Irena's observations

I told you the other day about how Irena was proud to be born in the Soviet Union and raised in Russia. 

Here are some other comments. 

She told me as we walked along that she had taken a tour with a Russian guide lately to see if there were any pointers or info she could pick up. She noticed that he did not have to look around, or count his group or anything. All thirty-something Russians in the group just stayed right with the group,following along, none of them separating. She said that would never happen with a western group. Westerners go off on their own, linger, and in all sorts of ways steer their own course, even with a tour group.

At one point, Irena described the past under communism, comparing it to the present under capitalism. Back then, the government pretty much decided what was needed. They trained "the best engineers, had doctors second to none in the world,"...etc. she said. "Now the best students are going only onto business courses, and engineering, medicine, and the like suffer. " Where have we heard that?

Irena ended every tour with a Group hug in a big circle, and a plea for world peace.