For those of us who grew up during the “Cold War,” the word “Kremlin” has a particular connotation, not altogether warm and fuzzy. As far as I knew then, it was synonymous with the Soviet government, that cabal of mysterious leaders who, in Khrushchev’s words, would eventually “bury us.” Of course had I bothered, I could have discovered much more about the truth of the Kremlin, although its image probably would not have changed much in my imagination.

The word itself is more of a generic description than an actual name, somewhat the equivalent to the English word “citadel,” and as such is used to describe similar sites in other Russian cities such as Yaroslavl and Smolensk. It is the one in Moscow to which it almost invariably refers however, and it is that one that interests us now.

Recently I had the good fortune to visit Moscow and of course, could not have left without dedicating a good bit of time for a visit to the Kremlin. As I passed through the outer wall of the famous citadel, I couldn’t help but think that a few decades earlier I would have been immediately arrested and never seen again had I actually gotten this far. Times have changed, however, and the once forbidden Kremlin is now one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations. It’s not difficult at all to see why as soon as you pass through its mighty walls.

The first major attraction is found at the below street level entrance to the famous Kremlin Museum, and if not for the usually long line of visitors it could easily be missed and passed right by. What really draws the attention however, is the collection of cathedrals crowning the aptly named Cathedral Hill. There are three magnificent cathedrals there and two more churches to complete the set. If I had done my homework as a kid, I would have known that these religious structures not only existed in but dominated the Kremlin. But alas, I hadn’t done it so I was truly surprised to see such an imposing spiritual component of the heart of what President Reagan had called the “evil empire.”

If you can withstand the magnetic attraction of these beautiful buildings, it would be good to step over to the Kremlin Museum first and take advantage of the culture and history lessons it offers. Splendid examples of the enormous wealth of past empire are housed in its several sections and include items that you will likely never see outside its walls, ranging from the fur lined crowns of Russia’s first Tsars to the beautiful Faberge jeweled eggs of its last. You will leave the Museum with a much better sense of and feeling for the power and magnificence of Russia’s past empires and perhaps an insight into the psychology and character of today’s Russia.

After leaving the windowless galleries, stepping out into the fresh air to behold the architectural splendor of the Kremlin is a refreshing change. You’ll probably head immediately to the Archangel Michael Cathedral to enjoy the richly ornate interior. When I was there, a quintet of young Russian singers was performing excerpts from their current CD of traditional Orthodox spiritual songs. It was the perfect accompaniment to the visit, their wonderful voices reverberating throughout the holy space giving the visitor a unique sample of the spiritual music of the church. Of course, one of them was a typical Russian bass, the kind that seems to be unique to this country, and his rich, low tones vibrated right to my core. This kind of performance by musical groups is not unusual in Russia so you’re likely to encounter them in other cathedrals and churches throughout the Republic too. They are unabashedly promoting themselves and selling their CDs but in so doing are enriching everyone’s visit to these historic masterpieces of spiritual architecture.

Upon exiting this cathedral simply look up for a breath taking experience. You will see an array of golden onion domes, so unique to Russian orthodoxy, standing brightly against the sky. If there is anything that serves as a universally recognized icon of Russia, these domes must top the list. It’s not easy to resist gaping at them for several minutes, so go right ahead!

As you continue your tour of the Kremlin, you’ll pass the enormous Tsar Canon, an almost ridiculously ornate behemoth that was built on the command of Tsar Fyodor in 1586. It weighs nearly 38 metric tons and has a bore diameter of 890mm (35 inches)! It was intended to cast more than 800 kilos of stone shot on one firing so that stack of iron canon balls you’ll see in front of it are misleading. Story has it that they were made in St. Petersburg and given to Moscow as one more joke in the friendly rivalry between the two cities – they’re too big to fit in the canon. The Tsar Canon was never fired, by the way.

Right next to this monstrous gun is the largest bell in the world: the Tsar Bell. This 300-ton ringer was ordered built by the Empress Anna in 1734, but like the Tsar Canon its report was never heard. During a great fire in the Kremlin, water was thrown over the foundry where the bell was being forged causing a huge piece to crack off of it. A more amusing tale is how Peter the Great slammed the bell with his fist, breaking off the huge chunk. Peter was indeed great in stature but this is somewhat unlikely!

