Americanized Russians

Americanized Russians? Sounds like an oxymoron… Is there such a thing as Russianized Americans? Kind of like Communistic Democracy or Democratic Communism. Hmm, sounds weird.

Well this is the inevitable thing that happens to most Russians living in the USA for an extended period of time.

No, I am not saying a Russian woman will change. But as she learns better English, and how things work in general in the USA, she will become more tuned or adjusted to her new surroundings, more Americanized.

Naturally, she will want to learn more about her surroundings, talk to neighbors, watch tv. She will learn about forums in the internet to find other Russian women where she lives, and learn how things are done in her new country.

As soon as her English gets good enough, she will probably want to find a job. This is a natural step for a Russian woman as most Russian women have worked throughout their lives. Russian women generally are well educated. Besides, do you want them to be at home bored? They like to get out of the house and do things just like you do. Have them take driving classes and get a driver’s license (and a cell phone as well, they will get lost!).

Downtown Seattle Washington

When my wife and step-daughter came to the US, they found that things are the same, but different. Same observation I made when I went to Russia. Things are the same, but processes are different, things look different, and Americans have different ways of doing things.

Children are a different story. My step-daughter turned 10 years old just after she came. Yesterday, she turned 15. If you didn’t know she was from Russia, you would never even guess. She has no Russian accent whatsoever. When she came, she only knew a few English words that her mother taught her. I think she is the most popular kid in school now. She is always out and about doing things with her friends, and she is a straight A student. She is more American than some of the kids who were born Americans.

Soon, my mother-in-law and father-in-law will come to the USA to live. We are in the process of helping them to emigrate here. They are older - 68 and 73. This will be another chapter in life for me as well as them. They were here last year to visit and decided they liked it. But what will really happen when they arrive? They will move half way around the world to be close to their daughter and grand-daughter. This I know they will be happy about. But what about their country and home that they are leaving? Will they miss it? Will they be able to adapt to their new country? Yes. I think so.