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Isaiah Beh
Professor Onwuzuruoha
English 2010-039
April 30, 2015
How I Learned How To Learn

The definitions for the word student have profound truth to them. One
definition describes a student as; a person formally engaged in learning,
especially one enrolled in a school or college. The other, I believe is more
true to what it means to me to be a student, it reads; any person who
studies, investigates, or examines thoughtfully. I believe, by broadening the
meaning of student to any person who studies instead of restricting the
definition to someone enrolled in a school, it allows us to see the real
meaning or purpose of being a student. I believe that the real meaning of
being a student is to discover, get lost, ask questions, make connections, and
travel.
I believe that the modern student puts too much emphasis on learning
how to be an A student instead of actually learning anything. When did
school become a race to finish a degree program and get a job? When did
learning about the world around us turn into learning only what our
professors taught us? What has happened to the college learning
experience? In my opinion every student (I use parenthesis sarcastically
because anybody with the desire to learn about anything is a student) must

step outside of the lecture hall, ones own country, and ones own mind, to
learn who he or she are and what it means to be alive. In this memoir, I will
reflect on the eye opening experience of traveling, which officially made me
the true definition of a student; someone who has the desire and
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drive to learn.
In the fall of 2013, my girlfriend Arina and I took a trip to Moscow,
Russia to attend her cousins wedding. Not only was this my first trip out of
the country; it was a trip to Americas Cold War enemy, Russia. Just think,
MOTHER RUSSIA! The home of the real life super villain, Vladimir Putin, and
everything America does not stand for. The Cold War ended in my lifetime
and everything I knew, or thought I knew, about Russia was from mainstream
media, spy movies, and Rocky IV. What little knowledge the media gave me
was vast compared to what was taught to students in school. Thinking back
to my earliest memory of Russia I am reminded of when the Berlin wall was
being demolished. My thoughts then, or when I was taught about it in school,
were Russia must be such a cool place they had to build a huge wall to
keep people out. Just like how the USA builds walls to keep people out!
Sadly my teacher corrected this worldview at the time and I learned that
Russia was evil. These ideas were still stuck in my head while we were
planning our departure.
As our departure date drew nearer, I was filled with anxieties and
excitement about meeting my loves family. I was anxious about the
communication barrier and how the Russians would perceive me. I did not

want to come off as a capitalistic pig, yet I wanted them to believe I would be
a strong provider if Arina and I were married. Little anxious thoughts filled
my head, what would I talk to them about if I was left alone in a room with
them? Would the Russian toilet paper be too thin for my delicate American
ass? Are they only going to have vodka or would there also be beer
available? Besides these petty anxieties, I also had no idea what to expect
from the Russians.
Are all Russians trained in super-high-tech labs from birth to
overthrow Capitalism,
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only taking breaks to play chess and drink insane amounts of vodka? I had
no idea how Russians acted or how I was supposed to act around them.
However, that changed the moment we landed in Moscow and I met Peter
and his bride to be Anya. The Moscow airport seemed like any other airport
back in the States, but with the lingering smell of a cigarette smoked only
minutes before. Peter and Anya were waiting for us at the terminal when we
arrived. After my awkward attempt to say privet (PREE-VET, hello in
Russian), I was met with a hardy hug from the pair and we were whisked
away to a horribly illegally parked black BMW.
The view from the backseat of the BMW was like a chase scene out of a
James Bond movie. It was a cold, wet morning and the sun had a few hours
before it was going to be up.
Peter was driving 160 kilometers per hour (100mph) making the giant trucks
hauling dirt and road debris appear as blurs. The amount of construction

