5 years ago, I took the baby alone to the "nomadic" world and pushed the "ice baby" in the former Soviet Union countries, how is this mother now?

In recent years, for the sake of education, mothers who go to Britain and the United States, to Northern Europe, and Southeast Asia to raise babies are not uncommon. The backpacker mother in the following section uses Armenia, a small country on the border of Europe and Asia, as an educational position. Due to the ease of visa and enrollment, and the cost-effective education, this niche former Soviet Union country gave her and her children many unexpected surprises. However, as a mother, she has also been "on the road", constantly regulating her emotions and exploring parenting methods.

Wen 丨Kochagin edited 丨Jennifer

Even among the N parents visited by Bund Jun, Mother Chestnut is really a special one.

She had a long basket of stories that the entire afternoon of communication was not exhausted.

When he was young, Chestnut gave up his studies and left home to start a business, and after earning money, he traveled the world with a bag;

In the year of establishment, he chose coupleless parenting, giving birth to babies and confinement alone;

Only two months after the birth of her daughter, she continued on the road again, traveling thousands of miles around the world without stopping;

In the past two years, he has lived in the former Soviet Union, took his daughter to train figure skating in Armenia, and became a regular guest on local TV stations...

Perhaps Chinese traditional concept is "returning to the roots," Chestnut says, but she wants to be like Wenzhou, Chaoshan or Jews. This is true of the outlook on life, and so is the outlook on education.

chestnut

Many of the choices and ideas of chestnuts are often not understood by outsiders, and they are more like two parallel lines that do not intersect with "tradition".

She seems to be proving that there is no template for the educational path, and there should not be one. The path she chooses does not replicate the "established nature of society" and does not expect to be copied by others. Still, a mother's love for her children cannot be hidden—and chestnuts are no different from any other parent.

In recent years, the new crown epidemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war have come in turn, and chestnuts and daughters have also experienced small things and big things.

Chestnut is 35 years old this year, and her daughter is about to turn 6, facing a fork in the road to choose a school in primary school - has Chestnut's mother regretted walking such an unusual road?

From backpackers to "nomad" moms

Long before giving birth to her daughter, chestnuts were already mavericks later.

Chestnut after 80 years was born in a small county town in Yueyang City, Hunan Province. Her parents have been away from home for a long time, and she grew up with her grandparents, but she also developed the character of being independent and making her own decisions in everything.

From childhood to adulthood, chestnuts have good grades, especially good English. However, by the third year of junior high school, he became more and more resistant to the atmosphere of corporal punishment and dead reading in school, and the rebellious spirit of youth dropped out of school after graduating from junior high school.

Despite not going to school anymore, Chestnut knew that she couldn't live with her studies.

With a strong personality, she continued to study on her own, from high school to basic courses in college; I signed up for a training course, learned computers and photography, and had the ability to eat. After that, she did a lot of different types of work, foreign trade, IT, e-commerce, wedding follow-up... Earn your first pot of gold.

With money in his pocket, Chestnut made a bold decision again. As soon as this decision was made, she took a bag and a tent per person and measured the entire territory of China with her footsteps; Since then, he has traveled west to more than 20 countries. Even in places where the language is not spoken, she dares to rely on Bihua and Google Translate.

In Gagon Snow Mountain

At first, the trip seemed to be just a green train departure and return, no different from ordinary people's visit here. But year after year on the road, the so-called poetry and the distance themselves "have become firewood, rice, oil and salt, an inseparable way of life." ”

Gradually, Chestnut believed that her life would always be on the road, the world was vast, and the four seas were her home.

Approaching the age of 30, in December 2017, with a cry, her daughter "Muen" was successfully born. Chestnut is full of anticipation and joy to become a mother who chooses "coupleless parenting".

After having Mu En, Chestnut's plan to "be on the road" did not waver, but there were new members - before Mu En learned to walk, she had been taken by Chestnut to many countries.

Muen was one and a half years old in St. Petersburg

Wouldn't it be too hard for a single mother to wander around with her young children? This is the most intuitive question of the Bund Jun.

In this regard, Chestnut said that she dared to give birth to a child, and she was also carefully thought out beforehand. The biggest confidence is that he has been a backpacker for more than ten years and has already practiced a wealth of survival skills. "Before I decided to have Muen, I was already familiar with this lifestyle, and what others thought was 'unsafe', but I didn't have a similar experience."

