First Impressions

Sept 25, 2009

I’ve been here for over a week now. Let me draw attention to some common stereotypes.

1. Russian women are stick thin and wear lots of makeup.
-- A good handful of women here are extremely thin. The food portions are also smaller than what we have in the States. But, let me state that there is a high rate of eating disorders here. Alternatively, our big food portions and many Americans suffer from heart disease. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and this differs throughout the world.

MANY women wear high heels, including stilettos, no matter the occasion or weather (wearing heels in rain is not a faux pas). It is NOT uncommon to see a bus driver wearing a sweat suit with high heels. Some girls wear a lot of makeup here, but again that varies. I don’t wear any more makeup than I did in the States, but people stare at me, so I do try to look decent. J

Hehe, my project had a performance at a local college and the school’s director invited us to her office to personally greet us. She was wearing a sheer shirt so that you can only see her bra. This is not seen as strange here.

2. The population is homogenous.
--Nope. There are so many universities in Samara and people come from all over Russia to study here. The number of international students/interns/volunteers are also increasing--there are people from every continent. There are many Kazakh, Bosnian, and Serbian immigrants here.

Waiting for our training outside Aerospace University. Me, Fatih (Turkey), Masha (Russia), and Zsazsa (Indonesian ex-pat in Japan).

3. The police is not your friend.
--True. Some policemen are corrupt and randomly cause trouble with foreigners to get some quick cash. I have to carry documents with me everywhere. Actually I’m instructed to immediately call my project coordinator if something happens, and that I should not even try to explain my status here.

4. The sun never shines in Samara.
--Autumn just started, so there is still sun. It has rained a few times, but the sun always comes out. A Spanish ex-pat said to me, “In winter, there is sun, but you just can’t feel it.“ I was afraid that I wasn’t going to see sun in Russia, so I was no stranger to the beach this summer. However, people with darker skin have a higher chance of attracting attention from the police. Whoops.

5. Russians are so cold and never smile.
--In business settings (e.g. restaurants, shops, etc.), smiling is seen as unprofessional. Also, “the customer is always right” mentality is not the same here as it is in the US. Russians are also people. People are friendly in the right atmosphere. Plus, can you honestly not smile when you are around me??