My Guide to Russia
Index and Guide
Check here for specific information. If you don't find what you're looking for, check out the links!
  • ACTR (my exchange program)
  • Bargaining/buying
  • Bread
  • Buses
  • Clothing
  • Driving
  • Drinks
  • Food
  • Fun
  • Furniture
  • Hitch-hiking
  • Hotels
  • Hospitality
  • Housing
  • Jokes
  • Language
  • Laundry
  • Links to other Russia-related sites
  • Meat
  • Metro/Subway
  • Money
  • Moscow
  • Packing
  • Potatos
  • Produce
  • School
  • Showers
  • Soup
  • Toilets
  • Tradition
  • Traditional Foods
  • Train
  • Transportation
  • Walking places


    I would love to hear about your personal experiences, as well as any comments, suggestions, compliments, etc. E-Mail me!
  • This page is dedicated to all my friends in Russia, especially the Germanova family (Lyova, Tanya, Andre, and Masha) who were very hospitable and showed me a great time, Vera and Fyodor Rauten for also helping me to have a great time, Dennis for videotaping so much of my trip, school #34 for accomodating us so well, and my teacher for getting everything organized and helping me get back my plane ticket when it was lost.
    All the informational text will be over here. Use the index to the left to navigate for specific information, or just skim through. At the end is the essay I wrote for Russian class. Most of this is pretty informal, and filled with stereotypes and personal experiences, and it would probably be pretty good information if you're thinking of traveling to Russia, although it's from back in 1998. I feel bad about the stereotypes. No harm is meant anywhere, and they are just things that I've found are generally true and, I must admit, amusing.

    Index

    The Info:

    ACTR:

    This exchange was made possible by ACTR: the American Council of Teachers of Russian. I went on the 3 1/2 week exchange, and in return, all I had to do was host the Russian student I would be staying with! And write a couple little essays. It was a very well-run organization, and I appreciate all they've done for so many Russian students! A huge thank-you to them!


    Food:

    One of the first things I'm asked when I tell about my experience is "How was the food?" Well, to be honest, it wasn't all that bad! There were some things I liked really well, and others that I really didn't like. It's definitely not hoity-toity French food, but in general it was good. I actually miss it, and would love to sit down to a nice Russian meal again. It grows on you, as does everything else in Russia. There was always something I liked at every meal, and there seemed to be so many meals that I never had trouble getting plenty to eat. Breakfast is usually something like kasha (explained below), fruit, bread, potatos, and/or tea, or the remnants of the last night's supper. Lunch and dinner are soup, salad, some sort of bread, and meat, with dinner often being the largest meal of the day. Also there can be a snack between lunch and dinner, and a snack after dinner. These snacks can be compared to a small meal. I've listed a few of the main food below, and my reactions to them.
    ***Bread: The bread is always baked fresh, although it's often left out on the table until it's gone, and it's generally very good. Better than American, but not as good as French.
    ***Potatos: They do some awesome things with potatos! Fried or scalloped potatos are the greatest! But usually there are mashed potatos, which are less stiff and less flavorful than American mashed potatos. But still good.
    ***Meat: Don't be afraid of the meat. It's usually decent, if not better. They seem to have about three kinds of meat: fish, chicken, and meat. I only had a little fish, and it was actually pretty good, though I don't generally like fish. There was caviar, too. Usually I don't really like caviar, but in Russia I actually managed to eat some until I actually felt one squish between my teeth and juice squeeze out. Then I couldn't eat any more. The chicken is pretty good, but cooked a little differently. Other meat, like sausage or beef is okay, if you like meat. I don't, really.
    ***Produce (fruits/vegetables):I thought most of the fruits and vegetables were really good. I found myself enjoying some that I never would have liked much at home, like cucumbers and tomatos. I also ate a lot of oranges and lemons, and those were no different from American fruit. The apples have a really good flavor, but don't look as nice as they do in America. One thing that is weird is that they put bananas in the refrigerator, and before they eat one they'll wash it! They don't use their refrigerators as much as people do in America; mainly for meat, bananas, and cucumbers.
    ***Soup: Soup is served at almost every meal, and a lot of times it's pretty good. Except for the time when we caught the lunchroom ladies "recycling" our soup by pouring what we didn't eat back into the pot and then refreshing it, and serving it again the next day. But there are many different varieties, and Russian thrive on it.
    ***Traditional foods: Blini are awesome! They're thin pancakes served with jam, butter, meat, or sometimes potatos. Piroshki are also really good, which are dough wrapped around meat, potatos, or fruit and then deep fried. Pelmini, little meat dumplings, are served at almost every special occasion. One time I had them for three meals in a row; breakfast, lunch, and dinner! They're pretty good, but you're expected to eat a lot of them and they get old. There's also this stuff called "kasha." It's stuff like cream of wheat, oatmeal, little brown things that look like fish eyes (my personal favorite), etc. Some kasha is kinda gross, and some is only gross in large amounts. They have it for breakfast a lot. They also have a lot of good traditional breads and sweets and I really enjoyed trying much of the food.
    ***Drinks: Tea. Vodka. The big drinks of Russia. I don't like either (actually I haven't tried vodka, but it smelled gross). So I drank juice, and usually the same kind of juice every time I was at home. It's called kompote, and it's really good. It's stewed fruit, and it sometimes has berries floating in it. I'd recommend it to anyone. Sometimes I also drank American pop. They have milk, but it's usually around 3.5%, and it is nasty! A guy in my group chugged a liter, on a bet, and he threw up because it was so bad. Water was a luxery, though you can find it bottled almost always carbonated and usually mineral, and never cold). I didn't have water for about two weeks, and that was hard. Especially when trying to swallow a pill or brush my teeth. But I got used to it! They rarely serve cold drinks, and you never get ice. If you ask for it they look at you funny. Their drinks are rarely kept in the refrigerator, so that was strange to me.
    ***Other stuff you should know about food: Russian food is chock full of fat, but that helps it to taste good. I found that there was always something that I liked at every meal, and the rest of the stuff I learned to like, or ate it anyway. Russian people love to make sure their guests eat a lot, so I always had plenty to eat. It even became a host-family joke to see how much they could stuff me with! So even though the food is strange, all it takes is a little getting used to and then it's very enjoyable!

