How to survive Russia #2

Following on from my previous post addressing manners (or lack of) in Russia, it seems only fitting that the next subject be on one of my favourite things to discuss/take pictures of: food.

I don't know about you, but whenever I visit a foreign country I spend hours trawling through what the lovely people of Trip Advisor have to say about the restaurants, cafés and local cuisine. If I ever went abroad and ended up in a tourist trap restaurant eating a burger and chips, I would be angry that I didn't spend longer trawling. If you want to experience the culture of somewhere different, you need to leave your own back at the airport terminal from which you came.

One of the main things that I have been asked since returning from Russia, was about the food and its stereotypes. So, now questions will be answered and advice given for any foodies like me.

I did not make this thing of beauty, google images did.

The first stereotype that immediately comes to mind is - борщ (borsch). Although it may have originated from Ukraine, the Russians have adopted it as their own, and I have to say, it's one of my favourite Russian dishes. With or without meat, and the thick, noticeable layer of oil coating, it's the best soup in the world (side note - I'm not a huge soup fan, so this may or may not be an exaggerated claim).
Aside from the colouring that's so bright it seems artificial, it's delicious. Be sure to go to Teremok (Теремок) for their borsch - it's the Russian version of fast food and it's great.

My own work of art - the soup

Unlike the borsch, other soups that I sampled were not as aesthetically pleasing. When I sent a picture of a vegetable, potato and egg soup that my lovely host slaved over the oven for, I didn't quite get the reception I'd hoped for - "I would rather starve than eat that" and "why did you throw up in a bowl and eat it?" You'll have to believe me when I say, it tastes better than it looks...



Aside from the soup, other traditional Russian foods include; blinis, cold/tepid meat pies, strange cottage cheese/scone type balls, shashlyk, smetana and a lot (I mean a lot) of cabbage and dill.
- Blinis can be filled with anything and everything. They can be thin like our British pancakes, or thicker and smaller topped with some raspberry coulis and smetana.

- Smetana is put with everything. In soup (see borsch and less appealing soup above), with sweet pastries and blinis, or sometimes I would even eat it on its own, because it tastes like a cross between natural yoghurt and sour cream.
- Tepid meat pies. Regardless of the temperature, they're delicious. If you're in St Petersburg (not sure about Moscow), go to the chain Stolle (Штолле). It's outdated and feels like a dodgy meeting place from the Soviet times, but it's cheap and the pies are good.

Strange cottage cheese scones with trusty smetana.

- Strange cottage cheese/scone type balls. They are exactly as I describe them, because there are no other words. I don't really know what's inside them, but I do remember cottage cheese being thrown about.
- Shashlyk is originally from Georgia (Russia, you gotta stop adopting other country's staple foods) and you may have had them in other parts of Eastern Europe, but I hadn't, and I loved them. Simply chicken on a stick. I had great ones along with lots of fresh, delicious sushi in Dve Palochki (Две Палочки).

I did find, however, that Russia is somewhat lacking on the lunch front, especially compared to the numerous patisseries and small cafés that you could grab a baguette from in France, or chains such as Costa, Pret à Manger and even the trusty old Boots meal deal. There are plenty of restaurants for you to delve yourself into Russian cuisine, it just depends on whether you want to spend a hefty sum on a sit down lunch everyday. I, for one, couldn't afford to do that for 13 weeks, so I am ashamed to admit that Subway proved to be a great back up!

You can really eat some amazing food in Russia, but you can equally walk into the wrong restaurant and eat something filled with ingredients that you never knew existed, and should cease to exist. My advice? Avoid chicken and anything wrapped in pork pie jelly that resembles dog food.

How to survive Russia #1

As melodramatic as the title may sound, this is how I saw my time in Russia - a (mental) survival guide. Even though I visited Russia once before, I was in some sort of University bubble with my non-Russian friends, spending 90% of our time in one dingey chain of bars, SPB (great 3 litre tanks of beer), and playing cards in numerous parks. The other 10% was spent in an apartment with a Russian host who was forever abandoning us for her dacha, or in a rubbish language school in a building that was about to collapse. So even with this experience, I didn't feel as though I had a huge advantage over those who had never been to Russia.

For those of you studying Russian, or equally for you tourists, I have compiled some pointers that I will spread across a few posts to help you survive the biggest country in the world. The first port of call - manners.

