Ugh. The feels. My poor Natasha. Bless her heart. (By the way, I don't know who the man is with her in the photo. Obviously one of her fellow actors). Anyway, Natasha is a strong person. I think she doing pretty considering the circumstances. She has a lot of friends and a good support system. I think she'll be OK.
I wrote about my first trip to Russia (during the failed military coup) a couple of posts back. Before the coup began on Monday, August 19, 1991, I had spent the previous weekend in Kiev, Ukraine with my beloved friend Natasha. Below is an excerpt from a college paper that I wrote about my Russian experience. I'm so old that this paper was written on a TYPEWRITER! The front below isn't a "typewriter" font. It's a scanned copy of the paper that I submitted. There are typos, so be prepared. Also, remember that the speaking voice is of a college girl. Just as an FYI, the average salary in Russia at that time was 200 rubles per month. That will help you to put things into perspective when you read how Natasha and I bribed our way onto a train for 100 rubles (believe me, it was money well spent). I don't remember what the exchange rate was at that time but it was extremely favorable for Americans. As a poor college student, I was able to live like a king (or queen rather) when I lived there. The following year I rented a nice NEW apartment for $150 per month in the fall of 1992. I remember I took a shower and ate breakfast and then headed off to class, late. It was on my way to class when I saw the tanks rolling down the wide boulevard near the university. That's when I knew something bad was happening... Before I end this post, I wanted to add something that touched me recently. In February I wrote a post about Natasha when she suddenly lost her 41-year old husband to a heart attack. Her birthday was last week and I was reading all her birthday wishes on the Russian version of Facebook. This photo of Natasha acting on stage caught my attention; I thought it was an odd choice for birthday wishes: A friend captioned the photo: “A new life is beginning. All the bad things are now behind you. I am sure of it”.
Ugh. The feels. My poor Natasha. Bless her heart. (By the way, I don't know who the man is with her in the photo. Obviously one of her fellow actors). Anyway, Natasha is a strong person. I think she doing pretty considering the circumstances. She has a lot of friends and a good support system. I think she'll be OK.
4 Comments
6/22/2015 06:02:49 am
That's a great story. Were you also relentlessly pursued by guys who wanted to sell you stuff? It seemed that as soon as I opened my mouth I was swarmed by sellers. And American tourists had flooded the market with jeans so the Russians had gotten very selective--they wanted black stonewashed only.
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Gina
6/22/2015 06:37:02 am
Honestly, I don't remember people trying to sell me things. After my first trip, I learned to dress more "Russian" (like no white capri pants in summer) and I think was able to fit in more like a native. I still had weird run-ins with men though. I'll probably save some of those stories for my still unwritten post, "Strange Men Have I Known".
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Gina W.
6/29/2015 12:30:48 pm
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
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