City of Dolls

For the past 4 days, I've been hanging out in St. Petersburg, Russia!  I visited the Hermitage Museum (the world's largest art gallery from what I've been told) and the Winter Palace, saw the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (the most beautiful church I've ever seen), checked out a famous monument (of which I can't remember the name), ate in a couple Russian cafes, walked in a Russian park, visited a local grocery store, and shopped at a small market.  With that being said, before arriving in Russia, I had no idea what to expect.  But after 4 days of walking, observing, and exploring Russia, I think I've learned quite a bit about the culture of St. Petersburg.  

1) The city is FULL of Russian nesting dolls.  There are HUNDREDS of these dolls at every street stand and every gift shop in St. Petersburg.  I don't know if Russians think all tourists want to buy one or if they simply like them because they brighten up a store, but they are literally everywhere.  Not only are they everywhere, they're expensive too!  Most of the dolls I saw were going for $35-80!  You've been warned.

2) Russian culture is very different from American culture.  In Russia, people don't smile often.  For example, when you check out of a store in Russia, the clerk does not smile at you.  And if you smile at clerks or strangers, they look almost uncomfortable!  I've heard multiple different explanations for this, so I'm not going to try and speculate why this is.  But, all in all, Russia is not a very "warm" country. 

3) But Russia IS a beautiful country.  No matter where you look, there are beautiful, pastel colored buildings.  There are beautiful, ornate churches all around St. Petersburg too, including the churches that are not tourist sites.  I don't know why, but Russia is just a much more aesthetic country than the United States. 

4) The Russian military is everywhere.  I feel like I saw military personnel every single time I walked around the city.   At first, it was such a shock because the only time I see the American military in the United States is when the troops are traveling home.  But eventually, I got used to seeing the military every day and it seems like their presence is just part of Russian daily culture. 

5) The family dynamic in St. Petersburg seems to be different than in America.  For example, when I saw children here in Russia, they were almost always with their mothers or the elderly.  I almost never saw children with their fathers.  I don't know if this was just a coincidence, but I thought it was worth noting.

6) Couples don't hold hands in St. Petersburg (or at least I didn't see any that did).  However, it's a very common thing for females (friends or family members) to hold hands or to link elbows while walking.  Even though this isn't a huge cultural difference from America, it was still pretty cool to observe. 

7) It's true; Russia has a cold climate.  Even though it's still summer here, it was still too cold to wear shorts and a t-shirt!  I was a little disappointed. 

8) Religion is a big part of Russian culture, specifically Christian Orthodox.  My last day in Russia was on a Sunday, and I'm pretty sure I saw almost every resident who lives near the port make their way to church.   I also noticed that whenever females entered an orthodox church, they had to put on a head scarf to cover their head and hair.  I wish I had brought a bigger scarf with me while walking around on a Sunday morning because I would have loved to attend a church service, but I didn't.  However, I am still glad I got to observe the part that religion plays in the Russian culture. 

9) Russians have a strong opinion or perception of Americans.  In a Russian cafe, I was reading the English menu pages.  Under each food item, the menu would describe what the food was in English.  All the food items had a typical description except for the french fries.   The description for French Fries read, "This you know well."  I feel like that sums up pretty well how Russians view Americans!

So after finishing this post, I've realized that I still have many questions about the things I've "learned" while in Russia!  However, in the 3 days of classes I have before arriving in Germany, we will be discussing our experiences in Russia, so hopefully I will get answers to some of my questions!  But overall, I really enjoyed the time I spent exploring St. Petersburg, Russia!