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I agree with you, Lyudmila, coming to America alone would be difficult for anyone, without a support group like a family or friends. When I lived in Germany, I had friends, but language was not so difficult because the alphabet was similar. Russians who come to America on their own simply amaze me, especially if they come to New York.
A dear friend from the site visited New York for a month and barely knew the language. I was a little afraid for her; thought about driving to New York City to help (10 hours), but she did an incredible job of getting around within a city that most Americans might have trouble getting around in. I was extremely impressed. I can not even imagine coming to Russia to live on my own and not knowing anyone locally, even after having lived in another country.
Probably, larger cities are not indicative of typical America. In smaller cities and local communities, people will stop and help you on the street. If you are a woman and your car has a flat tire, someone will quickly stop to change your tire for you. (I saw this yesterday) If you are lost, and they have time, they will take you to where you wish to go. If you attend a church, church people almost always reach out to give assistance; churches are usually great support groups. I tell my friends, if you run into problems and have no one, go to a church and they will help. Americans are typically very generous and outgoing. Often, if you have no one, they will even become a family for you. some will even take you into their home. Again, this may not be common in larger cities like New York.
The political climate in a foreign country (for example, Russia) can often give a distorted view of the US. I am often surprised what some of my Russian friends think about us and do not even know whom they are talking about, but we understand that goes with the territory. Again, Americans are not touchy or oversensitive; we criticize and laugh at ourselves and not easily offended! (Tim, you do not look to me like you are from Thailand! I do not mean to offend you my friend, but you look like you might be from California! Where do I look like I am from!? Hahahaha!) We always criticize our government!!
I do not always try to correct my friends here with misconceptions about the US; I invite them to come, visit and discover who we really are. Usually this is much different than what they first expected. Despite all our shortcomings, America is a pretty good place and we are working diligently to improve many of our problems.
A dear friend from the site visited New York for a month and barely knew the language. I was a little afraid for her; thought about driving to New York City to help (10 hours), but she did an incredible job of getting around within a city that most Americans might have trouble getting around in. I was extremely impressed. I can not even imagine coming to Russia to live on my own and not knowing anyone locally, even after having lived in another country.
Probably, larger cities are not indicative of typical America. In smaller cities and local communities, people will stop and help you on the street. If you are a woman and your car has a flat tire, someone will quickly stop to change your tire for you. (I saw this yesterday) If you are lost, and they have time, they will take you to where you wish to go. If you attend a church, church people almost always reach out to give assistance; churches are usually great support groups. I tell my friends, if you run into problems and have no one, go to a church and they will help. Americans are typically very generous and outgoing. Often, if you have no one, they will even become a family for you. some will even take you into their home. Again, this may not be common in larger cities like New York.
The political climate in a foreign country (for example, Russia) can often give a distorted view of the US. I am often surprised what some of my Russian friends think about us and do not even know whom they are talking about, but we understand that goes with the territory. Again, Americans are not touchy or oversensitive; we criticize and laugh at ourselves and not easily offended! (Tim, you do not look to me like you are from Thailand! I do not mean to offend you my friend, but you look like you might be from California! Where do I look like I am from!? Hahahaha!) We always criticize our government!!
I do not always try to correct my friends here with misconceptions about the US; I invite them to come, visit and discover who we really are. Usually this is much different than what they first expected. Despite all our shortcomings, America is a pretty good place and we are working diligently to improve many of our problems.