    Index


    Clothing:

    One thing I noticed was that outside on the streets in the winter time, which was when I was there, Russians looked pretty much the same. Coats were usually black leather for the guys, and long, dark, heavy cloth, leather, or sometimes fur for women. You NEVER see a Russian without a hat in the winter. Hats for guys are large fur "shopkas" or golf caps. For women there are also shopkas or, especially for younger women, berets. Masha, my host sister, had three berets, one which I wore all the time because I forgot my hat at home. Also most people wear scarves, and sometimes gloves or mittens. Footwear was usually black or brown leather boots. Sometimes women try to wear dressier shoes, but it's usually easier to just carry nice shoes so they don't get dirty in all the snow and ice. Short skirts or nice pants are common among teenage girls, but rarely jeans unless they're skin tight. Guys basically wear black pants or jeans, or Adidas sweatpants around the house or docha. Older women wear long skirts. Most of the variety of the clothing is in shirts, which are very interesting and pretty.

    In the summertime I'm told it gets really warm, but I don't know what people wear then since I've only been there in the winter.

    No matter when you go to Russia, you should pack light. Russians tend to wear the same clothes over and over so you shouldn't feel out of place if you only have a couple outfits, and big suitcases are a pain to carry around, literally.

    Index


    School:

    As part of the exchange I was expected to go to school every day. The teachers were wonderfully accomodating to us, and prepared special lessons for the seven school days when the regular students were on Spring Break. They also provided interpreters, lunch, and special activities.

    Russian school is a bit like college in America. They don't have the same classes every day, and while sometimes they only have a couple classes a day, other days they are in school for most of the day! People also take homework more seriously, but it's not a big problem if you're late to class. Students in general are smarter in most academic areas than Americans, but they don't have extra-curricular activities like sports, theater, and music. Also we noticed that the curriculum is stricter, and less open to change. They are graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. And Russians all have the same handwriting! They often get ten or fifteen minutes between classes, and that was nice for us because we could walk down to the "secret kiosk" to buy food and pop.

    The school building itself was pretty neat to look at. It was three stories, and a bit confusing at first. Some of the rooms were pretty ornate, with fancy ceiling, curtains, and furniture. They didn't have as much special equipment as we do in America, but the teachers were really good and actually intelligent. There is also a nice lobby in front, with couches and fish tanks.

    Language and Communication:

    Communication shouldn't be much of a problem in Russia, unless you're going to a hick village. In Moscow many people speak English and often there are signs in Russian and English. The street vendors on the Arbat ("I hev special deal, just for you!") even know enough English to get their products sold, and will often insist on speaking English with you. I liked it better when they respected me enough to use Russian, though. Anyway, if you know any Russian you should try to use it. Not only does it flatter the Russians but also it makes you more respected and you have a better time. I wish I would have used more when I went, but most of the people I hung out with knew English better than I knew Russian, so for communication purposes we used English. I did, however, find that my comprehension in listening improved greatly, and I picked up a lot of new words. Also I have more confidence in my speaking. Never travel without a dictionary, though, and try to have some good, solid previous knowledge of Russian before you go. Things are more fun that way.

