45. Collecting countries to find my true self. By Anna Kova

45. Collecting countries to find my true self. By Anna Kova

I am Anna Kova, and I am 33. I was born and grew up in Perm, moved to Moscow at 18, and studied history and education. I wanted to be a politician, but then decided to be a teacher. It is probably the best decision I have ever made.

Imagine me, a 23-year-old young woman 10 years ago in Siberia. After teaching in Moscow, I decided to spend a year in Tunevo village. I considered it volunteering. I hoped to make a difference and help local students pass their final exams. The journey was tough, but I decided at the end of the school year to apply for a master’s degree and to travel the world. I was walking in a beautiful Siberian forest when I made up my mind about my future endeavors.

So I had a dream. I wanted to explore every continent in the world. My original plan included Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Africa. To fully explore the place, I planned to spend at least 6 months on each continent. First I studied in Warsaw State University in Poland, and then spent a month with my relatives in Reims, France (Europe). Then I studied and worked in San Diego and then in NYC in the United States (North America), and volunteered in the NGO Bagunçaço in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil (South America). Eventually, I moved to Xiamen (Asia) to work for i2 and decided to settle down. My journey isn’t complete yet, but I’m sure I’ll finish it with my family one day.

I’m a historian. I studied Chinese history and was excited to live in China, but I planned to stay here for no more than a year. Well, life is tricky. I met my future husband and decided to stay longer. Now we are married and our daughter is almost two years old. I can’t picture myself somewhere else, because it is just feels like home. It is home.

In five years, I’ve found a job I love and was promoted three times. I opened a few businesses, and one is still successful. I’ve started to save money and invest in online projects. I’m going to take the HSK 5 exam this year, and five years ago I only could say “nihao.” And on top of that, I have a family and friends who inspire me to move forward and make all my dreams come true.

China truly feels like a home away from home. My husband and his family support me in all my endeavors. We travel together. For instance, we went to Chongqing. It’s my mother-in-law’s hometown and it was absolutely amazing to hear all the stories about the place from a person who grew up there. My husband watches YouTube and cooks Russian food for me to make me feel at home. My coworkers often ask me to teach them a bit of Russian or to tell them something about my country. My students ask me lots of questions about Russian history.

So what makes China my home? Honestly, having a family in China makes it home. My daughter is a bridge between our countries, our cultures. We cherish and love every moment we spend with her. I hope she will grow up and will be Russian, Chinese, and a global citizen too. Almost every day when we are taking a walk, someone asks me where I am from. It is a pleasure to answer and to tell people a bit about me home country. And often when people see my daughter, they ask me who her father is, and it is another joy to tell them that my husband is a local; he is Chinese and was born in Xiamen. Living in China is living a dream to me.

 

And here is an anecdote. My husband and I traveled to Russia for the first time in 2019. When we got back, he told his mom how beautiful Russia is and how friendly Russians are, how hard Russian bread is, and how much he missed local food. It was at that moment when I realized I am in love with him, his country, and Chinese food.

PS: Even though my journey isn’t complete yet, I am grateful for all the opportunities. I have been to more than fifty countries and five different continents. After ten years, my passport is full of visas and stamps.

 

Fun fact about my hometown:

Perm is a city of factories, but it also has one of the best opera houses in Russia, so almost everyone is a theatergoer.

 

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