Cultural Differences

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Both of us pretty much have similar beliefs and superstitions. Further, I already did some things that others view as different. e.g., I always wore home shoes. I never understood why everyone doesn't anyway? Why would you want to track all the dirt, grease, and filth from the streets to your carpeting where you might want to sit or lay? This is even more misunderstood in homes where children play!

Here is my short list of life alterations:

• Eat every morsel of meat from a bone.
• Tea consumption has doubled.
• Alcohol consumption has tripled.
• I sit for a few minutes quietly before a long trip.

[slim 1,514]

Here is my short list of life alterations:

• Eat every morsel of meat from a bone.
• Tea consumption has doubled.

Noted here as well, and the only reason alcohol hasn't tripled is because we'd both be dead if we drank triple what we did before. We never have time to sit quietly before a long trip because I'm always running late!

[Kotenochek 0]

Hehe I never eat meat to bones,i dont think it looks nice from the side..lol

But the rule is true..lol that comes from Our grandparents after the war:)

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

Noted here as well, and the only reason alcohol hasn't tripled is because we'd both be dead if we drank triple what we did before. We never have time to sit quietly before a long trip because I'm always running late!

Funny thing is I think my wife and I have had one bottle of wine since she arrived and I havent had anything else to drink besides that, I told her I would save drinking for our 20th wedding anniversary.

[slim 1,514]

Funny thing is I think my wife and I have had one bottle of wine since she arrived and I havent had anything else to drink besides that, I told her I would save drinking for our 20th wedding anniversary.

This reminds me of the scene in Traffic where Catherine Zeta Jones is drinking the wine whilst preggers and all her friends are mumbling about it when she says "What? I'm European, I'm allowed to drink one glass a day, right? I can do that, my doctor said I can do that. What can I do, I'm European?"

[Buck and Natalia 0]

When I was a child and my buddies and I payed army, we were fighting the Germans. Of course one of the (black and white) TV programs we watched was "Rat Patrol". I'll bet not many of you remember that one.

My wife also tells me she learned how to use and care for a Kalashnikov when she was in school. She's got my respect.

Rat Patrol??? I remember it quite well - thus, giving away my age. My favorite character was the British guy with the beret. My sweetie learned to throw hand-grenades as part of her physical education training in High School. She can also field-strip and re-assemble an AK-47 in under a minute as part of her military/police training. She left the Russian Police with the rank of Major. She has my respect as well.

[slim 1,514]

My sweetie learned to throw hand-grenades as part of her physical education training in High School. She can also field-strip and re-assemble an AK-47 in under a minute as part of her military/police training. She left the Russian Police with the rank of Major. She has my respect as well.

Awesome!!!

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

This reminds me of the scene in Traffic where Catherine Zeta Jones is drinking the wine whilst preggers and all her friends are mumbling about it when she says "What? I'm European, I'm allowed to drink one glass a day, right? I can do that, my doctor said I can do that. What can I do, I'm European?"

My wife did the same thing with Tea- What do you mean I cant have tea, russians always drink tea!!! caffeine is not that bad I just wont have a lot of tea.

My sweetie learned to throw hand-grenades as part of her physical education training in High School. She can also field-strip and re-assemble an AK-47 in under a minute as part of her military/police training. She left the Russian Police with the rank of Major. She has my respect as well.

Hmm changes the meaning when you are in the grocery "Hey honey can you toss me a pineapple?"

[visceral image 0]

I am a bit late to the party here but I will add my two cents

"The steel front door", my god, my bank would be easier to break into; oh, and that is after getting into the front of the apartment bldg steel door, up the tiny "lift" and opening the bolt lock that must be turned three complete revolutions to open the lock

"Tea, Hot Tea", never been a tea drinker and never a hot tea drinker but that is changing

"Soup", before I lived in Russia I think I tried soup two or three times, in Russia-it's a "main dish", almost every meal

"Look Beautiful when leaving home", Americans can go outside looking like trash, never a Russian woman-always presents herself the best on the street, I love this habit.

"lift or elevators", I need to go outside the lift just to change my mind, they can be small

"wrap up for cold"; must wear a hat, scarf, gloves, boots, socks, long underwear, a jacket, sweater, undershirt, etc for cold weather; my personal body temp is great down to -25 C, after that I think about a jacket, at -37, I like a pair of gloves and a cap

[Nancy2015 2]

"Soup", before I lived in Russia I think I tried soup two or three times, in Russia-it's a "main dish", almost every meal

I hate soup. Always have.

