– Tell us about yourself. Where did you live before moving to Austin and what did you do?
Before I moved to Austin, I lived in Belarus, in Minsk, for two and a half years and before that I lived in Moscow my whole life. I worked at a school: I was the Vice Principal for Social Protection, I organized a Guardianship Board from scratch, and did many other things.
– Why did you move to Austin?
Looks like my fate brought me to Austin, because for many years our family dream was to move to America. We didn’t think about where we wanted to move exactly, but we really wanted it to be warm and sunny. We knew that America was a country of great opportunities, of course, but in order to access these opportunities one has to work hard. Our dream came true about a year and a half ago, when my husband received a job offer in America. We did the paperwork, bought our tickets, packed our bags, got rid of our stuff, and here we are!
– Tell us about your work and projects
In my experience, my biggest project was to organize the school Guardianship Board. I had to study a lot of laws and regulations. I had to reach out to many parents, teachers, school administrators, high school students, and try to reach a compromise on many issues. I can proudly say that I succeeded in doing so and all the parties involved were happy. At that time, I was already starting to like photography and at all school events, concerts, performances and even important meetings, my role was that of an organizer and photographer. I went to St. Petersburg School of Photography, and later, in Belarus, I took the same class again to keep my daughter company.
– What do you like most about your job?
Most of all I like meeting new people. I am very sociable. A flexible work schedule also plays an important role. Although I often have to work on weekends, it’s not a problem. A photo shoot does not end when I’m done taking pictures. There is the subsequent equally interesting step of selection and editing. I’m always eager to see the result as soon as possible and send the finished pictures to the client.
– Have there been any interesting situations?
Every time something interesting happens, because all people and their stories are different. For example, I used to work for Mary Kay, and I had the opportunity to attend free workshops from professional makeup artists.
– Which of your projects are the most memorable, why?
One of the big projects was taking pictures of children in kindergartens. That was an emotional roller coaster! During one photo shoot I needed to take pictures of one or several groups: individual and group photos. It is very hard to work with children – not babies who you need to lay down beautifully, but with children, whose mood changes from one minute to another, it is very difficult, but exciting. I talked to each child, and they told me about everything in the world, shared their biggest secrets, and the result of the photo shoot was impressive. That the experience of working at a school was very useful: the ability to connect with people of different ages and find a common language with everyone.
– What do you like most about Austin?
If I say the people, it would only be a half truth. I like almost everything here. The weather: yes, it is very hot here in summer, but I enjoy it. Nature: it is worth mentioning that it is quite hostile here: here and there is a dangerous plant, fire ants, snakes and spiders, but what beautiful parks and views of the Colorado River and Travis Lake!
– Tell us about your family
By American standards I have a very small family. There are just three of us here in Texas – my husband, my daughter and I. My husband is a programmer, my daughter is a high school student. Well, we also have two cats, who are like family members. Our cats are of two nationalities: from Moscow and Belarus. Both are outbred, beautiful, intelligent in their own way. My mother, sister and son are still in Moscow. My son is a student at Moscow University. The school is hard, especially because of the quarantine and distance learning. It is difficult for my son to sign up for classes on his own and to carry the burden of responsibilities without relying on someone else. It used to be that professors and school administrators decided what to teach and what the schedule was, so for many Russian students online learning has become an incredibly difficult task. My mom is retired, and my sister works for an ophthalmological company.
– How do you participate in the life of the Russian-speaking community?
During the summer of 2020, I did free photo shoots for all Russian-speaking residents of Austin and the surrounding towns: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, etc. I met new people, showed them my skills. Thanks to my new friends, I found out about the Russian school Sputnik, a Christian group, and about the life of the Russian-speaking community in general. In the fall, I started collaborating with the Russian Speaking Jobseekers of Austin group. The members of this group got special terms for free headshots for their portfolio and LinkedIn pages, but since January I would like to start charging people money because this is not just a couple of photos, but a mini photo shoot with a change of clothes and post editing. Fortunately, Russian school Sputnik invited me to be their official photographer for children’s New Year’s holidays. All the parents could (and still can) access the photo.
– Does Austin need a Russian Cultural Center?
Absolutely. It is particularly important for children and those who have been living away from home for a long time. After moving to America people start forgetting their native language very quickly, and the Russian community is a great way to instill love for their native language and culture. In addition, the Center has amazing teachers. As a family, we try to attend every business class and we’ve learned a lot of useful and important things about living in America. I really hope to join the adult ESL class in the nearest future.
– Are you keeping in touch with your home country?
To my surprise, I feel closer to my home country than I ever did when I lived there. I get in touch with my family much more often. Yes, the only thing we can do is Skype and see each other on the computer screen, but it’s still better than not talking for months and not being able to visit. I have not yet had time to miss anything apart from my family though.
– Tell us about your hobbies
Besides photography, I have a website about our family travels Rusnomad.com. I write about our trips and how to handle unexpected situations in foreign countries. I even wrote several posts about our moving to America: how we and our cats handled the travel, how we chose our home, school, etc.
– What would you like to wish to the Russian-speaking Austin?
To grow and prosper, for one. I want to wish everyone to turn their dream into reality and always remember that nothing is impossible.
Contact information:
Olga Likhacheva
Tel: 512 521-15-17
E-mail: olga.likhacheva@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhotographerRusOlechka
Interviewed by: Dmitri Ovcharenko
Edited by: Olga Adler
Published by: Russian Cultural Center