In an unlikely "small world" Open World coincidence, alumni coordinator Vera DeBuchananne bumped into Open World host Jennifer Andelin in the Moscow airport while returning from the Altai alumni forum in August. Andelin had just wrapped up a monthlong visit to Russia, during which she met with 25 Open World alumni in Moscow, Kaliningrad, and three cities just west of the Urals — Izhevsk, Kambarka, and Votkinsk — to renew friendships and work on follow-up projects. A local partner of Open World grantee the Academy for Educational Development, Andelin is one of the prime movers behind Votkinsk's sister-city relationship with her hometown of West Jordan, UT, and Kambarka's relationship with Tooele, UT. Open World In Action asked Andelin to share some of her experiences and impressions from her trip.

Q: You and some Open World alumni helped put on Kambarka's first-ever health fair. Tell us about it.

A: The fair, which was held in the Palace of Culture, is part of a local dental health project supported by the Tooele/Kambarka sister-city partnership. There were booths on dental hygiene, smoking prevention, blood pressure monitoring, and first aid. Open World alumni helped with the setup and staffed information booths for Sister Cities and the environmental NGO Green Cross Russia, which has a real presence in this area because of a nearby stockpile of chemical weapons. Sixteen Americans — including medical practitioners from Tooele and seven students — traveled to Kambarka with me to participate. We took cowboy and Indian outfits for some of our students to wear, to give a country western feeling to the fair. The health fair was a huge success, and we plan on expanding it in 2005.

Q: What role has Open World played in the Tooele/Kambarka and West Jordan/Votkinsk sister-city relationships?

A: Open World played a key role in the beginning of the Tooele/Kambarka relationship by bringing the first official representatives from Kambarka to Tooele. The program enabled Kambarka's mayor and other local leaders to visualize the sister-city work and feel the commitment of the people of Tooele. We can now talk more openly about projects because we all better understand each other's realities. In Votkinsk, we were able to bring several high-level people to West Jordan to build a stronger support base.

Q: What is Votkinsk like now compared to when you first went there in 1989?

A. In 1989, Votkinsk's economy was going through difficult times and most people were struggling. Many had not received wages for six months. There was a steely resolve to make it through, but it was easy to see how hard the change of economy was on average people. Now the economy is doing better, you can see it in the proliferation of shops and in the eyes of the people. Unfortunately, there seems to be a growing chasm between rich and poor.

Q: What were some of the "after-hours" highlights of your stays with Open World alumni?

A: Living in a traditional log home, eating shashlik (shish kebabs) and borsch, swimming in the Baltic Sea, being hosted at a specially arranged dinner/dance by the lake in Votkinsk, singing karaoke (which I have never done in America) to both Russian and American songs. Also, experiencing the German feel of the cities in Kaliningrad. I loved seeing the cobblestone streets, and the storks and their nests on the homes and telephone poles.

Q: How did you communicate with the Open World alumni you visited?

A: I communicate in English and with a smile. I only speak a few phrases in Russian, so they provide me with interpreters.

Q: Do you have any advice for other U.S. hosts who might visit their Open World guests in Russia?

A: My biggest advice to other hosts is this: Take your Open World alumni up on their offer and visit them in Russia. You will have great opportunities and see Russian life as it really is, not just what the tour groups show. Realize that you have true friends who will take care of you. The only drawback to homestays was that we never wanted to go to bed. It didn't help that the sun was up from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m. and our bodies were trying to adjust to the 11-hour time difference.

Published by The PBN Company for the Open World Leadership Center, whose Open World Program has hosted nearly 9,000 citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan since its inception in 1999. The Center is an independent legislative branch agency that works cooperatively with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. executive and judicial branch agencies. For additional information, please visit the Open World Leadership Center's website at www.openworld.gov or contact the office at +1 202-707-8943.