Russians come for a meeting of minds

Russians come for a meeting of minds - Teachers and librarians from Albany's sister city of Tula compare professional notes and soak up American culture

Times Union, The (Albany, NY)
November 9, 2006
Author: PAUL NELSON
Staff Writer

For a group of Russian teachers and librarians visiting the Capital Region recently, the trip was a working one focused on literacy and professional development. But it also was a chance to soak up American culture.

The 10 men and women from Albany's sister city Tula, on their weeklong trip, made stops at Tamarac High School in Troy, Schenectady High School and several Schenectady middle schools, Guilderland Public Library, the University at Albany Department of Information Studies and School of Education, the Thelma P. Lally School of Education at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, the State Library at the Cultural Education Center in Albany and Saratoga Public Library.

"The fall here and all the colors is magnificent, and I'm happy we came this time of the year," said Yulia Gridchina, deputy director of research at Tula Regional University Scientific Library. Gridchina noted it is bitterly cold at this time of year in Russia.

Speaking through Russian translator Vladimir Andreev, Gridchina and two other Russian women recounted some of the highlights and impressions of their first time in the country. Tula, with a population of 472,300, is in central Russia about 120 miles from Moscow. Nina Grudzevskaya, who heads the social and political department at the Tula Central City Library, said she found her American counterparts to be more technically advanced - the working part of the trip.

And then she proudly held out her hand adorned with a beaded bracelet she made at the Iroquois Indian Museum - the cultural side.

The trip was sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center of the Library of Congress, a nonpartisan initiative that strives to foster a mutual understanding between the leaders of participating countries and their American counterparts.

While here, the Russians also traveled to New York City for a day of shopping and sightseeing. In Albany, they got to take in a show by music legend Bo Diddley at Proctor's Theatre.

East Greenbush resident Mary Emerson, a retired Tamarac High School librarian, hosted three of the Russians. She traveled to Tula last October and said many Russians and Americans have shared concerns.

"It's crucial we understand the rest of the world ... the bottom line is the same for everybody," she said, adding those issues are family, quality-of-life and education.

Evgeniya Raykhlina, an associate professor and chairwoman of literature at Lev Tolstoy Tula Pedagogical University, said she traded notes with fellow professors from the University at Albany and The College of Saint Rose.

"There is a difference in the approach to teaching," said Raykhlina. "There is more student interaction and students can express themselves and what they think about the text, rather than the teacher telling them what it means," she said.

Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

MICHAEL P. FARRELL/TIMES UNION

SHARON PHILLIPS, right, State Library senior librarian, gives visitors from Tula, Russia, a tour of the talking book and Braille section at the library.