My New Russian Friends!

Friday evening I went to dinner with two of the other volunteers (Jen and Sarah) and we had made plans to meet at a traditional Russian restaurant with Sveta, one of our Russian translators. Sveta has become one of my good "Russian friends" and I was excited to hang out with her - to not just go around Yaroslavl with a bunch of Americans but to see it's like for people who actually live here.

We went to a very traditional Russian restaurant, right on the Volga River embankment. She recommended the dishes that are cooked in a traditional Russian oven and come out in a little pot. I have to say, I tried my best to be adventurous but I opted for a little mushroom pie (a small loaf of bread with mushrooms in it) and a "vegetable mosaic with chicken grill" (a veggie salad with chicken) - sorry! I wasn't that hungry either!! However, I did try Sveta's dish of kasha with pumpkin and honey (literally looked like she was eating oatmeal) and Jen's dish of roast beef with vegetables. They were good but glad I got my salad :)

After dinner we were waiting to meet up with a few of Sveta's friends and we decided to get some Russian champagne to enjoy along the embankment. Just sitting next to the river, enjoying a glass of champagne and talking was probably my favorite part of the night. Sveta is also 24 years old and learned English in school, so she is very good at conversation but of course enjoys talking with us to improve her grammar. I never realized how difficult it is for people - especially Russian women - to come into the United States, even just to visit! Sveta's tried TWICE to obtain a visa to visit the US over her Christmas break and each time she's been denied; apparently it's very difficult for a young, unmarried Russian woman to come to the US - they want to see that you have something that will bring you back to Russia (like a husband) and I had no idea that it was that difficult for them. Sure it was annoying to fill out all the paperwork to get my Russian visa but I never had any doubt that I wouldn't get it. And it's not only to the US, she said that for ANY country she'd like to visit, she has to obtain a visa...except for I think the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan lol.

After a while Sveta's friends met us - Anya and Natasha. Natasha spoke some English and Anya spoke none but it didn't matter, we had a great time hanging out regardless. Once again, I am completely surprised by the friendliness and warmth I have experienced by Russians. The girls were as friendly as could be and were so excited to show us around the town and talk to us. We spent the rest of the evening talking and walking around the embankment - watching the fireworks from a wedding and the lightening from the rain on the other side of the river.

of the most important things I've learned while I've been here is the fact that while you might think that someone on the other side of the world will be completely different than you, really we have more similarities than differences. We all have the same problems with school, work, significant others, families... it's really no different. While it's interesting to understand what is different - obviously them growing up in a Soviet country and being more limited in what they could do - it's the things that are the same that are the most striking. To be honest, we are not that different at all.