What is student life like in Russia? Student life in Russian is very different to that in the UK. Students have more classes, less time for extracurriculum activities. Societies and sport clubs don't seem to be that popular and are not nearly as diverse. Students will usually suggest going for a walk instead of having coffee or tea in a café. Also students don't go out as much. In the UK, a lot of students go to pubs or night clubs on Fridays and Saturdays, and sometimes on Wednesdays too, but it's definitely not as usual here. How are living costs and standards of living compared to Scotland? It's much cheaper to live in Russia, especially in Yaroslavl (Moscow might end up being as expensive as a number of big cities in the UK but it's an exception in Russia). A bus ticket costs 23 roubles. Restaurants offer "Business lunchs" where you can end up paying only 190 roubles (about £2.5) for a soup, a small pizza and tea/coffee/juice. You can go to the teatre or the philharmonic or 500 roubles and actually watch something of quality. The problem is that Russian salaries are significantly smaller, so the living standards are actually lower. What is the most challenging aspect of living in Russia? I think at the beginning it was the language barrier and the difficulty of making friends with Russians (we couldn't really find any opportunity to socialize) but now I would say it's definitely the culture clash. People tend to be harsher, tougher here. Plus, people in Yaroslavl are known to be quite rude, which doesn't make it any easier. Of course, some people are really nice but others, especially in shops are not exactly pleasant. People stare a lot in the streets. Some people have no shame and don't mind saying very inappropriate things (homophobic, racist or sexist). What do you do for fun in Russia? I like to go on walks with friends (now it's a bit too cold for that but well...). The city is beautiful, especially at night. We used to go bowling with our language group every Sunday. We also went to a couple of karaoke bars. Every Saturday, a friend and I watch a Russian movie together. I also go regularly to the gym or go for runs (it's getting too cold for that now). What is your favourite Russian food? I like mushroom soup, пельмени (russian dumplings) and плов (rice with minced beef, carrots and spices). But my favourite dish here is more of a Georgian dish. I absolutely love Харчо, which is a dish consisting of beef, rice, cherry plum purée and chopped English walnut. There are a lot of Georgian restaurants in Yaroslavl and they are definitely my favourite places to eat. Where do people tend to go in Yaroslavl? A mall, Aura, recently opened in Yaroslavl. It has a variety of shops, a relatively big food section, a bowling and an arcade. It's quite popular and it's always full of people on weekends. People sometimes just meet at a friend's, sometimes in bars (the Cocktail Bar on the main pedestrian street is open 24/7 and seems to be very popular). Karaoke is also quite popular here, and not only for young people. There are a number of cinemas, which are quite cheap. People seem to visit the theatre or the philharmonic quite often or at least try to. People of all ages go to hockey matches, which are fun. Finally, when the weather is good, people just walk. They love walking and talking. The embankment is really pretty and the city in general is beautiful so it's a complete pleasure to just walk around with a friend and talk. Older people often visit their cottage house during weekends and more often during the summer. To quote a number of people, going to the datcha is 'Russia's national sport'. Where were you born and raised? How does that compare with life in Russia? I was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. Life is very different in Russia. I felt much less of a culture shock when I moved to the UK. People are much nicer, polite and patient in Morocco, but in Russia like in Morocco people live together, they interact very openly. People care more about what goes on around them and about other people. The weather is very different in Casablanca where temperatures are never extreme. Russians are just used to the cold, but they still cover a lot. The children are always covered in layers of clothes, always with a hat and gloves on, and that applies even when the temperature is not that cold (5 to 7 degrees). Public transport is very good here, you can reach any part of the city with multiple buses and links between cities, towns and even villages in the region are frequent. You don't really need a car at all. People can even reach their datcha by bus. You can sometimes see about 5 buses stop at the same time at a bus stop. That is not so much the case in Morocco. Also I find life here fascinating. Everything is new for me. Even the simplest notions I have about life are completely destroyed on a daily basis and there are some specific unexpected norms here:
I hope this was informative. Let me know if you have other questions. Пока!
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AuthorThird year student at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Studies Russian, German and International Relations. Loves traveling. Loves languages. Loves to share. Hence, this BLOG! Archives
January 2018
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