In December 2004, I traveled to the city of Ulan Ude, Russia in southern Siberia.If you were find Moscow on a map then go all the way across Russia to the far east and find Lake Baikal then look to the south of the lake, you will find the city of Ulan Ude.

It was a series of many chance happenings that I ended up in Russia. Every time I think back to my experience, I still cannot believe I was there. Unlike my trip to Thailand, it was freezing cold the entire time. But I grew up in Buffalo, New York, so I was used to it.

This was an experience like no other for so many reasons, but the most impressionable part of my trip was the people and their great kindness and compassion. I had the opportunity to meet and work with so many different groups of people from Christians, to Buddhists, to the homeless, to legless and poor, and the wealthy. It was such a diverse composition. Poverty is something these people are trying to deal with, partly due to the end of communism.

I stayed with a Christian family in their 2 room apartment. The housing is former barracks built by the government for the military near the pseudo airport (it was very small to land a 747 at). In some parts of the USA we have similar structures, but we call them the projects and that is what they looked like. Also, I attended their church and worked with them there in any different ways. Inside the church reminded me of the inside of a barn and there was no heat. Ten days after my return home, I received an e-mail and some photos of the church. It had burned to the ground only hours before the Sunday service.

I felt so helpless while I was in Russia. I wanted to do more than just offer my time and energy. I wanted to snap my fingers and allow these people the same freedom and comforts in life that I knew, but that was just impossible. So all I can do now is share my experiences with anyone who is interested and to possibly allow them to try and understand what life is like outside the American Dream.

I most definitely look forward to returning to Ulan Ude someday soon. I am trying to start a Campaign collecting donations of different varieties, including wheelchairs, to ship them over. There is a lot of red tape I must first go through to make this happen. The disabilities act does not apply to this part of the world and the government is slow to do much of anything. As I have stated before, I am just trying to do what I feel is right.

Also due to communism, religion was restricted. Most of the Buddhists were slaughtered and the temples destroyed. But the end of communism and the cold war has allowed people to express themselves even in regards to religious preference, then this new wave of Christianity was introduced.

Also, I found that Lake Baikal is the deepest fresh water lake in the world, its deepest point being 1 mile in depth. The water is so clean and pure that one could drink straight from the lake.

So was my impression of this country, clean and pure, but unfortunately it will probably not stay that way. Someday it will look just like the rest of the world -------- commercialized.