A Reader Writes Back

Below you'll find a note from a reader of my Russia journal. I've gotten a small amount of mail from readers, and I really do enjoy hearing from people. Most mail has consisted of polite notes saying someone took a look at it, they liked it, etc. This writer raised some good points, though, so I thought it worth putting up on the Web and responding (I couldn't make out her email address, as it had apparantly been put in wrong). If you're the person who wrote this, please do write back. I'd love to continue talking about it!


From nobody@sunsite.unc.eduSat Sep 16 16:54:31 1995
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 20:04:11 -0400
From: Web-Mailer Script 
Subject: A Suggestion or Question

My name is #####. I am studying in the US. I am from Moscow, Russia. 
I am glad that you had a good visit to my country. I was, however, suprised
that you felt so scared. I know that the security in my country is not an 
existing term, but I think that you sounded a little paranoid. My travel 
abroad tought me so much. I was wondering if what you saw in Russia was 
what you expected to see. I thought of the U.S. quite differently before 
I came here to study. Did you feel that our people are very different? I 
think they are. Well, thanks for providing an entertaining reading for 
me tonight. See ya.


I have to admit, you've certainly got grounds for what you say. Many times since the trip I've looked back at my journal and thought, "Geez, Michael, you really were uptight while you were there." And, to be honest, I agree that I may have been a little paranoid. But the truth is that what you see here is what I wrote. It's what I was feeling at the time, and if I edited it now, after the fact, I wouldn't be putting up an accurate accounting of what I felt at that time. If I changed it to say that I didn't feel scared, simply because now the passage of time gives me the luxury of looking back and going, "Oh, it wasn't that bad," I'd be lying about what I felt then.

I also ask that you understand a little about the perspective from which I viewed things while I was there. I had never been outside the US. I grew up in a tiny town in a rural area in North Carolina's mountains. I had never been in any situation but a completely, utterly safe one. I was raised living in the middle of nowhere, all my neighbors were my relatives, I knew everyone there. Going to Moscow tossed me into a completely alien situation for which I don't think I was mentally prepared. I had never been to a city the size of Moscow. I had never been in a country that was warring with a faction of itself. There was a bomb scare on the metro one day while I was in Moscow, as rumors flew that the Chechnyans were going to start guerrilla tactics in the Russian capitol. Our group nearly didn't get to go over because the State Department was concerned for our safety.

I think you're right--the city was not inherently dangerous at every turn; this is borne out by the fact that I made it there and back in one piece with no major incidents. However, two members of our group were nearly attacked at a monastery. Another person in our group was just grabbed and yelled at in Russian by a random person on the sidewalk in downtown Moscow. In St. Petersburg we were told by our hotel's doorman that we couldn't go outside without the company of a police officer after 9:00pm. No, these things did not spell imminent doom for me. They were, on the other hand, a million times less safe than the worst situation I'd ever been in here in the States.

Keep in mind that I offer up no claim that my account of 11 days in the Motherland is the ultimate, end-all objective report on the state of the State of Russia. This is all my experience and reflection from my perspective.

Am I saying you're wrong to think me paranoid? No, by anyone else's standards I could easily be seen as paranoid. Just keep in mind that we're coming at this from two entirely different worlds.

To answer your question about do I think the Russian people are different from Americans? Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. I think Russians are more grateful for what they have, on the whole. I also think they're much more willing to face their problems, as huge as they may be, than we are here in America. I think we've had it easy (and believe me, I'm not complaining about having it easy) here, and so we've started to get a little soft. There's no arguing with that, in my opinion.

I am really grateful that you'd get back to me. I enjoyed hearing your opinions, and I really do hope you write back. Since I didn't get your address from your message, I can only hope you read this web page. I'd love to continue conversing with you. Please write back!


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Michael G. Williams