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November 18, 2015 Palisades News Page 17<br />
Kalea Power: To Russia with Love<br />
By LAURIE ROSENTHAL<br />
Staff Writer<br />
Palisades High School alumna Kalea<br />
Power is in her junior year <strong>at</strong> Princeton,<br />
studying Slavic languages and<br />
liter<strong>at</strong>ure.<br />
Through Princeton’s Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Internship<br />
Program, the 20-year-old spent<br />
this past summer doing an internship for<br />
the Russian Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Affairs Council in<br />
Moscow. She is interested in possibly pursuing<br />
a career in intern<strong>at</strong>ional rel<strong>at</strong>ions, and<br />
felt the summer program gave her an introduction<br />
to wh<strong>at</strong> th<strong>at</strong> p<strong>at</strong>h would look like.<br />
“My main responsibility as an intern<br />
was to conduct my own research, working<br />
closely with my supervisor,” Power told the<br />
Palisades News. “I focused on the current<br />
trends in Russia’s foreign energy policy and<br />
presented my research in two articles: ‘On<br />
Both Sides of Turkish Stream’ and ‘Russia-<br />
China Energy Rel<strong>at</strong>ions: A Long-Awaited<br />
Partnership Develops.’”<br />
This was Power’s third time in Russia.<br />
She is enthralled with the country’s language,<br />
liter<strong>at</strong>ure and culture.<br />
Her interest in Russia stems from her<br />
childhood ballet teacher, Yuri Grigoriev,<br />
who hails from Moscow. Power began danc -<br />
ing when she was about five, and is currently<br />
in two student-run dance companies <strong>at</strong><br />
Princeton, one ballet and one modern.<br />
In 2013, sponsored by the St<strong>at</strong>e Department’s<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional Security Language Initi<strong>at</strong>ive<br />
for Youth, Power’s trip to Russia included<br />
training <strong>at</strong> the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in<br />
Moscow.<br />
In 2014, she finished her second year<br />
studying the Russian language in St. Petersburg,<br />
through Princeton’s Department of<br />
Slavic Languages and Liter<strong>at</strong>ures. She is<br />
now nearly fluent. “I have a n<strong>at</strong>ural affinity<br />
for the language,” she said. “I love studying<br />
it and practicing it.” Previously, she took<br />
Spanish <strong>at</strong> PaliHi.<br />
When in Russia, Power enjoys conversing<br />
with locals, and discussing Russia’s role in<br />
the world, as well as America’s. “It’s interesting<br />
to share opinions about wh<strong>at</strong> is happening<br />
right now,” she said.<br />
“It’s nice to have disagreements. All<br />
convers<strong>at</strong>ions in Russian are good for my<br />
practice.<br />
“This summer was different in th<strong>at</strong> I received<br />
varying reactions when I told people<br />
I was from America. Most of my convers<strong>at</strong>ions<br />
after this question would turn into a<br />
political discussion about the Ukraine crisis<br />
and the role of the U.S. government,”<br />
Power said.<br />
“Many of these convers<strong>at</strong>ions also led to<br />
cultural questions. Russians I spoke with<br />
were very curious about wh<strong>at</strong> Americans<br />
Palisades High gradu<strong>at</strong>e Kalea Power spent<br />
her summer interning <strong>at</strong> the Russian<br />
Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Affairs Council in Moscow.<br />
Photo: Shelby Pascoe<br />
thought of Russia, the Russian people and<br />
of Putin. They always asked me in Russian,<br />
‘Wh<strong>at</strong> do they say about us there?’”<br />
Though there is less variety in food<br />
choices than Power is used to <strong>at</strong> home in<br />
Pacific Palisades, and the supermarkets are<br />
smaller than here, she considers the meals<br />
“really, really yummy.” During her first<br />
summer, she <strong>at</strong>e a lot of pot<strong>at</strong>oes, even<br />
though she tried to get fresher and healthier<br />
fare. In the mornings, her “Russian mom”<br />
would cook blini (pancakes), which, she says,<br />
“all Russian families make for breakfast.”<br />
While observing the typical Russian<br />
lifestyle, Power realized th<strong>at</strong> grandparents<br />
are a truly important part of the family system,<br />
and often take the children over the<br />
summer so the parents can have some time<br />
off from parenting.<br />
Her parents, Terry and Virginia, have<br />
grown to understand and encourage Pow -<br />
er’s love of Russian culture. Terry hails from<br />
New Jersey, while Virginia grew up in the<br />
Philippines. They don’t speak much with<br />
their daughter when she is abroad, as communic<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
is difficult.<br />
“They were initially shocked th<strong>at</strong> I was<br />
so serious and taken by this culture, which<br />
was so distant from us ethnically and culturally,”<br />
Power said.<br />
“When I’m back home, I teach my parents<br />
and siblings about Russia so they can<br />
be more aware about wh<strong>at</strong> I’m passion<strong>at</strong>e<br />
about.”<br />
Her sister, Erin, is a senior <strong>at</strong> Pali, while<br />
her brother, Robert, is an eighth grader <strong>at</strong><br />
Corpus Christi.<br />
Power remains enthusiastic about traveling<br />
overseas. “After I gradu<strong>at</strong>e, I may look<br />
for any sort of scholarship to study abroad<br />
for a year.”<br />
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