Sometimes I think Ivan is just not the right name for a Black guy, man. I ought to know, especially given that my name is Ivan Chekov. I was born in the City of Alexandrov, deep within the Russian Federation. My father, Andrei Chekov, is a White dude of Russian descent, and my mother Rosalind Adewale was Black, of Nigerian descent. She died giving birth to me, and I was raised by my father and his family. I grew up in the beautiful Fatherland of Russia but would later leave for the City of Boston, Massachusetts. The most historical place in the United States of America. My friends in Boston are always surprised when I tell them that I'm from Russia. You don't hear too much about the increasing number of Asian, African and Arab immigrants living in Russia but we're growing in numbers. Changing the face of the Russian Federation. And many are supremely unhappy about that.
After two years at Altai State Technical University, I wanted to experience the world outside the Russian Federation. So I opted to study at Northeastern University in the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Like many people from all over the world, I was fascinated by the United States of America. I would fall in love with this beautiful nation which would come to feel like home to me like no other place ever has. When I came to Boston, I experienced a lot of culture shock. I was in for a world of surprises. For starters, there were Black policemen at the airport, and I soon found out that Deval Patrick, a Black man, was Governor of the entire State of Massachusetts. How about that? I began to feel something deep inside. I was in a beautiful town full of people of various ethnicities. And so many of them looked like me!
Growing up in the City of Saint Petersburg in the Fatherland of Russia, I wasn't used to seeing too many people who weren't Caucasian. I mean, there were a few Asians, Blacks and Arabs around because Russia does get quite a few immigrants these days but for the most part they stayed in the City of Moscow, which is more open to ethnic minorities than the rest of Russia because capital cities usually see their fair share of foreigners no matter where you go in the world. Boston fascinated me. My first day over there, I dropped my bags in my new residence at Northeastern University and went walking all over the City of Boston. Mind you, I spoke English with a really heavy Russian accent. Academic English learned in school, quite different from what you hear spoken in the streets of various cities around the United States of America.
I walked through the City of Boston, taking in the sights and sounds of one of the oldest places in America. The town where the American Revolution was born. And now, the home of a Governor who looks a little bit like me. I walked among these ordinary Bostonians, admiring them as much as I admired the architecture. I became fascinated by American women my first week in the country. They were so lively, so sure of themselves. Wow. I simply wasn't used to it. Now, feminism coursed through Russian society as it did through the rest of Europe and western society in general since the 1960s. I've seen women soldiers, female University presidents, female police officers and female politicians in Russia. However, there's something to be said about the American woman. She's so sure of herself it's almost intimidating. I became determined to claim one of them for my own. I was in a nation of superwomen. And I wanted one of these Amazons for myself. Um, it's a guy thing, yes? Good.
At Northeastern University, I experienced a world vastly different from the one I left behind. Russian schools are much more rigorous than American ones. After barely surviving among the toughest academics at Altai State Technical University I surprised myself by truly excelling at Northeastern University. The differences between Americans and Russians in academic environments became obvious to me during my time at Northeastern. You see, due to its size and diversity, America has a lot of smart people and they produce a great many wonderful things in mathematics, sciences, etc. Russia lacks the sheer population size and racial diversity of America, but we make up for that by being ruthlessly disciplined and almost pathological in our pursuit of perfection. Americans are more relaxed about everything. Russians, we're, um, not.
