An observation from Russia

[DesertRat]

My 20 year old daughter just returned from a 6 week study abroad trip in Russia. They split time at universities in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Samara during which time she interacted with a lot of Russian college students. She told me that everyone is very excited about Barack Obama over there. They talk about him as though he is already the president-elect. She remarked that "no one has ever even heard of John McCain!"

She also met some Polish students who spoke very good English so they hung out a couple of nights and talked about politics. She also said that they knew all about Obama and told her that "everyone in Poland wants him to be the next U.S. President". :)

[Cha]

1. That's awesome when people from other

countries like Russia and Poland wish us well!

Wonderful that your daughter was able to have that experience.

[DesertRat]

2. She had an incredible adventure over there

It was surprising to me that none of the Russians she spoke with had even heard of McCain! But they all knew about Obama. Too bad they can't vote for him!

[Igel]

4. She talked mostly to a bunch of 20-year-olds.

When I was in the Czech Republic, I got a number of entirely different "experiences".

The first, when I was teaching English to kids aged 16-20. Their outlook differed rather spectacularly from that of the host family I was with--with the exception of their 16-yer-old daughter (not one of my students, but in the program). Then there were the foreign students, mostly grad students and people in their late 20s and 30s from a variety of countries. And, finally, the faculty and staff I interacted with at Masaryk University.

Drawing any kind of non-cohort specific conclusion from interacting with one group would be irresponsible.

That said, Russians mostly like Obama. Not all. Some can't get over his race. Many like that he was oppressed, and if an oppressed person is going to lead the country that they view as the chief oppressor, that's a good thing. But "chief oppressor" also means different things to different people: for some, the US was the bad power that let Hitler kill Russians while it sat on the sidelines (no lend-lease there); for others, it was the country that managed to bring down the USSR, a great tragedy, made only worse by having NATO up against Russia's borders (pretty much United Russia's line); for yet others, it's the chief ringleader in making life hell for poor people everywhere, for famine in India, for riots in Kenya, for everything bad. (Much simpler having one bad guy. And note that nobody said the answers to, "Why do they hate us?" have to be grounded in reality--just in perceptions.)

[Muttocracy]

3. there are moments when I'm ready to turn this election over to Europe.