Hello again all:
So I will do a little updating here in this post but mostly I will just tell all those willing to read about a few of the little odds and ends about Russian everyday life that makes it unique to the life I know back home.
Updates: Saturday we went on an utterly depressing tour about the Siege of Leningrad by the Nazis in WWII, or what they call here the Great Patriotic War. We saw the cemetery devoted exclusively to those killed in the famine that existed in Leningrad during WWII. It was a very nice place and was all decorated with flowers since the anniversary of the beginning of the Siege was this past week. This place is only about a half hour walk from our dorm so I went back on Saturday evening after it got dark.
Here is a picture of one of the decorated graves:
And after visited this, we also went to the Memorial devoted in Southern SPb to the 900 Siege and saw what was more of the historical aspect and a tribute to it. It was very cool, I once again will direct you to my Facebook album for pictures.
That night, as I said, I tried to go back to visit the cemetery to see what it is like at night with a friend but they closed at 8 and since there isn't a gate to the entrance, there were people in uniform guarding it. If there is one thing I have learned about Russia, it is to avoid people in uniform at all costs. I have been told that if there is a problem to go to the nearest store and talk to the owner rather than trying to find the police. So instead of risking potential detainment, we just walked back instead. But we walked back through a trailed forest, in the middle of the city, kind of like Central Park, but with a lot less people. It was quite a neat experience and we could still see because it was or was very close to a full moon.
I also started my electives this past week, which are taught in English by Russians. Since they are obviously more comfortable with Russian, being natives and all, however, the writing they did was mostly in Russian, but it is not that bad. Anyhow, I am taking 19th Century Russian Literature so we get to read excerpts or pieces from famous authors such as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Pushkin to name a few. I am not huge into lit, but this class is going to be awesome. The other two electives I am taking are both taught by the same professor. One is Russian History: Kievan Rus to the Revolution and the other is also a Poli Sci class and is clearly going to be my favorite class: Contemporary Russian Life.
Differences Between Russia and America:
1. Paying for bags in Grocery Stores
2. Buying Water (probably wouldn't have to but the water here is very bad and you can get really sick from drinking it, even natives don't drink it, so everyone lives off bottled water)
3. Temperature (As of right now, there is not a huge temperature difference but we will see when it comes to November and the days get really short)
4. Language (obviously, but unlike other places in Europe, you have to do a lot more searching to find someone who even speaks passable English. The ones that do know English however get annoyed when you try to speak to them in Russian because they know that you are struggling)
5. Exercise. I am not sure how every Russian is skinny but I hardly ever see Russians out running.
6. Fashion. While Russia is a significantly poorer country than the US, Russians dress to kill and are probably better dressed than Americans.
7. Shopping. There are a couple of points to this. Food is very cheap here compared to in America, and Russians go shopping every few days to buy food rather than maybe once a week but there are универсамы (supermarkets) on just about every corner so they are very accessible. Clothes, on the other hand, are significantly more expensive here so I will not be bringing home any new clothes but hopefully some yummy food for everyone to try. :)
8. Documentation. Everyone is required to carry documentation on them at all times if out in public. Police officers can stop anyone at random and ask to see documents to prove who they are and that they are here legally. Failure to produce documents results in detainment until someone can prove who you are. Our documentation includes a copy of our passport, our migration cards and a letter from the university proving that we are allowed to be here. We also need to carry around our city registration as part of our documentation. On top of that, we usually need to have our student cards, room keys, and the magnetic card that lets us into the dorm. It gets to be quite a lot.
I can't think of any differences at the moment but I know I have forgotten several so in future posts I will be sure to list them as I think of them.
I believe that is all for now. До свидания!
So I will do a little updating here in this post but mostly I will just tell all those willing to read about a few of the little odds and ends about Russian everyday life that makes it unique to the life I know back home.
Updates: Saturday we went on an utterly depressing tour about the Siege of Leningrad by the Nazis in WWII, or what they call here the Great Patriotic War. We saw the cemetery devoted exclusively to those killed in the famine that existed in Leningrad during WWII. It was a very nice place and was all decorated with flowers since the anniversary of the beginning of the Siege was this past week. This place is only about a half hour walk from our dorm so I went back on Saturday evening after it got dark.
Here is a picture of one of the decorated graves:
That night, as I said, I tried to go back to visit the cemetery to see what it is like at night with a friend but they closed at 8 and since there isn't a gate to the entrance, there were people in uniform guarding it. If there is one thing I have learned about Russia, it is to avoid people in uniform at all costs. I have been told that if there is a problem to go to the nearest store and talk to the owner rather than trying to find the police. So instead of risking potential detainment, we just walked back instead. But we walked back through a trailed forest, in the middle of the city, kind of like Central Park, but with a lot less people. It was quite a neat experience and we could still see because it was or was very close to a full moon.
I also started my electives this past week, which are taught in English by Russians. Since they are obviously more comfortable with Russian, being natives and all, however, the writing they did was mostly in Russian, but it is not that bad. Anyhow, I am taking 19th Century Russian Literature so we get to read excerpts or pieces from famous authors such as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Pushkin to name a few. I am not huge into lit, but this class is going to be awesome. The other two electives I am taking are both taught by the same professor. One is Russian History: Kievan Rus to the Revolution and the other is also a Poli Sci class and is clearly going to be my favorite class: Contemporary Russian Life.
Differences Between Russia and America:
1. Paying for bags in Grocery Stores
2. Buying Water (probably wouldn't have to but the water here is very bad and you can get really sick from drinking it, even natives don't drink it, so everyone lives off bottled water)
3. Temperature (As of right now, there is not a huge temperature difference but we will see when it comes to November and the days get really short)
4. Language (obviously, but unlike other places in Europe, you have to do a lot more searching to find someone who even speaks passable English. The ones that do know English however get annoyed when you try to speak to them in Russian because they know that you are struggling)
5. Exercise. I am not sure how every Russian is skinny but I hardly ever see Russians out running.
6. Fashion. While Russia is a significantly poorer country than the US, Russians dress to kill and are probably better dressed than Americans.
7. Shopping. There are a couple of points to this. Food is very cheap here compared to in America, and Russians go shopping every few days to buy food rather than maybe once a week but there are универсамы (supermarkets) on just about every corner so they are very accessible. Clothes, on the other hand, are significantly more expensive here so I will not be bringing home any new clothes but hopefully some yummy food for everyone to try. :)
8. Documentation. Everyone is required to carry documentation on them at all times if out in public. Police officers can stop anyone at random and ask to see documents to prove who they are and that they are here legally. Failure to produce documents results in detainment until someone can prove who you are. Our documentation includes a copy of our passport, our migration cards and a letter from the university proving that we are allowed to be here. We also need to carry around our city registration as part of our documentation. On top of that, we usually need to have our student cards, room keys, and the magnetic card that lets us into the dorm. It gets to be quite a lot.
I can't think of any differences at the moment but I know I have forgotten several so in future posts I will be sure to list them as I think of them.
I believe that is all for now. До свидания!
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