Seeing Red
A local man recently got an up-close and personal look at Russia.
Adam Harris, a 2014 Seneca Valley High School graduate, studied in Russia last semester to learn the language, culture and history of a country that has had a complicated relationship with the United States.
Harris, a history major who is graduating this spring from California University of Pennsylvania, landed in the country in early September and stayed until November.
Harris said he has a keen interest in Cold War history and has visited other communist and former communist countries, including Cuba.
“I'm really interested in how communism has affected society … usually in a negative way,” he said. “So I've seen that firsthand.”
Before he left, Harris was advised not to discuss politics, but it would sometimes come up. Many Russians like Donald Trump and would open conversations by talking about the president after they realized Harris was American.
He said most Russians also seemed to like the way their government is set up. Harris felt that Americans hear about the vocal minority in the media.
“In Russia, they really like a guy that puts off a tough guy mentality,” Harris said. “That's why they're OK with (President Vladimir) Putin being there so long.”
Many older Russians harbored ill will toward Americans and were resentful, mostly those who lived through the Cold War. But younger people loved talking to the American students, Harris said.
“They'd ask us about everything. They wanted to learn about American and British culture,” he said.
Harris took Russian language courses and two Russian history classes at a St. Petersburg university and stayed in a dorm for international students north of the city center. Of the 700 people in the building only 20 were American, he said.
Any time Harris left his dorm he had to carry either his passport or paperwork that explained why he was in the country, or he might have been detained by police who were looking for young males dodging Russia's mandatory military service.
One of his favorite experiences was visiting Red Square in Moscow and seeing the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum, the GUM department store and the State Historical Museum.
“Even if you didn't know the history of it, you'd still be amazed. The buildings are beautiful,” he said. “The amount of history that is compacted into this one square in the city, it's really overwhelming at first.”
He was in the country during the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in October 1917. Harris wasn't sure if they would celebrate the Bolshevik Revolution that brought communist rule to the country. But there was a light show outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg and museum exhibits with relics from the revolution.
Harris' trip was cut short due to a medical issue. He contracted a viral infection, which gave him a unique, although unexpected, experience with the Russian medical system. He ended up in an international clinic for a week before being sent home to recover further.
“Only a couple doctors spoke English and maybe a couple nurses. A majority of the people didn't, so I had no clue what they were saying,” Harris said. “Even if they did speak English, or I did ask them what they were doing, the language doesn't translate very well.”
Kelly Harris, Adam's mother, said the U.S. government and the study abroad program he was in were extremely helpful in making arrangements for him to come home early. She worried about him on his trips abroad, but she was thankful for his experience in the country.
“It's very exciting, him being a history major,” she said. 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him.”
