Culmination

So, this is it! Tomorrow I fly for home, so I thought I would reflect on things that I've learned as I've traveled through Russia and Estonia (and a day trip to Helsinki).

~The world is huge.
I mean, it's amazing how easy it is to communicate from one edge of the earth to another, but there are SO many people and SO many places and SO many different cultures in the world! It may sound silly, but I didn't fully comprehend until this trip that there are thousands of cities that are homes to millions of people who all go about their daily lives just like you and I do. These billions think and worry and laugh and pray just like we do, and that's amazing to think about when you realize it.

~Cultures are different, but the same.
Along those same lines, there are as many different cultures as there are people in this world, and they're so fun to get to know! Russian culture seems very reserved, with sober faces on the streets and little extraneous conversation, but once you talk to a Russian, they want to talk for hours! It's not okay to just say, "What's up?" and then walk away. I love that. If people like you, they tell you that they like you. If they're happy, they tell you they're happy (Inna did that very thing tonight at dinner, and it made me happy!). Even with the differences, Russians (and Estonians and Finns and everyone in the world for that matter) just want to spend time with people they love, have fun, and not have anyone tell them to do otherwise. Is that a global commonality or what?

~There is too much world to control.
Studying the imperial history of Russia, the soviet regime, and the occupations of Finland and Estonia have taught me that there is just no way that any country can have power over the world, for bad or for good. The Russian Empire tried to control about 1/3 of the world, and honestly did a half-way job. Basically, they spent billions of dollars on themselves and palaces while people suffered in every region under their control. Soviet Russia wanted the same size empire, and it costs them millions to starvation and terror of corrupt, paranoid leaders. Germany also occupied Estonia, but they exterminated the Jewish population while they were at it. Through all of this, the U.S. was fighting wars in varying degrees of righteousness in other areas. The Estonian Occupation Museum talked about waiting for a "White Ship," the Western Democracies who they hoped would grant them relief from the Germans and the Soviets, but that ship never came. For 50 years they suffered under totalitarian Soviet rule. Why? Because the world is too big and everyone has too many balls in the air. I'm not saying it was the West's job to bail out Estonia or that it's any countries job to do that sort of work, but it's a sobering thought.

~Nobody appreciates things the same way.
Being on a trip with a group of any size is a test on anyone's patience. It's not that everyone on the trip wasn't perfectly agreeable, it's just a long time to be with a group. Every one came on this trip for different reasons, and appreciated things to different degrees. I think it's really an asset to a trip like this rather than a liability though, because it never makes anyone grow to be around a bunch of people just like them (or be by themselves). It made me appreciate the cathedrals more because others didn't as much. It also peaked my interest in military history, because others had backgrounds in that. Most of all, it was great to hear so much about Chinese culture from my new friends. That was just like a bonus! I'm not saying I might not have enjoyed myself more if I had been on this trip with my best friends and family, but I think that I learned more about the subject, the places, the culture (and comparing it with ours), and myself by going with this group.

~History is people, and that's why we can never know everything.
Talking to Mikhail, Andre, Inna, her father, and Anatoli has given me a totally different insight into Russian history and how it continues to affect people today. Now, think about how many people there are in the world, that have lived in the world, or WILL someday live in the world. That's a pretty infinite number of different human experiences, all of which play an integral part in the history of the world. The most striking thing about learning all these peoples' personal histories is that, as hard as I tried to regurgitate it all to this blog every night, I can't possibly remember everything they told me. So even if you DID talk to every person that has ever or will ever live, you STILL wouldn't be able to remember all their stories and fit them together like they ought to be! That's AMAZING. History is much more than dates and places, my friends. It's a beautiful web of experience, and that's why I will never tolerate anyone who says that History majors are slackers.

And don't even get me started on Education majors.

Thank you, everyone who read part or all of this blog. I would have written these posts for myself, but knowing that you are reading it and getting something out of it made it much more enjoyable and much more constant. I love you, I would love to talk the ear off of anyone who asks about my trip, and I promise that I'll be writing again the next time I travel. :)