Russia

Russians are very superstitious. There's a couple things that they believe, like it's really not good to shake hands through a doorway. That's one. Don't sit at the corner of a table. I don't know why. All the black cats are evil. Don't walk under ladders, like all that stuff. They totally believe it. A lot of them do. Oh, and one of them, don't whistle while you're indoors or else you'll lose all your money. That's a big one, and I had a problem with that. With food, Russians will continue. They will just keep giving you food. They'll keep putting it on your plate as long as you keep emptying your plate. So you have to learn to eat your first helping, get some more, and then eat almost all of it, but then you'll still have the excuse that you're not done yet when they try to put more on your plate.

One thing that kind of helped me, I guess, build cred was just I had read some Russian books in translation earlier. Like, I had read Crime and Punishment and A Hero of Our Time and some other ones and I just knew them and so I could talk to them about something that was like their culture, like their cultural heritage. That was something that was just, it was really easy to bond over because they're like, oh, you're actually genuinely interested in my culture and my language and stuff like that. It doesn't have to be literature. I remember there's some people I talked to about Russian music or Russian composers or Russian history or anything, but these are things that are relevant to these people's lives. So if you go in having just like a basic knowledge of something, then you're going to find the people who also are interested in that and they'll think it's really cool that this American knows this stuff too.

The best way to get a woman of Baba's heart, of Babushka's heart, is to talk about her dacha or her cats. There's stray cats everywhere. That's something you have to get used to. And Babushki, they rule the world. Old ladies, they can set anyone straight. Also, avoid the police at all costs. Don't talk to drunk people. I mean, you can, but it'll always be very interesting. Russians are very closed off at first, but once you get to know them, you're best friends for life. They're so loyal.

Books show them respect. I learned the hard way that making eye contact and smiling is seen as flirtatious. So be careful when you are interacting with men on the street.

I know being real with the people is really important to the Russians. They really like if you're just like, just chill, you know, and just be yourself with them. Try and become their friends, like sincerely love them. That always helps. I don't know, just try your best and enjoy your time there. Enjoy the people. They're rough, they're guarded and reserved, but if you can break through that, that'd be really cool. Which is easy to break through, just get to know them and love them and they'll feel your love. They're some of the best friends I ever have.

Do not shake Or offer to shake a woman's hand. They will refuse if they want because they can and that happens if So you can shake men's hands and it's totally fine. I guess if you're a dude, but don't you shouldn't Initiate a handshake with a woman

One culture tip I could give you is just realize that not every time that people sound like they're yelling at each other are they actually mad at people. A lot of times they just talk really passionately about what they do and what they love and what they feel strongly about, so just understand that if someone's yelling at you it's not necessarily that they're mad at you. The Russian people are great. They seem kind of cold and kind of hard at the first, but when you get to know them they can become some of your greatest friends. I still talk weekly with a lot of the people that I met in Russia, and I love my association with them, and they really do develop friendships stronger, I believe, than we do here in America, and so be aware of that and make sure that you just grow to love the people and become their good friends because you'll make friends for the rest of your life that way.

If you are a girl, never carry more than one chair, otherwise you will not be able to have children. If you are a girl, never sit down on a bench during winter, you will freeze your eggs and not be able to have children. If you do not wear tights until it is 80 degrees in the summer, you will not be able to have children. If you carry anything over 10 pounds, anything over 5 pounds really, you won't be able to have children. So just be aware that you're about to become infertile. I'm joking, but also not. Don't wear things like, don't wear springy dresses during winter, even if you're wearing tights with them. They don't like florals during winter. But really they have these big stone walls that they put up and everyone like has really frowny faces once you get on the bus. But just talk to everybody. And just once you talk to them and just be yourself. Russians love American girls. They think that we're hilarious. Just be oblivious. Be loud. Be fine. Be yourself. They love you.

Never place books just on the ground in Russia. In Russia, books represent knowledge, and knowledge is a sacred thing, and the ground is dirty. I think it's kind of historical because historically Russia, it's a really muddy place in the winter and the, I mean in the spring and the fall, just because the snow melts and then there's rain at the end of the summer. And so it gets really muddy and people, they never wear their shoes inside because their shoes are dirty and it makes the floor dirty and so you never want to put like a book or anything special like that on the ground. Never put your books on the ground and never wear shoes indoors.

So Russians are very straightforward, very blunt. But when you first meet them, first get to know them on the streets, they hold a lot back. They're very reserved. That's where the stereotype comes that they're not very friendly and they don't smile, which actually is mostly true. But once you get to know them, they're super friendly, super nice, and super blunt. And they'll tell you exactly what they think. And so one thing that they value very highly is that you are also very honest. Don't ever try to fake who you are or fake what you're doing, because they'll pick up on it. And they won't like you and they won't trust you as much. So just be honest, be genuine, and they'll really appreciate that.

Russians really like Americans. Most of the time they haven't ever met an American.