Yuri and Alya (novosibirsk)

So, in the last post i had just got off the train in Novosibirsk, siberia. My intention was to arrive in Tomsk, about three hours away by bus, to visit some old wooden mansions. But during the train ride, i met Yuri, who got off with me, and lived about a half-hour outside Novosibirsk. He didn't speak more than a few words of english, but with the help of Alex, convinced me to come visit his home town of Birdsk, which he said was just as nice, and he even knew a cheap hotel for me to stay in. Not wanting to think too much, nor arrive in a strange city at midnight, i followed him out of the train station. He kept trying to explain something to me and i kept on not understanding, and we kept on smiling, and so our commmunication progressed in this manner. Then out of nowhere it started to torrentially downpour, a hard cold siberian rain! He ran, I followed, as we reached an underpass he told me stay still, so i stayed still as he ran off somewhere to find a taxi. When he came back, he said to me in english 'go?', and i replied with a shrug, and he smiled and so our communication progressed. The wind had picked up and was blowing the rain sideways into my bags, so i decided to pause a moment to cover up my important articles. At that moment, Yuri turned to the first person he saw and asked if they spoke english. It was a girl named Alya, and just our luck, she did and very well indeed! Infact she was heading home from work to birdsk! So we decided to take the taxi together. After an hour in traffic caused by a fallen tree, and some nice conversation with Alya, we arrived in birdsk, Yuri payed for the taxi (no arguing with siberians!) and invited us to have dinner in a nearby restaurant (his treat again, i as his guest, Alya as his translator).
After dinner, Alya went home, but agreed to meet with us the next day, again to serve as Yuri's translator. Yuri brought me to a hotel, which I paid 22 Euro for a deluxe sweet, complete with bedroom, lounge and private bath. The only catch was that it had to be done in Yuri's name, because the hotel (like many in the area i later found out) refuses to book foreigners who don't use a booking agent. Thank goodness for Yuri!
The next morning Yuri showed up at my room at 8.30, beer in hand...a pattern set for the next 4 hours(for him only, water was my drink of choice), and we began a walking tour of his town. Alya, having to work, couldn't make it, but promised to meet me later in the afternoon in Novosibirsk. Yuri showed me the town center, some old wooden houses typical of siberia, the new orthodox cathedral, an interesting ww2 memorial and the beach (actually on a man made lake that covered the old town of birdsk, the current town was built by the soviets in the 20's). By the end of the morning, our communication had improved, i had learned a bit of russian, and he had remembered, possibly with the help of the beer, the little english that he had learned at school. At noon, he explained that his wife (yes he was married, and even had a newborn baby) needed him at home, and he sent me off on a train back to Novosibirsk.
Upon arrival, i bought my next train ticket, leaving that night at 11pm for a 31 hour ride to Irkutsk, stored my bags, and although it was drizzling in the city and since i had not much else to do, i set off, umbrella in hand, to see the sights. Unfortunately, in Novosibirsk, apart from a beautiful opera house(bigger and more impressive than the bolshoy in Moscow), and a giant statue of Lenin, there are no sights. So I sat down for a cup of tea, and waited for news from Alya.
Finally around 6pm she was free from work and we met for dinner at a nice sushi restaurant. Alya is a really friendly, intelligent and interesting girl. Very easy to communicate with, as we spent hours in frank conversation. After dinner, glad that the rain had subsided, we took a stroll through the city center. We stopped briefly for coffee and desert, her treat. (amazing how generous these siberians are) We took the subway together until out lines split, and said our goodbyes, hoping to keep in touch. I was sorry to have spent such little time with Alya, as i really would have liked more time to get to know her. We exchanged messages for a week or so after, but i haven´t heard from her since...so Alya, if your reading this, make yourself heard!