happening around my plush leather interior world was alarming. Peter would
pass cars and trucks in between enormous holes in the highway, taking the
gravel shoulder to avoid the construction vehicles. The whole time never
going below 160 kmp, yet at some points reaching 200 kmp. I would be lying
if I said I did not fear for our lives. Although Peters cool attitude and calm
speaking voice reassured me, I could tell that he drove like this all the time.
After we arrived safely at the family apartment, located a few blocks
from a functioning missile factory, I was force fed pork and potatoes. Not
knowing how to politely refuse the food Anya was offering, I kept accepting
more, and more, and more pork and potatoes. The Russians believe that if
you clean your plate, you are still hungry. I did not want to offend Anya by
not finishing the food she prepared for me so I kept cleaning my plate. It was
a vicious cycle that only ended when Peter laughed at the expression on my
potato-stuffed face as I was accepting my fourth serving. Arina, Peter, and
Anya talked and caught up since Arinas last visit, as I lay in silence
personifying The fat over-eating American.
The two weeks we were in Moscow flew by in a storm of vodka, pork,
beats, potatoes, wedding preparations, and everybody constantly asking me
if I was comfortable and still hungry. My previous misconceptions of what I
thought the Russians would be like were crushed by late nights discussing
politics, long dinners, insane driving, laughter, vodka, dog-bites, dancing,
singing The Doors songs in English, and sitting in a Banya (Russian steam
house) naked with Arinas grandpa, grandma, mother, and aunt. To my
surprise, I found the most caring and welcoming people I have met thus far

in my life. Although, I must admit at times I was a bit scared when Arinas
grandmother or babushka, would yell at me for using too small of a spoon.
You see, a man is supposed to use a large, strong spoon to feed himself so
he will be nourished and ready for work. Meeting and spending two weeks
with Arinas family and community opened my eyes to how very ignorant I
was. That feeling of ignorance fueled a desire for learning that I believe has
no end.
When our time in Moscow came to an end, seven of us packed into
Boriss (Arinas grandpa) car and went to the airport to continue our trip. As
the 75-year old Boris weaved in and out of mid-day traffic at speeds
matching his grandson Peters best, I understood what it meant to be
Russian. The entire group came with us into the airport to walk us to our
gate, and say tear-filled goodbyes to an American and a granddaughter that
live on the other side of the planet. As we went through the passport check, I
was asked for a tiny scrap of paper that I was given upon my arrival. I had no
idea where it was. Arinas family looked on in confused horror as we tore
apart my bag to find my only way out of Russia.
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Luckily, I found it stuffed into a small slot in my wallet. The on looking
Russians broke into a reserved celebration, the type of celebration that
comes from a fear of ones own government, and we were allowed to board
our plane.
After we left Moscow, we stopped in Nice, Paris, and Rome. A hunger
for knowledge burned in my belly as we traveled and I knew what I must do

upon my return home. I was a twenty-eight year old, high school dropout,
who had been wasting his life bartending. Upon my return home, I obtained
my Good Enough Diploma (GED) and started taking classes at
Salt Lake Community College. I am in my third semester of the Associates of
Pre Engineering program and love every aspect of the process of acquiring
knowledge. During this time in school, I also craved more hands on
learning, so Arina and I took a month long exploration around Poland, Czech
Republic, and Italy. I feel the two go hand in hand. Travel fuels the fire to
learn about the world and education gives me the means and desire to see
the world first hand.
While we were abroad, I filmed a lot of different things in a lot of
different places. I filmed scenery, people, nature, traffic, buildings, a
wedding, trains, planes, and automobiles. For my memoir project, I chose to
show the first part of my journey, in Moscow, at Arinas cousins wedding. I
wanted to evoke a feeling of pathos for the Russian people and I decided to
use video clips that showed the similarities between our different cultures.
By showing these video clips, I also aspired to evoke a feeling of jealousy in
the viewer. By seeing and reading about my travels, I hope to influence other
students to get out in the world and start learning. I say this because
everybody knows the best way to get someone to do something is to make
him or her jealous.
I hope that my short film and this brief memoir will evoke other
students to take the
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time to travel while they still can. Most students do not realize that they can
apply for study aboard programs, or travel during the summer months. If you
are worried about how much it will cost to travel, remember, you can always
make more money, but you only live once. Now it is your time to get out
there and discover, ask questions, make connections, and travel.