My sister Carolyn started her own Masters program in St. Petersburg, Russia in August. We haven’t properly spoken on the phone or over skype but we’ve exchanged a few emails since she headed over. A lot like how everything else feels it has to escape Russia, information from Carolyn has trickled back. We had a proper chat last night to catch up on what is going on in her life. Here are a few of my favorites or things I found interesting that the average person may not know.
In an earlier email Carolyn said that Russians are "really parodies of themselves" (haha!) Men wear shiny suits and have “bull” haircuts and the women dress provocatively regardless of their occupation.
The heat is government controlled, so when Putin says turn it on, it's on for everyone around the country. Carolyn said this year it came on earlier than last because people complained that they were freezing in their homes.
Carolyn said that she senses feminism hasn’t reached Russia yet. Among other things, she’s seen that men try to hold women’s bags or even hold the women themselves up in metros as if she couldn’t hold herself up. Some might call that chivalry Carebear...
She said that arguments break out very quickly, going from a casual conversation to face to face yelling. Before they end in blows both men shake hands quickly and leave.
Carolyn and I are planning to travel over the holidays after I graduate and during her winter break. I know we’re crazy not to head somewhere warmer but I want to see St. Petersburg while I’m still here and then we don’t know where we’ll head before or after. Just so everyone knows you need a Visa to enter Russia!!!
Carolyn is enjoying her program and it sounds like she’s meeting wonderful, interesting people. She has regular movie night every week with a group of other friends in the program. She has classes in the Hermitage museum and is headed to an Opera next week and will make it to a ballet soon enough. And no, she is not freezing yet! She’s able to get around in jeans, a t-shirt and a coat with gloves and a scarf but supposedly next week it will be negative 10 Celsius.
very nice! actually i only have classes in the russian museum but hermitage might be next semester. it's not -10 deg cel it's just less than 10 degrees so between 0 and +10. it's not chivalry when they grab you by the arm and force you to do what they want. i was actually headed to the opera but have just found out that i didnt complete the payment so my ticket got canceled. unfortuantely, i only discovered this after i got to the theatre so i had to find an internet to find out what happened so that brought me here. oh well, at least i didnt get charged for it. maybe ill see if i can get a ticket for halftime
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