3. The story of my life, sad and happy at the same time*

Let me introduce myself. I'm Helen Belyaeva. At the end of July I had a birthday and I became of age. On the one hand it's pleasant – you feel adult and can do whatever you like; on the other hand everybody can say, 'Could you think a bit harder and not do such stupid things, you are a grown-up already'. So you see, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. I live with my daddy and a younger sister. Our Mum died tragically several years ago in a car crash and Daddy was badly hurt. Now, everything is OK with his health, but there is no Mum nearby. It was a dreadful time for the whole family, but it was Granny, Mum's mother, who saved us. She took care of us, went to the hospital to Daddy (we were not let there for a very long time), encouraged us, smiled and did everything not to let us feel lonely, though very often at night I noticed her crying in her room. Five years have passed. Last year I finished school but I did not enter any institute because I simply didn't know where to. I thought I had no any special abilities, bents and vocations. Luckily Daddy got a letter from our family friend living in San Francisco. He asked him to recommend a girl, maybe a student, to live and work in his family as au pair. As they both, Aunt Vera, his wife, and he, Uncle Andrew, were very busy people there was nobody to look after their five-year-old daughter properly. So the men agreed very quickly on my coming there and in few weeks I flew to the USA. I spent a wonderful year there though I missed my folks greatly. The girl I looked after turned out to be a charming child. I got on with her quickly and we became great friends – I read her Russian fairy-tales, taught her to read in Russian and to count, we both watched Russian cartoons with great pleasure and did a lot of other things pleasant for both of us. At weekends we both were taught to swim in the ocean, to ride a horse. Aunt Vera gave several lessons of working with a camera, so very soon I began making short funny films. My host family approved my creative work and advised to become a journalist saying I had some talent. But to my great surprise I discovered that I could remember a lot of English words very easily and soon I began to communicate with Americans without any feeling of awkwardness and shyness. Uncle Andrew was very glad seeing my successes in English and other things. But nevertheless he liked to play jokes at me and also his daughter. When the year was coming to the end he suggested me to enter any local university and continue the work at his family. But I wanted to get home badly. So at the beginning of July I returned home and was on Cloud Nine seeing the faces of my relatives again. When I told Daddy about my wish to study languages and to become an interpreter he was very glad. So I passed my entrance exams with excellent marks and became a student of the Institute of International Relations.

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