I need to be honest in this text: The only reason I looked for Workaway was to save some money during my trip.
Since I was planning to travel for more than 6 months, I have had to figure out the best deals in terms of accomodation, food, tours and activities.
Workaway offers backpackers the opportunity to travel within a budget by providing free housing and meals in exchange for work, while also making it possible to hang out and get to know a lot of locals.
If you’ve never heard of Workaway, I’ve written a short description that you can see here.
So, basically, I was in Australia getting ready for my big trip that would start in Southeast Asia and finish somewhere that I hadn’t decided, but I knew it would be in Europe. I had just won tickets in a FIFA lottery to go to a World Cup match in Saint Petersburg. For this reason, I started to search for some places to volunteer in Russia’s second largest city. After applying for multiple volunteer opportunities on Workaway, only one of them answered me. Her name was Irina and she had a few reviews on her profile – no more than five. Because of this, I decided to contact one of the people who had worked with her. After making sure it was safe to go there, Irina and I discussed the house rules and the dates that I would arrive.
The deal was: I would work around 20 hours per week teaching English to her son, playing football with him and I would also have to paint some walls for maybe one or two days. That was more than ok for me.
However, one month before my arrival in Russia, she had some different news: apparently her house was quite full and it would be quite uncomfortable for me stay over there for the 14 days I had planned. She gave me the option of staying with her friend (Anna), who was also looking for somebody to help out with the kids, but didn’t even have a profile on Workaway therefore no reviews either. I became a little bit insecure, so I said to Irina that I could consider that option, but I wanted to stay at least the first night at her house. It was not my fault that the house was suddenly full. She agreed.
Another thing that was clear to me was that Anna, Irina’s friend, didn’t know English, otherwise she would have personally contacted me and offered me a place.
The lesson that I took from all this story is: if you want to use Workaway make it really clear to your hoster what you want. Do not hesitate to say your limits, your necessities and purposes for the trip. You are not doing a favor to anybody, since you are going to work. Besides, considering that Workaway is a platform to share some experiences and skills, you should enjoy as much as the hoster. So you must set up everything before and not during your stay. And even if the hoster doesn’t ask or mention something that you think that can be important, S A Y I T . This avoids any misunderstandings or future regrets.
Stepping in Russia
Well, my trip in Asia was wonderful, but on the 10th of June was the day to head to Russia and I was so so so excited. I got to Saint Petersburg by nighttime and another volunteer who was also staying at Irina’s, went to pick me up. Her name is Monica and she is a great Colombian lady that became a good company for me in Saint Pete. Here goes one more advice: ask for someone to pick you up somewhere on your arrival. Do not forget that you are arriving in a new country, where maybe you don’t speak the language – I speak as much Russian as I speak Mandarin LOL – and you will certainly be full of luggage and tired from the flight. That was me that day, and luckily Monica was there for me.
When I arrived at Irina’s place she was already on bed, so I had the time to eat a soup – by the way, soups from Russia are great! – and go to sleep. I knew that the day after I would have a chat with her about the place I was going to stay. But at least I was happy to be in a warm house, which I knew it was safe.
This was my room at the first night. And this tiny bed was mine.
I woke up early the next day and Irina invited me to have breakfast with her and later on we would go to a second hand free market. It was in this market that she mentioned her friend’s house and after getting all the information I needed, I decided to say yes and go to this new place. I didn’t really feel that staying at Irina’s would be comfortable and, after all, be in a place where you are not so that welcome is quite unpleasant.
Besides, it would be a good experience to go to another family where nobody spoke English. It would be quite fun.
So, summing all up what was happening to this lonely traveler so far:
I got accepted in a Workaway volunteer opportunity in Russia.
1 month before getting there I received some bad news which said that it would be better for me not staying with them anymore, but actually go to another house.
I said no. I didn’t take the offer from the beginning.
But after knowing the first house and thinking a bit, I decided that maybe changing places would be a great idea.
There I was, dragging my huge bag in Saint Petersburg streets again. Going to a new place that I didn’t know how to get. Everything I had was a piece of paper saying the number of the bus that I needed to catch after leaving the subway. No data, no GPS and as I was about to find out: no simple way to communicate with the Russians.
