Top secret in Samara

Last night, we finally got Yulia to come over for dinner. We wanted to begin to show our appreciation for her hard work and eating my spaghetti is a good way to say thank you. It was such a pleasant dinner that she wants to do it again, so I am very glad to hear this since I too would like to cook more for her and share some time talking with her. Usually, with Yulia, conversations, as Jeremy has mentioned, are not very linear because she is so darn busy, but last night we learned some interesting facts about Samara now and then.

Jeremy explained some points about Samara being a closed city during the span of the USSR a few weeks ago and I would like to add to it. Yulia told us about a time when she was in college where she saw this little sign on an announcement board to go to England. Turns out she passed the first step because no one else was actually "Russian." I think she meant they were Tartar or of other ethnicities since there are many in the Volga region. Anyway, the second part of the process was an interview with, you guessed it, the KGB. Those guys had her so scared telling her to never talk to anyone if she went and to not go out at night and to always go places with someone. They made England seem so scary, staying in Samara sounded like a better idea.

Another time she went to an English exhibition in Moscow. She was so excited because it would be the first time she thought she would get a chance to speak with foreigners. Imagine studying and teaching a language and never having a chance to practice with a native speaker because they can't come to your town! Anyway, when she got there, she got up the nerve to talk to a foreigner. She said it was like a 15 minute basic conversation about each other, very innocent. Ten minutes later a young man approached her and said she should never try such an act again if she wanted to be "safe!" Only certain people that had been okayed by the government were alllowed to converse with the foreigners at the exhibit.

Of course, we've all heard stories and seen movies about the omnipresent and intimidating KGB, but when you hear personal stories about them in the city you are lving in, it's just shocking!

Yulia explained to us why the position Jeremy holds as an English Language Fellow is so fantastic to Samara. It wasn't until after the fall of communism that such a person could even set foot in the city. So having anyone come to help teach the people about teaching methods and life in other countries is a treat for many people here. Maybe the younger students are less aware of this since they have lived most of their lives under "democracy", but the older ones, I think, feel lucky.

We also talked about the current political situation in Samara. This weekend people will vote for a new mayor and just down the street there was a debate two nights ago. Turns out politicians here are no different than at home. The Russians have a saying, "Do you pick the bad one or the worse one?" Sounds like a few sayings we have in the states!