Send Me Someone by Diana von Welanetz Wentworth

Author:Diana von Welanetz Wentworth [Wentworth, Diana von Welanetz]
Language: eng
Format: epub

On Mother’s Day, 1985, after having arrived on long flights from all over the United States, eighty of us convened at a hotel in the Finnish countryside, an hour from Helsinki. There, before crossing the border by rail into Russia and reaching our first stop, we would spend three days being briefed on Soviet protocol by our group’s leaders. One of the leaders, Rama Vernon, was a beautiful, visionary woman, founder of the magazine Yoga Journal, and an expert on conflict resolution, who had already made several trips into Russia. She radiated a strong, maternal quality that comforted all of us. A model of receptivity, she taught us to listen deeply to the people we would meeting, to let them pour out all their confusion and concerns. “Until you do that, there is no room, no space for something new.”

Rama told us, “The best way to meet Soviet citizens is to change your money into kopeks, get purposely lost on the Moscow subway, then ask for directions. Or you might go to nightclubs where there is dancing, because barriers are usually down in that environment. With luck, you will even be invited into someone’s home.”

Rama said that Russians, like most people worldwide, know at least the basics of English as a result of intensive study in grammar school. Not surprisingly, however, the members of our group were unfamiliar with the Russian language. So we had some catching up to do. She taught us a few basic phrases. The ones I remember were mir i druzhbah, which means “peace and brotherhood,” and pozhaluista, a combination of “please” and “you’re welcome.” Pozhaluista.

Rama told us that we would be watched closely and that our hotel rooms were sure to be bugged. She added that Soviet citizens were not allowed to gather in groups and were always careful not to do things that would get them noticed – so we should likewise be careful not do things that would call attention to those we spoke to.

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