My name is Diana. When I was 5 years old my family and I immigrated to the United States from Belarus. We lived in Williamsburg and would sometimes dedicate a whole day to go to the beach on Brighton in the summer. After one year of elementary school in the US, I continued my education back in Belarus until 5th grade. This gave me a strong background in Russian traditions, language, and education. At the age of 10, I came back to the US to continue my education and at that point my parents already moved into an apartment in Brighton Beach, two minutes away from the famous boardwalk, and four minutes away from the water. It indeed felt, and still feels, like mini Russia. It is the only neighborhood where you can find people that lived in the US for over 20 years, and yet still lack basic English skills. It is the neighborhood where you don’t have to adjust to anything, you bring your own ideals and ideas. It is diverse in that there are Russian speakers from all over the world, but it is very secluded in that it is only Russian speakers. I’ve lived on Brighton for almost 10 years already and this project changed my viewpoint on the neighborhood and the people.