Outside Reading, Week 5, Post B

Mmmm...yes. Your tears sustain me. How deliciously ironic. You, Ludmila Ivanova, the poster child for oppressed women everywhere, the epitome of women running away for a better life, now has to face the dismal truth that you were not cut out to run away. You thought you were the big man (or woman) on campus back at the house, the cock of the walk, if you will, but now that you actually have you fend for yourself, you realize that perhaps you weren't all the great after all. It turns out that your friend only was nice to you because she wanted to sucker you into a mail-order bride scam, and you're left with nothing. You thought you were better than the mail-order bride system; you weren't that petty, that trashy. You thought that there was so much demand in the job market for a woman like you, that you didn't have to resort to selling yourself on the Internet, but now, it turns out that you were wrong. Dead wrong.

Well, maybe not dead wrong, but still pretty wrong. There are no jobs in Kuzhnisk, Misha hasn't come, and you are starting to get homesick. Maybe you just weren't cut out for being the independent woman you strive to be. Maybe you are more dependent on your families and your community than you thought you were, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If only you knew the troubles your family faced at home, you would see how much they care for you and need you. That could be your true calling: to care for your family and community. These people you are meeting don't seem to care for you at all, or, at least, not like your family would.