island - and here they turned out to be on top and in their place. In a word, ours. (Not to be confused with the Japanese "Banzai", although these are Russian, they have never been ours). But there was also a surprise. The team was as united as ever. And all the personalities, as they say, write a novel even now. For example, Anatoly, similar to Gorbachev. Well, I’m admittedly a lively guy, but somehow he was always in front with his camera. Or Sergei with a graying beard. Quiet, modest, silent. And already half the world went around - on foot!
My roommate Alexander turned out to be no less colorful. Confident that he is extremely well-read, speaks the language and can tease anyone with impunity (within the framework of the law, of course). He began to hone his skills on me. At the same time, in my opinion, significantly transgressing the boundaries of decency. At first, he meticulously questioned my biography up to why he divorced his wife and then broke up with his girlfriend. As it soon became clear, he was not driven by simple curiosity. Because he immediately applied the information received in practice. For example: "That's why your wife left you. " Or: "That's why your mistress ran away from you. " Although, after all, he convincingly explained that even after 25 years of cohabitation, he filed for divorce due to a thousand times greater than banal betrayal and jealousy (although it was). And with a friend for 15 years of communication, we just got tired of each other and peacefully dispersed like ships in the sea. That from his side immediately also did not raise questions.
In short, I suffered for two days, was silent. And then he began to answer. A 57-year-old young (compared to me) man of pleasant appearance did not believe that, by virtue of my profession, my vocabulary exceeds it twice. Yes, and with logic, by virtue of the same profession, it will be better. In short, at first he was fastened, pretending to easily take blows. But from the wry smile it was noticeable that the neighbor was not at all used to receiving change. And soon he could not stand it, broke. He asked to return to the original positions of the status quo. To which I immediately agreed. It is not good for a professional to butt heads with an amateur, even if he asks for it. However, in the end, he nevertheless bit on the sly. On the last day, I forgot on the table in his half of the room (he chose the place from my suggestion first) the charger for the camera. I don't think he pocketed it. Rather, he hid. For me to forget. What happened. He left the room last, there was nothing on the table. Well, it was no longer necessary to charge. But God bless him. It is much more interesting that in 10 years of traveling for the first time in a group of 8 people, not a single delay when boarding the bus! (Unless your obedient servant was late at the very beginning for technical reasons). And this is really a miracle, which even the super-organized Chinese are probably not capable of. Vladimir Antonov