    Index


    Hospitality:

    Russians are probably the most hospitable people on earth. Somehow they manage to find out exactly what you want, and then will go to any cost to try to get it for you. It really made my stay nice, to have so many people watching out for me and caring for me. Sometimes it got stifling, when they bundled me up so I was sweating in my clothes before going out into the harsh Siberian winter, or when packing me a ton of food for the train, but usually it was comforting, especially since it was my first time to really live in a foreign country. If you go over to a person's house you will probably eat first thing, and it will be the best they have to offer. That's just one example, though. Another example is that when you go visit someone and you stay too late, and the buses stop running, you will either be openly invited to stay, or will be provided with an escort home. Russians don't seem to think of guests as simply guests, while you're in their home you are either a part of the family, or royalty, whichever fits the occasion. It's a great feeling.

    Index


    Housing:

    Most Russians, especially in cities, live in apartment buildings, and often without elevators. And if there are elevators, they are usually either very small, broken, or both. But Russians have a remarkable way of cramming themselves into tight spaces. If you don't believe me, ride a bus at rush hour. I lived on the fifth and top floor of an apartment building. Every time I came home, no matter how tired or weighed-down I was, I would climb up 95 uneven steps to my host family's apartment. For a couple days I also had to dodge some drunken bum on my way up. That was pretty thrilling for a naive girl like me. The apartment was a lot nicer than I expected, and big, too. And incredibly clean! My room was the living room, which was in easy hearing distance from the train. When I first heard the train I thought I was lying down on the floor of a grocery store while someone pushed a grocery-cart chain by me, only it was a lot louder. The train came quite often, though, and once I figured out that it wasn't going to come and eat me I got used to it. The kitchen had a very small refrigerator, which seemed to be mainly used for bananas and cucumbers. There was also a little table, with countless little stools, a little washing machine, and a little television. And a little balcony, which is always used for storage and laundry. There were two tiny bedrooms and one bigger bedroom. Russians sleep on these neat little couches that you change into a bed every night. They're comfortable enough for me, but I'm not picky. As couches, they take getting used to, especially since sitting comfortably on them is a challenge. They are so wide that if you want to lean back your feet will dangle, but if you sit with your feet on the floor you have to sit up straight without back support. I don't know how Russians managed it, but they could do both. I usually either shifted positions a lot, or sat with my feet on the couch cross-legged or off the the side. I think that might have been considered a little rude, but I wasn't sure, and I got so all I wanted was to be comfortable.

    The bathroom is an interesting situation. The toilet is in its own little room. Public toilets, when they exist, are sometimes quite terrible, and they often cost money and don't have toilet paper. Bring your own. Little tissue packets work well. Although I never used a squatter, I often squatted on the toilet. Also, the toilet structure is different, and sometimes they don't flush well. But you'll have to discover the joys of that on your own. Never in Russia did I take a shower with a shower curtain. That was a challenge, and often my clothes laying on the floor would get wet. But all of the shower heads are detachable, so the problem can be overcome. Also, I was never surprised to see laundry floating in the tub. Laundry is a problem in Russia. Their washers are miniscule and dryers are uncommon. Things don't get washed all that often.

    The apartments are small, and so often siblings will share a room, and the parents will sleep in the living room. One thing I thought was strange was that even if Russians have a key, they will often knock and wait at the door for someone to answer it for them. And then they unfailingly take off their shoes. Never wear shoes in a Russian abode! I had a pair of topachky, slippers, that I always wore around the house, but socks are okay too.

    Index


    Transportation:

