The Odyssey of My Life and High School Years
The Odyssey Of My Life And High School Years
I was born in 1991, in Bryansk, an old city in Eastern Europe. For the next 5 years My life continued on in a small charming town about 30 kilometers away from the city .Though I was born when the world watched in amazement, how the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries, I as a child did not seem to notice . I enjoyed a childhood of stability and peace .My father was an electrician and my mother ran the household and cared for the children; later, they managed a small farm. In our family, work was not regarded as sheer necessity, but as a defining feature and rewarding aspect of life. The year I turned five, my Grandma who lived in the states arranged for our family to move to Seattle Washington. The wave of difference that hit me as a Russian immigrant was huge. The roads were asphalted everywhere! The stores were enormous, parks could be found within a minute walk, streets were clean and people ate a lot of white bread! Furthermore people smiled a great deal, and if you weren’t you would be asked what's wrong .I was used to something different: Russians tend not to smile in public or to strangers like shop assistants or waiters. Here in the West everybody did it. An additional example was the beverages. Nearly all were made with ice: water, Coca-Cola even tea! The shoe wear was quite unusual; I have never seen flip-flops before. In Washington one and all wore them; old and young, women and men. The stores were packed with these strange shoes you could find cheap ones, pretty ones, designer ones, all kind. The winter didn’t stop the flip-flop wearing. I still see people wrapped in sweaters and scarfs with a pair of flip flops on. Elementary school was one of the brightest moments of my life. Our room was filled with toys and we had a huge colorful plastic playground. I went to a great elementary school with winter festivals, fieldtrips, fairs, it was so great. Sometimes I wish that I could
I was born in 1991, in Bryansk, an old city in Eastern Europe. For the next 5 years My life continued on in a small charming town about 30 kilometers away from the city .Though I was born when the world watched in amazement, how the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries, I as a child did not seem to notice . I enjoyed a childhood of stability and peace .My father was an electrician and my mother ran the household and cared for the children; later, they managed a small farm. In our family, work was not regarded as sheer necessity, but as a defining feature and rewarding aspect of life. The year I turned five, my Grandma who lived in the states arranged for our family to move to Seattle Washington. The wave of difference that hit me as a Russian immigrant was huge. The roads were asphalted everywhere! The stores were enormous, parks could be found within a minute walk, streets were clean and people ate a lot of white bread! Furthermore people smiled a great deal, and if you weren’t you would be asked what's wrong .I was used to something different: Russians tend not to smile in public or to strangers like shop assistants or waiters. Here in the West everybody did it. An additional example was the beverages. Nearly all were made with ice: water, Coca-Cola even tea! The shoe wear was quite unusual; I have never seen flip-flops before. In Washington one and all wore them; old and young, women and men. The stores were packed with these strange shoes you could find cheap ones, pretty ones, designer ones, all kind. The winter didn’t stop the flip-flop wearing. I still see people wrapped in sweaters and scarfs with a pair of flip flops on. Elementary school was one of the brightest moments of my life. Our room was filled with toys and we had a huge colorful plastic playground. I went to a great elementary school with winter festivals, fieldtrips, fairs, it was so great. Sometimes I wish that I could