Have you watched ‘The Amazing Race” on television? If not, they have pairs of people race around the world, perform tasks and eliminate one couple per week until the final three couples are left.
The first pair to finish all their trips and tasks on the last episode wins $1 million.
This week they were in Moscow. Dallas & Toni, a mother & son, lost their money and passports when Dallas forgot his backpack in a cab.
Why is this interesting?
Because they continued to try to finish the tasks by asking people on the streets of Moscow if they spoke English, where the trolley and the metro (subway) were, how much it would cost to go where they needed to go and asked if the people could give them the money.
I was truly astounded by how many of the Russian people not only spoke English, but also reached into their pockets and gave the money to complete strangers knowing they would not get it back.
Sadly, they took too much time trying to beg for the money so they were eliminated.
But it got me to thinking how a Russian couple would fare under the same conditions on the streets of a large city in the United States.
I doubt they would find many people who speak their language and even fewer who would just give them money and send them on their way no matter what circumstances were prompting them to ask.
The kindness and generosity of the Russian people surprised me.
We in the U.S. hear and have heard for years all kinds of negative things about Russia. People my age grew up scared to death that the Russians under the former Soviet regime were going to drop the A-bomb on us. We even had “duck & cover” drills in school during the Cold War.
We are told the Russian people are poor and stand in lines for food, have no housing, etc. That is not what I saw Sunday night on the TV show.
The Russian architecture is spectacular, too. Russia should thank "The Amazing Race" for that positive publicity. If they do re-runs please watch that episode. It’s an eye opener and I’m sure you’ll be as amazed as I was when you see it.