Vie Miller CP#1

I met Yerslan at Black Dog on Sunday for our weekly Russian Lesson. As part of the lesson--which was on family matters--I showed pictures of my grandfather to Yerslan. The pictures were taken in South Dakota during the 20’s and 30’s, and Yerslon was amazed at how “American” the photos were. Whether he was referring more to my grandfather’s very “American” look (He says that I have this American look too) or the very mid-western setting the pictures were taken in was hard to say. Ina any case, Yerslan, enjoyed seeing the photos very much; family is very important to Yerslan and to many Russians. I asked him if he would bring pictures of his family and home for our next lesson. He said he would, though there wasn’t much he could share. Consumer products, such as cameras, were very very rare in the Soviet Union during that time. Our conversation was a good reminder that Yerslan and I have a great distance to travel before we can really understand each others' story, but that the journey will nevertheless be very exciting.