    In most Russian cities, the main methods of transportation are buses. There are many, but it's still hard to get around. Usually whenever I wanted to go anywhere, I would take a 10-15 minute walk to the bus stop, get on a bus and ride for usually no less than 15-20 minutes, and then walk another 5-10 minutes to my destination. That's a lot of time! It doesn't cost much, though, only two rubles old money (about 30 cents). Trolley buses are about the same, though not as common. The four guys who were there for a semester thought up an interesting game called "Bus Tag." They'd each get on a different bus, getting on and off periodically, and then try to find each other. Sounds like fun! I also walked a lot. It's the best way to see a city, and can be as quick as taking the bus. The streets aren't always the best, though, in the winter. There are at least six inches of ice on the sidewalks, covered by a thin layer of dirt. I fell twice, and other Americans fell often, too, including my teacher. We'd take pictures, and then help each other up. I only saw one Russian fall, and I felt bad when I started giggling. There is also a lot of "yellow snow," due to the numerous stray dogs. The metro system is very good in Moscow, and not too hard to understand. They are beautiful, too, the cleanest and nicest in the world, as I've heard from a world traveller. They only cost two rubles. You get a token, put it in the thing (if you walk though without putting in a token a different thing hits you in the knees hard enough to hurt), and then go to a long, super-fast, steep escalator. At first I was scared of them, but now I think American escalators are incredibly tame and boring. I think my favorite way to get around, just because it's so unacceptable and rare in America, was "taking a taxi." Although we went by "taxi" several times in Tyumen', I don't remember actually riding in one. What they called "taking a taxi" was actually hitch-hiking! It's safe, they say, as long as you're not alone with more people who you don't know than just the driver. It's easy, too. If it takes more than two minutes to catch a taxi, something must be wrong with you. It's expensive, though. the standard fare, for anywhere in Tyumen', was ten rubles, or $1.60.

    Russian driving is to be admired. I noticed three lanes. Two regular lanes and a passing lane in the middle. We came really close to some head-on collisions, but Russians are good at avoiding accidents. Their cars get incredibly close together, though, and that's scary.

    Index


    The Train:

    One of the most interesting parts of my trip was travelling on the Trans-Siberian railroad. We spent about 34 hours on the train from Tyumen' to Moscow, and it was really pretty nice. Everything was laid-back and relaxed, which was wonderful since I had only gotten about an average of four or five hours of sleep a night for the past week. That's incredibly hard when you're in a foreign country.
    Everybody has a bunk, and there are four bunks to a little room. It's very crowded. Fortunately since I was travelling in a big group I knew everyone who I shared a room with. There's about one bathroom (toilet, sink, and drain) for every 40 people. And you can't use it in the city because they lock the doors, to keep the tracks clean. There was also a dining car, but I only visited there once. My host family made me stock up on food before I left, and so did everybody else's. Our car had a table full of food, and the traditional bag of boulachki (little bread things.) All together we had a couple loaves of bread, four cans of Fanta, some great banana cookies, a bag of yummy shortbread-ish cookies, sliced cheese, mustard, Snickers (which are better than American Snickers), Nutri-Grain bars, Regular, Cheese, and Paprika (the best!) Pringles, all of which are better in Russia, cucumbers, bananas, oranges, apples, orange juice, two kinds of sliced meat, granola bars, and some apple juce that was more like apple puree or watered-down apple sauce, but pretty darn good anyway. I had a huge jar of it, and though it got old, I enjoyed it. Don't ask me how I remember all that food. I guess it's because I spent a day staring at it. Also they had a water faucet, so I filled an old Fanta bottle with the first water I'd had in 2 1/2 weeks! Anyway, we were creative and made sandwiches with bread, cheese, meat, mustard, and cucumber, all with my little Swiss-Army knife. They were really great, surprisingly. Then we stored things in the "fridge," the space by the window.
    The halls were small, but had little seats you could pull down, and big windows. The view was always gorgeous. The countryside was snowy and forested with white birch, and sometimes we'd go by a quaint little village. When I woke up the first morning we were going through the Urals, from Asia to Europe. The weren't high, but they were very scenic. We had a window in our room, and I spent hours staring out of it.
    We were on the train for two nights, a day, and a morning. It was a great place to sleep. Though it got a little warm, the motion and noise lure you to sleep quite easily, and calm you down. I even took a nap in mid-afternoon, something that I haven't done since before kindergarten. You have to pay a little extra for sheets, but it's no big deal. The first night we all went to sleep fairly soon. The day got long, but it was kinda fun. We'd just hang out and talk, listen to music, etc. We listened to the "Titanic" song about a total of 18 times, in only two sittings. Every once in a while a crazy, or drunk Russian would come in to our room. That was weird, and sometimes scary. I basically stayed in my same little corner for the whole trip. If I was alone I'd read, write, listen to music, or look out the window. If someone came in I'd offer them food like a true Russian and then talk. It was really nice. The second night everyone was basically doing one of three things: getting drunk, taking care of drunkards, or having an interesting conversation in the non-drinking room. That was my room, and it was great. I had an hour-long religious discussion with an atheist and two jocks. It doesn't get stranger than that! The next morning was kind of annoying. We were bored, stiff, sick of the train, excited to get to Moscow, hot, and dirty. Overall, it was a great experience. Probably the weirdest thing I've done in my life.

