Moscow - First Impressions

In an unexpected turn of events, Jerel has been staffed in Moscow for the next two months. He shipped out last Sunday, and I followed on Thursday. Three days into our Moscow sojourn, I’m already overflowing with observations on the many differences between Moscow, Shanghai, and North America. I’ll probably make a fool of myself in listing these as they go to show how ignorant I was about Russia before coming here, but here goes anyways:

Land/cityscape
Naturally beautiful – I was shocked flying into Moscow to see how green it is. Driving from the airport through the suburbs, I was taken with the dense forests, green pastures, and wildflowers, complete with women in babushkas leading cows around. It reminded me a lot of ‘Beautiful British Columbia’ and made me feel at home. The city is also beautiful, but more for its impressive architecture, in everything from the subway stations to the Kremlin. Moscow is very clean and has plenty of trees and parks, as well as a river winding through it, all of which make it a great city to visit.

Prices
Ridiculously expensive – I had heard that Moscow was expensive but it’s still hard to wrap my head around the prices here. For example, we are staying in a Marriott/Sheraton level room and it cost six or seven hundred dollars a night. Starbuck’s lattes are about $8, and it’s not just a Starbuck’s premium. We were hit with a $200 bill tonight for a typical Thai dinner… a meal that would have been a quarter of the price at one of our local Bay Area joints. However, it’s not that everything is off the charts - essentials like a ticket on the metro, water at the corner store, or snacks on the street. are very affordable (ie $1). I think it’s that anything that could be considered a luxury is maxed out on price, since there are plenty of billionaires willing and able to shell out.

Drink
Alcohol abounds –I had heard that Russians have a fondness for Vodka but I couldn’t have imagined just how much drinking is a part of daily life here. On the first morning, when I stopped in the corner store to buy a bottle of water, the two customers in front of me were buying beer and vodka – and I suspect about to consume it. Later in the day, I saw many people including many well dressed men in suits drinking beer from the bottle on the streets. Vodka and beer are readily available at nearly every shop/stall, and there is no shortage of customers.

Food
Surprisingly veggie-friendly – I had been expecting a diet of borscht and cabbage but was once again very wrong. In fact, the food here suits my idiosyncratic food preferences rather well. The street stalls, supermarkets, and restaurants feature plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and they are also big on nuts, cheeses, olives, and chocolate. Today I tried one of the street pastries stuffed with poppy seeds and it was deeelicious! I have also been enjoying the abundance of black teas, in contrast to green-tea centric China.

Fashion
Looks matter – The women in Moscow are very made-up, with fancy hairdos and sexy ‘look at me’ outfits, often including fish-net stockings. At the hotel pool change room I learned that Russian women take lingerie very seriously – there were no cotton ‘grannies’ in sight! It’s hard to articulate the style here as it is extremely varied, but I certainly feel out of place in my blue jeans and plain white shirt (too boring and underdressed). Maybe I need to buy myself some bright pink lipstick and heels… Jerel is thinking that he needs some more suits given the local dress code so we just might need to visit his newfound tailor in Shanghai!

People
Huh? – My experience in many countries, including China, is that Western culture is often admired, and English speakers are welcomed and accommodated. So, it was a bit of a rude awakening to find that this is not the case in Russia. There are far fewer English speakers, English signs, and general catering to foreigners. Thus far, the most common response to my English queries has been a gesture of “I don’t understand”; end of conversation. Today we fought back and finally bought a Russian-English phrase book.

Might makes right – It seems that people here do not want to go out of their way to help you - even those in the service industry. What we figured out, however, is that if you are pushy enough, you can get your way. For example, we returned to our hotel room after using the gym and needed to quickly shower and get out the door for lunch. The maid was in the middle of cleaning our room and asked us to come back in 5 or 10 minutes, we asked instead if she could come back in 10 while we showered and left (all in miming). She was very resistant but we would not relent and eventually she left the room but seemed very annoyed with us for inconveniencing her.