H/W

First Ice

I'd been warned about this from my mother. When we first moved to Russia to be with my Grandmother in her dying months, I was told never to leave the house on my own. I never thought I would be idna!!ed and married off. "oving to Russia was never a big deal for me. I already s!o e the language, and I had been there every summer holiday of my life for fifteen years. I was always accom!anied by my cousins or my father or uncles when we left the house, but I never really thought much of it. I always assumed it was because I was in a different environment, and maybe because they didn't trust me. I never thought they wouldn't trust someone else. # # #

$eing in Russia always ma es me feel comfortable. It's li e I belong here, which I su!!ose I do. "y mother first suggested the idea of moving, thin ing I wouldn't want to leave my friends or my school. I told her that she was being ridiculous as I had more friends in Russia than I did in %ngland, and that I hated my school because all I got as ed was what certain words were in Russian. I wanted to go so badly, that when my mother said my father wouldn't agree to it, I started crying, and begging her to send me instead. &ow, I have said a lot of stu!id things in my time, but I have never regretted anyhting I've ever said. 'ntil now. (te!!ing off the !lane and into the cris! (e!tember air, with it's light dusting of snow and frost, I felt an istant feeling of being at home. Going through customs and s!ea ing Russian to the customs officers I was met with the very same dry wit that I also shared with my Russian counter !arts. (eeing my cousin, )atar*yna, and my uncle, +elyan, I felt an u!lifting feeling as I rushed towards them to give them a giant hug. ,rriving at my grandmothers house late that night, we fell into our beds, and got as much slee! as we could. I new I had a challenging day ahead of me, as I would be starting at my new school, but a thousand thouhts ran through my head. What if the tachers weren't nice- What if my friends don't remember me from last year- What if something goes wrong(te!!ing into the un nown for the first time was not nearly as scary as I antici!ated.