    Index


    Hotels:

    Hotels can range from horrible to pretty good. In Tyumen' there was an American hotel, which I walked by and heard had incredible food and accomodations. I think it was a Quality Inn. The one we stayed in in Moscow was really nice, I thought, especially compared to what I was told happened last year. Last year, they had roaches and cold water. But in the hotel we stayed at I never saw a roach. There was a television and radio, warm water, a little refrigerator which was wonderful to have, a couple nice chairs, a table comfortable beds, and an ashtray that all the smokers wanted in their rooms. The elevators worked, and we were served breakfast every morning. Some people liked it, but I usually didn't. One thing that was really weird was the personal relationship that our maid developed with us. It was kinda nice, but she was kinda freaky. There are about one or two maids to each floor, and ours was the most outgoing. They would get you tea if you wanted it, and did a wonderful job of cleaning the rooms. They actually organize your stuff for you! But we lost our key, and that got pretty intense. There's only one key to each room. You're supposed to leave it at the desk every day so they can get in to clean. She completely searched us and our room, frantically. When we left for the day she searched our room all over, and pounced on us when we got back. She was really concerned for us, not mad. Fortunately it was found in my roommate's pocket. More hotel stories later... (particularly, "the kiwi incident")

    Index


    Money:

    Currently, the currency in Russia is Rubles and Kopeks. However, it's not that simple. With the beginning of this year came the difference between "old" money and "new" money. "Old" money is in thousands of Rubles, while "new" money is in single Rubles. So you get bills that say, for instance, 5,000 Rubles or 5 Rubles, and they equal the same amount. So price tags say both prices, "old" and "new" and will until everyone has conformed to the new system. Also people still talk in thousands of Rubles, and that's a bit strange. There are 100 Kopeks in a Ruble. And there were about 6 Rubles in a dollar. So prices aren't too hard to figure out. I became an expert at that, as well as time zones.

    The average salary in Russia is very low, and things can be really expensive. Usually both parents work, and often extended family share an apartment or house. So they get by, but barely. They are amazing at stretching a Ruble as far as possible, and you would never think they had money problems if you sit down at the table as a guest. Also, there isn't much of a middle class in Russia. You're either pretty poor or filthy rich. The rich people have American cars and the nicest clothes and apartments. I met a couple rich people, and they were nice, of course, but were more "Americanized" than the poorer people.

    Index


    Moscow:

    Moscow is the most visited place in Russia, and it's a pretty cool city. The problem is, though, that there's a lot of stuff to see, but not a lot of stuff to do. Usually all we did was walk around outside, for all four days we spent in the city. It was really cold, and our feet hurt terribly, but we saw some really neat things!
    Of course, when people think of Russia, one of the things they think of is Saint Basil's Cathedral, the beautiful church with all the colored onion domes. It was wonderful to step into Red Square and see a gorgeous church in the distance. It's touched up in pictures though, in person it looks more run down. But altogether I wasn't incredibly impressed with Red Square. Maybe I would have been more so if I wasn't so insanely cold and tired, and if I would have been able to relax and soak up the atmosphere. As you're facing the Cathedral, on the right is Lenin's Mausoleum. I really wanted to see it, but I couldn't due to complications with my plane ticket home. There's also a big clock. On the left is a huge mall called Goom. We spent awhile in there, and it was neat, but expensive. I didn't buy much except for food, and that cost an arm and a leg. It's gorgeous, though. Behind you is a big arched gateway built into some building. I'm not sure what the building was, though. Maybe a museum. Red Square is a neat place, but I liked other places in Moscow better.
    The Kremlin is near Red Square and that was interesting to see. It's just a bunch of big yellow buildings surrounded by guards. I don't think you're supposed to walk on the street there. A guard would always whistle at us if we did. But there was a big sidewalk, so that was okay. Also near Red Square is Cathedral Square, which has some gorgeous churches, some of which are really old. The Bolshoi Theater is also in the area, right by a statue of Marx.
    We also saw the Novidevichy Monastary (New Maiden's Monastary.) Princess Sofia lived there in her "prison for a princess "for a while, and we heard all about her. It was a beautiful place but, once again, we were freezing and our feet hurt. Near the monastary is a really neat cemetary. There are a lot of famous Russians buried there, and you have to pay a few rubles to get in. It's worth it though. Everything is very scenic. I saw the graves of Prokofiev (a composer), Rimsky-Korsakov (a pianist) and Chekov, (a playwrite and short story writer). Russian graves are weird. Many of them have pictures of the deceased on them, and little gates around them. Also one time I saw a dead fish adorning a grave and thought that was kinda freaky. I think it has to do with belief in an afterlife, or tradition, but I'm not sure.
    The best place in Moscow, or in the world as far as I'm concerned, is the Arbat. It's a long, wide street where cars aren't supposed to drive (though sometimes they do anyway), which is lined with old buildings and stores. It seems to be geared towards tourists, but I've heard that Russians love it too. There are all sorts of little kiosks which sell matroshkas (nesting dolls), laquer boxes, chess sets, T-shirts, and other souveniers. There are also musicians of every kind, and artists who come up to you, flatter you, draw your portrait, and try to rip you off for them. On my first day there I was told I was a Mona Lisa, and I got a decent picture drawn. I bought it for 40 rubles (marked down from about 400, he said!), which was actually a pretty good price. But after that I learned to avoid starving artists. Two of my friends, on separate occasions, also had their portraits drawn by the same guy, but they didn't resemble them as much, and they each paid 50 rubles. Some of the portraits are really nice, and in color, and those sell for a lot of money. But inexpensive ones are cool too. To learn more about bargaining, and buying in general, click here. We spent a lot of time on the Arbat. We went there after we checked in to our hotel, and spent about three hours there. A lot of that time was spent at the McDonalds. All of the McDonalds are huge! And really nice! If you work there you get health benefits, and it's a really good job. The food is good, too, but ketchup costs extra. And the restrooms, which at first I thought were nasty when we were in Moscow for a few hours before catching our flight to Tyumen', were some of the best public restrooms I saw over there.

