RUSSIANS TO STUDY DRUG PREVENTION

GRAND CHUTE - Natasha Semina of Kurgan, Russia, admits she doesn't know
much about the United States and its culture. But on her first trip to the
States, she's taking in the experience with open eyes.

The 46-year-old is part of a delegation from the Kurgan and Shchuchye
(pronounced shoe-shay) region who arrived in the Fox Valley on Tuesday to
learn how communities here combat alcohol and drug abuse.

In all, 24 people from Russia will spend the next week in Appleton living
with host families and spending time at different places throughout the Fox
Cities, from a meeting with Neenah High School officials who deal with
alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse prevention, to a "Beat the Heat" event at
Wisconsin International Raceway where local teens rev up their engines and
drag race with local police cars.

For Semina, there was a little bit of fear involved in coming to a strange
place.

"I have so many impressions," she said through her facilitator, Zulya
Kasimova. "I was really nervous as to whether I would be met by somebody at
the airport. When I saw the person that was meeting me, I knew right away
that he was kind and very good."

That person was Scott

Liske of Appleton, who will serve as Semina's host family.

The Russians will spend the entire weekend and the evenings with their host
families, said Debra Nugent, executive director of the Fox Cities/Kurgan
Sister Cities Program Inc.

"We want these people to just live American life," she said. "The Library
of Congress (which pays for this exchange) has found that the interaction
with the host families is one of the most successful outcomes of the
exchanges. There is a bond created in sharing of one another's culture that
strikes at people's spirit."

Although she may take this opportunity to do a little sight-seeing, Semina
is seeking information about alcohol and drug prevention that she can take
back to her own country.

"I want to take in as much as I can," said Semina, who is the leader of a
movement called Parents Against Drugs back home. "I just want to find out
as much about the States as possible. I know very little and I want to see
it with my own eyes. I have read some things, but here I will see them."

One of the outside facilitators for the group is Kate Makhnina, who spent a
semester studying at Lawrence University some years back.

"It's great to be back in Appleton," Makhnina said. "These people are
anxious to learn about (the American culture) and how they deal with their
problems. For me, I love it here. Appleton is a great place. It's like my
second home."

Those who run the sister cities program say it's important to help the
Russian people achieve political and social stability because the village
of Shchuchye and the city of Kurgan are home to 5,400 tons of chemical
weapons left from the old Soviet Union. The United States, Russia and
European allies are working to rid the area of the weapons.

"Keep in mind that communism fell apart 11 years ago," Nugent said. "They
are going through their great depression right now. Moscow is very
well-to-do, but Russia is seven times the size of the United States. The
rest of Russia is like a third-world country.

According to Nugent, 70 percent of Shchuchye's residents are unemployed and
30 percent of those in Kurgan are jobless.

"Alcoholism is a huge problem in Russia, but it's part of their culture,"
Nugent said. "Toasting is very much a part of their culture, and with their
severe economic decline and high unemployment, there is more and more
drinking."

Greeting the Russian group at Outagamie County Regional Airport were the
host families, decked out with signs and flowers for their guests. Also
making an appearance to wish the group a pleasant stay was Appleton Mayor
Tim Hanna.