GER-VOLGA-L Archives

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Subject: [GV] AHSGR Convention Memories
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 18:18:06 EDT

Most of you who have responded to the request for sharing of the convention
experiences have covered many details. I will just add a few more. The
convention was small in attendance this year but as someone on the elevator
said Sunday morning it really was a good opportunity to meet more people and
get better acquainted. There was lots of visiting not only with people you
knew from previous conventions but with new persons. AHSGR members were very
friendly which makes a convention event most enjoyable for newbies.

In case some of you did not realize it this was the last year that our
wonderful creative vendor, Vera, with her pioneer and German dolls and other
unique German items will be with us. I have always been glad to see her and
visit a bit to see what she has done with her creativity. I for one will
miss her at future conventions.

All of you have been very kind and friendly to our guest from Brazil. Erica
was so glad to be able to experience an American convention and meet all of
you. Her English was good in spite of her fears that she would not be
understood. She has never had the opportunity to speak English or listen to
English until this "tour" she has taken in the U.S. She writes and reads
English well but Portuguese and German are her basic languages. She enjoyed
her conversations with those of you who spoke to her in German as I noticed
she really became animated at those times. She has been here in the States
traveling by herself first to Disney World (she has said no self-respecting
Brazilian would come here and not see Disney!), then flew to San Antonio to
meet the Wilhelms who she first met through contact via Internet only until
now. She then went to southern Missouri, then came up to Des Moines to be
with us at the convention. Following the convention my husband and I took
her across Iowa from Des Moines to be with us for a couple of days, spending
a day at the Lutheran Archives for more research on the Harbin China papers,
and now today is with my husband seeing a few sights in the big city of
Chicago. She leaves tonight by train for Washington D.C. then it will be
time for her to go home as her 30-day visa will be expiring soon. She thanks
all of you for your kindness and patience as she spoke sharing her family's
experiences in Volhynia, China and Brazil. For those of you who wanted her
email address it is:
She should be home by the middle of this month.
She works full time and is trying to write a book of her family's experiences
so be patient with her in obtaining a response.

Our 33rd convention was truly a celebrative time with the 4th of July coming
in the middle. As was said, we are proud to be a German-Russian (by
ancestry) but even more so for being an American. Aren't we all glad our
forebears chose to leave their homeland and journey into the unknown to a new
land!

The new Chapter from Iowa were grand hosts along with many others who helped
them put on a successful convention. Many thanks to all of them who made it
so.

Virginia Less

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