Drevyev

Here is a card with a picture that my students had made for me. The charicature is pretty striking, eh? (I'm on the right. Ha!) It was very sweet. I was especially impressed by the Hebrew at the top, which the students must have done themselves. It says, "And the word of the Lord came to Richard, the son of Confidence, saying . . ."

Let me explain the "son of Confidence" reference. In the first days, the students often felt defeated because of how much work I was assigning them. For example, when I found out they hadn't learned the alphabet before the class stared, I said, "No problem, you'll know it tomorrow." They looked aghast.

I had to keep reminding them often that in spite of the requirements, I had full confidence that they would get through it and learn. They said I had too much confidence. It was my duty to tell them that I am an American, and thus an optimist, and I could only believe that anything was possible. When they countered that I was only one American optimist in a room full of Ukrainian pessimists, I challenged them. By the end of the class, I assured them, my American optimism would overpower even all of their pessimism put together. In the end I was able to keep half of the class afloat (since half left!).

So they dubbed me in the card, "the son of confidence."