I wake up because my uncle Runar is sitting in front of the TV, staring blankly into the screen, loudly laughing and waiting for me to give him attention. I look at the program that he is watching and immediately understand that there will be another lecture about Americans. My uncle pinpointed some of the key stereotypical problems of Americans and even used American cartoons to highlight some of these crucial mistakes in the mindset of the American people. This propaganda exists all around Russia. If you approach a Russian person and ask how they feel about Americans, the responses are usually the same: sullen and gloomy. This is the result of misinformation, in addition to the bitter history between the US and Russia.

When my mother came to me with an invitation to move to America, to change the blissful lifestyle I had developed by the age of 11, to leave everything I knew, from my friends to my cousins, I was skeptical. To exchange my Russian life for an American one seemed like a grave mistake. Americans were stupid, ignorant, and they hated Russians as much as we hated them. My first answer was no, however, after careful consideration, I took a giant risk and said yes to something that would change my life forever.

Our journey actually began long before this proposition. My mother and I decided to take a vacation to Turkey, Antalya when I was 10. When we arrived at a hotel, the concierge told us that there were no vacancies, and we would be taken to a better hotel soon enough. The following day we went to the beach and when we got set up, I saw a boy who seemed like a great swimmer. I commented on his swimming technique and was greeted by a man who remarked that the boy didn’t speak any Russian. The man did speak Russian, and after a long while, my mom and that man started talking. He, eventually, was the person to send the invitation for us to come to America.

Agreeing to move to America was tough, sure, however actually going to America, learning a new language, finding new friends, moving to a new house, and living through all of that stress is even tougher. When we arrived in Pittsburgh, my first impressions were that of amazement. I was overwhelmed. However, my opinion about Americans had not changed whatsoever. Moving into a new school where I had to find new friends was very stressful and I was not prepared to do it by myself. Eventually, in my Math class, I befriended a half-Jewish American named Joel, whose parents were Russian and had taught him the Russian language. Joel was the most amazing change in my life at that time: he helped me with homework, he translated what was going on in the class, and he showed me around and introduced me to his friends, who eventually became mine. Joel was an American boy, and I was confused about how he was such a good person, since my whole life I had heard only bad things about Americans. He changed my perspective about Americans as a whole, and taught me not to judge a person by stereotypes, but to judge each individual by his or her own actions.

After all these years, I still wonder whether moving to America for a new perspective was pure luck or simply fate. I wish I could show my Uncle Runar my new perspective of America and help break the stereotypical bubble of all the Russian people about Americans. To change my own perspective, it took a good friend and an example of a person who has been the opposite of my expectations. I am inspired to serve as an example of an American person to Russian people, so they might finally see from a different perspective as well.

© Artur. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.