    Index


    Buying and Bargaining:

    Buying stuff is a challenge in Russia. It's fun, but not something I'd want to live with. Often you'll have to go to several different stores just to buy supper, and you can never be sure of getting what you want. There are little kiosks scattered all over towns, with all sorts of breads, juices, vodka, boxed goods, flowers, etc., but there's not always a wide selection and it's hard to find what you need. In many stores there's a certain system you have to go through to buy things. Everything is kept behind a counter, and you have to ask to see it. You look at it, and if you want to buy it the woman behing the counter gives you a little ticket for it. You take the ticket to a different little counter where you pay. Then your ticket is ripped or marked, and you go back and claim your purchase, which you may or may not get a bag for. The system does a really good job of preventing shoplifting, but it gets kind of annoying.

    Bargaining is a different matter. We bargained a lot on the Arbat, but you should never try to haggle at a store or kiosk. At first I was scared to bargain, and I got really confused. Eventually I got more aggressive, and made some awesome deals. I think I even ripped one of the bargainers off one time! I had a lot of fun doing that. It doesn't take much experience to figure out how to get the best deals (start low), but one thing that took me longer to figure out was that it's best to pick out several things that you want from one little stand, and you can get better deals. And don't get too attached to anything. Walk away if the price gets too high, and they'll do anything to get you back. If they don't, you know you already had a good price. Good luck, and have fun!

    Index


    Mafia, and the Kiwi Incident:

    Try not to get involved with the Mafia. They aren't all over the place, but you do see them. They're the ones with the big fancy cars and a lot of nice stuff. We had an interesting run-in with them, so settle back for a great story:

    "The Kiwi Incident"

    We lived for a few nights in a nice hotel in Moscow that used to be a dorm for the University. It was pretty nice. Every night, after a long day of walking and sight-seeing we were on our own for supper. We'd go around to the little kiosks, hope they hadn't closed yet, and buy things like bread, juice, Dan-Cake, pop, candy, and friut, if we could find it. Fortunately we had refrigerators in our rooms, so we could store stuff. We'd have some interesting dinner parties, and share what food we had, and just hang out in the evenings. One guy really liked kiwis, so he bought a little box of them. They were horrible, though, so he couldn't eat them. One of us, I don't remember who, thought up the bright idea to throw them at cars from a hotel window. They did that for one or two nights, no problems. On the third night I was in the hotel room with the main perpetrators, trying to get their roommate to fall asleep so that they could play practical jokes on him. He was annoying, and he never woke up, so it was fun. I never actually saw it happen, I just heard about it. Anyway, The first kiwi they pitched hit a car, and the guy got out, looked around, called some friends, and went into the club next door. Ten minutes later, someone (I'm not mentioning names, but it wasn't me) threw another one. This one hit a really nice car, and the owner was pretty mad. He went into the hotel lobby, and we didn't see him for quite a while. So we decided to wait for quite a long time before throwing another one. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. The guy who knows Russian like the back of his hand opened it, but didn't let anyone in, so I never saw who was there. Later I was told it was a security guy and--you guessed it-- a Mafia dude (the car owner)! Bad times. They asked, in Russian, if the windows were open. Fortunately we had closed them, so we said no. There were some other questions too, and then they left, telling us they'd send us to jail if we threw anything else. Later our teacher came to the door with the security guard, and we told him that we had been throwing stuff. It was kinda funny, though, because our teacher was trying to tell us that the guy was a Mafia dude, but without saying the word. Later he came back and explained to us that if that security guard hadn't been there we would probably have been beaten up.

