Ideologies? Or Just Friends?

I grew up in the Cold War. I know it looks like ancient politics now. But it was real for us. We knew the world could be destroyed by nuclear weapons. That undercurrent ran beneath daily life. Two countries with tons of nukes hated each other. I lived in one of them. It’s not that …

Letter Home from Russia (April 17, 1998)

It's early on a chilly spring morning in Moscow, and I'm being carried across the tarmac at Domodedovo Airport by our country director and a fellow visiting lecturer. We've just returned from the Civic Education Project (CEP) Russia student conference in Tyumen. A mishap on the last night of the conference caused a ligament injury …

Letter Home from Yekaterinburg, Russia (Sept 1997) – Part 4

I recently found in my closet several handwritten letters that I sent to my mother during my time teaching in Russia. I sent many more, but these were all I could find. I will be posting these on my blog. I have retyped the letters but changed nothing. It's hard for a writer-editor not to …

Letter Home from Yekaterinburg, Russia (Sept 1997) – Part 3

I recently found in my closet several handwritten letters that I sent to my mother during my time teaching in Russia. I sent many more, but these were all I could find. I will be posting these on my blog. I have retyped the letters but changed nothing. It's hard for a writer-editor not to …

Letter Home from Yekaterinburg, Russia (Sept 1997) – Part 2

I recently found in my closet several handwritten letters that I sent to my mother during my time teaching in Russia. I sent many more, but these were all I could find. I will be posting these on my blog. I have retyped the letters but changed nothing. It's hard for a writer-editor not to …

Letter Home from Yekaterinburg, Russia (Sept 1997) – Part 1

I recently found in my closet several handwritten letters that I sent to my mother during my time teaching in Russia. I sent many more, but these were all I could find. I will be posting these on my blog. I have retyped the letters but changed nothing. It's hard for a writer-editor not to …

Memories of Learning Russian with Rita

My favorite memories of living as an American in Russia include the early evenings I spent in the kitchen, sharing in Russian conversation with Rita, the mother of the family I lived with. Twenty-one years later, I remember it like it was yesterday. Rita spoke a little English and a little German. I spoke the …

Letter Home from Moscow (August 1997)

I recently found in my closet several handwritten letters that I sent to my mother during my time teaching in Russia. I sent many more, but these were all I could find. I will be posting these on my blog. I have retyped the letters but changed nothing. It's hard for a writer-editor not to …

Locked Out on a Siberian Winter Night

Last night, in the freezing weather, a friend came to visit. She was wearing clothes that probably belonged in late fall or early spring. Acknowledging this, she said, "I knew I was just going across town from my house to yours." This reminded me of a time when I did the same thing. Except I …

The Beauty of an Ordinary Moment in Belarus

I crossed the border between Russia and Belarus at a tumultuous time. I had a lot to worry about - and to be excited about. I'm amazed at how, some 19 years later, what stands out in my memory isn't the dramatic backdrop. It's an ordinary moment with a student whose name I don't remember, …