The Language of Love
My Lesson from Russia of Long Ago
In 1991 I had taken a group of high school students to Russia for three weeks as part of a People to People International program. Started by President Eisenhower, People to People professed that if young people from the United States could connect with young people from other countries the seeds of diplomacy could be sown.
When I traveled in the summer of 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader of the still Soviet Union. Gorbachev promoted glasnost or transparency and perestroika or a restructuring of the economy and political system. Russia, as one of the Soviet republics or states, was also opening up to the West after about seventy years of being cemented in communism and dictatorship. We were in for a bit of a culture shock.
Enter: People to People Caravan
Very much as a Third World country, the people of Russia then did not have much and we were told to bring treats such as bubblegum for the children and make-up for the women. Wherever we went, the children followed wanting boobly-goom and the women would take a finger to trace their lips indicating their desire for lipstick and other related sundries. We came prepared for this but not for the person-to-person experiences we would encounter.
