Interesting things about Russia...

Interesting things:

1. You can drink beer in Russia not only in public places (the street, the park, etc.) but also in moving vehicles like buses and taxis. From what Karina has told me, the laws about drinking and driving are more strict (you are not supposed to drive after drinking pretty much any alcohol at all), but I am not sure how strictly they are enforced.

2. Everyone here has awful teeth. Karina said that the air and the gas in the water here deteriorate your teeth and make your hair fall out. I am not sure how true that is, but at least 3 people have actually commented on how nice my teeth are.

3. This trip has both made me feel like my Russian is terrible but also not so bad. It is complicated, but I do at least feel like I am learning. I speak to almost everyone in English because that is what I am here to teach, but I understand a lot of what people say in Russian.

4. The buildings and the inside walls are really often bright colors here and, from what I saw, all through Siberia. I think it is really great and makes the houses and rooms much more interesting. My guess is that after the Soviet Union people not only had access to much, much more exciting paint, but also wanted to add some color to the bleak Soviet landscape.

5. There is a cooking show host on Russian TV that looks a lot like Juliette from Lost.

6. Most people I have met haven’t actually read any of my favorite books (The Brothers Karamazov and other major pieces of Russian literature).

7. Though the teenagers are totally obsessed with the way they look, women in their 30’s and 40’s seem much less concerned with hiding their “flaws.” When I went to the swimming pool there were lots of women with far from flawless bodies wearing bikinis. It is really nice. I was embarrassed to wear a bikini here so I brought one of my mom’s one pieces and I wish I had just not worried so much.

8. Russian children play a lot of the same games as American children. They all knew Red Rover and others, they just had different names.

9. I saw a ten-year-old boy smoking a cigarette.

10. They listen to Katy Perry in Russia too, and it scares me that her reach has extended so far.

11. I think vodka here just doesn’t taste as bad as it does back home. I was never a bog drinker at home, but I at least tried enough vodka to know that it tastes awful. Maybe I am just more hardcore now, but I actually don’t mind it at all now.

12. Young girls and teenagers here wear really short shorts. I mean REALLY short.
13. As I mentioned before, the haircuts for young men and boys here are really, really hideous. Mullets are prevalent, along with rat-tails. I think perhaps my least favorite is something kind of like a reverse mullet. It is basically a buzz-cut with bangs.

14. So far, the only thing I really miss (besides my friends and family of course) is the internet. I can live without indoor plumbing (Karina’s mother just has an outhouse) and a lot of other things, but I do really miss the internet.

15. The kids at camp all want to see the Statue of Liberty and go to Disneyland. I can understand Disneyland, but I think the Statue of Liberty kind of sucks. I tell them that it is great though.

16. Barak Obama and I were in Russia at the same time.
17. There are not only black and red currants, but also white currants!

18. Karina thinks that “experiences” is the British variant for “experiments” and I don’t have the heart to correct her.

19. Being in Russia is really exciting and surreal, but at the same time it is making the country that I dreamed about visiting seem so mundane. In general, the Russian people I am meeting are not particularly different from Americans. I guess I thought that I would just be constantly overwhelmed by Russianness, but in reality I often forget that I am not back home.

20. Tanya constantly talks about her boyfriend (it is actually getting really annoying) and the other day she told me about how excited she is that he is starting his internship. She said (in essence), “I won’t have to worry about what he is doing or who he is with because he will be so busy for two weeks. He doesn’t worry about me because he trusts me.” So I asked, “Do you trust him?” and she replied, “Yes, I just told you, I am glad he started his internship so I don’t have to worry about him.” Oh Tanya.

21. Apparently a man doing glorified karaoke (singing to something like pre-recorded jazz-pop) is considered “live music” in cafes in Belokurikha.

22. Salaries for teachers here are really shockingly low.

23. There is a reality TV show here called “Dom dva” aka “House 2” that seems to be like The Real World but without any tasks and it is on every night. Whenever Karina watches it, it seems to me that it is just a group of 20-somethings sitting around and talking.

24. My conception of the power of American celebrity was both confirmed and challenged. While there are mentions of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in the gossip magazines, they occupy only a small fraction of the space. They watch a lot of American movies and TV and listen to a lot of American music, but Russian celebrities seem to be more popular.

25. Everyone here, and I mean everyone, takes their shoes off before entering a house.