U Magazine, Summer 1989

the appearanre of American women prompted McCall's magazine to treat the women to an All-American makeover in a chic New York salon, Bumble & Bumble. For women who can hardly get panty– hose, much less a variety of make up, in the Soviet Union, the experience was a bit overwhelming. "I look like a wild cat," Irene Zotova told a Washington Post reporter after the makeover. Galina Iynailova, an onocological surgeon, was afraid her daughter wouldn't recognize her and remarked that she would never be able to wear such big earrings to work because "they might fall into one of my patients!" After experiencing the freedom and wealth of the U.S., did King worry that any of the Soviets would want to defect? "Not for a moment," she replies without hesitation. "The Soviet Union is their home. Sure they liked America, but America is not home. They love where they live and they want to go back and make it better. Even though they enjoyed themselves immensely here, they were very homesick after three weeks." Homesick or not, when it came time to say goodbye, there were unstoppable tears and lingering embraces along with repeated promises to keep in touch. "No one who participated in this exchange will ever view the world in exactly the same way again," the enthusiastic King points out. "We really feel like citizens of the world." Yet despite the smashing success of the exchange, King is not resting on her laurels. "Nuclear weapons are just a

believe it happened. "There we were, in running clothes, without one piece of identification, at a Soviet military base! And nothing happened. They took us back to the ship without a question." When it came time for the group to leave, there were tearful goodbyes and eager anticipation on both sides for the Soviet visit which was to take place six months later. And in March of 1989, the Soviets arrived in America. "When I was waiting at the international gate at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., and I saw all of the Soviet mothers and children get off the Aeroflot jet safely - in America - I was overwhelmed. And standing there, something really struck me. I realized I wasn't just welcoming people from the Soviet Union, I was welcoming friends, " King says softly. The Soviets' three-week whirlwind tour of the United States included visits to Washington, D.C. , New York, San Diego and Los Angeles. The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, Sea World and Disneyland were among their stops. And although the visitors were pre– pared for abundance in America, they were shocked by the opulence they witnessed. "They were just stunned by the amount of goods available to Americans," King says, her hazel eyes wide. "For ex– ample, they were in awe over the variety of vegetables and fruits available to us every day in the store. Things we take for granted are things they can't even imagine being available to them." The Soviets had done a lot of home-

work on the U.S., though. They knew more about the Library of Congress and the Air and Space Museum than some of their embarrassed American hosts. In the Library of Congress, 11-year-old Artem Zotova asked if he could see the room where the Stradivarius violins were kept.

This creation, the work ofa Moscow artist, was presented to King uy a Soviet mother.

At the Air and Space Museum, he pa– tiently explained to the tour guide just how fast "Mach" speed was. The Soviet mothers' fascination with

Religion The myth that the Soviet Union was an atheistic nation proved to be just that - a myth. "Believe it or not, I went to a Catholic Mass in the Soviet Union!" King says. "The whole ceremony was pre– Vatican II, with the incense and the bells and the priest's robes. It brought me back to my child– hood." Most of the Soviet women

Children

at the market every day. They often stand in line for hours and walk away empty-handed. Economics Both the Soviet and American mothers agreed that their governments allocate far too many resources to the military at the expense of the ordinary citizen. Because goods are so scarce in the Soviet Union, nothing is wasted. "The Soviets use every bit of what they have," King explains. "Absolutely nothing is wasted. We are a nation of consumers. In the Soviet Union they think about how their individual action will affect people around them. We can learn from that."

tion, however. Anna Gurevich, a Soviet linguist and interpreter, says the Jewish people do not trust the administration of the synagogues so they worship in private. Daily life When the women compared a typical day in their lives, they found their days very similar until they came home from work. "Because of technology and the availability of resources, we can have dinner ready in 20 minutes if we want to," King says. "And if we don't feel like cooking, we can just go out to eat. Soviet women do not have that option." Instead, because most dwellings lack full-size refrigera– tors, Soviet women face long lines

"All children

play in the same lan– guage," notes Irene Zotova, a Soviet cartogra–

pher. And indeed the children had no problem

communicating, despite the language barrier. Most of the Soviet children spoke English, and some communicating was done through pantomime, laughter and embraces. "It makes my heart feel so open to see the children playing together," Zotova says. "It is the children who will build the bridge of understanding. They are our future ."

called themselves "believers." Most were baptized and had baptized their children. Religious freedom seemed to be more

, •

limited for the Jewish popula-

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