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In Around the Bloc, Griest relates her experiences as a volunteer at a children’s shelter in Moscow, a propaganda polisher at the office of the Chinese Communist Party’s English-language mouthpiece in Beijing, and a belly dancer among the rumba queens of Havana. She falls in love with an ex-soldier who narrowly avoided radiation cleanup duties at Chernobyl, hangs out with Cuban hip-hop artists, and comes to difficult realizations about the meaning of democracy.

is the absorbing story of a young journalist driven by a desire to witness the effects of Communism. Along the way, she learns the Russian mathematical equation for buying dinner-party vodka (one bottle per guest, plus an extra), stumbles upon Beijing’s underground gay scene, marches with 100,000 mothers demanding Elián González’s return to Cuba, and gains a new appreciation for the Mexican culture she left behind.]]> 102709 3.68 311 85 2004 4 0 false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 19:00:48 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 19:01:06 -0700 2008
Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a Mexican-American, a high school student when the Soviets lost power, and when the Tiananmen Square Rebellion occurre...more...]]>