First Impressions of Minsk, Belarus

We took the Minsk Metro! It costs only 4,000 Belarusian Rubles (equivalent to 26 cents). 

On Friday afternoon, after over 24 hours of traveling, we finally made it Minsk, the capital of Belarus! My first impressions included some disappointment because three of our group members' luggage did not arrive when we landed because there was insufficient room on the plane. I was also surprised at how small the airport was since Minsk is the capitol of the country.

Despite my initial impression of the country, I was in awe of the beauty of the seemingly endless white birch trees along the highway from the airport to Minsk. Apparently one of the reasons why people believe that Belarus (aka White Russia) has its name is because of the white birch trees. After seeing millions of birch trees I now understand that legend.

The most positive impression and best experience that day was when two of my group mates and I were walking from a grocery store to our hotel and two Belarusian girls stopped us and asked us, while giggling to themselves, where we were from. When we told them that we were form the United States of America they got extremely excited. They were 17 and told us that we were the first Americans they had spoken to in English. I felt excited to be part of this cultural exchange, which for both of us was a rare cultural exchange. I thought it was interesting that tourism, let alone American tourism, is so rare in Belarus. It reminded me that my experience here is exceptional and unique because it is so difficult to enter Belarus. To get a Belarusian visa one must be "invited" to the country.  

Overall, my first day in Minsk was positive. I am excited to explore more of the city. Minsk was once home to a vibrant Yiddish culture; it had been 50% Jewish before WWII and now Jews constitute less than 1% of the population.