Sophomore Irina Logvinovich was born in Belarus and came to the U.S. when she was just one year old. Since then, she has been to Belarus on four occasions and is going to visit this year by herself for the first time, as opposed to the past three times when she has left the country with a family member.

“It’s just for a bridal shower and a wedding because I’m a bridesmaid,” Logvinovich said. She will be attending her cousin’s wedding later in the year.

Logvinovich’s name is not unusual in her native country. “[Irina] is a common name in Russian countries,” Logvinovich said.

Not only is she fluent in Russian, but she also has attended school in Belarus for one year. Logvinovich attended school for eighth grade and said that while she enjoyed the experience, it was difficult.

“[School] is the same as ours but everything is Russian. It’s kind of different. They teach Russian literature, reading, writing and they have gym and similar [classes] like us. They have math, social studies and geography,” Logvinovich said.

One of the reasons Logvinovich likes the U.S. more than Belarus is because of the privileges in college and education.

“I like [the U.S.] because it is really up-to-date with technology. If you need something, it’s right there for you. In Belarus, it’s more laid-back. The roads are not fully done, like gravel. You don’t have a lot of hope in college because there aren’t a lot of job opportunities there,” Logvinovich said.

She has noticed that it is hard to find a job that makes the same living as one would make in the U.S.

“If there are jobs, you have to go from Belarus to Russia, such as Moscow. It’s hard to find a job. For example, nurses there only make $200 for one month, when it [seems like] our nurses make $200 a day,” Logvinovich said.

However, one of the things she enjoys about her country is how accessible it is to pedestrians and bicyclists. She says anyone can go wherever, whenever.

“[Belarus] is more free. There is a lot of walking and a bunch of people bike everywhere.  It’s small, but it’s very friendly and not everything is spaced out… You can walk anywhere you want, take a bus. The bus rides are [almost] free, maybe a cent,” Logvinovich said.

She says that she will stay here for college and while she chooses to stay in the U.S. she can appreciate both countries.