Natalia Gouzieva

Natalia (called Natasha) is the Russian-Italian translator for the trip. I like her a lot because she puts up with my bad Italian, my stumbling through communication and charade hand gestures. She and I are eager to communicate with each other about everything from the weather to the Russian ballet to our houses and families. I tell her about how I want to go to Moscow to see where my father's family came from. She asks me questions about California. I am forever grateful to Natalia for all her help with translation--indeed if she had not been present I would not have been able to communicate with the other Russian women most of the time. Natalia has a big fur coat and when we were in Venice waiting for Costanzo to get the car Natalia saw me shivering and she wrapped me in her coat and held me close to her until it was time to leave. I cannot remember the last time someone was so attentive to my warmth and wellbeing in that way. Natalia's daughter is a model in Milano, so she is also very familiar with the geography of the area, which is especially helpful when Costanzo and the car's computer automated map system have a falling out... ;-)