USA: How far away and unknown this country seemed to ten participants of the BFR/CC program from Kuzbass. Sitting on board the plane, each of us were trying to imagine what was awaiting us in this country. During the 12 hour flight I felt a sense of excitement. How are Americans different from Russians? What is their lifestyle? But all nervousness instantly disappeared the moment we arrived at our final destination - Louisville, Kentucky. Tom Dumstorf was waiting for us at the airport. From this minute we felt the care and attention of the American people. Unfortunately these warm relations are even seldom shown between Russians.

When I recall the internship I now understand how thoroughly our visit was planned from the very beginning. The first three days were devoted adapting to the American lifestyle, meeting with LICC staff, discussing our placements, touring around the city we were living in, and spending nights at the park playing music by a campfire. And finally on the third day of our trip, we met our host families - our American Moms and Dads. They were very attentive, hospitable and friendly. By staying with them we had an excellent opportunity to experience everyday life: how Americans spend their free time, what their interests and hobbies are, and what their favorite foods are.

I gained the best impressions at my placements. The goal of my business trip was to study quality control, marketing and public relations. So my first work place was the Kentucky Ford Truck Plant. For a long time I studied the business philosophy of this plant through books and magazines. I couldn't imagine that I would see it with my own eyes. For a girl from Siberia it was like dream; but now I know dreams come true. The Ford Plant is very large with many shops and administrative offices. I had a great opportunity to study Ford manufacturing: paint and stamping shops, assembly lines, and material control. I studied in detail documentation of quality systems: the quality manual, local procedures; and participated with office staff in internal audits. I gained all the information I needed: training books, work documentation on paper and CD-ROMs.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation of the warm welcome I received at KTP. I really enjoyed working with them. Besides their hard work, we spent an unforgettable time together discussing our cultures, traditions, lifestyles, mentalities, etc. I understood that we are like each other.

My American friends said they re-considered their attitude towards Russia and now believe that Russia has a great future. They are delighted by Russian nature and history, and would like to visit my country some day. This is the best reward for me because people from two different continents have come closer. As for me, I admire American achievements in economics. I like the USA for it's freedom and opportunity of self-expression. I appreciate Americans for their common sense and willingness to work. They define a goal and do their best to achieve it. I also cannot but appreciate American individualism because I think a bright creative individual is half of the success in any sphere of human activity. My friends made me presents so I would not forget our friendship. Now I have these gifts and pictures in Russia. So I think about them very often. Now we have good relations and communicate via e-mail.

There is a local magazine at Ford: "KTP LifeLine". My friends from the office put my picture and an article about me in it. Not long ago I received a package from the USA with this newsletter and other presents. I couldn't understand why people who know you only few days do their best to help you with your work. One of my friends from Ford answered: "It's a real treat for most of us Americans to meet new people from around the world. We actually don't travel the world very much, and we don't get many opportunities to truly relate with other cultures. If we do travel, we surround ourselves with 'guides' and 'interpreters', so we end up being fairly insolated from the true nature of the culture and the people. This is too bad, because when you get down to it: very few people are totally unwilling to be friendly and helpful. A certain level of comfort has to be achieved between people to be ourselves".

My other work placement was Guthrie Mayes & Associates, Inc where I received many ideas about how to use Public Relations in banks, restaurants, computer centers, and non-commercial organizations. During my work with this company, I visited an airport, video and record studio, the mayor's office, and an American court. This was important not only for my work but also for understanding American life.

My stay would not have been so complete if I had not had the chance to get to know America in terms of culture and events. My group and I visited Mammoth Cave, a baseball game, the Kentucky Derby, Phantom of the Opera, and Kentucky Kingdom with rolling hills.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and to the LICC staff, and especially to Tom Dumstorf and Dima Klimenko who opened our eyes to American history.

I miss all the people I met in the USA. They are never far from my thoughts. I feel my life has been blessed by meeting them. Now I have many things that remind me of America: pictures and gifts of my friends. I hope we will meet again.