In other words, I'm already getting spoiled.
Since much of today really needs pictures to do it justice, I've decided that I'll instead make a list of Russian truths: stereotypes (and their level of validity), and things that totally caught me off guard.
List of Russian Truths
1) Stereotype: Russian women dress very well, and spend all of their money on clothes.
Verdict: So far, true. When I was at the airport, the first young Russian woman I spoke with talked extensively about how in Russian culture, everything is the epitome-- the Russian woman is the epitome of the woman, the Russian man the epitome of the Russian man. She added that most Russian women will hold out on buying warmer clothes for the winter, because if they can wait past December, they'll be able to get the same stylish thing, only for half the price. Additionally, 80% of the market is supposed to be women's clothing, and when I walked down the street, most of the stores were for clothing, and all be three or four stores had at least half dedicated to women's clothes. So, I'd say yes, so far that stereotype is correct.
2) Stereotype: Russian women love spending their money on clothes-- and it's usually not their money.
Verdict: It was only one Russian couple, but if they're to be taken as an example, then yes, this stereotype is also true. I already mentioned this before, but as long as I was verifying Russian stereotypes, I figured I might as well be thorough.
3) Stereotype: Russians don't wear any colors.
Verdict: Jury's out on this one. I didn't see very many people wearing colors on the street, but there were TONS of colorful clothes in the Russian clothing stores. Suffice it to say, if you're actually Russian, you can probably get away with wearing colors, but if you're a foreigner, it's probably safer to keep it toned down so you attract less attention.
4) Stereotype: Russian women only wear flats or high heels.
Verdict: There is no way for me to underline, bold, or italicize "YES" enough to validate the veracity of this stereotype. Everywhere I look, Russian women are wearing either some type of European flat, European style tennis shoes, or high heels, to the point that even elderly women who could be бабушки (Russian grandmothers) are wearing at least a slight heel. The perfect example is that when I was walking down the street, I saw a girl who was wearing a pair of Converse pumps. Yes, that's right. Converse pumps. Normal looking tennis-shoe Converse, with a four inch heel. Now that's dedication.
5) Stereotype: Russians don't eat any vegetables other than cabbage and potatoes.
Verdict: It probably depends on the time of year, but right now, this one's not true. Every day, in fact, we've been eating cucumbers and peppers, and the first night I came here, we had some kind of eggplant concoction. There was an entire produce section filled with vegetables, and while they didn't look as good as they do in the US, they're still fresh enough that I'm more than happy to eat them.
6) Stereotype: Russians love sour cream.
Verdict: Just as emphatic a yes as in number four. So far, I've seen my host mother put sour cream (сметана, pronounced smetana) on practically everything. There are few things she thinks that don't go with sour cream, I'm willing to wager.
7) Stereotype: Russians don't eat anything other than fish for protein.
Verdict: Now, I've only been here a couple of days, but I haven't eaten a single fish, nor have I had one offered to me. In fact, I've eaten chicken twice and had sausage offered to me, yet fish never came up once. So, for right now, I'm going to tentatively say this one's false.
8) Something I didn't expect: Whenever Russians want to make things seem classier or more exciting, they'll put whatever it is that they're advertising in English, either in English letters or (even stranger) in Cyrillic. This has ranged from "Coffee House" (spelled Кофе Хауз, pronounced "Koe-feh How-ooz) to Гуд Джинз-- literally "Good Jeans". Additionally, many advertisements will have single phrases in English (such as the many posters around St. Petersburg addressed to "People of our city") and other things will have everything be in English except the name of the store.
9) Something I didn't expect: Russians apparently love canned and frozen goods. This started on the first night I got here-- my host father was frying up some precooked, frozen breaded chicken breasts on the stove which we ate for dinner. Later, my host mom pointed out some canned meats in the pantry, and just today we had some chicken noodle soup from a jar. (This, note, is following the bizarre cans of precooked Beef Stroganoff at Helsinki airport in Finland.)
10) Something I didn't expect: Russians are heavily into PDA. No, seriously. Couples will be cuddling and super close together on the subway, practically making out on buses, and when we were on the bridge heading over to Nevsky Prospect, there was a guy whose hands were so glued to his girlfriend's derriere that he almost had his hand up the back of her ridiculously short, tight-fitting skirt. Considering that one of my teachers told me last semester that Russians are almost Puritanical, this was a huge surprise.
Anyway, I think a list of 10 things is more than enough for one night. This is obviously not the end-all-be-all of what I'm finding in Russia, but it's enough for one night, and it keeps me from shirking this blog.
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