St Petersburg may well be one of the most Westernised cities in Russia, but don't let that fool you into thinking that our ways are even remotely similar. This may seem obvious to some, especially when there are plenty of universally known stereotypes about the Russians - "they're rude", "they're cold people", "they look at you funny", "the police are crazy" to name but a few. As a foreigner you may prove some of these stereotypes to be true, but in order to keep out of the suspicious minds of the Russians, you need to smile politely, accept them as cultural differences and rant to your friends later.

Firstly, I found that when walking along the street it was perfectly acceptable for a fragile old lady with no teeth, or a drunken, bald man to stop abruptly in front of you and waste no time in demanding how to reach somewhere. When I asked a teacher in a lesson how to get to a place of interest in my polite, British manner, she told me I was a complete weirdo to have said "excuse me" and "if you would be so kind" and "please". Be rude, she said. Well, rude as you see it, of course the Russians wouldn't bat an eyelid.

If you are studying and living with a host, it will most probably be a lovely woman who wants nothing more than to fatten you up and offer you a cup of tea every hour (чай, хочешь? хочешь чай?). Apparently the British drink tea at 5pm everyday, so when I was consistently turning down my hosts offer of a hot beverage in 25 degree heat (no, I don't believe that this could ever 'cool you down'), she was left baffled and defeated. I stood my ground with the tea drinking, as I was hot enough already in a bedroom with closed windows so as to not let in the deadly mosquitoes that are big and loud enough to leave you cowering under your covers every night. The sampling of strange looking Russian food, however, was difficult to avoid. I'm always open to trying new things, but when it looks like curdled cottage cheese, or has bugs oozing out of it, I'd rather stick to what I know. The thing is about the Russians, is that they are very persistent, and the thing is about the British, is that we are very polite. Somehow a sort of tradition was made according to my host - I would eat 'black bread' with every meal. I think I ate bread maybe 2 nights in a row with soup before she saw it as a dinner ritual. She would say "oh, of course Yeva ('Eve' in Russian) will have some bread. She always does." I could never say no, even if said bread was as dry and as hard as a brick.

If you're ambling down the street playing tourist, gaping at the beautiful buildings or equally at the homeless person with a huge toy tiger, you'll probably miss the Russians steaming towards you with no intention of moving aside. They will walk into you, perhaps nudging you that extra bit harder just as a warning to never look away from their watchful, determined eyes again. You might turn around and pull a "excuse me?! Do you mind?!" face, but to no prevail. They will already be nudging another poor tourist who is simply appreciating their city.

So just remember, if your mumma taught you manners, you probably don't need them in Russia. They'll just think you're either ungrateful or a creep. Or if you're really unlucky, both.

The end.

This post is slightly delayed since I left Russia on the 17th August, mainly because I've been so busy being a jet setter and settling in back home. So, after three challenging but great months in Russia, and an even more challenging but great 7 months in France, I am back on British turf - and it feels bittersweet.

I spent the last few weeks in Russia ticking off 'touristy' things that I had always planned on doing but had the attitude of "I'm here for 13 weeks, I'll save that one for next month." I managed to see/do everything I wanted to though, so the system does work! On that note, I'm going to do a post about the top attractions in St Petersburg, because it's an absolutely beautiful city and I want the world to see that too.

When my time in St Petersburg was nearing its end, I felt both excited and sad. Excited, that after a long year I was finally going back to the UK and not stepping foot on a plane in the foreseeable future. There was however, a ten day break between leaving Russia and coming home, which I spent in numerous European cities - namely in Bulgaria, Budapest, Rome and Cannes/Nice/Monaco, but more on that in a later post! After this travelling stint, I couldn't wait to get home, unpack my suitcase and leave it that way. No more living out of a case, anxiously awaiting my next flight in a mere couple of days. No more throwing up on planes because I'm a baby and can't handle turbulence. To have even a week without this sounds like heaven to me right now!

However, I was also gutted that leaving Russia meant the end of my year abroad. I cannot begin to explain how great this last year has been, as cliché as that may sound. I have learned so much about myself, met some incredible people from around the world (I have American friends now!), and been given so many great opportunities in the process. Now that I'm home, I'm hearing of friends whose year abroads are just beginning, and to them I say - good luck, make the most of every moment and please don't splash it across Facebook and Twitter, because I will 'unfriend' you purely out of jealousy.