The second confidence is that after staying outside for a long time, you can especially feel the warmth from strangers. The daughter's name "Muen" comes from this - during the journey, chestnuts receive countless help and warmth along the way, many times unconditionally. The name is also a commemoration of these kindnesses.

Mu En has been embraced by countless friendly people in a foreign country

When the child is on the road, it is inevitable that there will be minor illnesses and disasters, and each time he is cared for by different people from different places.

In Thailand, Mu En had a urinary tract infection, and the nurse not only prepared the child's complementary food, but also arranged breast milk and three meals a day for adults; In Russia, Muen had a fever, and the local residents, despite the language barrier, were very enthusiastic in providing children with fever-reducing medicine ...

New Year's condolences received from the embassy

After the birth of her daughter, Chestnut slept five or six hours a day, except for bringing a baby, her lifestyle did not change much, and she still traveled, worked, and studied. "A person is both a father and a mother, and he also has to realize his self-worth."

She said being a mother wasn't as tiring as she thought. Daughter Mu En also seems to have come to repay the favor, rarely crying, "before the age of three, most of the time sleeping". While mom is dealing with work, she will stay quietly on the side.

"Although I am a 'very difficult' mother in the eyes of everyone, life has not failed me, allowing me to find my own life and find various things I like to do."

Come to the "cost" depression of education

As the travel route lengthened day by day and the children grew up day by day, Mu En's education was naturally put on the agenda.

In his hands, Chestnut only has a deposit of about 500,000 yuan, plus a few investments and jobs that are not high net worth, so in this configuration, he laughs at himself as a "poor mother".

I don't consider returning to my country to take the old path of taking the exam, and I can't afford the kind of private elite route of middle-class families and above. She decided to do her best to give her children the best education they could afford.

Although the "nomadic" mother does not have the ability to make money, the feasible road is not in vain.

Chestnut has a map in his head, and all the countries he has visited, the local education system, tuition fees, cost of living, visas and other issues, have been thoroughly examined. All things considered, she set her sights on Armenia, a small country on the border between Europe and Asia.

Before "setting up camp" in Armenia, Chestnut took Muen to visit this beautiful country called "God's Back Garden" many times, and was impressed by the pleasant climate here.

Armenia has an incomparably bright sun

There are two more important reasons to stay here.

First, it is very easy to obtain a residence permit in Armenia. "If you apply for a public or private kindergarten for your child, adults and children can apply for a certificate, which is a matter of $100." They are friendlier than neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia. ”

Second, the cost-effectiveness of education in Armenia.

In the capital Yerevan, public kindergartens are free, for language considerations (the public languages are Armenian and Russian), chestnuts reported to Muen as private kindergartens, and have attended Montessori and international kindergartens where embassy children gather, which is equivalent to one to two thousand yuan per month, and is taught in multiple languages.

The price of the interest class is even more jaw-dropping. How to say, in the country tighten the belt of children's various sky-high interest classes, in Armenia may be "cabbage prices".

Muen on the football team

As a new mother, Chestnut has realized the "freedom of interest class" and opened the shopping mode as she likes.

In a short period of time, she tried more than a dozen hobby activities such as figure skating, rhythmic gymnastics, physique, ballet, Latin dance, acrobatics, figure skating, jazz dance, street dance, painting, violin and so on.

To give a few examples, you can feel the price in Armenia:

Figure skating + physical education + physical education: 220 RMB/month;

Gymnastics + jumping: 200 RMB/month;

Latin dance: 220 RMB/month;

Painting: 220 RMB/month;

Rhythmic gymnastics: 375 RMB/month;

Art and sports personal trainer: 750 RMB/month;

Swimming group: 340 RMB/month;

Swimming personal trainer: 500 RMB/month;

Music + violin: 280 RMB/month;

……

Of course, the general level of income in Armenia is not high. For example, the salaries of local public officials such as police officers and university teachers are about 2,000 yuan a month.

And the meaning of "cost-effective" is not cheap and no good goods, to say that the quality and professionalism of these interest classes are not low.

Speaking of which, the historical assets of the former Soviet Union are still a rich sum. Armenia has inherited the tradition of "Maozi" and remains strong in music, art and ice sports education. Those teachers with meager salaries are like sweeping monks with deep internal strength.