Through your journey you will likely notice the many towers placed along the Kremlin’s formidable wall. Several of these are architectural masterpieces in themselves, and all but two of the eighteen are named.

The official residence of the President of Russia is within the walls of the Kremlin, and is called the “Senate,” since in soviet days it did actually serve as the seat of the government. Its ornate interiors are well worth a visit if you can swing it. You may need an official pass from one of your highly placed pals to do so however.

Perhaps the one building that stands out most for its contrasting design is the State Kremlin Palace, built in 1959-61. It was originally called the Palace of Congresses and was used as the meeting place for the many congresses of the various republics. You may recognize its interior from your memories of the many photos and news clips showing its meetings back in the sixties and seventies. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union it is mainly used as a theater and public building.

There is still much more to see and visit in the Kremlin than what I’ve mentioned here, but my own experience limits me to the above highlights. The history that is contained within its massive walls encompasses the history of Russian empires and peoples and cannot be missed if one is to have a fuller understanding of this country. Don’t miss it!

Latin American Swim Queen!

From 1974 until the early 1980s, the most popular athlete in Central America was a woman. Her name: María del Milagro París, a notable sportswoman from Costa Rica. Without a doubt she put Costa Rica and Latin America on the map when she competed in the Summer Olympics (Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980) and World Championships (Cali 1974). Revered and respected by Costa Rica, one of the most stable and prosperous republics in the Western Hemisphere, she has been an inspiration by Silvia and Claudia Poll, who were the best athletes -male or female- in Latin America in the late 1980s and mid-1990s.

1980 was one of the best years for sport in Costa Rica. Why? As one of Latin America’s greatest female swimmers during the 1970s and early 80s, Costa Rica’s María París became the first swimmer in Central America to reach the finals of an Olympic event when she qualified for the finals at the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. After several months of hard work and preparation, she, who was the best Costa Rican performer at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, came in seventh place in the women’s 100-meter butterfly.

María del Milagro París — Born to Swim

Her career as an international athlete began in the XII Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1974, where she picked up a total of three gold medals. Since then, she did not win the golds by accident. Miss París, accompanied by Francisco “Frank” Rivas (the National Coach of Costa Rica’s Swimming Team), had worked very hard in the last three years. Like Silvia and Claudia Poll Arehns, she had trained in the Cariari Club, one of the most famous Costa Rican swimming clubs.

After being selected to compete for the Costa Rican Olympic Team in 1974, París led a national delegation to the FINA World Championships in Cali, Colombia. In that event, she finished fifth in the women’s 100m butterfly. Apart from the international titles, she also broke several national and regional records between 1974 and 1982.

After María’s participation in the 1980 Olympics, she had competed in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana (Cuba). In these Games, she won two women’s swimming golds (100m butterfly and 200m medley). In addition, she picked up a bronze in the 200m butterfly.

After her retirement as an athlete in 1984, an Olympic year, she was succeeded by Silvia Poll, a prominent swimmer between 1986 and 1992. In addition to her unique discipline, María París will be remembered as the first female swimmer in Latin America to reach the finals of a World Championship. Certainly, she is a notable example for several Olympic athletes.

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille is another epic novel based in Russia and dealing with the intricacies of the American/ Soviet spy culture. I have been a DeMille fan for many years and always find myself drawn into his exciting world of intrigue and suspense. Does Charm School live up to his other novels?

Plot: Greg Fisher is travelling through Russia on the road to Moscow, when he makes an unscheduled stop and meets an English-speaking stranger. He turns out to be a fellow American who has been missing for over a decade. When Gregory agrees to help this stranger is life is put in jeopardy.

Gregory travels to Moscow and contacts the US Embassy to tell him his story. Before he can meet Sam Hollis, the American Intelligence Officer, Gregory Fisher disappears. Sam teams up with the embassy press attache, Lisa Rhodes, in order to unravel the events surrounding the disappearance of Gregory Fisher. When the truth of what is happening in a small town in the middle of Russia is uncovered – it will send shock waves through the US government.

