The post card arrived, from the Siberian Gulag, two days ago. On the front of it was a picture of several men chopping down trees in the snow. The backside read: “Hello from the Gulag! The past week has been an interesting and cold one at this camp. The activities here are rather physically grueling but I don’t mind. In this one game, we chop down trees and carry it to a cart that another group brings to a station for some other game. We also play a game that involves digging holes in the frozen ground. I’m not very good at the activities but, the counselors – which look more like prison guards – keep shouting words of encouragement. The people here are very kind. They call me, “жирная свинья*” and “раздражает корова**.” I think that these
