Through Alien Eyes: A View of America and Intercultural Marriages

277 Pages·2008·1.37 MB·English

by  Elena Popova

T A e
hrough lien yes

T A e
hrough lien yes
A V A
iew of mericA And
i m
nTerculTurAl ArriAges
Elena Popova
Algora Publishing
New York
© 2008 by Algora Publishing in the name of Elena Popova.
All Rights Reserved
www.algora.com
No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data —
Popova, Elena, 1963-
Through alien eyes : a view of America and intercultural marriages / Elena Popova.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-87586-639-0 (trade paper: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-640-6 (case
laminate: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-641-3 (ebook) 1. Intercountry marriage—
United States. 2. Popova, Elena, 1963- 3. Men—United States. 4. Women—Russia
(Federation) 5. Women immigrants—United States—Social conditions. 6. Russians—
United States. I. Title.
HQ1032.P67 2008
306.84’50973—dc22
2008030287
Front Cover:
Above: Diners Enjoying View of Brooklyn Bridge from the River Cafe. The River
Cafe in Brooklyn overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River and lower
Manhattan. Image: © Mark Peterson/CORBIS
Below: Stepping Out, 1978 by Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997) (Metropolitan
Museum of Art)
Back cover: Photo of the author by Louis Sapienza.
Printed in the United States
To my mother
The circumstances and the names of non-public figures have been
changed; any similarities to real persons are accidental.
TAble of conTenTs
“how did you geT To The uniTed sTATes?” 1
serious sTuff: food 9
legends of The sex driVe 2 1
PeTs, The True loVe 31
isn’T ThAT cusTom sTrAnge? 37
myThs And sTAndArds 45
seVerAl horror sTories 53
seArching where The grAss is greener 6 3
“A nATion of VicTims” 73
The globe of AmericA 7 9
The wAr of The worlds 83
borrowed lifesTyle: AmericAn exTrAVAgAnce 9 1
“moose And squirrels!” or imAges of russiAns 95
demons she fighTs: AdjusTmenT Period 103
The show musT go on 113
wATch your lAnguAge 117
To execuTe or To PArdon? 125
A womAn AT The door 131
The comPeTiTion of congregATions, or which chrisTiAn is more chrisTiAn? 133