Dear Sergei,

I'm not sure if you remember me. We met when I visited Russia as a Student Ambassador back in 1990. Do you remember? My group was walking down the street in Minsk when your group of friends stopped to talk to us about America. You walked with us through the town, and I told you that my grandmother and uncle were both born in Minsk and so it held a special place with me. We exchanged addresses with the hope to keep in touch.

Anyway, my parents are moving in a few months, and in going through old envelopes, they came across a stack of letters that you sent me after I returned home. I loved having you as a pen pal, but unfortunately our correspondence ended too soon when the last letter I received from you was an opened envelope without a letter inside. It was right after the Coup d' Tat and so I thought that maybe you included information in your letter that was not meant to be read. I wrote you after that and never received a response. Doing a search for your name online proved very unsuccessful. There are two people I found. One is in Moscow and the email I sent came back as undeliverable because the account was closed. The second "you" is in his 50's and lives in Michigan.

I would be very interested to know how your life turned out. You were always very interested in science. I remember how you were trying to get into the Polytechnic University but unsure of your chances because of the competitive waitlist. I'm sure you got in and I imagine you are extremely successful in what you do.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know I was thinking of you. Whenever I see my old travelogue or go through pictures of that trip, you always cross my mind.

I hope that life is treating you well,
Jodi