The next hour went by quickly as we continued to add to our history and special events in our lives. As we continued to talk, her English got better, and I started speaking normally. It was a nice change and added fuel to my growing feelings for her.

I couldn’t help but look past her to the grove of trees that lined both sides of the road for miles at a time. She told me that with Chelny being at the same meridian level as Alaska, they could get as much as 3 feet of snow during the winter, and these trees formed a snow break.

Finally, we came to the outskirts of Chelny with bigger buildings and more houses.

 Naberezhnye Chelny was granted town status on August 10, 1930, and was named Brezhnev (after Leonid Brezhnev) from 1982 to 1988.

 The city of Naberezhnye Chelny was one of the centers of the Udmurt Jews, who spoke Udmurtish Yiddish.

I have to tell you I was shocked. I knew that Kazan was a huge bustling city, but I was not expecting Chelny to be so big. I guess it is one of the old propaganda games that convinced us that people in Russia lived in mud huts and were all slaves. I can tell you firsthand that this is not true!!!!

Once again, my mouth was hanging open as we passed multi-story apartment buildings, parks, stores, and the Kama River we saw in Kazan. I turned to see Liliya smiling as she watched me being overwhelmed. I was a tourist after all. Liliya just held my hand and enjoyed the look on my face as I tried to take it all in.

The sheer number of buildings, malls, and parks was a bit too much to add photos here, so I am adding a link below to a Shutterstock search page all about Chelny. Enjoy.

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/naberezhnye-chelny.

Finally, we reached the bus stop and gathered my luggage from under the bus. I followed Liliya to a nice-looking red 4-door sedan. A man with dark hair got out and walked to the trunk and opened it. Liliya nodded with her head for me to go over to him, and together we put my luggage in. 

She talked for a few minutes with him and then introduced him. “This my cousin Eric. He agree to help us go to my home.” Eric said a few words in Russian and directed us to get in.

“I’m glad to meet you, Eric. Thank you for helping us.” Liliya translated, and he waved while looking in the mirror.

About 10 minutes later, we pulled up in front of an 8-story apartment building that was painted a nice white. I mentioned the metal bars on the windows in a previous post, and every one of the first-floor apartments had them.

After we got my luggage out, I shook Eric’s hand again, and he gave Liliya a hug. We headed for the entrance that was secured with a heavy metal door. She pulled out a key, and we were in. 

We went up 3 flights of stairs to get to her floor, and with another key, we entered the apartment. As part of my research on Russian customs, I knew that I needed to take off my shoes first. I had on tennis shoes with laces, so it was quick work.

To my surprise, it was a studio apartment. I was even more surprised to see her mom and dad, followed by her brother, caoe into the entrance hallway. There were handshakes all around, and her brother pulled my luggage into the living room/bedroom.

There were 2 recliners and a couch in the room, along with a small TV, a bookshelf, and a radio. Liliya guided me to the couch. “You sleep here. Okay?” 5 people, one couch, and two recliners. I’m no math wizard, but that meant Liliya and her brother would sleep on the floor. I protested. “You guest. You sleep couch. It open to make bed. Is okay Ken.” What could I say?

Her dad’s name was Targot Usmanov. Her brother is Shamil Usmanov. Her mom is Savia Usamova. The A makes the last name feminine. As soon as I was settled and Liliya had filled them in on our trip from Kazan, we filed into the little kitchen to enjoy a meal. Surprisingly, we all fit. It was a great way to meet the family.

This is Targot and Savia on the couch after lunch. He was over six feet, and she was barely 5 feet 4. We spent most of that afternoon talking and translating back and forth. It felt good to finally be on solid ground again and not up in the air, but I knew that there were many hurdles still. One of which was to see if Liliya and I were comparable, and a lot of praying that she would be able to leave this world and move into mine.

When morning finally came, I woke to 8 eyes staring at me. “What?” I asked Liliya.

“You snore very loud. We not sleep much.” I was mortified. I remembered my ex telling me the same, but I had no idea how to fix it.

“Maybe there is some place else I can slee . . .”

“No. We can handle. I not want you to leave or feel bad. Sorry.” For the next few hours, I didn’t say much. I apologized 6 more times, but no matter what, night would come and more snoring.

Around 2, Liliya sat by me and took my hand. “Sorry feel bad. We go now to visit a friend. Irina, from Kansas mother live here. We go visit.”

After a quick shower, we were off on foot to her house. She lived on the 5th floor, and her apartment was arranged very nicely. It was a one-bedroom, so there was more space. After the introductions, we sat down at her table, and she poured shots. One other tradition that I had almost forgotten about is: ‘When someone opens a bottle of liquor, no one leaves the table until the bottle is empty.

Thank God she brought out a small bottle. She brought out the food after the first shot, but by the 3rd I was feeling it. Liliya noticed that I was a little bit wobbly and put her hand over my glass. We stayed for another hour, then she helped me up and out to the street. “I thought you strong American!!” she chided.

“I don’t drink much. A beer once in a while, but this vodka is very strong. I will be fine.” When we got back to her place, she helped me off with my shoes and then laid me on the couch, where I quickly dozed off to sleep.

Next time we will visit a Russian grocery store.