Russians in America
I've been working at Disney World for the past two weeks as part of the English Days at Walt Disney World program. I worked here a couple of summers ago and was able to work a few weeks this summer. Last weekend, I got to meet one of our groups at the Kennedy Space Center before they arrived at Disney. They had been in Boca Raton at Lynn College studying English and had a stopover at Kennedy for a couple of days.
It was my first time to the Space Center there and it was a thrilling experience. It almost made me want to be an astronaut, so I could go to Mars in 2030, which was the date Bob Springer mentioned as the goal. Springer was the astronaut we got to meet at Lunch with an Astronaut. He's been in space twice, both times with the shuttle. I found his thoughts about the future of NASA the most fascinating of his lunchtime talk. The shuttle is being retired after five or six more missions to the space station, then the focus moves to the moon and Mars and beyond.
I've never really wanted to be an astronaut, though my girlfriend would love to be one herself. I think the training, or my perception of the training, was always a hinderance. I grew up with my dad coaching my sports teams and those of my siblings, he and mom being at all my games and plays and activities, and generally spending a lot of time together as a family. My perception of that job, whether accurate or not, and other intensive jobs like that kept me from my realm of possibility...as well as not being able to handle g-forces too well. Anyway, I found it surprising to get excited about going to Mars and starting a community/colony out there...I guess the outlandish travel aspect kicked in. (As well as the potential to do something like this at a dinner party...go to the 2:17 mark if you don't want to watch it in its entirety.)
Alas, it was probably a passing thought. I had the desire two days later to train for the next five years so I could attempt to play for the U.S. soccer team in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. I guess I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
But the whole experience at Kennedy, from being a few hundred yards from the shuttle launch pad to walking under one of the three Saturn rockets still left on earth, made it much more fascinating because of the presence of the Russian group I was with. There were 14 students and one teacher; they are from Chabarovsk, which is in the far eastern part of Russia, near the Chinese border and near Japan, too. I talked to our tour guide and mentioned the students I had with me and he talked about how much has changed within his lifetime. He's a retired history teacher who does tours around the space center and told me about living through the years when there felt like an attack by the Soviets was just a matter of time. He said that he's given tours to people from all over the world, many from countries who were enemies to our own country during his lifetime. And now he gets to show them around the very areas and technology that were so secretive not too many years ago.
He said that he never could have imagined showing Russians around the space center, that if someone had told him when he was growing up that he would one day interact with Russians as guests of his, he just could not have handled it. He meets former "enemies" practically everyday he works, and gladly shares history, experiences, and possibilities for the future without hesitation. Those who we once considered enemies are now welcomed as honored guests.
To make the experience that much more poignant, Irina, the chaperone of the group, told me how wonderful it is that things like the space center exist. She said that something like it in Russia is unheard of; even with their rich history in space, there isn't anything close to similar for the people to enjoy, to learn, from, and to experience. Sure there are museums, but nothing in that capacity. She didn't say it in an insulting manner towards her country, but in an admiring way towards the U.S., which was touching. I know this trip to the U.S. for her has been very special and that she and her students will walk away with a perception and acknowledgement of the U.S. that would have been ludicrous not-so-many years ago.
It was my first time to the Space Center there and it was a thrilling experience. It almost made me want to be an astronaut, so I could go to Mars in 2030, which was the date Bob Springer mentioned as the goal. Springer was the astronaut we got to meet at Lunch with an Astronaut. He's been in space twice, both times with the shuttle. I found his thoughts about the future of NASA the most fascinating of his lunchtime talk. The shuttle is being retired after five or six more missions to the space station, then the focus moves to the moon and Mars and beyond.
I've never really wanted to be an astronaut, though my girlfriend would love to be one herself. I think the training, or my perception of the training, was always a hinderance. I grew up with my dad coaching my sports teams and those of my siblings, he and mom being at all my games and plays and activities, and generally spending a lot of time together as a family. My perception of that job, whether accurate or not, and other intensive jobs like that kept me from my realm of possibility...as well as not being able to handle g-forces too well. Anyway, I found it surprising to get excited about going to Mars and starting a community/colony out there...I guess the outlandish travel aspect kicked in. (As well as the potential to do something like this at a dinner party...go to the 2:17 mark if you don't want to watch it in its entirety.)
Alas, it was probably a passing thought. I had the desire two days later to train for the next five years so I could attempt to play for the U.S. soccer team in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. I guess I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
But the whole experience at Kennedy, from being a few hundred yards from the shuttle launch pad to walking under one of the three Saturn rockets still left on earth, made it much more fascinating because of the presence of the Russian group I was with. There were 14 students and one teacher; they are from Chabarovsk, which is in the far eastern part of Russia, near the Chinese border and near Japan, too. I talked to our tour guide and mentioned the students I had with me and he talked about how much has changed within his lifetime. He's a retired history teacher who does tours around the space center and told me about living through the years when there felt like an attack by the Soviets was just a matter of time. He said that he's given tours to people from all over the world, many from countries who were enemies to our own country during his lifetime. And now he gets to show them around the very areas and technology that were so secretive not too many years ago.
He said that he never could have imagined showing Russians around the space center, that if someone had told him when he was growing up that he would one day interact with Russians as guests of his, he just could not have handled it. He meets former "enemies" practically everyday he works, and gladly shares history, experiences, and possibilities for the future without hesitation. Those who we once considered enemies are now welcomed as honored guests.
To make the experience that much more poignant, Irina, the chaperone of the group, told me how wonderful it is that things like the space center exist. She said that something like it in Russia is unheard of; even with their rich history in space, there isn't anything close to similar for the people to enjoy, to learn, from, and to experience. Sure there are museums, but nothing in that capacity. She didn't say it in an insulting manner towards her country, but in an admiring way towards the U.S., which was touching. I know this trip to the U.S. for her has been very special and that she and her students will walk away with a perception and acknowledgement of the U.S. that would have been ludicrous not-so-many years ago.
posted by Adam at 10:48 AM
1 Comments:
I'm still ready to sign up for the astronaut corps (albeit with my PhD in Ren Lit in hand), so I'm glad you're ready to join me!! :)
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