Today marks exactly one year since I first came to Russia

We receive letters...

Today marks exactly one year since I first came to Russia. I had never been there before. I came to translate documents for an application to the State Resettlement Program. I came alone. And back home, literally 2 days before the trip, my husband broke his leg and had surgery. He was in the hospital. The children were left alone to look after the animals. And I left with a heavy heart because of the whole situation. I got on the bus; it was evening and raining. We reached the Estonian border and crossed it quickly. Then came hours of waiting in the neutral zone. And at 5 a.m. our bus finally headed for the Russian border. 6 people were taken off the bus to speak with the FSB. And, of course, I drew the lucky ticket. And once again, hours of waiting. The conversation with the FSB officers was very interesting😊. First, as usual, they asked for my details, etc. Then came the standard questions: "Where are you going? What is the purpose of your trip?" The officers had already basically started answering for me, saying it was tourism. I honestly said: "I'm going to Pskov (by the way, I was the only person on the entire bus going to Pskov; everyone else was going to St. Petersburg), and the purpose of my trip is to translate documents and get to know the city as a future place to live." The guys perked up and asked: "So you're actually planning to move to Pskov?"
After I answered yes, they treated me like one of their own. They asked me a few more questions, of course, and then let me go with God's blessing. And we left the border at 2 p.m. I still remember how I greeted the flag with my eyes and watched it disappear. The most interesting thing was that there was already a little snow on the Russian side, and in some places there was even ice. On the Estonian side, it was raining.