The KGB has set up a school – The Charm School – that has recruited / kidnapped Americans to teach Russians how to act like Americans, so that they can assimilate into American society. Now the embassy and US government have to decide how to react. With Glasnost on the table and the two countries trying to work together, this revelation can destroy everything.

As the story evolves, DeMille portrays a realistic view of life in Russia for most Russians. The glimpses he gives us of everyday life for Russian families makes one really think about one’s own priorities. Even the life of the embassy employees and their relationship to the KGB watchers can make one smile and cry at the same time.

The story moves along at a good pace, with lots of insight into Russian life and the hardships that the normal Russian has to endure. The ending has a surprise twist and keeps your guessing until the last page is turned.

The book is 671 pages, yet the read seems incredibly fast. The story is interesting, the characters are likable, even the Russians and once you are inside the school, it is fascinating to see how life works for the those who teach and those who are taught.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it gave the reader a unique peak into the world of the American embassy workers in Russia and how it was to live and work in Russia during the heyday of Glasnost.

Say the word 'Russia,' and you're bound to conjure a string of stereotypical images: A bearskin hat, onion domes, the Hammer & Sickle emblem, bread lines, bare grocery store shelves … and a drunk holding a bottle of vodka. You might even view the Russian people themselves as you do the weather there: Cold, gray, and gloomy. Like many cultural stereotypes, these Russian ones – even exaggerated they might be – have at least some basis in reality. But they certainly do not tell the whole story. Russia, after all, is the largest country in the world. An 800 page book could scarcely begin to detail all the regional varieties of life in Russia, much less an 800 word article. So let's examine the most prevalent of these myths, and present the realities of life in Russia.

Myth: Russia is a country full of drunks.

Reality: Accurate, worldwide statistics on alcohol consumption and alcoholism are hard to come by. Yes, a large percentage of the population drinks vodka, but the streets are not filled with inebrated men clinging to bottles of 'Russki Standart.' Instead, when you travel to Russia, you encounter hardworking, goal-oriented individuals who are as apt as you are to unwind after a long day at the office with a beer or cocktail.

Myth: Russia is a land of scarcity and shortages.

Reality: It certainly was that way, but times have long since changed. Pop in to the GUM mall in Moscow, or one of the shops on Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg. Petersburg, or visit any of the upscale malls in any decent-sized Russian city and you'll find all the Gucci, Armani and Prada you could ever want. In fact, be prepared for too much choice, especially if you travel to Moscow. That city, due to its oil-based economy, is one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in the world … there's no shortage of anything there!

Myth: Russia is a run-down, third world country.

Reality: While Russia is definitely NOT a third world country, its infrastructure is admittedly leaves much to be desired. Roads between cities, for example, are often little more than potholes strung together with patches of pavement. And buildings, while structurally sound, look like immunity, worn concrete blocks. Thanks to nearly a century of Soviet rule, the architecture emphasizes only function, never form. Toss in roving packs of stray dogs, too much litter and not enough trash cans, and the result is that Russia unfortunately has less visual appeal than its European counterparts.

Myth: Russia is a cold, gloomy place …

Reality: Like any northern country, Russia definitely endures long, cold winters. But let's not forget that winter is purely one season out of four. The other seasons can bring glorious weather. And due to its immense size, Russia spans numerous climatic zones, so to label the country's climate in a few words is impossible. Think of all the different climates that exist in the US – Seattle, Phoenix, San Diego, Miami, Minnesota, etc – and then bear in mind that Russia has twice the landmass that the US does! [A footnote: Since most people include all the countries of the former Soviet Union, countries like Ukraine and Moldova, in their mental image of Russia, then it must be pointed out that the weather in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula is pleasant year-round, especially in the Meditteranean-esque southern cities like Yalta and Sevastopol.]

Myth: … and Russia has cold, gloomy people.

