Russian Observations

- For reasons beyond my understanding, mullets are still very popular here... despite being told by every Russian girl I've asked that Russian women do NOT like the style

-There are a disproportionate amount of Range Rovers in Yaroslavl... This leads me to believe the following:

a) Range Rovers are significantly less expensive in Russia

b) The majority of the people of Yaroslavl are VERY well off

c) Many people are living beyond their means to obtain the material possessions that were previously denied to them for so long.

From my knowledge of the Russian social system, I believe the answer to be C. One of the first things I learned here is that people still seem to be "getting used to" Capitalism....the things women wear to the grocery store and McDonalds, wouldn't be seen on anyone outside of a nightclub in the US, incredibly fancy cars, designer clothes... all while they're living in run down flats.

-Russians like to stare. Especially when you're speaking english (which I do the majority of the time)

-They LOVE ice cream!! There are probably 2-3 ice cream stands on every street.

-While the Soviets built lots of big buildings, they didn't so much think about maintaining them. Most of the places I've been to (volunteer placements, stores, shops) are somewhat "falling apart"

-Russian roads are BAD. Really bad. This coming from someone used to Chicago potholes. Chicago doesn't have anything on Russia.

-Going along with the bad roads, Russia doesn't have very good drivers either (again, coming from someone from Chicago). From the 6 weeks I've been here, I think I understand the rules of the road ... you just go. There are no lanes, you just move past people and hope they don't hit you.

-(This particular one was told to me by an actual Russian, so I'm not saying this to be mean....) "Russian's are lazy". They aren't really interested in doing anything out of their way to assist you - if whatever your asking causes extra work for them, then forget it. (I understand that this goes back to Communism where everyone had to look after themselves, but it's still difficult to get used to)

-This last one is probably my favorite... Russians are superstitious.... On Monday I went to School 45 and as always, wore my "work clothes" (an old t shirt and shorts). For whatever reason, I wore my shirt inside out. When we got to the school, one of the teachers commented on it and Katya (the translator) told me that it was a Russian superstition that "if you wear your shirt inside out it means you will be beaten... usually by your husband."

Good thing I don't have a husband :)