- Grace

Gone, and Loving It
by Grace Belew

        If you had lived in Russia for 20 years what cold make you want to leave your hometown to come work in America? For Maria Lukyanova, a 20 year old from St. Petersburg, Russia, coming to the United States meant an adventure and something different. Maria is a student at Saint Peters University, but speaks only broken English.
         Maria has spent the last month in Alaska, but is hardly homesick at all. “I’m kind of homesick, but not really, sshhh, don’t tell my mom,” Maria admitted. Maria works as a receptionist at the Grizzly Bear Campgrounds in Denali, Alaska improving her English and learning as much as she can about American culture. She came upon this job while scanning a list of jobs her university supplied. She is here as a part of her education.
         Maria loves seeing new places and having adventures. “I love traveling, I thought why not? It’s amazing,” Maria said. She is planning on going into the tourism business, which she is studying in Russia. She is undecided about her major, but is sure she wants to work with people. Maria wants to use this knowledge to excel in life. “I want to be the very top manager of the Hilton Hotel,” Maria said. Maria plans on traveling around the United States until October and can’t wait. Her favorite part of Alaska is the mountains. She recently she hiked up the Triple Lakes Trail and was fascinated by the beauty. “The lakes we saw were amazing, so beautiful,” Maria said.