Longing or belonging?

After the collapse of the “Iron Curtain” Russian people were finally allowed to go abroad and visit exotic countries with “non-Russian” people living their “movie-like” lives. Since the only place where you could laze in the sun on the beach and get away from it all was the south of Russia near the Black Sea that was usually crowded with people resembling sardines crammed in a tin, I have always wanted to go abroad to enjoy the emerald water of Tahiti or see the beauty of the never aging Parthenon, but lack of time and money prevented me from doing so.    

I have always loved Russia: its delicate birches, falling snowflakes sparkling in the pale light of the street lantern like diamonds… and never thought of leaving it. Like all people I wanted to travel overseas and see different cultures, but never thought that I would end up staying there.

 I was in college majoring in English and foreign literature hoping to become an English teacher after graduation when I first discovered the internet and the opportunity it provided to communicate with people all around the world. Since my English was good I was able to meet a lot of “cyber” friends from all over the globe.  It was around that time when I met my future husband.  We started off as friends sharing different stories and experiences from our lives. As our communication developed we discovered how similar our interests and life principles were, yet how different our backgrounds and cultures were. It was such an incredible feeling to talk to somebody who didn’t grow up in the same neighborhood as you and belonged to a totally different culture.

He came to visit me in Russia after a year of our daily letters to each other and I started thinking about how fun it would be to go visit him in America, the country of skyscrapers and “La-La Land”. After numerous attempts of getting my visa for almost a year, I finally boarded a big jet, and like an eagle it took me high in the sky and brought me to sunny California. We spent the entire summer together exploring the beautiful landscapes of California and our hearts.  I was about to go back to Russia when he proposed to me that summer… we got married and the girl that just came for a short visit has been living happily in America for almost three years now.  I never thought I would leave my native country, but the road of life offers us unexpected turns…