Readin' & Writin' in Russia

The painters are nearly done, just one side and trim are left for next week. They have replaced a lot of siding in addition to painting. I don’t really recognize the house anymore. I like the new look.

I helped Oleg, our painter, fill in the contract. He apparently can’t read or write English at a functional level. He can’t write Russian, either. He said he only went to school one day of his life, decided he’d rather work after his one day. Life in Soviet Russia must have been different than I have imagined. I always had a mental picture of a more controlled Socialist society, where everyone does the required minimum schooling. Oleg looks about 30, so maybe the Soviet Union had already internally lost control when he was a kid in the 1980s.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.