    The moral of the story? Don't mess with the Mafia. But also you won't get in trouble with them if you mind your own business and don't throw kiwis at parked cars.

    Index


    Tradition:

    Russians thrive on tradition. I was reminded of that several times a day. There are traditional stories, art, foods, clothes, decorations, customs, and many other things. The traditional color is red, and it used to be that the words for "red" and "beautiful" were the same. Although that changed over the years, they are still very similar. Red is used in much of their decorations, as well as several patterns I learned about but forgot the names for. Often something will be done that you don't understand the reason for. If you ask about it the answer will likely be "it's tradition." Your question is then fully answered and any attempt to get much further explanation is futile. Sometimes I wish I had that excuse in America.

    I think tradition is a good thing, though. It draws the country together and makes them patriotic and loyal, something that doesn't often happen in America but probably should. I enjoyed looking for common themes in the art and decoration, and thought it was really neat to attend cultural events dealing with tradition. And I liked the idea of certain things becoming almost immortal, and being passed down through many generations. In America people come from hundreds of different backgrounds so common threads are easily lost and people are often separated if they do have certain customs within their culture. I think Russin tradition sometimes keeps them going and gives them something to be proud of in their heritage. Maybe America needs to do a better job of that.

    Index


    How to have fun:

    Russians know how to have fun. Even without vodka. I was fortunate to get a host family that rarely drank and were proud of it. That was so nice! And they had friends who didn't drink or smoke much, so we had a grand ol' time. I even had a long conversation with my host brother about why he doesn't do stuff like that. That was one of my favorite conversations.

    Anyway, there are several essentials to first, not going crazy, and second, having a good time. You have to be flexible, you have to bond, and you have to forget America, or wherever you're from. Become one with Russia. Then you can have awesome experiences. I wrote about flexibility in my essay, and also about bonding and forgetting America. Read about them there. I can't really describe in words what Russian people meant to me. You just have to experience it.

    One thing I didn't really touch on in my essay that I should have is taking new opportunities as they come. If you go to Russia, and especially if you will probably only go once, try everything you can. Experience is the joy of Russia. I can proudly say that I tried every food set before me or dumped on my plate by my host brother, and I'm glad I did. I discovered that some gross-looking foods were actually pretty good, some things I didn't like in America (tomatos, fish, caviar, etc.) weren't actually too bad, and that some things are pretty gross, but at least I can say I tried them. But it's not only food. Even if something seems strange you should do it, as long as it's not against your morals or anything. Even if you've been living on 5 hours of sleep a night for a week. Even if you think you'll look stupid. Make the most out of your trip, you probably won't get these opportunities again. And I can say honestly that when I did try something I was really glad I did, and when I didn't I really regretted it.

    Index


    What Russians do for fun:

    Russians really like to be with other people, and that's one thing I liked a lot. Often during the evenings a friend or two would stop by, or we'd "go to guest." Those were the best times. We'd do all sorts of fun things. We played computer games for hours, pool for hours, and guitar for hours (which was wonderful because I love acoustic guitar). We also ate a lot, sat around and talked, played games, and told Russian jokes. Russian humor is pathetic, or at least the way I understood it:

    Three drunks are in a car wreck, and are all sitting in the back seat when the police arrive. The policeman came up to them and said "okay, who was driving?" The drunkards replied "none of us was driving." So the policeman asked again and got the same response. The third time he asked they said "none of us was driving, we were all just sitting in the back drinking coffee!"
    And that's it. Get it? I still don't. They have good senses of humor, but jokes aren't their strongest points. Also Russians like to walk around town a lot. I didn't do that as much as the other Americans did. They just walk and talk and spit sunflower seeds. Most Russians always have a pocket full of seeds. I got sent home with a pocketfull of cedar nuts.
    My final advice? When in Russia, do as Russians do!

    Index


    This is the essay

    I wrote for Russian class, as a follow-up assignment. I spent a lot of time on it, about twice as much as I would for any other assignment, and my Russian teacher said that it reminded him of how he felt when he first got back from his first trip to Russia. Then he tried to start a class discussion on it, but that didn't work. At any rate, I like it.