Reality: That's just wrong. It is true that Russian people smile less than Americans do in public, but that's a deep rooted cultural norm in Slavic countries, and does not reflect on any individual Russian's outlook or disposition. Russian people are in fact fun loving, friendly and generous. In your dealings with Russian people, be prepared that they will display sincere concern for your comfort and well being, express intense interest in you as a person (and as a Westerner), and offer lasting friendship. And while the older generation may still dress in bleak, fashionless, Soviet-style garb, the younger generation – especially young women – dress in chic, sexy, modern outfits which catch the eye and turn the head.

So let's try the experiment again: Say the word 'Russia,' but this time envision a land of mountains and lakes and seashores. Try to see well-dressed businessmen having a power lunch in a sidewalk café, and women in short skirts and high heels strolling throughalls. It's a bright, sunny day; a group of people are standing in a park, drinking beer and laughing. It's warm … it's friendly … it's Russia.

A story with relatively few words but full of meaning, The Music of Life is the life of a frustrated musician. The story is told by a narrator who meets the musician in a train station probably in Siberia and in a snowstorm. The narrator in the middle of many stranded travelers looks for a chair when the sound of soft music beckons him to a deserted part of the train station where old furniture is stored. There he meets this musician and tells us his story as coincidences bringing them together, on and off, several times.

During the Stalin Era, Alexei Berg, the pianist, escapes from Moscow just before his first public recital. As he does so, he finds out that his parents are arrested, soon to be sent to exile. After quite a few incidents where people hide him and narrowly escapes from harm, he finds his way to a battleground where Russians fought Germans in World War II. He dons the identity of a dead Russian soldier who looks like him and manages to fight in the war to later become the driver of a general life life he saves during the war.

While working for the general, the musician falls for the general's young daughter who proves to be a callous and frivolous girl. When Alexei's mask falls, he is sent to Siberia for several labor-hardened years. This tragic story does not end with a disaster, but it is bleak through resembling the work of the older Russian masters, Chekhov and Dostoyevski.

What captivated me was author's use of selective language with intense economy, which reminded me of poetry. This story was originally written in French, then translated into other languages; despite, in spirit, it always stayed Russian. The translator Geoffrey Strachan, too, describes high praise for this successful translation.

The author, Andreï Makine, was born in Russia in Krasnoyarsk in 1957 and was granted political asylum in France in 1987. In 1995 his novel dreams of My Russian Summers won the Goncourt Prize and the Médicis Prize, France's two most prestigious literary awards.
His works are:
A Hero's Daughter (1996), Confessions of a Fallen Standard-Bearer (1996), Once upon the River Amour (1996), Dreams of My Russian Summers (1997), Crime of Olga Arbyelina (2000), Requiem for a Lost Empire 2001), Music of a Life (2003), The Earth and Sky of Jacques Dorme (2005), The Woman Who Waited (2005)

This book is in hardcover, copyrighted in 2003, and with ISBN: 1559706376 and ISBN-13: 978-0743475600,

Music of a Life, although only 109 pages, is an epic in essence, since it is about love, loss, music, war, and political upheaval. It would make me very happy to see this wonderful writer win the Nobel Prize someday, only because (in my opinion), his work warrants it.

If you have met a lady from Russia, and you want to have her join you in the USA as your wife, you have two options. The K1 Fiancee Visa, or the K3 Spousal visa.

The K1 visa is usually the quickest way to bring a fiancee from Russia to the USA. If you get married in Russia, you will need to return to the USA will all the required documents needed to file the K3 visa. However, your wife will need to remain behind in Russia. The K3 visa is filed at the USCIS Service Center in Chicago, and when the application is approved, the NVC (National Visa Center) will contact the US Petitioner in the USA and request that two fees are paid. The applicant must also send in proof of financial support at that time, along with your original marriage certificate and other supporting civil documents. Your wife will then have her interview at the US Embassy in Moscow, then she will receive her visa and she can travel to the USA immediately.

