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January 10, 2008

A summer in Russia

James Towey

SALEM — History teacher Ms. Lori Marenda embarked on a journey of a lifetime this past summer when she had the chance to go to Russia and live with a family there. Marenda got this opportunity by receiving a federal grant called the Fullbright-Hays grant from the University of Illinois.

Marenda arrived in Moscow and was astounded to find that the language barrier was encompassing throughout their stay there. "100 percent immersion," Marenda said about the language barrier. "They could only say hi or hello."

Marenda stayed with two families while in Russia. The mother of both families spoke English and was able to communicate to the rest of the family.

One of the main differences she noted between the U.S. and Russia is the plumbing. In Russia the pipes were above ground and the water wasn't hot. If you wanted the water hot then you had to boil water and then use it. You also had to boil water if you wanted it for cooking because of chemicals in it.

This experience, however, proved to Marenda that there is no place like home. She said, "It made me realize how blessed we are here."

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