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On a cold Russian morning, I sat on a sidewalk with a bloody gash on my forehead, crying out for help. Specifically, I was hoping that one of the several Russian grade school children running around the Pushkin War Academy would come to my aid. Fake blood was starting to drip into my eyes and my lips were turning purple from the cold. Finally, after pleading with them in Russian for several moments, they reluctantly approached me and my fellow victims, who were also sitting on the sidewalk. О боже.

Explanation: As a student volunteer for the St. Petersburg chapter Red Cross, I had voluntarily donated my face to the practice of first-aid for children. The Red Cross in Петер is very focused on teaching youth how to respond to crisis situations -- this explains why several Russian medical students and I had traveled to the suburb of Pushkin for a grade school field-day. The expectation was that each team of children would perform their very best first-aid skills and dress our wounds properly with bandages. Meanwhile, we screamed and groaned in pain as our saviors displayed looks of disgust and fear.

Thankfully, most teams were able to unravel the bandages and wrap-up our injuries. Of course on several attempts to assist me, the young students accidentally covered my eyes or wrapped my entire jaw shut. By the end of the day my “blood” had traveled from my forehead to most of my face and even my hands. Hours later, I arrived home for dinner at my host family’s apartment still looking very “bloody.” At least the soldiers at the academy got a kick out of our blood and wound make-up; we took several photos with them -- each of us victims displaying big smiles.

I know I looked rather gross that day, but part of me felt strangely sad when the grade-schoolers looked at my forehead and walked away. In the likelihood of a real crisis, would no one come to my rescue? I’ve heard from tourists and natives, themselves, that Russians are not known for helping others in times of need. Even my Russian tutor admitted that she herself wouldn’t know how to apply first-aid to a victim and that she didn’t think other Russians were any different.

Before jumping to conclusions on the rescue skills of the Russian population, I need to ask whether Americans are more prone to playing the герой. I would like to say “yes,” but I think my opinion is distorted since I grew up in a household with parents in the medical field. My mom would always pull the car over if she saw an accident on the road, even if it meant that she was the first person at the scene. But she had the expertise to know what to do and how to respond correctly. Would the average American with only the knowledge of how to apply a Band-Aid step up to the plate? Unfortunately, I think a fear of responding inappropriately prevents most people from helping at all. Blood, fear, and an essence of death are too much to handle – whether you are American or Russian.

Still, all hope is not lost. During the six hours of my time as a victim, one team of children, a boy and a girl, reassured me that some individuals in this world are meant to be medics. After spotting me on the ground, the girl swiftly unraveled her bandage and began dressing my forehead; the boy stooped down to my level and, in a soft and soothing tone, promised me that everything would be okay and that more help was on the way. Despite having red art make-up stains all over my body, pieces of bandage in my hair, and showing the first signs of hypothermia, I honestly believed my 12 year-old hero’s words.

Hannah Szlyk

Kenyon College, St. Petersburg, 2008

The results of the Outbound Department’s first photo contest are in! Join us in congratulating Kate White for her wonderful picture of Pskov. Ms. White, a junior at the University of South Carolina, is currently studying Russian in St. Petersburg, Russia as part of the Russian Language and Area Studies program.

This spring the Russian Language and Area Studies students were invited to participate in the First Annual Outbound Photo Contest. The Outbound department received more than 25 submissions ranging in subject from class excursions to Russian architecture to Russian pop-art. It was a very difficult decision, but our panel of judges would like to extend its congratulations to the overall winner – Kate White for her exceptional photo of Pskov. Kate described the photo, “On a weekend trip to Pskov, Pechori and Izborsk, we explored the ancient kremlin in Pskov despite ridiculously cold winds. This picture was taken from the ‘back door’ of the kremlin wall in Pskov. We thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine that Petersburg lacked at the time.”

Kate White

University of South Carolina, St. Petersburg, 2008

Our 2nd place winner in the First Annual American Councils Outbound Photo Contest!

Brezhnev and Lenin (and Stalin), Maslinitsa, just outside of Red Square, Moscow

Megan Kohler

George Washington University, St. Petersburg, 2008