I'm really concerned that when someone says something like "It is this or that way in Russia", other people who have no idea will think that it's indeed true, and that it's true for every single person in my country. I know people share their experiences in this thread, and they have good intentions, but generalizations somewhat bother me.

Soup =

[KGSodie 0]

Soup has always been a favorite of mine, and now that I've tried borscht I love it too!

As far as temperature goes, I'm always hot. I was in Russian in February, and in the home I wore my customary shorts and T-shirt. Natasha's Mama kept checking my hands, convinced I simply MUST be freezing!

"Soup", before I lived in Russia I think I tried soup two or three times, in Russia-it's a "main dish", almost every meal

I hate soup. Always have.

I'm really concerned that when someone says something like "It is this or that way in Russia", other people who have no idea will think that it's indeed true, and that it's true for every single person in my country. I know people share their experiences in this thread, and they have good intentions, but generalizations somewhat bother me.

Soup =

I agree - all generalizations are false!

I do very much enjoy everyone sharing their experiences, and think that is the proper way to view this thread - they are a collection of individual experiences, and your results may vary.

Kevin

[slim 1,514]

We had an "over the threshold" no-no the other day. I was going to pass her a drink through the doorway, and she said no way. Can't do it. Etc.

Got me thinking though, why did I carry her over the threshold on our first entry to the home?

[Buck and Natalia 0]

I am a bit late to the party here but I will add my two cents

"The steel front door", my god, my bank would be easier to break into; oh, and that is after getting into the front of the apartment bldg steel door, up the tiny "lift" and opening the bolt lock that must be turned three complete revolutions to open the lock

"Tea, Hot Tea", never been a tea drinker and never a hot tea drinker but that is changing

"Soup", before I lived in Russia I think I tried soup two or three times, in Russia-it's a "main dish", almost every meal

"Look Beautiful when leaving home", Americans can go outside looking like trash, never a Russian woman-always presents herself the best on the street, I love this habit.

"lift or elevators", I need to go outside the lift just to change my mind, they can be small

"wrap up for cold"; must wear a hat, scarf, gloves, boots, socks, long underwear, a jacket, sweater, undershirt, etc for cold weather; my personal body temp is great down to -25 C, after that I think about a jacket, at -37, I like a pair of gloves and a cap

Just returned from Russia a couple of days ago. Yeah....... the steel blast doors are a bit intimidating. What are they protecting against? It makes one wonder because there is generally less violent crime in Russia than in the USA. We should be the ones with the blast doors. An observation on Russian women: During my visit I was severely tempted to take photos of russian women in "every-day wear" for the benefit of my teenage daughter just to show the contrast between what Russian women wear to go shopping and their USA counterparts. However, I could not think of a discreet way of taking candid "walking on the streets" shots without looking like a pervert or worse. I guess my daughter will have to rely on my descriptions although actual photos would have been much more convincing.

[Buck and Natalia 0]

This reminds me of the scene in Traffic where Catherine Zeta Jones is drinking the wine whilst preggers and all her friends are mumbling about it when she says "What? I'm European, I'm allowed to drink one glass a day, right? I can do that, my doctor said I can do that. What can I do, I'm European?"

My wife did the same thing with Tea- What do you mean I cant have tea, russians always drink tea!!! caffeine is not that bad I just wont have a lot of tea.

My sweetie learned to throw hand-grenades as part of her physical education training in High School. She can also field-strip and re-assemble an AK-47 in under a minute as part of her military/police training. She left the Russian Police with the rank of Major. She has my respect as well.

Hmm changes the meaning when you are in the grocery "Hey honey can you toss me a pineapple?"

HAHAHAHAHAHA.......... good one. I will relay that to her and explain the meaning. She will get a kick out of it.

[visceral image 0]

"Soup", before I lived in Russia I think I tried soup two or three times, in Russia-it's a "main dish", almost every meal

I hate soup. Always have.

I'm really concerned that when someone says something like "It is this or that way in Russia", other people who have no idea will think that it's indeed true, and that it's true for every single person in my country. I know people share their experiences in this thread, and they have good intentions, but generalizations somewhat bother me.

Soup =

MY apologies, I should have stated, "according to my experiences"; I agree it is an over generalization