The Good, the Bad, and the Russian… Two weeks in.

The Good- There has been a great number of surprisingly great things that Josh and I have discovered during our first two weeks here that have made this transition easier and I have no doubts that I will miss when this adventure is over….

1. Heated floors- these may exist in the States but I have not had them so to me this is a new found fabulous invention.
   
2. Heated towel racks- fantastic where have these been all my life
   
3. Animal cookies- yes we have animal crackers but nothing quiet as tasty as these little zoo animals.
   
4. The most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life- perhaps they will share their secrets.
   
5. The People- yes I know Russians are normally regarded as not the friendliest of folks and I am only two weeks in but I have been very surprised with how many friendly people I have met. Sure I get quite a few nasty looks but I don’t understand enough Russian to understand if they were being rude so today my ignorance is working to my advantage.
   

The Bad- some things just can’t make sense to anyone and I remain defiant that these are, in any culture, not fun.

1. Lack of drinkable water from the tap- yes we have water delivered, and drinking water is not difficult to come by so I am thankful for that, however there is something unsettling to me that I can’t drink the water that I wash my dishes, my clothes, and myself in.
   
2. Icy sidewalks – not sure if I can blame this one on anyone but none the less the sidewalks are absolutely treacherous. Not only are they icy but they are slanted into the streets so when you do go down you are skating towards the street where a speeding car insures your doom.
   
3. Washing machines/ Dryers- I must be doing something wrong because a familiar enough looking washing machine is not performing in a familiar fashion. My clothes while washed are no longer the same shape or texture as when they went into the machine. I understand that the dry function of the machine is not superb however why are my cloths so stiff and rough? I miss the fluffy, warm just out of the wash feel! It is a bad sign when I am seriously debating washing a smelly dirty shirt because it just might be better dirty then “clean.”
   
4. Smoking!! – Yucky- These are smart people I am wondering why they have not gotten the word that smoking kills. It seems that everyone smokes here, it hangs in the air, sticks to my clothes and hair and no doubt is taking years off my life. Indisputably the worst thing about living overseas- yucky, stop smoking!!
   

The Russian- In my attempt to always remain positive and reflect on the fact that just because something is different from home doesn’t mean that it is wrong I will simply call these observations Russian.

1. Lack of Street/ building signs – I place this annoyance under the Russian because this doesn’t seem to bother anyone except for people who are like me and do not know where they are going, the Russians seem to have survived centuries without things being labeled for them. It would however be nice if they were slightly more willing to help a lost American. J
   
2. Security- We have no less than 7 locks on our two doors to enter our apartment- this is after our 3 key coded iron and wooden gates to enter our building. Did I mention we only posses 2 keys- Still wondering where the other 5 keys are? The keys we do own I am positive can be used as weapons if the need arises. They are six inches long and thicker than our doors.
   
3. Shopping for electronics- this is both a positive and a confusing experience. Here you pick out what you wish to purchase, and take it to one counter where you are shown exactly how it works and even given a full demonstration that the one you picked does indeed work, after which you must sign and stamp that this procedure took place – (I am thinking this prevents a person from returning the product) then you must take the signed slips to another counter where you pay for it and then you need to go back to another counter to actually pick up the product that you picked out 3 hours earlier. This is all fine and dandy but all we needed was an alarm clock- pretty sure you just plug that bad boy into the wall and it works. We are hoping that we don’t need to purchase anything more complex, no telling how long that would take. But all in all we have a fantastic alarm clock.