Russia In My Box

We all used to hear people asking us to think outside the box, but sometime we only need to take a look inside it to find what we seek!
Picture this: An iPad box –in advance! There is no iPad inside- You take the lid off and you look inside, you find a collection of items, a gray river stone, a green balloon, a ten-ruble bill, a tennis ticket, a dried red rose, and other items. You’re gazing at my treasure! Each item has a story to tell, collectively they are a diary of my experiences living in Moscow, and traveling to other Russian cities. Today, I’ll tell you the story of my precious ten-ruble bill!
During my time in Russian I had the chance to participate in an international youth forum in a city called Targim. It is located in the south of Russian, exactly in the Republic of Ingushetia. We had stayed for three days in a hotel surrounded by Caucasus Mountains. We arrived night, so there was nothing to see, but at morning I opened my eyes on a stunning view, far away I saw a line of snow-covered mountains followed by a group of green mountains, while the nearby mountains were covered with a mixture of green, red, yellow-leaved trees -the fantastic autumnal colors- and above the mountains is the sky, in bright blue. The weather was windy and slightly cloudy but fine and warm. We started our day trip by visiting an elementary school. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, so we passed the time in taking pictures and having pleasant conversations, and I had even tried to speak Russian with a group of pupils but I wasn’t sure if we were talking about the same subject-probably No- then a cute kid approached and asked me to write my name on a ten-ruble bill, so I did, and when I gave him back the bill he wrote his name “Moosa” and gave it me back as a present. It was a nice surprise, maybe with ten rubles I’ll be able to buy a small piece of chocolate but I knew that I’ll never use it, because it has become one of my treasure items. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the most beautiful monuments and landscapes of the region.
I find myself smiling every time I look inside my box. It gives me strength to continue when I feel desperate, and it reminds me of the fact that happiness is a choice. Unfortunately, the box has no effect on you, but the good news is that you can also make yours. The first thing to do is go buy the latest generation of the iPad -the iPad is useless to you! So send it to me- and then choose your destination and start filling up your box.