I knew the train ride to would be long, which is why I brought a book and a notepad in my bag along with.

I didnt consider the fact that I would have to be seated next to someone due to the trains full-reaching capacity. This was one of the lower class trains after all, maybe I should have expected it.

Ever the wary kind around people whom I did not know, I observed the man who took the seat beside me discreetly. Tall and male with stubble lining his jaw and lower cheeks. His skin reflected palely from the light above and I took notice of the mans calloused hands and the thick coat he wore.

Still, despite my awkwardness, I tried to stay polite. “Hallo.”

I watched as the man glanced over at me in acknowledgement, seeming unsure of himself. “Эр.. hello.”

In response, im merely blinked. What was that accent? I liked to think myself as a near fluent english speaker, but this man’s accent has thrown me off. “Do you speak english?” I asked, wondering if it was more than just the mans accent that made me confused.

The man shifted in his seat, brows furrowing as if he was trying to make sense of my words. His mouth opened and then it shut again. I took that simply as the man was not accustomed to being out of his country, which made me wonder why he was here if he did not understand simple words.

I was broken out of my thoughts when the notepad and pen in my hands was gently taken, and I stared as I watched the man flip to an empty page and draw lines. I was confused and a bit insulted that he had taken my things just to draw, until the man showed me the paper. It was a very rough sketch of Earth with almost childlike interpretations of the countries. My eyes found the arrow which pointed to the large country of what I believed was Russia.

“Russia?” I confirmed, even with the little english he could understand. If he could understand.

“Россия,” the man said, leaving me confused until he tapped where the arrow pointed to on the paper. ‘Russia’. And then he pointed at me and then back at the little rough map of the world. It took me a moment to realise what he meant, and so I made a small arrow which pointed at my home country and showed it.

The man stared at the paper as if he was criticising his own hand at ink. “Ах, Германия?” He spoke and the only indication I had was the word ‘Germaniya’. I assumed it meant Germany and I nodded in agreement, giving him a thumbs up.

I smiled when he reluctantly gave me a thumbs up in return.

(The man = russian with little english and a heavy russian accent

The 1st person person = german with a wide understanding of the english language

The ‘ ‘ are the translations / pronunciations. :) )

(Kindest russian man fr)