I know from having many discussions with my American Problems students that they struggle in defining what they consider to be the American Dream. If it used to be tangible, I think that it has now slipped away from us, if it ever existed at all. Do Russians have a dream? Where do they see themselves within it? I know that I am probably asking too many questions, but until my arrival, I am loathe to pare them down. I want to enter this experience with an open mind and a burgeoning curiosity.
As a true people person, I wonder if the repression of the Soviet era has affected how people act with each other and toward each other. I wonder if their citizens are open and transparent or stoic like Ivan Denisovich as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn portrayed him.
I won't have long to find out. Looking forward to travel, and as I said on a regular basis...I am truly living the dream.