There are always those interesting cultural differences that you become keenly aware of when traveling. And by keenly aware, I mean "smacked upside the head by."
Russians don't smile. It's not a mean or surly thing - it's a cultural difference. Smiling at someone you don't know is considered insincere in Russia. The Russians we've met here have been kind and warm and generous... but they don't smile.
Contrast this to, oh, I don't know, ME. A guy who's been described as (and I'm putting it mildly) Guy Smiley.
Day one, I just rolled with it. Russians don't smile. Gotcha.
Day two, I started to feel self-conscious.
Day three, I realize that I'm still walking around with a smile on my face. Women think I'm hitting on them. Men think I'm hitting on them. Russians in general give me funny looks.
Some of them are clearly looking because they notice I'm not from around here. A combination of the ethnicity, the hair, the clothes - it all stands out a bit around here.
But for the most part, they see an idiot. A goofy, smiling idiot. And I'm entertaining.
For example-
Rustic chicken. Ordering fast food in Russia is scary. The Russians don't make orderly queues - it's just a mass mob that crowds forward to the counter. I tried to order from the board at Rustic Chicken, but it was baffling. They switched back and forth between the Russian word for chicken, and the Russian phonetic spelling of "chicken". I got to the front and somehow managed to order a basket of their famous spicy hot wings - all the while cracking up the staff with my bad Russian and wild hand gestures trying to order. I think they'll be talking about the time that dopey idiot tried to order chicken for a LONG time to come...
Yusupov Palace. An amazing palace, whose claim to fame is that it's where Rasputin was poisoned, stabbed, shot, and forced to order chicken in another language. The coat check is in the basement, which has a ludicrously low ceiling. I rested on a bench near the restrooms, then stood up to leave... then smashed my head against the low ceiling. Like I said - low ceiling. After the pain subsided, a group of four Russian kids - aged 8 to 12 - ran up to me, shouted something at me in Russian, cracked up laughing, and then ran away. I have no idea what they were saying... but they laughed. That counts for something.
Cathedral of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. Went up to the ticket cashier and tried in my best Russian to spit out that I needed two adult tickets and two children's tickets. I gestured towards my family, making noises as if it would explain things. The elderly Russian woman behind the counter, nodded, then spit out in perfect English. "Two adult tickets, two child's tickets. That'll be 810 rubles, please. And if you have small bills, that would be terrific." Sigh. She didn't laugh, but I'm sure she got a smile out of me making an idiot out of myself.
But I'm having such a great time in this town, I don't mind being the idiot.
Awesome sights the idiot has seen around town-
The Hermitage. The Cathedral of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. The Kazan Cathedral. St. Isaac's Cathedral (couldn't go to the top because of bad weather). Nevsky Prospekt. Peterhof Palace. Yusupov Palace. Russian Museum. Ethnographic Museum.
Observations from the idiot-
-I wanted to take a photo of the statue of Lenin outside the train station when we arrived. Turns out the statue is gone for repair. Apparently some kids stuck a firecracker in the statue and KABOOM - down goes Lenin.
-Wandered through Kazan Cathedral. Took some pictures before someone stopped me because photography isn't allowed. I think he cut me some slack because I fit the Asian-photographer stereotype. FINALLY - the stereotype works in my favor.
-Young people in St. Petersburg speak great English.
-Passed a guy standing on the street shotgunning a bottle of vodka. I just assumed this was normal - but from the reaction of people around, this is NOT a normal thing in St. Petersburg.
-Matroishka (stacking) dolls are everywhere. The official souvenir salespeople stick to licensed dolls, but the street vendors carry a bunch of unlicensed ones. And by unlicensed, I mean really REALLY kitschy. Harry Potter stacking dolls, Barrack Obama dolls, Winnie the Pooh, Spongebob Squarepants, The Simpsons, etc. They're awesome in their kitschiness, but the art is just terrible. Couldn't spend good money on them.
-The apartment I'm staying at has the Russian Jetix channel and the UK Cartoon Network channel. It's really weird watching these channels because there are NO commercials! No toy commercials?!? How do they fund these things without toy commercials? Also odd that Cartoon Network speeds things up - the Ben 10 opening is about five seconds shorter by running the opening sequence at high speed. Also caught some interstitials that I'd never seen - like the one of Mojo Jojo singing Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."
-Saw a Russian Army Officer walking around... with his iPod. Would've taken a picture, but didn't want to risk getting sent to Siberia.
-Walked through Mars Field, where the Eternal Flame burns for victims of the 1917 revolution. What a weird weird place. There was a groom and bride getting their wedding photos taken alongside the flame. Some boyfriend thought it'd be funny to try and push his girlfriend INTO the flame. Teenagers were making out around the memorial stones to communist founders. And there were women walking through the park in the brightest hot pants I've ever seen. Very surreal experience. Lenin would not approve.
-Teenagers tried to bum cigarettes off me in English. I didn't have any, of course, but I was impressed with their ability to bum cigarettes in multiple languages.
-Lots of couples getting married around town. It's such a picturesque place, it's not really surprising. My favorite was the bride and groom where the bride was in bright orangish-pink and the groom was in full-on mullet.
What the idiot ate-
-Terrasa. Upstairs place with a view of the Kazan Cathedral. Had chicken schnitzel, Georgian fried bread with cheese and walnut sauce, and red caviar sushi.
-Albertone. Terrific Italian from Milan. Had the margherita pizza.
-Rustic Chicken. Russian fast food place that merged with KFC. Had their spicy hot wings.
-Stolle. Amazing Russian pies. Had the meat pie, the mushroom pie, and the cherry pie.
-Sadko. Amazing Russian restaurant with the singing waiters. Had the pork shashlik.
-Olivia. Greek restaurant. Had the Mutton souvlaki and a tuna salad.
-Shilla. Korean restaurant. Had the kimchee fried rice.
The Eugene World Tour 2009 marches on...