The biting Russian cold welcomed her as she stepped off the plane, a fleeting mist forming in the frigid air as she breathed out in nervousness.

It clung to her senses, contrasting the warmth of Texas where her family was. She thought leaving behind the suffocating struggles would ease her stress. Instead, it only fuelled her anxiety more. She still didn't know what she was doing there or how she ended up in Russia. Her only answer was the scholarship letter and three hundred dollars that she exchanged at the airport earlier.