'Lost Dream': what the Russian woman who moved to the USA regrets

“Luda worked with us as a nurse,” said 62-year-old Val, who moved to the States from Moscow as a child. I pricked up my ears right away.

Фото: Depositphotos

“My mother then started having memory problems. She completely forgot English and spoke only Russian. That’s why we hired Luda,” Val continued.

Lively, with shining brown eyes, she was then thirty-two. In the States at that time she lived only a few months, she was expecting documents. The woman quickly found contact with Val's mother, she understood literally at once.

"Hurts badly? Now, now, the pill will work soon, ”she said calmly and affectionately. “Let me read you for now?”

Val sighed heavily and looked out the window. The sky was slowly losing the peach colors of the sunset.

“You know what struck me? No, not even an approach to work. She turned out to be very intelligent, I would even say, smart. With a medical education, she worked in Russia as a physiotherapist. It’s clear that her diploma didn’t mean anything here. But if you get an education, even in college, and learn a language, your chances of achieving the American dream become higher,” continued Val.

On the subject: Why do Russians seem rude in dealing with Americans: personal experience

It turned out that Luda had planned.

“I want to finally speak English normally and understand people. I signed up for college courses,” Luda once shared.

The sky outside the window had already turned dark blue foreshadowing the night.

“I met her a year later,” Val continued. ““ Hey, how are you today ?! ”, he decided to joke, but Luda did not recognize me, her eyes froze.”

She abandoned English.

“Yes, I went for a month, but there was not much progress...And then I was recommended to one family, as a nanny, I live with them now, they pay well,” said Luda.

Almost 25 years have passed since then.

“Somehow I wanted the squash caviar that my mother cooked. I went to a Russian store. I think you guessed who the saleswoman was,” says Val.

In the brown eyes of Luda there was still that splendor, but already quiet, not bright.

She married a Russian, an installer of split systems, with whom she rented a small apartment in a suburb of Los Angeles.

“It’s becoming easier to work with our own people. I still don’t always understand Americans. And to learn the language... Sometimes there wasn’t enough money, sometimes there wasn’t enough time. I thought I couldn’t handle it, I was really tired from working as a nurse,” said Luda.

On the subject: 'Russian mainland': what affects our people who moved to the USA

There was some regret in her voice. As if a woman did not let this feeling come out, locked somewhere inside. Since then, Val has not met Luda.

“Maybe she lost her dream?” I suggested.

"Can. Maybe her dream narrowed down to a Russian store and communication with compatriots. Or maybe she was not ambitious, that was enough for her. Everyone has their own American dream, ”Val shrugged.

The original column is published in blog "Dumbless America" ​​for Yandex.Zen.

ForumDaily is not responsible for the content of blogs and may not share the views of the author. If you want to become the author of the column, send your materials to [email protected]

Read also on ForumDaily:

From rags to riches: how the son of poor immigrants from Belarus managed to become a millionaire in the USA

'Something breaks them': how our people change after moving to the USA

'Sit down on the track' and other habits of traveling Russians that surprise Americans

He knows the size of the legs of the stars of the first echelon: how a Ukrainian in the USA makes shoes for world celebrities

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.