A K1 Visa for Russia will take approximately 2-3 months less than the K3 Marriage visa from Russia. The process at the NVC is much shorter. The application is usually forwarded to the US Embassy in Moscow within two weeks. The embassy will then contact your fiancee and schedule an interview date for her. If everything goes well at the interview, your fiancee will receive her visa within a week, and she can then travel to the USA immediately, or within six months of the issue date of the visa.

If you filed the K3 spousal visa for Russia, your wife will receive a two year green card in the mail within 30 days of her arrival. If you filed a Fiancee visa for Russia, your fiancee must marry you within 90 days of her arrival, or she must return back to her home in Russia. After marriage, you will need to file for her green card, also known as the Adjustment of Status. She will receive her work and travel authorization within 60-90 days, while the green card application is in progress. The green card is usually issued within six months from the date of filing.

Whether you file for the K1 visa for Russia, or the K3 visa from Russia, either visa will allow your lovely Russian woman to join you in the USA. As you can see, there are some differences in the two types of visas, and you must decide which visa from Russia better suits your needs.

Pasternak’s own story surrounding the writing of this novel, his winning the Nobel after the manuscript was smuggled out of the Soviet Union and published in Italy, and the fallout that ensued leading to his inglorious death a couple of years later, mirrors the fictitious life of Dr. Zhivago, and is more engaging than the novel.

This is a hard novel to follow, for although Pasternak was a celebrated poet and translator, he seems to have been quite an amateur novelist. Or else this book was written in snatches over a long period with no continuity checks, or pages were lost in translation, or the translators tried too hard to render the original Russian in English and failed. The result is a jumble of characters and viewpoints that stray even to minor characters who disappear shortly thereafter, and naming conventions that defy comprehension: Lara is known alternatively as Lara, Larochka, Larissa Fyodorovna, Raissa Komarova, Antipova and Strelnikova; and when you transpose that on the myriad others with variations of their first name, name and patronymic, last name, nick name, pseudonym and so on, it makes for quite a maze. Descriptions of the landscape during war and peace and of the seasons are well rendered from the author’s poetic stance, but the plot line is often contrived and dialogue amounts to stilted speeches that go on for paragraphs, often by the same speaker. The much vaunted romance between Zhivago and Lara, which was brought out so evocatively in the movie and in its theme song, is limited to a few brief pages, again more concerned with each other’s political stance than with their emotional one. There is more feeling expressed in their loss at parting than in their being together.

The span of the story begins from the dispersal of Zhivago, his family and his privileged upper middle class associates from Moscow with the onset of WWI, follows their travels to the Urals and into Siberia during the time of the Russian Revolution and civil war that ensued between 1917-22, tracks the good doctor’s return to Moscow at the culmination of that turbulent period, and concludes with the end of his impoverished life in that city eight years later. There is also an extended epilogue during WWII, when two of his colleagues try to reconstruct the Zhivago diaspora. During this span, characters intersect with each other under different circumstances in random manner; lives are changed and loves are lost by the most chance of incidents. In one such incident, Zhivago, who is out on a surreptitious visit to his mistress Lara, is kidnapped by Red soldiers to serve as a doctor at the Siberian front and he never sees his official family again. Contrivance or real life?

The strength of this novel-yes, despite its shortcomings there is great strength-lies in the fact that it was written by a writer living and witnessing the period of the Russian revolution and civil war, without taint of the propaganda that symbolized the Soviet era. Pasternak is frank in portraying the White Russians and the Bolsheviks as equally guilty of patronage, corruption and cruelty. Zhivago’s (and Pasternak’s) own political stance is revealed when he says, “I used to be in a very revolutionary mood, but now I think we will gain nothing by violence. People must be drawn to the good by the good.” The other powerful force in this book is its symbolism: Lara is the embodiment of Mother Russia, corrupted at an early age by her mother’s lover Komarowsky of the ruling class, and then left bereft of her idealistic and revolutionary husband Antipov, and her beloved man of science and art, Dr. Zhivago. Lara laments that she is left with a reinvented Komarowsky, “a monster of mediocrity.”

