Interviewing Alla

On Saturday I had a wonderful oral history experience participating in the interview of a Russian woman, Alla, who is my friend Lena's mother. Our friend Rlene recorded the interview on video, which lasted more than six hours. Alla's life story was spoken in Russian and translated by Lena. At first Alla was a little nervous about the process and insisted her story was unremarkable and not worth all this fuss. But as the story unfolded, she became more relaxed and comfortable with the experience. Rlene and I both enjoyed listening to the story of her life in Russia during World War II, her trip to America during the War, schooling in London, love in Paris, Stalin's impact, work as an immunologist, studying the effects of radiation, the space program and her wisdom, based on her life experiences. A remarkable woman!

This interview reinforced for me the value of oral history and the value of oral historians, as we are genuinely interested in hearing these stories and want to ensure their preservation. Rlene is one of the most passionate oral historians I have met. She listens carefully to her interviewees and probes beneath a superficial level to reveal who they really are.

I learned a lot from witnessing how Rlene conducts her interviews both from the interviewing and the technical process she uses. She has a video recorder with a MP3 player (for transcription) and has a tie-clip microphone attached by cord to the video recorder. The MP3 player is attached by cord to the video.

I very much valued this experience - meeting Alla and learning about her life, spending time with Lena, and watching Rlene conduct this wonderful interview.