The place where Mu En's more than 200 yuan a month to learn violin is not some unknown general interest class, but the branch of "Chaiyuan" (Tchaikovsky Conservatory) in Yerevan.

People who have heard of Shiba Yuan will not doubt the professionalism of the teachers here. The Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Yerevan focuses on violin, piano and cello, while focusing on the cultivation of musicality and the systematic study of music.

While learning violin, Mu En also received complete musical enlightenment and music theory training, and it was not long before she learned to sing to beat the rhythm while playing the rhythm.

Muen is playing the qin

Fast forward to the fact that Muen has been practicing figure skating in Armenia for two years. Unlike her performance in other hobbies, she is obviously better than the other children in the team in figure skating, and many movements do not need to be demonstrated by the coach himself a second time, and she can learn it herself. This made Chestnut feel bright.

One into the figure skating is as deep as the sea

The coach's feedback to Chestnut is also that Muen is the most talented of the Armenian children he has taught.

Then give it a try! Perhaps, her daughter will one day be able to represent Hunan Province in the sports meeting. With this idea, Chestnut has done a lot of homework on figure skating, and in the past two years, he has become half an expert in this area.

As a country with a population of only three million, Armenia itself is not an Olympic power, but because of the former Soviet Union, ice sports have a thick foundation and a strong atmosphere. Like the coach of Olympic figure skating champion Chen Wei, the legendary Rafael Arutyunyan, is Armenian. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was not in the United States and had been leading the team in Armenia.

As a small country in the nature of a springboard, Armenia also has many opportunities. Chestnut's friend in Armenia, of Iranian descent, whose son completed a two-week jump after 2 years of figure skating training, and the family had just received permanent residence in Canada. This child has no talent, relying solely on time and effort.

Just a few years ago, chestnuts barely knew about figure skating. "Once I came to Yerevan, I was very surprised to see the indoor ice rink of the Armenian Skating School, I had never seen such a good ice rink before." As soon as she inquired about the price of the class, it was only more than 200 yuan per month, and she immediately signed up for Mu En.

Yerevan's ice rink doesn't just attract chestnuts, many of the world's biggest figure skating champions come here every summer for training. Trusova's first quadruple jump was done on Yerevan's ice rink. As fans of Russian "matryoshka dolls", chestnuts and their daughter have met these ice gods in Yerevan more than once.

Photo with Trusovaen

As the only Chinese child at the Armenian skating school, Mu En enjoyed the treatment of a giant panda and attracted two interviews on TV. She has a very fulfilling day at school, taking figure skating, gymnastics and Latin dance lessons around figure skating, as well as learning language, football and other sports the rest of the time.

Interview with TV station

As the goal changed from mere interest to specialization, Chestnut gradually realized how deep the figure skating pit was. "All over the world, figure skating is a money-burning sport."

Some media have estimated that the annual cost of cultivating an "ice boy" in the United States is no less than 400,000~600,000 yuan; Russia is cheaper, but you must also be prepared for 20,000~30,000 yuan per month. Such a price is currently difficult for chestnuts to afford.

Muen has taken figure skating lessons in both Armenia and Turkey, but when it comes to top figure skating education, there is no doubt that it is not as good as Russia.

With a "learn as you like" mentality, Armenia is pretty good, but once the requirements are greatly raised, Chestnut quickly discovers the problem: it is still too difficult to find a good coach in Armenia.

This difficulty is a systemic reason, not simply national strength.

In the past few years of living in Armenia, chestnuts have increasingly felt the "unbearable" side of the country. The aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union has not disappeared to this day, and with the collapse of the building, I am afraid that there is still the decency and faith of the people.

"In Armenia these years, for example, renting a house, nine times out of ten, the deposit will be pitted; If you don't look carefully at a meal, add gas, you will often be overcharged ... This petty theft has almost become a norm in the country. ”

As a tourist, Armenia is beautiful and welcoming, but it is especially "seen by people" to live here.

Speaking of back to figure skating coaching, the same is true. "No sense of responsibility", is a succinct assessment of Chestnut.

Some time ago, she finally found a coach from Russia for Mu En, which she originally felt very good, but recently she also turned yellow, "The coach from outside is in Armenia, and there is no support at all." ”

How to continue the path of figure skating? Chestnut thought deeply about this.

A child's life is like a wilderness

Finding quality coaches isn't the only challenge.

