By Matt Hackworth
KANSAS CITY – Last year, around 30 U-S Peace Corps members were expelled from Russia. That country's government accused the American volunteers spying. The group's expulsion turned into a diplomatic fracas between Washington and Moscow, and Kansas Citian Alex Wendel was caught in the tension. Wendel taught English on the Eastern Russian island of Sakhalin (Sack-hal-eeen). Wendel told K-C-U-R's Matt Hackworth he knew there were problems when he was stranded in China, waiting for the Russian government to renew his visa.