Immigrant friend taught us about life in her new land Posted on March 28th
Thirty years ago, back when we were a young married couple living in Minneapolis, my husband and I volunteered to help a family of Russian immigrants.
I’m not sure why we raised our hands. Now, I think it was some combination of longing for family, altruism and a nod to our roots (our own grandparents had made the same trip almost a century earlier).
Our job was simple: Guide these greenhorns as they became acclimated to American life, from opening a checking account to registering their then-5-year-old daughter for kindergarten.
Easy enough. We’d fulfill our six-month commitment, chalk up some mitzvah (good deed) points and call it a day.
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