After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Armenia was also immediately affected, and the most obvious feeling was the sharp rise in prices.

Previously, chestnuts spent about $300 a month on rent, equivalent to about 2,000 yuan. But after the war, the price actually soared to 4,000 yuan.

The cost of coaching has also more than doubled, and the previous one-on-one personal training was 80 yuan per lesson, but now it has reached more than 200.

In this case, the pressure of chestnuts in Armenia has also increased, and even some changes in mood have occurred.

As a four- or five-year-old child, Mu En's main thing when skating is to follow the interests and mood, and will not take the initiative to consciously train in a targeted manner, in the words of chestnuts, lack of autonomy.

However, which ice baby who takes the professional route has not been tempered by thousands of years? "Two times not cooperating, three times not cooperating", Chestnut became a little anxious and lost his temper with Mu En.

But after the excitement, she felt awkward again and began to reflect on her original intention.

If you think about it, the increase in lesson fees is not about my daughter. Moreover, he once hoped that his daughter's life would be like a wilderness rather than a track, and now it has become so utilitarian, is it really for her daughter's growth?

In Chestnut's mind, there were various different thoughts fighting. As a mother for the first time, she also experienced the feeling of being concerned and chaotic.

After sober reflection, "balance" becomes the goal and state that Chestnut is trying to achieve.

Chestnut and daughter hiking outdoors

There are many meanings of balance, such as chestnuts that believe in the importance of giving children freedom and autonomy, but also believe in the need for parents to guide and cultivate children's persistent habits.

As a parent, without the ability to provide the top resources, she feels that she has no reason to require her children to be top-notch; However, on the other hand, you have to try everything to know that adults and children are the same, and you can't give up easily.

In order to give Muen a better training environment, Chestnut is continuing to do "intelligence work" these days and learn more about it with Russian friends.

The best result is to be able to get a well-paid job in Moscow, completely solving the problem of coaching fees;

Secondly, choose other cities in Russia such as Yekaterinburg, and the monthly training fee can be controlled at less than 10,000 yuan;

Again, it is to return to the state when she first came to Yerevan, her daughter can continue to take figure skating as one of her hobbies, chestnut is also communicating with Yerevan Chaiyuan, and the school has expressed its willingness to accept Mu En as their student...

"Balance" also means balancing interests with studies. Chestnut sought advice from some professional educational institutions, and had a deep understanding of what kind of academic goals children should achieve at what age - this goal will be the bottom line that Mu En must at least achieve in learning.

In any case, Chestnut feels that in Armenia these few years will not be "bamboo basket empty".

Although she was often disappointed by the social landscape of the country, she also met many friendly people - most importantly, her daughter grew up to be a sunny, happy little girl.

Chestnut recalled with a smile that her daughter was a small chatterbox, very expressive, and would talk non-stop when she went to school for half an hour's drive. If she is not bothered, she will talk to herself, switching between 5 languages (Chinese, Armenian, English, Turkish, Russian).

Compared with the shyness of local Armenian children, the daughter is a social cow attribute. As soon as I moved, I rang a row of neighbor's doorbells to play with other children. As a rare local Chinese face, she is not shy to show her dance in front of other students. In the midst of a group of Armenian children, there is often a "little leader".

Muen and friends

Although he has had chicken feathers and all kinds of entanglements, he does not regret taking his daughter to leave footprints here.

In a few months, Mu En will turn 6 years old, where to go to primary school in the future, whether to continue professional figure skating, to which country ... Chestnut said that he still needs some time to plan and think.

Over the years, Chestnut has made countless decisions to ignore "ordinary people would do this", and has also been sneered at by many people.

She knows that it is impossible to survive in this society completely free and unfettered, and recognizes that the operating rules of social reality are also a necessary "balance". However, she often looks forward to responding to her daughter's needs and listening to her voice more than how to listen to the "advice" of others or even good relatives and friends.

At the same time, as a mother, she has always been "on the road", constantly regulating her emotions, constantly enriching herself and learning to improve.

Chestnut finally talked about the emergence of artificial intelligence in recent years, which in her view seems like a prophecy - telling us that the direction of education is to preserve those things that will not be easily replaced: such as the boundless experience of walkers, such as empathy when making friends with others, or, the exploration of self, self, and understanding of others...

*All images in this article are from interviewees