A Letter From Back Home #2

Dearest Vov,

I love Vov! Vov is so cool. Hmmm, lots to tell you. So I have been talking a lot with my Russian friend, Sasha, who lives in Chicago on the phone. He has been asking me why I have a Polish or a Russian villager's accent while speaking Russian. He has been very impressed with my Russian and asked me if I was teaching Russian or English because I know so many Russian words. Also, there is a very large Indian and Russian population in N. Chicago and there are many Russian stores on one street, so I went to visit them yesterday with my friend and I got to speak RUssian and ask for Piroshkee. My friend tried piroshkee for the first time yesterday and loved them.

Oh, my friend had his Indian friend, Kumar, over and Kumar made a few of us an authentic Indian meal. I was almost crying because it was so spicy, and I kept thinking that you would have loved to have been there. Kumar is so cool and was so sad that I had planned on going to India in January but that I cannot now because of school. He said I would have loved India. I wish I could still go. I think I may have recruited an American for you. I went into a bookstore to sell some of my books and my friend asked me what my t-shirt said and I told him that it said Cobaka or dog in Russian. The girl, who worked in the bookstore, asked me in Russian if I spoke Russian and I said a little bit. Then I told her all about my experiences in Russia. She lived in St. Petersberg for a month and wants to live in RUssia for a year. She is going to check out your website and contact me if she has any questions. I never thought I would be able to recruit someone for you by wearing my cobaka t-shirt.

So my post-Russian depression is gone and I am finally back to normal. I am smiling and laughing all the time again. I still speak cliche Russian around my friends because some of them want to learn it. I always talk about Ivashka and you because I adore both of you so much. Will you please tell your mom that I said hello. I love her! I think my favorite story to tell is about my last few hours in Izhevsk and trying to find a way to the train station and the Babushka Zoya. I also talk about Lake Baikal and how you were acting like a grizzly bear and my friends always laught at this. I will definitely write about these two experiences for your website but just please be patient. Did anyone ever tell you what happened to me my last morning in Izhevsk? God, it was so scary and I thought I was going to miss my plane back to Chicago.

Hmmm, you know, my friends are still impressed with my stories and just so enamored with the fact that I went to Russia and they all want to come visit when I move there. Do you really think it is possible for me to move to Russia after school.

God, I miss all of you so much. I love RUssia!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cobaka!