Belarus

As an American, traveling to Belarus while the war in Ukraine was ongoing wasn't particularly straightforward. With flights from the EU suspended, the easiest way in was by bus from Lithuania. Entering most of Belarus required a visa, but the government had recently introduced a tourism program allowing Americans to visit the Grodno region with a letter of invitation instead. It took a couple of months to organize, but eventually everything came together.

Fortunately, I didn't have to make the journey alone. I was joined by my friends Harry and Kieran from the UK, along with Vahab, a computer science professor from the University of San Francisco whom I had previously traveled with in Georgia. As soon as we boarded the bus in Vilnius, it was obvious we were the only non-Belarusians on board. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and despite being briefly questioned by immigration officials at the border, we were allowed into the country.

Our base was the small city of Lida, a place I almost certainly never would have visited had it not been for the special entry rules. We wandered through the quiet streets and climbed to the top of a Soviet-era apartment building for a view over the city. On our only full day in Belarus, we split up. Harry and Kieran traveled to Minsk, something they were allowed to do as British citizens. Vahab and I, however, were restricted to the Grodno region, so we spent the day exploring its main city, Grodno, about 70 miles from Lida. We wandered through the historic center, visited the city's castle and synagogue, and enjoyed a long lunch celebrating Vahab's final country in Europe.

The entire trip was fascinating, but the most memorable part of my time in the country actually came as we were leaving. Walking from a coffee shop in Lida to the bus station, we jaywalked across the street and were immediately stopped by a pair of Belarusian police officers. My heart sank. As an American in Belarus during such a politically tense time, the last thing I wanted was to get into trouble with the police.

After asking us a few questions, the officers realized we were trying to catch a bus back to Lithuania. That's when they informed us we were heading to the wrong bus station and would have missed our bus entirely. Instead of giving us a hard time, they told us to get in their police car and drove us across town. Along the way, we shared stories about our lives and interests, and they dropped us off at the correct station just in time for us to catch our bus. It was the perfect ending to my time in Belarus. I had arrived with a great deal of uncertainty about what to expect, yet one of my strongest memories ended up being an act of kindness from the very people I had been most nervous about encountering.