Andrei's story, by Kevin

Andrei is a man from Russia who worked as an engineer in his country and came to the United States in his early fifties. He has had to make a difficult adjustment, learning a new language and working as a cleaner to support himself. He finds his present life emotionally difficult but is glad he moved to New York because he has more opportunities here than in Russia, where he tells his interviewer professionals like his sister, a teacher, are paid badly. He stays in a good mood by keeping his focus on the future. His interest is languages. At present, he studies English at Hunter College. He believes he can reach his goal of working as a translator at the United Nations.

An interesting element of the article about Andrei was the relationship between him and the man who interviewed him. Young Ja Lee is also new in New York. He came from South Korea and seems to be Andrei's classmate in an ESL course. The two men are in similar situations, and Young Ja Lee writes about Andrei with empathy.