The historical notes help marry the fictional events with the real life background. I wished there had been a glossary of names as well. And Zhivago’s (Pasternak’s) poetry at the end reveals much of the doctor’s character and his spiritual development in this crucible of devastation that was the early years of the Soviet empire, much more than what comes out in the novel itself.

Orlando Guaita 1978

Between 1977 and 1989,Nancy Vallecilla Celi, who studied in the Federal Republic of Germany, was one of Ecuador’s well-known athletes. Her career as an international athlete began in the late 1970s. At the Bolivarian Games in La Paz (Bolivia), in October, 1977, she beat Peru’s Edith Noeding -Pan American champion- and won the medal gold in the women’s long jump. Apart from that, Vallecilla placed second in the 100m hurdles, winning a silver medal for Ecuador. The following year, she captured the gold medal in the women’s long jump, with a record of 5.80m, in the Orlando Guaita Tournament, a prestigious event in Santiago de Chile. Following her victory in Chile, she, together with Luis Tipan, competed in the 8th Pan American Games in Puerto Rico in 1979.

Puerto Rico 1979

At the VIII Games, Miss Vallecilla finished fifth in the pentathlon (3,818 points) and seventh in the 100m hurdles (14.23 seconds). The San Juan de Puerto Rico Pan American Games had been her second major international competition. But she also had difficult moments. Due to economical problems, by 1979, Ecuador did not participate in the South American Championships in Bucaramanga (Colombia) and Vallecilla lost the chance to win international medals. Like her countryman Tipan (5,000m -10,000m), she had been favorite to win medals (long jump, 100m hurdles, and pentathlon). At that time, the Ecuadoran government made little contribution to promote the Olympic Movement in the nation. As a result, several athletes could not compete in the international tournaments. By the early 70s, the military government, for example, declined to send an Olympic contingent to the Bolivarian Games.

Moscow 1980

By 1980, Vallecilla had been chosen to represent Ecuador to the Summer Olympic Games in the Soviet Union. In that year, the Moscow Olympics were boycotted by a host of nations and dependencies. However, the Ecuadoran rule, unlike Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, had not supported the boycott, which had been led by America’s then-President Jimmy (James Earl) Carter (1977-1981). On the other hand, several Latin American delegations, among them Ecuador, had been subsidized by the Soviet government.

At the XXII Olympiad, Vallecilla, unfortunately, was forced to drop out of the pentathlon because of an injury. But that was certainly not the end of Vallecilla’s amateur career. The following year, at the South American Championships in Bolivia, she won silver medals in the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles. By the end of the year Vallecilla was voted the country’s outstanding athlete (male or female).

Indianapolis 1987

In 1985, she came in second place in the heptathlon in the South American Tournament in Chile. Her figures for the event were as follows: 25.17 seconds in the 200-meter race; a 100-meter-hurdle time of 13.72 seconds; a long jump of 5.97 m; a javelin thrust of 33.88 meters; a high jump of 1,66m; and two minutes 23.53 seconds in the 800-meter race.

It was during the mid-1980s that she set many national records. On May 11, 1985, in Mainz (Germany), she established a new Ecuadoran mark of 1,82 m in the high jump. Then, on May 26, she established a record of 5,925 points in heptathlon. During the years that followed, Vallecilla, an Afro-Ecuadoran athlete, came in 28th place in the women’s 100m hurdles (13.98s) at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Asia. Prior to 1988, she had been a finalist in the Pan American Games in Indianapolis (Indiana,U.S). During that year, she set a new South American mark of 13.16 in the 100m hurdles. Vallecilla was born on November 24, 1957, in Portoviejo, Ecuador.

When we hear about chemical disasters we immediately think of Chernobyl. And they would be right to do so. Chernobyl nuclear disaster is the most serious man-made disaster in living history that still haunts many today. The consequences following the Ukrainian catastrophe translated into serious bans on commissioning nuclear power plants and in the case of the United States even into pushing a thriving nuclear power industry into Chapter 11. Chernobyl soon became the strongest argument of the opponents of nuclear power in the debate on renewable. Few know, however that what happened there could have easily been avoided if the then soviet central government in Moscow would have at least made the accident public and would have taken a few necessary precautionary steps.

