The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Coming to America

Tatyana Rivchun has been to the United States before. She has taken business trips to New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston and Cleveland, but before last week, she did not realize how similar those places were to Carbondale.

She said she had no idea that Americans who live in rural areas could read the same newspapers, watch the same television channels, buy the same products and wear the same clothes as those who reside in the cities.

"I have never been to such small places," said Rivchun, who is a management consultant from Moscow. "What is amazing, I think, is that here there is no difference between the big cities and the small ones. People can do the same things.

"In Russia, it is different."

Rivchun was just one of eight women who traveled from Russia to learn about American culture. The Open World Program allowed the visiting women to meet regional business leaders and politicians in order to help them understand American democracy.

Naseem Ahmed, member of the program's sponsor, American Association of University Women, said the Open World Program helped bridge the gap between the two countries.

"We do have so many misconceptions about one another, but through this, we can have a link and a friendship that is clear beyond any language or any cultural dialect," Ahmed said.

Arriving Oct. 1, the women traveled throughout the Midwest during their week stay. In Carbondale, they met with Mayor Brad Cole and City Councilwoman Shelia Simon, visited SIUC's Small Business Incubator and toured the WSIL television station. They also met with county officials and oversaw proceedings at the Randolph County Circuit Court, located in Chester, Ill.

On Thursday, the women visited the Illinois Supreme Court and General Assembly. They also met staff members of Sen. Richard Durbin's district office.

Open World is a nonpartisan initiative of the U.S. Congress. Since it began in 1999, the program has allowed more than 8,000 participants from all of Russia's 89 regions to come to America.

"It's interesting to coordinate a program like this," Ahmed said. "It is a learning experience for both sides. And I have learned the wonderful leadership qualities of Russian women."

Tatyana Sharova said before this experience, what she knew about U.S. culture came from movies and word of mouth.

"It's my first time in America, and I loved everything," Sharova said through a translator. "I loved the country. I loved the people, and my attitude toward America has completely changed."

Sharova, who heads regional support for small businesses company, said the Open World program was interesting because it coincided its events with the women's respective businesses.

"Now, once I go back, I will talk about every single thing that I saw here, and I will tell everybody how America is a great country," Sharova said. "People are nice here, and I have a son who is 21 years old, and I am going to tell him that he needs to learn English so he could come to America."

Though the women returned to Russia early Saturday morning, Rivchun said the experience has opened doors for both personal and professional contacts.

"It is very interesting, and it will be very interesting," she said. "For many of us, it will be the start of some new links with the people here."

 

 

[Macro error: Can't include because the file is larger than 32767 characters.]

Today's News | Sports | Voices - Editorial | Letters
Newsbriefs | pulse - Arts & Entertainment | Calendar | Photo Staff
Apts & Rentals | Photo Personals | Live DE NewsCam | Classified Ads