Stop in the Name of the Law!

Today as I was making the trek to class, I noticed that a security perimeter had been set up surrounding the university. The road was blocked and there were police stationed all throughout the area. On each side of the street there were pairs of cops who were stopping people at random to ask where they were going. I'm not sure what was going on today.. they usually shut down the area around the university when someone important or famous comes, so maybe that was the case. At any rate, as I was walking up the hill I tried to avoid the gaze of the policemen, listen to my music, and mind my own business. But as I looked up I met the glance of one of the police, and he started to walk toward me. He asked me where I was going, and I told him the university. He asked why, and I told him that I study here. By now they must have figured out that I was a foreigner, #1 by my accent, #2 by my outfit, and #3 because I probably looked nervous that they stopped me. So the next question was where are you from? I told them America, and that I was here studying Russian as an exchange student. At that they both became very interested, started smiling, and began to talk to me more. (Just what I wanted as I was on my way to class... to have a conversation with some cops on the street!)

Do you like living in America or Russia better?? I tried to think of the best way to answer this question (as I was talking to law enforcement) and decided that "I like living in both places" was the safest answer. One of the cops then went on to tell me a story of how one of his friends went to Israel and came back to Russia every two months to renew his visa. People didn't understand why he was doing this.. if you like Israel, stay in Israel! And if you like Russia, stay in Russia! But he told them it was the journey that interested him, and so he liked going back and forth. I smiled, nodded, and said oh that's neat. He looked at me after this story and again said "so you're really American, huh?" And I assured him that yes, I am a real American. I thought it was funny. Maybe the first one they had ever met? Then they asked me if I lived in the dorms. I told them that I don't. I live in an apartment and rent a room from a Russian woman. They asked me if I came alone or with anyone else, and I told them alone. (I thought about telling them I previously had friends in Kazan, but decided that wouldn't be such a good idea, and wanted to avoid any more questions, so I kept quiet about it). Then they asked me where I lived. I didn't want to give them the information, but they were cops, and you can't just evade them! So I gave them the general area. The first cop then asked "what building number do you live in?" At this, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to tell them (as I have no idea who they are, and they don't need to know) and so I didn't say anything for a couple seconds. Thankfully the second cop started talking about something else, and so I didn't have to answer his question (thank you Lord!)

The first cop (the one that had originally stopped me) asked what I was doing after my studies. I thought he meant in general, and so I told him that I'm going back to America in July. Apparently he meant today. So I said, well I'm going back home. He said, Oh you should come over to our place for a visit!! At this point I was thinking, ok I really have to get to class, I don't want to give you any more information, and NOW you're inviting me over for a visit?! I told him, no I can't, I can't! And after a little while of me probably looking uncomfortable, he said oh I'm just kidding, and laughed it off. However, I will always secretly wonder if he was really kidding, or not... alas, we shall never know. Culturally, I didn't know how one is supposed to interact with police. Was I supposed to stand there and talk to them until they told me it was ok to go? Or could I just leave on my own? I decided to try the second option. I began to walk away and said thank you (after they told me that my Russian was good) and they said no problem, have a good day!.. and just let me leave! I walked up the rest of that hill as quickly as I could without looking back.

I have heard stories from other people in my class who have had less than friendly encounters with law enforcement, and ended up having to pay bribery money when all was said and done. So I'm glad that these policemen were friendly, and I didn't have any problems. All in all it was an interesting experience, and now they will be able to say that they met a real, live American.