Halina Shatravka

New Perspectives
Prior to the CLS Program, much of what I knew about Russia was through my family members’ experiences. My father spent six years in various Soviet facilities due to his political activities before emigrating to the U.S., and my mother was frequently detained by KGB agents as an American Human Rights Activist in the Soviet Union. So when I gained firsthand experiences on how Russia has changed since the time my parents remembered and experienced was interesting. My CLS excursion to Sibur Oil Refinery in Nizhny Novgorod was such a unique experience. It felt surreal to be in a place that probably was once off limits to foreigners; we explored the long walkways of the oil refinery, talking and laughing with the workers as we wore their uniforms and ate where they ate. My host family was very warm with me: they treated me and my other CLS housemate, Josephina, as their own by sharing stories for hours in the kitchen together, watching movies, shopping, cooking, and going to their dacha. I expected to be bombarded with questions about why my dad fled the Soviet Union, but I wasn’t at all.

Immigrant Life Under the Microscope
As an undergraduate student at Fordham University, I was involved in cognitive neuroscience research. My interest in the lives of former Soviet Union immigrants in the U.S. naturally led me to conduct a research project on how these people approached healthcare and social services in New York City. I focused on the influence of immigrants’ historical and cultural beliefs and the use of traditional folk remedies in their practice. I hope to pursue this research further with Russian speakers living in Russia in the future.