Liankacreations

  Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there." — Unknown Many years ago in Russia, people did not go to psychologists or therapists. Women met in the kitchens, and men -  in garages. It was there, among friends, that they could share their grief, find support, and maybe receive advice. Who chooses our friends? The universe, circumstances, fate?  Maybe it’s all of them together? There were three women who were close friends. They were similar in age, married, each had children, and lived in the same neighborhood. They took their kids to the same playground, and on rainy days, they gathered in someone's kitchen. Though alike in many ways, they had different views on life, hobbies, and interests. Ira got divorce around the time Olga had her third child. Lena was quick to suggest Ira look for a husband abroad, Germany for example. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many Russian Germans moved to Germany, marrying  a German w...

  At lunchtime, IG showed me a short video from Sex and the City, where Carrie goes to meet her friends and thinks: it's good to have a life partner, but it's also good to meet my unmarried friends to go to the movies. I immediately have a lot of thoughts and questions: how to find friends, especially for me, who recently (for 10 years) lives in the country, how and at what age do they make friends in America, and how  4 different women from the movie (what do they have in common at all?) became friends? me and my married friends, Tomsk Once upon a time in a past life, I decided that I had enough friends. And not just enough, but a lot. I didn't have enough time to communicate with everyone. Then I moved to America. I continued to communicate with Russian friends online, but I really wanted to find American friends. I thought that a friend would help to adapt to a new country faster. It took me a while to get to know a lot of people. Some of them I can call friends. But how...

  It was raining from morning until the evening. Usually there are fewer visitors in the library on such days. And what does that mean? That we can devote more time to those who came. In the morning, one young woman was looking for books about metaphysics, different religions, their connections and origins, as well as tarot cards. I showed her shelves with similar books. And then we started talking. It turned out that she was learning Russian. Why?? I don't know, I didn't ask. But isn't it cool? I remembered how I learned English and how I dreamed of meeting a native speaker. And after all, I met! One day a young woman came into the store where I worked and explained in broken Russian that she needed a jacket. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a jacket for her. But I was On top of the world when I found out she was American.  And out of happiness and excitement, I forgot what to say to get acquainted in English. A few words I could put together were asking for her email....

 - repost In Russia, my social circle was limited to work colleagues, parents of my children’s classmates, 2-3 girlfriends. While living in the USA, I met some extraordinary (compared to me) people. Just for example, a few of them: -MD,  Ph D, associate professor, together with her sister, the owner of an eye clinic in Batumi, Georgia, the former Russian Republic. -A former office employee and English teacher speaks 6 languages, retired to take care of a bedridden mother. There is no place for problems in her life, she treats them as challenges and overcomes them.  I need to learn that from her, really.  -In Russia, Professor of English, here a well-educated marketer, program manager, speaker of a forum of 3,000 people, teaches marketing tools.  -Highly qualified specialist in networking, head of non-profit organizations, specialist in community engagement and volunteer recruitment, fund development, public speaker and so on.  In addition to e...