LETTER 2:  DECEMBER 26, 1962.

Hello my dearest uncle Ilya and aunt Valya:

How glad I was to at last receive the long-awaited letter from you.  I hoped so much and how the letter arrived.  Dearest aunt Valya, I sat reading your letter and cried like a fool.  You must know that I love you very, very, much.  I cried with joy reading the letter because such distance separates us.  Alek was also very happy and read the letter himself.  He always asked when he came home from work, “Is there a letter from aunt Valya?”  He told me to reply immediately and send you the only color photograph of me that we have.

Dear aunt Valya, about your soup…  it was very good and I made it last night.  We invited some Americans over, our friends, and they even ate two bowls.  They said that I and aunt Valya are very good.

In Dallas there are a few Russians — good and bad — different ones in general.  We meet with one family, they are Russians but have never been to Russia and were born in China.  They are very charming and good and travel a lot on foot.  He himself is a geologist, loves Negroes and Russia.  Soon he will be leaving to go to work in Haiti.  His name is George de Mohrenschildt.  Just a count’s name remains, but otherwise he is a typical Russian guy by nature.

Now a little bit about myself.  You probably know from my previous letters to work, but I’ll write again.  Alek is working in a printing house, in the photographic department.  He prints photographs for magazines and newspapers.  He likes to fool around with chemistry.  He makes $230 and maybe more later.  IT was hard for him to find work as he was in the USSR.  At first we lived in Fort Worth and there he worked in a metal shop.  But here our Russian acquaintances helped him find this job.  It is an interesting job — it is clean — he is tired of getting dirty.

The weather remains warm as autumn.  Occasionally there is a cold wind but no snow.  Yesterday it was Christmas and it is very pretty in the city.  Houses are decorated with little lights.  It is very impressive, especially at night.  Alka bought a Christmas tree but Marinka does not understand it yet.  She just likes to stare at the bright decorations.  But mostly she likes wooden spools and spoons to play with.  She now has two teeth.  She stands up in her bed hanging on the barrier.  Soon she will be a year old.  So fast, I cannot believe it, that I have a daughter.  She has few light colored hairs.  She is calm.  Papa loves her very much.  One day we had to take her to the hospital with a light flu.  While the doctor was looking her over she was crying and Alka was crying with her, while I was laughing in my soul.  Alka said he was ready to kill the doctor because he was an idiot.  He treats me well.  Occasionally we fight, but you cannot be without that.  But I know he loves me with his insane love.  He is jealous of everything although I give him no cause as I love him too.  He is a good boy — a little crazy but I am not much better myself.

We are so far repaying our debt to the government for our move to America.  By the New Year we should be paid up — it came to about $500.  That is like 500 rubles in our currency.  Right now we are renting an apartment — two rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, etc.  It is a big apartment but not a new one, but we can afford it.  It is $68 plus the electricity.  For food we spend $10-12 a week.  If it was not for the debt we could live decently.  Dear aunt Valya, I now have very much respect for you and uncle Ilya.  I miss you.  I have many clothes and dresses but no place to wear them to.  Everything just hangs in the closet.  I miss you very much.  I think about the time we will meet again.  Either we will visit you or you will visit us.  Anything can happen in life.  Alka often thinks about you and Minsk and says, either in jest or perhaps seriously, “Let’s go back.”  I do not know how to understand that.

Dear aunt Valya, I am sending you my address.  We have a postal box:  number 2915.  If we change our address we will still be able to get mail.  You wrote my address with a mistake but it got to us.  You wrote it as “Elizabeth” but I think letters will reach me just the same.

I am slowly learning English.  Maybe we will move closer to the University and then I will be able to go study English.  There is an English for foreigners class there, but I already am beginning to understand much.  Alka speaks Russian but not very good now.  In the evening he sings Russian songs:  “Meadowlands” his favorite.  Eric and Pavel write us, we received a letter from Ludka from Leningrad and from another girl with whom I studied.  From Tanushka too.  I am very happy for them.  Dear aunt Valya, I would like to send you something but when I sent Tanya something and they had to pay much duty on it.  Although it might cost relatively little here, over there customs could value it very expensively.  What is the sense of sending presents?  But I will think of something.

Aunt Valya, please do not be angry.  Soon I will go to work and I will think of you.  It is very hard on us.  I am tired of sitting around at home.  We are not getting any letters from Innesa and the magazines I sent her are not getting to her.  I do not know why.

We are very happy that everything is very fine with Uncle Ilyusha and that he had a rest and freshened up.  I wish you all the best.  Please congratulate Irachka Kutsievna and Vova with their daughter, and say hello to Lialya.  Did she get married?  Please tell her not to be angry and to write.  A big regards to the Andrianovs from me and Alka.  A big kiss and a hug–how are Lyuda and Maria Josephina?  Tell them not to be angry.  I respect them very much.  On this I end.  I kiss you tightly, tightly my dears.

Marina, Alek, and Marinka

PS:  Everyone treats me very good, there are good people here… like everywhere.