My favorite memories of living as an American in Russia in the late 1990s include the early evenings I spent in the kitchen, sharing in Russian conversation with Rita, the mother of the family I lived with. All these years later, I remember it like it was yesterday. Rita spoke a little English and aContinueContinue reading “Memories of Learning Russian with Rita”
Category Archives: Eastern Europe
The Beauty of an Ordinary Moment in Belarus
I crossed the border between Russia and Belarus at a tumultuous time in the late 1990s. I had a lot to worry about—and to be excited about. I’m amazed at how, so many years later, what stands out in my memory isn’t the dramatic backdrop. It’s an ordinary moment with a student whose name IContinueContinue reading “The Beauty of an Ordinary Moment in Belarus”
English Lessons in a Polish Suburb
The atmosphere was quiet, as I waded through calf-deep snow toward a little apartment on the outskirts of Poznan, Poland. The light through the windows was inviting. This kind of winter was new to me, a Florida girl. The night sky was a deeper blue, as the moonlight reflected off the snow. After spending theContinueContinue reading “English Lessons in a Polish Suburb”
View from a Glass Box: Transit through Sweden 1988
In my senior year of college, I did a semester abroad at Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza in Poznan, Poland. It was January to June 1988, about a year and a half before the Berlin Wall fell. The new wave of uprisings in Poland had just started. It was a rough time and place for thisContinueContinue reading “View from a Glass Box: Transit through Sweden 1988”
Exploring Generations 