Back on the ship this evening: I was trading stories with students. I talked with Vin Hayes, a University of Delaware student; his friend Alex Malvezzi, who attends Quinnipiac University; and Scott, who had caught my eye during dinner (I watched him smear a huge dollop of peanut butter on his Granny Smith apple).
Alex told me that last night he and Vin were at one of the dockside bars. Sometime around 1:30 a.m., he was approached by a Russian man from Moscow who spoke English. Another Russian man nearby, who spoke no English, wanted to arm-wrestle Alex. Would that be okay? Alex hesitated but after a few moments agreed. Then, he saw the Russian man taking off his shirt.
Alex didn’t need a translator to understand the rule. So he proceeded to remove his own shirt. With that, the match began. The Russian man was strong, but Alex finally prevailed. With the Muscovite translating, the Russian man then said he wanted a rematch, this time with the other (left) arm. Alex said okay. He won again. The Russian looked at him and said, “Respect.” Meanwhile, Alex said, some American students watching the match began chanting, “USA! USA!”
Nearby, Vin was oblivious to the drama in which his friend had a starring role. He was too busy watching one of the bridges over the Neva River go up to allow ships to pass. Only when he turned away from the bridge and saw his friend putting his shirt back on did Vin realize something interesting had just happened.