{"product_id":"around-the-bloc-my-life-in-moscow-beijing-and-havana","title":"Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana","description":"Desperate to escape South Texas, Stephanie Elizondo Griest dreamed of becoming a foreign correspondent. So she headed to Russia looking for some excitement—commencing what would become a four-year, twelve-nation Communist bloc tour that shattered her preconceived notions of the “Evil Empire.” 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. 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.","brand":"Thryft Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Like New","offer_id":50687792152857,"sku":"PN4874.G747.A3 2004","price":10.9,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":50687792185625,"sku":"PN4874.G747.A3 2004","price":9.9,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Good","offer_id":50687792218393,"sku":"PN4874.G747.A3 2004","price":8.9,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Well Read","offer_id":50687792251161,"sku":"PN4874.G747.A3 2004","price":7.9,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/0598\/4849\/files\/175997.jpg?v=1745070789","url":"https:\/\/thryft.sbs\/products\/around-the-bloc-my-life-in-moscow-beijing-and-havana","provider":"Thryft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}