Dan in Russia 2002
February 19
Karim and I visited a school on the morning of February 19. It was terrifying -- just like school 20 years ago. :) Thankfully, we each had our translators with us; Karim and Tanya went to visit with some of the younger kids while I hid behind Yulya in the teenager wing of the school. For two class periods, I sat in the front of the classroom and gave a speech about America and took some questions (they asked crazy stuff like, "How do you treat your black people?" and "Have you taken many drugs?"). I also spent an hour observing an algebra class (it stinks regardless of where you live) and had the opportunity to see the school's computer lab.
Best of all, I got treated like a rock star. After the last class period, I was swarmed by kids who wanted my autograph. Karim had the same experience. I think we used up most of our 15 minutes of fame that day.
