As with previous trips, everything started off great. We checked into the hotel, dropped our stuff off in the rooms and ran to explore the local delicacies in the kitchen. Having learned that there would be a foam party with a cool DJ the next day, we all put on our best swimsuits and went to the pool in anticipation. Everything was going great, the music, the atmosphere – just great!

But then a guy with a fit body came up to me and started flirting. To be honest, I didn’t pay attention to him and just ignored him. A little time passed, he came up again, but this time with a hookah in his hand. He asked if I spoke Russian and introduced himself as Ismail. I immediately became suspicious and decided to ask where he was from. He replied that he was from Azerbaijan.

At that moment, everything inside me boiled. I don’t know what came over me, but I grabbed the hookah pipe and pushed him, so that it fell on his feet. After that, I hit him in the face with a wooden pipe. As a result, his eyebrow was broken, and the security intervened, separating us. Despite this, I did not panic and remained calm.

For the remaining four days in the hotel, he kept his distance from me and literally avoided meeting me. Every time I saw him on the hotel grounds, he immediately ran away, afraid of another confrontation.

This incident became another reminder for me of how important it is to stand up for your country and your principles, even when you are abroad.