The content of this post is an adaptation of an original text written by Guy Laliberté.
On Thursday, September 10, my mind and body were able to function normally once again after a good shower. Today was another formal day, starting with a meeting with the high-ranking officials in Star City.
Today (and I know you’ll have a good laugh at this one), is also the beginning of a series of important official ceremonies where I’ll be required to wear a tie! I congratulated myself for having snatched a few during my last weekends in Moscow and was relieved to find a black one that perfectly matched my black jacket. :) However, I needed the kind help of a “tie-knot” expert—Marsel to be specific!
Once the briefing with the high-ranking officials was over, we headed over to the White Hall for the projection of a slide show displaying all the training we’ve followed.
Then, we went back to the office where the doctor gave us certain instructions and handed us an anti-virus kit that included hand soap and alcohol—no, not vodka—wipes, since we will be put in semi-quarantine as of tomorrow. Without cutting ourselves off from others, we will have to avoid crowds, not shake hands with someone who seems ill and disinfect our hands often. So, if one of us refuses to shake your hand, this may be a sign that you should see a doctor!
The doctor’s visit was followed by the press conference where, once again, I was asked a lot of questions.
We then went on to the Star City museum, in Gagarin’s old office, for another tradition that involves signing the book that contains all the signatures of astronauts, and adding a personal message. I wrote a line that means everything to me: “Today, I feel like the Little Prince.”
Afterwards, we all went to Moscow to visit the Red Square. The visit started in a very touching fashion: we laid flowers on the grave of certain cosmonauts, including Gagarin’s.
We also did a private visit of the Red Square buildings. This was very pleasant, since the wives, the children and the guides were with us. I was the only one without his family, so needless to say, I missed them even more.
The visit over, my teammates were officially on a 5-day vacation. As for me, I’ll have to wait till Christmas unfortunately. :( I spent a part of the evening in interviews with the Russian press to talk about the Poetic Social Mission as well as the Varekai show that starts in Moscow next October 23.
I wanted to make the most of my time in Moscow, so I invited my coordinator, Geneviève, my film crew, and one of the Cirque du Soleil partners in Russia, Craig Cohon, to the Nobu restaurant to celebrate this last step in the examination process. I was pleased to have them taste new types of sushi (though Geneviève, of course, insisted on having maki!) and some good bottles of sake. We were so drowsy on our way back to Star City that I think our snores were powerful enough to push the minibus forward!
That night, I had the weirdest dreams since I started training, and I tossed and turned so much that I hardly slept. Luckily, I didn’t dream about dying of suffocation under a sumo wrestler! The fact that I’m about to start another chapter of this adventure probably explains why I’m so restless.