General Observations

I’m sure some of you are curious about a few topics such as the food, the people, the city, etc… Well,…

Food:

• Before I left the USA, Dad and Mom kept asking me what type of food will be served. Of course I had no idea, and I can’t say I went out of my way to eat any type of Russian cuisine. In turn, Mom and Dad made fun of the fact that all I will be eating is boiled cabbage and boiled potatoes for the next three months. Well, haha to them, because the food is wonderful. However, Mom and Dad were correct in that I do eat a lot of cabbage. The cabbage is quite good. Larissa, my favorite cook, makes the best cabbage. I’m not exactly sure how she makes it, but she seems to saute the cabbage with carrots and onions. YUM!! She makes it everyday for lunch. The group just can’t get enough of it!! Before I leave, I have to learn the secret to the cabbage.

Meal Time

• Breakfast is comparable to an American breakfast such as eggs, toast, oatmeal, and fruit. As my per usual, eat oatmeal everyday. It’s a great way to start your day!
• Lunch is considered the biggest meal of the day; there are three courses. The first course is a small salad which is not comparable to the USA. The salad is a mayonnaise base with shredded lettuce and a vegetable of some variety. The second course is soup. And finally, a meat dish is served. The meat dish comes with potatoes or some vegetable. As I mentioned before, Larissa serves her amazing cabbage dish at lunch. Deliciousness!!
• Dinner is a smaller affair. For dinner, a meat is served with a side dish of some variety such as pasta, rice, or cabbage and then a vegetable.

People

• In general, I find the people of Russia to be both friendly and helpful to a foreigner.
  For example, people in the USA generally have a smile on their face when speaking to a customer or random person on the street. This is not true for Russians. I have noticed Russians walk with a purpose and have what Americans would consider a scowl on their face. However, from various cultural books I have read, a scowl is considered normal for Russians, but in fact, Russians are very inviting to their friends and family, and in turn do smile.
• Another example, myself and the other volunteers were at the post office trying to buy stamps. As you can imagine, neither the volunteers nor the postal workers spoke the same language. What to do, right? A young woman in her late twenties was kind enough to help us by interpreting for both us and the postal workers.
• Russian’s typically dress in darker colors. I call it “The Sea of Black.” Everywhere I look, all I see is black – black coats, black pants, black shirts, black shoes. Black everywhere. I haven’t really decided why Russians choose to wear darker colors. My yellow shirt, well, sticks out in the Sea of Black.
• Major observation: I have found it is easy to spot a Russian by just looking at their teeth. Their water does not contain fluoride and going to the dentist is almost considered a luxury therefore Russian teeth are stained yellow, missing, or a gold or silver filling. To be fair, a Russian can pick me out instantly as a foreigner because my teeth are “white” and I do smile at them!