Most airports in Russia are an interesting experience...and the experience of a budget airline, even more. (slightly similar to some European budget airlines).
Most of the airports have no boarding walkway. You exit the plane, get on a bus and then go to an entrance which has a very long walk to the baggage claim and exit (or the reverse order, of course). How some of the smaller airports were until the 1980s (if any still exist in the USA, I'm unaware).
The budget airline, which can be quite a bargain at times, takes some getting used to. It allows one checked bag which weighs less than 10 kilograms (about 20 pounds), serves water upon request (the only in flight service), carry-on baggage for a $30 fee (a purse, man-bag or briefcase is allowed), seats which can't recline and even smaller leg space than usual.
There is one company which has the USA standards of 1990s service (free non-alcoholic drinks and food). If you travel inside Russia, do a little research!
Personal space is an interesting aspect of life which I never really gave much thought to...before living in Russia. It is something that is treasured by Americans but virtually unknown to Russians.
Of course, there are situations where personal space can be compromised in the USA. For example on the New York City Subway, public transit in general or sold-out concerts. In these situations it is understood that our personal bubbles will be popped, and we can usually handle it for the duration. However, my first lessons in Russia's lack of personal space was learned four years ago in Yekaterinburg (Russia's third largest city, with 1.5 million people). The three lessons that occurred follow.
It was before 12:00 and very few customers were in the bookstore I was shopping at. There was a woman making her purchase, and I stood approximately an arm's length distance behind her while waiting for my turn. When it was my turn, I began taking the two small steps to the cashier when some old woman ran in front of me. In my terrible Russian, I asked her if she had no eyes or simply thought she was a queen. She began yelling at me, saying I wasn't next, and if I had been next I would have been closer. I asked her if she thought I was simply standing there for my health. She ignored my question and turned to the cashier. From my perspective, I was giving the person ahead of me their personal space (again, about an arm's length), and due to that, some woman decided to cut in line.
I approached the registration window at a doctor's office, having some concerns about symptoms I was experiencing. Since I couldn't speak any Russian then, I brought a friend with me to help translate. While speaking with the receptionist I heard someone enter the waiting area...and then I felt someone brush against my arm. There were a total of three people in the entire waiting room, and with the new addition, all three were at the reception window! I looked sternly at the unwelcome person and asked if I could help her with something. She looked at me with contempt and told me I didn't need to speak rudely to her. She didn't move one inch away.
While standing in line to buy subway tokens, I was shocked to watch two people cut in front of me because there was 1/2 an arm's length distance space to the person in front of me. I strong-armed them and asked if they thought I was there to simply look at the wall. They looked at me as if I had just spoken bad about their grandmother. I regained my position in line and stood the same distance from the person in front of me.
I have adjusted more...but still cherish my personal bubble, and I miss the fact that others cherish theirs and acknowledge bubbles. Of interesting note, this doesn't only happen in the large cities. Surgut, with a population of 330,000 people, has the exact same situation! Russia simply has no concept of personal space, and little respect for waiting for one's turn in a line.
Imagine you are taking a nice afternoon walk along a sidewalk with the sounds and smells of Autumn surrounding you. You take notice of the sun shining brightly and look up to admire it...and then you feel a terrible "squish" underfoot. Already knowing what it was, you try to repress the deep anger about to escape in an awful scream. Sound familiar? For those of you reading this in the USA, I assume about 95% will say "no" (unless you were in a park or on a yard, which is why I specified walking on the sidewalk). For those of you reading this in Russia, I assume 50% will say "yes" (plus an additional 45% will say "almost"). Why such a discrepancy? I believe that there are three primary possibilities for this variance, listed in no particular order.
Lack of Responsibility = intentionally leaving your pet's crap on the ground
Lack of Common Courtesy = you truly don't care that someone WILL step in that crap
Lack of Laws = no system culturally or legally in place to prevent the problem
Have no doubt that it is a problem! Pet feces left on the ground not only pollutes the area, but can also spread disease! One terribly simple scenario: pet feces left near a place where young children play. For more information regarding the seriousness of dog poop, please go here or do your own search. It's not hard to love a pet, but part of that love necessitates responsibility.
Maybe I have too much faith in the human race, but I find it difficult to think that some people simply think it is a joke or funny, that someone else will have a terrible time due to their actions. I am not so naive to think that they don't exist, but I prefer to not even give those people the mental energy required to discuss them...they are not even worth the amount of time I've already given them.
I don't claim to know all Russian laws, whatsoever. However, I am not the dullest knife in the kitchen, so to speak. I have never noticed, or heard of, any fines for failing to remove pet waste. In the USA, it is common knowledge that if you do not do so, you could face a fine. I like to think that people in the USA pick up their pet waste simply as a matter of common courtesy or mutual respect. Then again, I am not so naive to think that all Americans are so altruistic. Perhaps it is the threat of financial fees and the paperwork involved, which merely keeps most people in the USA cleaning up after their pets.
