Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 19, 1990 TAG: 9007200237
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOBBIE SLOUGH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Friendship Force is an international organization that sponsors exchange visits of people in countries all over the world. The Friendship Force of Southwest Virginia recently hosted a dozen "ambassadors" from the Soviet Union. The ambassadors stayed with local Friendship Force members and spent several days in the Roanoke Valley.
What were their impressions? "Too hot!" said Shaposhnikov. Aside from the heat, however, the reactions were universally positive.
This was a first visit to the U.S. for many of the ambassadors, and only three of them speak English, but communication and culture shock were not problems. In fact, both the Russian visitors and their American hosts learned quickly that most differences in the two countries were external.
According to Tatyana Yevsyukova, an English teacher from Rostov who acted as interpreter for the group, "there are differences in spaces, but not in outlook - they are mostly on the outside."
Jackie Bledsoe, a member of the local Friendship Force, agrees. "It's amazing, but the body language is exactly the same."
The ambassadors and their hosts learned very quickly just how important body language - and even homemade sign language - can be.
Communicating information about such ordinary events without the benefit of a common language can be a real challenge, as one local Friendship Force member found out. Al Hawley, who hosted Vladimir Goncharenko, learned that his guest was interested in football - but not the same football that Al is used to.
"He said he liked football, and I have a grandson that plays football," said Hawley, "but then I found out he was talking about soccer!"
For most of the people involved, the visit produced far more understanding than it did confusion. "Sometimes open hearts and smiles help to understand everything," said Tamara Puchenkova, an engineer from Rostov.
That contact, which establishes international friendships despite geographical and cultural boundaries, is what Friendship Force strives for. "We want our two peoples to work together, to live in peace, and to have free and open societies with possibilities for contacts," said Alexander Bedric, the group leader for the ambassadors.
Throughout their time in the U.S., these ambassadors visited businesses, schools and other institutions, making professional and personal contacts along the way. "Each person wants to make contacts," said Yevsyukova, "because everyone is thinking about future exchanges."
The primary source of these exchanges is between hosts and guests. Each of the 12 ambassadors stayed in the home of a Friendship Force member. The hosts were responsible for providing housing and transportation for the guests. The Friendship Force schedules activities for the ambassadors throughout the visit.
During their five-day visit in the valley, the ambassadors attended a reception in their honor that was attended by local government officials. They also were given a real "American-style" pizza party, toured local businesses and visited Virginia Tech. The activity they most looked forward to, however, was the first night of competition in the Miss Virginia Pageant, which they attended July 12.
Throughout the visit, the ambassadors and their hosts learned that things in southwestern Virginia are really not all that different from southern Russia. "We all really want the same things," said Bledsoe, "a nice home, a happy family, security . . . and peace."
The ambassadors credit the changes under perestroika for allowing them to make such exchanges. Through experiences such as this, members of the Friendship Force all over the world are finding out that the individual can make a difference in the progress toward world peace.
"Everybody believes and tells it in every house that we must have a common home," said Yevsyukova. "The Earth is our common home."
by CNB