A Better Way of Life?

"Some Russians are amazed that Americans work so hard and so long. To them, we work hard to earn lots of money so we can spend it on entertainment, eating out, traveling, buying things. Money is king. The American weekend can be a hectic time. In Russia it is quite different."

"My friend and his family, for example, spend their weekends outside of Moscow in their dacha, their country cottage that they rent for sixty-five dollars a month (in 1995). They pump water at the community pump and bring it to the house in a bucket and go to the toilet in the outhouse forty-seven steps out the back. They raise tomatoes and lettuce, and it is so quiet, he says you can hear the vegetables grow. There is no phone for disturbing phone calls from friends and they are out of range for cell phones. There is electricity, but not enough, so time to fix shashlik over an open fire and enjoy it with friends and talk about important or frivolous things without the intrusion of a television. It is the way life should be, at least on weekends."

"Quality of life is not about things, it is about friends and the time to enjoy them."

I think that last line really sums up the Russian way of life. The emphasis of quality over quantity is something I have really grown to appreciate about the Russians and I have taken it to heart myself. We should appreciate those around us and make sure that it is known to them and not focus on the acquisition of possessions that is all to prevalent in our capitalist society.

Excerpts from Walking on Ice: An American Businessman in Russia by Frederick Andersen, p.50

Remarkable Russian R & R

It was the last week of my fall semester studying abroad in Vladimir. I took Thursday off to travel to Moscow, spend time with my friend, Natasha, and visit some of the remaining sights I had not seen yet. She cooks so well. Every time I visit, I feel like I am at home, eating my grandma’s cooking. I enjoyed a delicious casserole she prepared and then went about my business. I had to travel across the city by metro and walk about 1.5km to get to the Armed Forces Museum. Making a wrong turn, I was pleasantly surprised to end up on Pushkin square and see a beautiful Christmas tree. Orienting myself, I easily navigated to the museum. It was impressive. The museum was built during the Soviet times to commemorate the accomplishments and history of the military. The museum continues to function today with limited additions pertaining to post-Soviet armed forces activity. My favorite exhibition was the wreckage of the American U-2 spy plane which was shot down in the 60s.

Natasha and I met again and we decided to go ice skating. We went Gorky Park. At first she was hesitant to skate, fearing that she might fall, but I assured her that I would not let that happen. After enjoying a brief snack, we headed out on the ice. The first time around was slow, but as time went on, it was no longer so difficult. During my visit, there were a number of coincidences, perhaps the most surprising being that Natasha happened to see a student from her University group that she had not seen in over 5 years! Heading back home, it was late. We had big plans for the following day. I wanted to visit the Tretyakov Gallery again. Since my last visit, I had greater exposure to Russian art and I also knew that the religious icon of Vladimir was located in the Tretyakov. Natasha later joined me there later on. It was great sharing our knowledge of the artwork and learning even more. We left the Tretyakov to eat dinner. We ate in an upscale mall not far from the American embassy and listened to a pianist.

After dinner, we left for the Gosudarstvii Teatr Kinoaktiorov. This theatre is famous for its actors, many of which are also TV and movie stars. We watched a comedy that was set in the 19th century about marriage between different economic classes. The language used in the play was fascinating. They used a special form which adds an “s” to the end of certain words in a sentence to denote respect when speaking to others. This style of speech was typical of the era. Seeing an advertisement for a special hot wine at the skating rink, we had decided to prepare some of our own at home. It reminded me of a more delicious apple cider. We stayed up late talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Early the next morning I returned to Vladimir. For the first time since summer, I decided to travel by bus since there was not a train leaving any time soon. I prefer the train because in summer, I once spent over 7 hours on a bus from Moscow to Vladimir due to traffic jams. The bus was only 32 rubles cheaper than the train and it was packed. I sat uncomfortably for four hours, ineffectively sleeping for brief spurts of time. I had to return to Vladimir on Saturday because I had my oral proficiency interview to evaluate my level of spoken Russian.

That evening, some of my friends and I wanted to celebrate the conclusion of our program so we gathered and split a bottle of Putinka. We also had delicious Russian crackers, caviar and cake. After our little gathering, I left for the center. With perfect timing, my coworker had called me and invited me to go clubbing with her. We went to a small discotheque in the center. The DJ there was playing my favorite music, Eurodance. We toasted with champagne and hit the dance floor. I’m glad to know such wonderful people here in Russia. It makes it just that much harder to fly home to America.