Since not many of them speak English, I didn’t know how to ask for directions on how to take my bus. I was in a big avenue and I could easily take the wrong way by mistake and go more distant to Anna’s place. It was already night and nobody understood what I wanted with my mimics. This time I regretted not having data in my phone. But it was too late to think about that.
After some frustrated attempts to communicate with people I finally found a hero on my day. His name was Elyar and he was from Kirkstan. His English was not good either, but he understood what I needed and his few words made me feel way safer: “ok. have free time. help you”. The only thing that I wanted was knowing which bus I had to take, but this dude decided to go with me to Anna’s house and he paid my bus. Even though I insisted on giving him the money and putting my money on his pocket, he didn’t take it. When we got to Anna’s townhouse, he called her and made sure that I was safe before leaving. By the end of it, I gave him the entire box of Ferrero Rocher that I had brought for Anna. He was too nice to accept it, but after some insistence, he accepted.
It is in this kind of situation that you realize that the world is full of good and kind people, that are always willing to help. But for any stupid reason, we usually focus more in the bad people that cross our path. Elyar was going to a complete different direction, but he stopped to help me out. I am sure that I would never have done it without him, because Anna’s house was quite hidden and I didn’t have a map. Thanks little bro, you made my trip waaay easier!
(By the way guys, buy some data. Don’t be careless like me).
Starting in the new house
I said goodbye to Elyar and the only thing that I could tell Anna was “hello”. She also didn’t speak English and at that moment I realized that the translator would have been my best friend during my stay there.
We walked a bit to get to her apartment and it was there where one of the best moments of my trip occurred. I stepped into her place and started to untie my shoes at the same time that she said something in Russian. My head was down and I was looking at my feet, but I knew she was not speaking to me. I heard some steps. When I looked up I saw three children were aligned in the hall staring at me. They had their hands behind the back, red shy cheeks, a smile on their faces and seemed a little shocked – probably because of my skin color. All together, they said “Hellooo!”. It was so cute that I wanted to squeeze all them together. It was the best reception I’ve ever had. I felt so blessed and grateful. I cannot say how big was my smile back at that moment. 10 minutes later we were rolling on the floor and playing. What an intense day!
My new family was Anna, the mother; Sasha, who was the oldest boy at the age of 10; Daria, who was 7; and Lisa, the little happy one with 4 years old. We all had dinner together with our mate Google Translator. Meanwhile I was answering questions like “Whats your favorite animal?” me and Anna decided my tasks and schedule during the week. My job was pretty simple: to take Sasha to his swimming classes three times a week and the rest of the time I was completely free. Total of 8 god damn hard hours per week.
Lisa (left) and Daria at my last and first day with them
What was clear to me was that Anna didn’t want me to be a kind of nanny or something like this. She really wanted to show to the little ones that the world is a big and different place. Full of people from other countries, who speak different languages, with different backgrounds and also different habits. It was like an exchange program to all of us.
The volunteer and tourist life in Russia
My days over there were great. I already miss it a lot. Russia is a magic place, full of lovely people. Those who like history and architecture will find gold in Russia.
The townhouse that I used to live was a little bit far from the city center. I always had to take a bus and a train. Those kind of buildings were quite common in the city. They were built after the WWII by the Germans that were captured by the Red Army and kept as slaves. They are rustic and have a heavy thick metal door in every apartment floor. In the townhouse you can find playgrounds for children, football fields, schools, swimming pools and several different activities mainly focused on sports.
How home looked like in Saint Pete
In those places I used to spend my days with the little children. Even though it was not part of my “tasks” I was happy to be with them and feeling inside the day by day of a Russian life. This is also a great feature about Workaway: you feel like a local. Sometimes I didn’t even think that I was away from home. There it was home for me.
When I was away from the kids I used to go to the FIFA FAN FEST, since the World Cup was going on and the atmosphere in Russia was incredible. If the match of the day was not that interesting, I would head to a museum, pub or just have a walk through the city to find out another good spot where to be. In Russia something really fantastic happens when you are a tourist during the World Cup, some beers end up magically appearing in your hands and you gotta finish it otherwise you can be deported, so I had to put up with that situation that made me drunk every day.
So my life was basically: Waking up at home>breakfast>FIFA FAN FEST or walking through the city and by the end of the day, when I had regained consciousness> back home to have dinner and prepare myself for the next day. Russia, I miss you.
