Hiking in a New Country

Sunday is my favorite day of the week because it is my rest day. My family and I are used to having an active rest. On Sundays we hike. Our Sunday morning begins with a Russian lesson for my youngest son. He studies Russian every Sunday with a tutor because we don’t want him to forget his native language. While my son is studying, I prepare everything for the hike: I take out our hiking shoes, pour tea into each thermos, and prepare snacks. My son’s Russian lesson takes from 10 to 11 a.m., then we have family breakfast and hit the road. 

We usually go an hour or two out of New York. While we drive, we listen to audiobooks or music, and time flies by. My husband and I pre-select the trail that we want to hike. We use the app AllTrails. We already know what kind of trails our children can withstand; we choose hikes of moderate difficulty (no more than six to seven miles long, and no more than 1000 feet elevation).

Though I’ve been hiking all my life, it was thanks to the pandemic that we started to hike in New York. I became tired of staying at home. Then we began to explore nature outside of New York City. I was surprised by the beauty and organization of the trails. We are devoted hikers. Our kids are used to going on a hike once a week. My husband loves to drive and go hiking, and I really enjoy hiking. 

At first, the children didn’t like to go hiking, but now their attitude has changed. On the way home from school, my younger son said to me, “Mom, you are cool and unusual.” I was surprised and asked, “Why?” He answered, “Ordinary moms walk with their children in the park on weekends, and you take us on a hike, and we hike an average of seven miles.” It’s a small win for me and the best compliment because I honestly think it’s the best time for our family to have on Sunday. We breathe fresh air and have a good load on our body. We chat about everything in the world because during the hike nobody is on their phone or watching TV. Recently, our cat started to go with us. He has already gone on two trails with us, eight and 11 kilometers. We carry him in a special backpack, and it is a good load for us.

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''Born in Omsk, Siberia, Russia, Olga Ashitkina moved to New York City with her family in 2018. She writes: “I learn so many new things and meet so many people of different origins. Looking back, I feel like I had such limited views of our big world. I am very grateful to my teacher, Martie Flores, for an engaging and productive study of English.” Olga Ashitkina studies at CUNY’s City Tech Adult Learning Center.