Only at 9 pm, after the neighboring Swedish warned them with a petition filed at the International Atomic Energy Authority, did the officials in Moscow five-sentence statement informing on the world`s worst disaster.

Fewer still are aware that chemical disaster started ages before with our ancestors in Antiquity using biological weapons to eliminate their enemies. In 1320 BC the Hittites infested their opponents the Arzawans with deadly tularemia. They sent donkeys infected with the disease and transmitting the plague via ticks and flies. A witch named Chrysame who was an expert in ancient pharmacology used drugs to cause temporary insanity in the enemy, during the Greek colonization of Ionia in about 1000 BC. According to Polyaenus, she fed a bull with a medicinal herb that would excite madness and then presented it as a present to her enemies.

But the masters of biological warfare were the Chinese who in the 10th century BC came with the so called soul-hunting fog which contained arsenic or the five-league fog slow-burning gunpowder to which a variety of ingredients, including the excrement of wolves, was added to produce an irritating smoke.

It goes without saying that one needs to prepare for a disaster. Disaster relief shelters would be one way of doing it. Meanwhile taking a few lessons in getting yourself ready for a disaster would not come amiss: from making a first aid kit to taking vital documents and knowing how to evacuate.

Road to London 2012!

1986 Goodwill Games

Did you know- At the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, USSR (now Russia), the women's volleyball squad, led by its world-class player Cecilia Tait Villacorta, came close to winning the gold medal. In the final, Peru (South American champion) lost 3-0 to the Soviet Union (Olympic gold medal in 1980). The USSR and Peru were followed by America (bronze medal), Japan, North Korea, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, West Germany, in that order. The Peruvian volleyball team included 14 athletes: Cecilia Tait (1.82m), Rosa García (1.74m), Denisse Fajardo (1.71m), Gina Torrealba (1.74m), Natalia Malaga (1.71m) Luisa Cervera (1.74m), Gabriela Pérez del Solar (1.94m), Miriam Gallardo (1.80m), Cecilia Arostui (1.76m), Sonia Ayaucam (1.75m), Mariamita Delgado (1.76m) , and Katherine Horny (1.84m). Toward the end of 1986, surprisingly, the Peruvian team finished third – ahead of East Germany, USSR, and Brazil– in the Women's Volleyball World Cup in Prague, Czechoslovakia. On the other hand, Peru's athlete Denisse Fajardo, who played in Europe, was named one of the most outstanding players.

Pan American Games

Did you know- The women's volleyball team of Peru picked up a silver medal in the 7th Pan American Games, which were held in Mexico City in October 1975. That year they also won the South American Championship in Asunción (Paraguay). In the final match, Peru beat Brazil. The Peruvian players were Mercedes Gónzales, Gaby Cardenas, Teresa Nuñez, Irma Cordero, Ana Cecilia Carrillo, Esperanza Hogan, Delia Córdero, Juana Flores, Luisa Fuentes, Ana Maria Ramirez, Maria Cervera, and Maruja Ostolaza.

Peru Vs Puerto Rico

Did you know- In October 1975, Peru routed Puerto Rico 3-0 (15-0, 15-8, 15-1). At that time, the women's volleyball squad of Puerto Rico was one of the 10 best teams in the Americas. Thirty-four years later, Puerto Rico beat Peru 3-0 (25-17, 15-19, 25-23) .In that year, by 2009, Peru was one of the seven best teams in the continent of the Americas. In 2002, the Puerto Rican team came in 12th place in the global event, among 24 teams; meanwhile the Peruvian women's team did not qualify for the 2002 World Championships.

Gabriela Pérez del Solar Cuculiza

Did you know- By 1993, the women's volleyball team of Peru, led by Gabriela Pérez del Solar Cuculiza, defeated Brazil (4th place in the Olympic Games in 1992) 3-1 and won the South American Tournament. Meanwhile, Pérez del Solar was named the tournament's most valuable player. Under coach Man Bok Park's rigorous training, she became one of the world's best volleyball players between 1985 and 1993.