Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 5, 1990 TAG: 9005040201
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRISTINA MOTLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"I want to experience how they live," said 14-year-old freshman Chris Bell, "and to see how the shortages we hear on the news are affecting people. I'm thrilled that I'm going."
"I want to see what the Soviet Union looks like, its houses and cities," said 15-year-old sophomore Kevin Schutt.
The Crosscurrents International Institute sponsors the three-week program, the second of its kind for American youths, said Rick Bell of Dayton, Ohio.
Bell, a United Methodist minister, and his wife are hosting the trip. He is also Chris' uncle and the Christiansburg youths' information source.
Schutt and Chris Bell said they are excited not only to be traveling to the Soviet Union, but to be going together.
"I had just moved here [Christiansburg] and his mom came over and asked me to play with him in his wading pool," Chris Bell said of his first meeting with his best friend and next-door neighbor.
"And we've been friends ever since," Schutt added.
Crosscurrents, founded by Bill Shaw of Dayton in 1982, is a non-profit organization that promotes international relationships, especially in the Soviet Union, Bell said. It conducts cross-cultural exchanges, encourages the flow of ideas and technology across cultural boundaries and promotes global consciousness and awareness, he said.
"The reason I'm committed is because the Soviet youth and their families are hungry for [contact with] American youth. The average Soviet citizen loves and admires Americans," Rick Bell said. "Perestroika has opened the door and window just enough for this opportunity to form friendships."
Chris Bell and Schutt will leave on June 16 with a group of about 15 for the Soviet Union. Neither has traveled out of the country before.
"I'm a little bit nervous because I will be on the plane forever," said Schutt, who described himself as "quiet and despite popular opinion I do not study a lot."
The two don't have time to worry quite yet; they are busy completing their plans - acquiring visas, passports and money, Chris said.
The trip costs $2,500, not including a plane ticket from Roanoke to New York, he said. "We are trying to get support from civic organizations."
The boys will spend one week each in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Siberia, and Leningrad. They will live in Soviet homes, with Soviet youths their own age. Throughout their three-week tour, five Soviet youths will accompany them to concerts, galleries, museums, campsites, gardens, seminars and more, Rick Bell said.
For each event, the Crosscurrents group will encounter another group of Russians. "The whole reason for the program is to establish international relationships," he said. "It is an incredible moment in history and an opportunity for the boys to come back with sounds, sights, memories and most of all true Russian friends."
"The way things are improving, I'd expect the people over there to be very friendly," said Chris Bell, who described himself as "different from Kevin, wild, and I've been called the class clown."
The group also will tour the Soviet Union's model city, Akademgorodok, Rick Bell said.
As the time nears, Chris Bell and Schutt are trying to keep their ears and eyes tuned for the latest international news events, they said.
"I just hope Bush doesn't threaten sanctions against them and our trip isn't canceled," Bell said with a grin.
Although it's still early to decide and he's not sure, Bell said, "I think I want to go into politics. I like the way our system works and would like to be a part of it. I'm really looking forward to the trip."
by CNB