Trans Siberian Railway

24 July 2013

Prepping for finals by purchasing an official “Cambridge University” shirt–well not quite, I purchased it from the outdoor market because it was cheaper…but still, Cambridge University all the same!

Alright, Kailey just found out that Pauline, the girl in our program who is from Paris, rode across Russia on the Trans Siberian Railway. She went to school in Beijing for the past year and I guess that was the best way to bridge the gap between Paris and China. She said that the journey takes about 6 days but that she would get off the train during the days and explore a bit of Russia. Oh yeah, and she did this all by herself… Dang! I wish I had been there at dinner to chat with Ms. Pauline and listen to her life journeys… She seems to have done some of the most unimaginable things in her life, and are ever so interesting to me! What is crazy about this story is that just yesterday, Kailey and I were researching the Trans Siberian Railway and if it was possible to ride all the way across Russia as a tourist. Obviously we do not want to be tourists, but the fact that we do not speak Russian would make it kind of obvious. I have always wanted to go to Beijing, to see the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, but I have never really thought about going to Russia. After hearing all about Pauline’s adventures through Kailey’s little synopsis, I sent my mother the following Facebook message:

Note – My sister is playing a basketball tournament in California and she has my mother’s phone, leaving my parents sharing my father’s phone, in which my mother obviously controls… I wanted to clarify that it my dad wasn’t the one using all the exclamation points!)

[Start]

Wednesday
9:11pm
Joel Brown
Madi just started playing thee last game in rocklin playing for 5th place

9:24pm
Kylie Brown
My friend from paris rode the Trans Siberian Railway all the way across Russia to Beijing, and it only costs 300 euro! It takes 6 days but you have the day to explore the cities and then you sleep on the train at night…just like a cruise across Russia!

11:16pm
Joel Brown
Fun!!! Are you going to fit that in!!! Girls won 5th

11:21pm
Kylie Brown
hmmmmm if I had more money!???? But I really want to go to Bejing sometime, and after learning about WWI, there is so much in Russia that I want to explore! How cool would it be to drive across the country to New York, take a boat to Europe, travel across the European continent to Russia, take the trans siberian railway to Beijing and then travel across the Bering straight through Alaska and Canada back to Idaho????

1:59am
Joel Brown
How long would that take?

8:43am
Kylie Brown
probably one month without stopping–two months for enjoyment!! I am going to do it, watch me!

[End]

Conversations like this happen quite often between my wonderful parents and myself. They think I am crazy – and I absolutely believe I am going to accomplish it. Just watch me!