An Unexpected Answer
FLEX student from Russia stands in front of a poster displaying a poem written in Russian by her American friend
Yuliya gets a resounding “yes”—and a poem in her native Russian—to her request for a date to the winter dance.

Yuliya asks local boy to winter dance

School dances are a big thing here, and the approach is really creative. The students try to find funny and special ways to ask someone to a dance and also to respond. For the winter dance I decided to ask one of my friends who knows a little bit of Russian, my mother tongue. His answer really surprised me. My friend said “yes” by writing a poem by himself in Russian! I really could not believe that he did so much work.

I am really amazed how dedicated he was, managing to write the poem in a language he knows very little! Now we are really excited for the dance!

—Yuliya (FLEX, Russia) hosted by the Miller family (UT)