    My Russian Experience
    by Mary Hanks

    During my exchange student experience I collected many impressions of Russia, the culture, and the people in general. Although I might not be in complete agreement with other people who have had similar experiences, my impressions are of Russia as I saw it through my own eyes, from when I first started learning about Russia to when I left the country.

    I think I was on my way to the Cedar Rapids airport, finishing some last-minute, though important details when I really thought about what I was getting into. I remembered how hard it had been sometimes to host an exchange student, and realized it would probably be ten times harder to actually be the exchange student who deserved the funny looks she often received. I knew I'd survive, and that I'd probably return home safe, and even happy, but those were the only things I was fairly sure of.

    An exhausting day or so later I arrived in Tyumen', and most of my misgivings disappeared when I observed the hospitality I would be living with for the next few weeks. At that point I knew that I would not only survive, but I'd also most likely have a good time. I turned my attentions to considering my surroundings, and trying to explain and understand what I saw.

    One thing I noticed about living in a different culture is that a person tends to compare everything with what they are used to. For instance, I found that the food, clothing, lifestyle, and many less significant things were all very different from what I'm so accustomed to at home. Observing those variations gave me a good perspective on what my life is usually like, back in America. I learned to look for reasonings behind the custom, and that one way of life isn't necessarily much better than another. But I also learned to forget the differences. I had my best experiences when I overlooked my American upbringing and blended in with the Russian culture. After all, I came to Russia to visit a different country, not to do the same things I do in America. I'm sure I still stood out as being strange, but my Russian friends accepted me for what I was, though at times they persisted in treating me like a small-scale celebrity.

    Average Russian people seemed entirely different than Americans. They are more emotional, more affectionate, more caring, and more non-discriminate than us. Their hospitality is remarkable, and they will never rest until you are satisfied. A friend will do anything for another friend, and this helps people to go on with their somewhat unstable lives in a satisfied way. After spending just an evening with some people, I realized that I really felt attached to them and had gotten close in a few short hours. It seemed an entirely different standard of living than what I have been used to. Russians worry about friendship while Americans are worrying about time, money, and themselves.

    Flexibility was a very important component of my enjoyable experiences in Russia. Often plans would change only minutes before they were to be carried out. And since I'm a person who lives by schedules, this could have posed a challenge for me. In order to not go insane, I had to accept these abrupt changes, and look forward to what would happen instead of the previously set plans. Russians seemed to have a wonderful way of coping with whatever occurred, so I tried to adopt this attitude, and usually succeeded. Eventually I found that when I did succeed in "going with the flow," things would invariably work out well in the end, and any worrying would have been useless.

    Despite my attempts to be open-minded several times during my trip to Russia I remember thinking this is crazy. I remember thinking it a lot my first day, and also while riding alone on a bus looking for my apartment, discovering skeletons in a church, sitting on the train in the middle of nowhere for an endless period of time, and while in the hotel, where all sorts of weird stuff was always happening. "Crazy" is still one of my favorite adjectives to use when I describe my trip, though it does seem rather insensitive. I still don't understand many aspects of the country and the culture, and therefore they seem unreasonable. I think you have to live there to understand the country, and visit there to understand why it can be considered crazy.

    I was very surprised to find how much I changed; while in Russia and also after I returned home. When I was in Russia I felt like I was a different person. It seems that when you live the same life for a long time, you develop an image of yourself, as do people around you. But when you take a step out of your life, like when visiting a foreign country, you can also step out of the preconceived image of yourself, and often a different personality is found. And even when I returned to America some of that personality remained, especially for the first few days. That's why I think I've changed; a little piece of Russia, its culture, and the ways I changed in Russia, have rubbed off on me, and I can never look at things the same way again. It is a lifelong difference.

    My trip to Russia has done a lot to prepare me for life beyond high school. Not only has it provided ideas for career options which I never knew I had, but also I have a different outlook on my life. It helped me prioritize my values, and see things in terms of a lifetime, as opposed to simply a semester. I learned, among other things, at least three means of communication that don't require language, how to be a foreigner and a minority, how to survive for weeks in conditions that aren1t as easy as what I'm used to, that strange food won't kill me, how to be flexible, and to value what's really important. I'm sure that these will all be important skills that can be used later in life, and they are things that could never be learned only in a classroom. I feel that, after Russia, I can do anything, and I often wonder what's next.

    Index


    Links to other Russia-related sites

  • A page I designed about Lermontov

  • Another page I designed with pictures of Faberge Eggs

  • A page about my second trip to Russia- the city of Vladimir



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