Raisa told me she has made trips down south. Elsewhere in Russia, people don't speak to each other. In Vorkuta, we're a tight community. More bewilderingly, she insists the warmer weather in the south no longer suits her. I left Raisa's flat, carefully putting on my five hi-tech thermal layers, and I tried to imagine this elderly lady working so long ago, out on the ice wearing nothing but a rudimentary convict's uniform.
People can it seems grow accustomed to the most unlikely places.
But some will never find their way back home. Nepal's night of bloodshed Bridging the divide for India's future Middle East's circle of despair Surviving the Sudanese conflict Going back to Romania Taleban's foreign militants Links to more From Our Own Correspondent stories are at the foot of the page.