About the Russians, they are probably the best thing about Russia. Before going there I had heard so many negative stuff about them that first made me feel aware and afterwards made me feel disappointed with the unreal image people have created about them. For all the time I spent there I only received smiles, kindness and help. They didn’t have a good English, but on the other hand they own a great collective spirit, which makes them always opened to help people. Of course there is corruption and it is obvious that there is no perfect place in the world, but it’s a huge mistake to have prejudices about any nation in the world, and this rule applies even stronger for Russia. As I said before, the world is full of nice people, so why focus in the negativity of another nation?
One of my best friends there was Mike. He was Anna’s nephew and such an interesting guy! Like me, he was not from Saint Pete, so we’ve been discovering the city together. Every time that we met he had a plan for the day and some information that he studied before to share with me. It was like my guide in Saint Petersburg streets.
Another awesome dude that I’ve met on the road was Igor. We played soccer together one day before the beginning of the World Cup and he invited me to watch the opening ceremony and match with him. When we met, he had a Russian flag in his hands. He told me with a heavy characteristic Russian accent: “My friend, this is a gift for you! You are fucking welcome in Russia!”.
Igor, you are fucking welcome in Brazil, brat!
I really have no idea how some people don’t like these guys.
About the city, I reckon Saint Petersburg is one of the most lovely places I’ve been to. The Neva River is beautiful during the day and even more eye catching at night. At 12am they have something called “bridging”, when some of the bridges are lifted up, making possible the boat traffic underneath it. It’s fun to watch it and when you see the bridge from another angle like the vertical, you feel like you are inside the movie “Inception”.
Besides the river, you have plenty of things to do in Saint Petersburg. One of my suggestions is the Peterhof Park. Around 40 minutes away from the city center, this was the summer palace of the Czars and to have an idea about how it looks like some people compares Peterhof with Versailles Palace, in France – but don’t mention this to a Russian.
This park is great. Full of fountains and sculptures. It is easy to understand why the Czars pissed off so many people with their luxury. These guys liked to show off how rich they were. Take one whole day to walk around there and go by boat from the docs in front of the Hermitage Museum.
Peterhof and its uncountable fountains
For those who like architecture and religions studies like me, Saint Petersburg have interesting churches and buildings that make you feel stunned.
My favorite one is the Church of Savior Blood.
One of the most most impressive churches I’ve been in my life.
The church was built as a tribute to the Czar Alexander II who was killed in this place. The first attempt to kill him was with a bomb which he succesfully escaped from.
Minutes later, imagining the danger was over, he got attacked by a politic who didnt agree with his ideas and killed him with a knife.
The floor where he took his last sigh has been kept till nowadays and the church is built around it.
All the images inside it, which look like big afrescos are actually mosaics, made by different artists with an incredible perfection.
Part of this church was destroyed by the USSR forces and also suffered some attacks during the WWII. However, it has stayed strong till nowadays and it is a terrific monument.
Ortodox gate and one 5 metter mosaic inside the church
It was a great privilege to visit it and see how rich is the ortodox architecture. If you go to Saint Pete this is one of two MUST GO places.
The other thing you MUST do in Saint Petersburg is watching a ballet performance. This city is the world capital of ballet and you are going to be amazed by how beautiful this experience will be. It will actually start when you get to the theatre for the first time. There are some different venues to watch it, but the most famous ones – like Mariinksy and Alexandrisky – often receive Bolshoi and other great ballet groups. You can watch plays like Dom Quixote, Swan Lake, Paquita and many others.
There are many other things to do, like the Hermitage museum, which holds some Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffael arts, or the Kazan Cathedral, which is really close to the Savior Blood Church. You are not going to feel bored in Saint Petersburg.
As you might have noticed. My experience in Russia with Workaway was great. I have started this text saying that the reason that I looked for it was simply money, but I ended up earning way much more. I got smiles, friends and the feeling that I was at home. When I thought Workaway would be good to save some beer-cash, it actually has given me things that money cannot actually buy.
If you want to travel and have this kind of experience, I suggest you to have a look at this website. You are going to find thousands of opportunities and I challenge you not to fall in love with many of them. It’s awesome.
E-mail: gabrielsenaha@uol.com.br
Instagram: gabriel_moreno11
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabriel.moreno.790
Gabriel por aí 