Boy Savors New Home, Willingly Goes From ‘Everything to Nothing’

Anzore Abzakh has given up the rites of passage performed each day by America’s new generation: hanging out in the mall, playing Nintendo and worrying about the latest fads have become distant memories.

“It is hard to go from everything to nothing,” the 12-year-old Orange County native said. “You have everything in America. But I don’t think it is better there. I like it here.”

Here is the sleepy Russian hamlet of Maykop, where a statue of Lenin still proudly stands in the center of town, consumer goods are scarce, and cows amble down the streets alongside pedestrians.

Most West Coast boys on the cusp of adolescence would not adapt to such a stark environment.

But Anzore’s infectious smile and enthusiasm prove he has mastered the challenges of his new home.

“What we have gone through is hard,” Anzore said, in between bites of his dinner of rice and peas. “In the beginning, I’d just sit in my room and wonder.”

His first year was spent studying Russian and living in one of the city’s concrete tenement jungles. His only playmate was his younger brother, Nart, 10, as no one else spoke English.

Now, a year later, the red-haired, freckled boy goes to a Russian school and learns history from a Soviet textbook and wrestling from his pal Sergei. His family moved into a two-story house where Anzore has befriended many of the kids on the block. The newly installed phone rings continuously with girls and boys asking for Anzore.

“I like my life here,” he said. “I have more freedom. I can just get on a bus and go where I want. I can also stay out later.”

Anzore has even become somewhat of a celebrity, making speaking appearances about America in local schools. “I told them about video arcades, and that our parks have lots of grass,” he said. “They couldn’t believe it when I told them about Disneyland and that it is so big that it takes three days to go on all the rides.”

Anzore still possesses a few items that betray his Californian roots: a Sylvester Stallone “Rambo” poster hangs on his bedroom wall across from a trophy for his football acumen. He also wears his black high-top sneakers unlaced at the ankle.

Living in Maykop the past two years has also taught Anzore about his heritage.

“I’m Adygeyan,” he said. “I’m not American. I’m not Russian. I just lived in these places.”

Anzore was referring to his father’s lineage, which descends from the war-torn region of Abkhazia and has strong representation in Maykop.

There is a chance that Anzore will return to California this summer for the first time in two years. But instead of being excited about the visit, he is wary.

“I don’t want to go back,” he said. “Maybe it is the kids. Maybe it is the place. I don’t know. I got used to this place.”