However it has become the way it is, it is the way it is. People in Russia might give a strange look to you, if you take out a plastic bag to pick up your pet's waste...whereas in the USA if you don't do so, someone might be forward enough to say something or even offer you a bag. I can't change the world, but I can help it be a better place where I live. Whenever my family takes our dog outside to "take care of business," we always try to remember to take a plastic bag (though my son isn't too fond of doing this). And yes, people do give a strange look...and I've never once seen another person doing such. I can't understand why, because the feces can't pass through the plastic bag, and there is always a sink with soap waiting when I get back home.
Perhaps with luck, this post can help create a small mental shift for some...
Walking in itself is the same thing everywhere throughout the world. But where you walk isn't the same...especially when comparing the USA's and Russia's expectations regarding the matter. In the USA, the pedestrian has the right-of-way without doubt or question. In Russia, you better be careful and make sure that cars have stopped before entering a crosswalk or else it could cost you your life.
About three weeks ago there was a tragic event here in Surgut. A man was waiting to meet his wife at a cafe. She called him to tell him that she was almost there, and would only be a couple of minutes because she was across the street. She started to cross the street when the crossing signal was on the red man, so she decided to stop and wait. When the man turned green she started to walk...and was immediately struck dead by a car. When walking in parking lots, or areas between stores, it is always imperative to watch for cars because they simply don't watch out for pedestrians. Keep these facts in mind while watching the video I recorded while walking (the evident camera on my head didn't even help to deter from the standard norm). You will see a couple buses and marshrutkas. Marshrutkas are basically vans which sometimes cram as many people as possible (buses too, but this scenario is more frequent on marshrutkas).
For the most part, grocery stores are about the same in Russia, but much smaller with fewer options (there are exceptions, which I will post about later). The basic options are the same: dairy products (but many more in Russia), meat, bread, fruits and vegetables, canned and boxed goods, toiletries, candy and miscellaneous. It doesn't get much simpler than that. In short, there are simply much fewer options in Russia, of all the crap to buy. I cannot fully express how much I miss Green Chile, marshmallows, graham crackers, nilla wafers, ginger snaps and even more things which I fail to remember at the moment. However on the flip side, there isn't the food chemical industry in Russia. There is no need for a label that says something is made with artificial flavors...because there are no artificial flavors. In some imported candies such as Skittles perhaps (but Skittles in the USA and Skittles in Russia are drastically different, so perhaps not).
Please comment on how many identical brands that you see in the video, and you see at some store near you. I already gave you one: Skittles! Also, I am seeking for identical brands, not identical items (for example Skittles, not candy). Try to enlist a second pair of eyes to help, as there are "a few" and you must be vigilant, scanning the stores as I walk through them. Please comment below, how many you notice. If someone out there comments the correct number (the number I agree with, based on the video...because yes, there are more than are shown in the video), then I will request an address to mail a prize.
I hope you enjoy the video! (It was recorded the 17th of April, 2015, in an unusually warm Spring for here.)
Any requests out there for certain sights to see in photos or on video?
Also, as I am new to blogging, any advice or suggestions are warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated!
(Music Credits after video. I already know for future videos, to include the credits at the end of the video.)
Music Credits
1. "A Russian Circus Story" by The Freak Fandango Orchestra
CC BY SA
2. ""Gray Is The Sky" by Three Chain Links
CC BY
3. "Drive Fast" by Three Chain Links
CC BY
4. "Snoday" by P C III
CC BY
5. "A Russian Circus Story" by The Freak Fandango Orchestra
CC BY SA
Hurrah! The hot water is back! After two weeks of no hot water, the return of it was heavenly! To think of the little things we take for granted, nearly every day. This is not a common event, but happens for two weeks once every year, in order to perform maintenance on regional hot water tanks. In Russia, there are no individual water tanks, but regional ones instead. I have no idea about the logistics of them, except that everyone in Russia is no foreigner to the idea of no hot water during the summertime for the span of two weeks. This is my third summer in Russia, and it doesn't get any easier.
It truly isn't that much of a trouble. Step 1: Heat up some water on the stove. Step 2: Pour the water into a big plastic tub and mix with cold water. Step 3: Get in the tub and pour water over your body using a smaller plastic tub. Soap, shampoo and repeat the water pouring to rinse.
If I had to choose between missing hot water once a year for two weeks, or buying a new home hot water heater once per decade (in addition to maintenance as needed), I'd choose the two week inconvenience per year. One major plus is that you cannot run out of hot water 50 weeks out of the year, because it isn't possible!
