How Perm made an American a “Russian man”
Perm, famous throughout Russia for the famous comedy series, really changes people. A US citizen, Andy Frake, who came to this wonderful city in 1995 as part of a volunteer project, after that decided to stay in our country forever. What influenced his decision, he told the portal Ru_Open.
The American got to Perm by train, having been in Moscow for only a few days. The Russian train of the mid-nineties sample and the Ikarus accordion bus made an indelible impression on him. And then there were the famous Russian frosts at minus 40.
Andy began to learn our language already in a hostel with truckers. Then he went to Russian courses, but after two classes he was put out from there, saying that he had nothing to do there. Further training was based on the principle of "deep immersion." As a result, he quickly mastered spoken language, but due to the lack of a base, grammar and endings are still lame. Interestingly, the American even began to forget some English words and speak his native language with stumbling blocks.
Drinking tea in the hostel, Andy was surprised to learn the custom of dividing one bar of chocolate into several people. In the USA, this is not accepted, the principle “one person - one chocolate bar” operates there. He was also puzzled by the Russian compote of dried fruits floating on the bottom, which he saw in the student cafeteria:
He also completely did not understand the "joke" with turning off the hot water. In the USA there is no central heating; everyone has their own boilers. Once, in the late nineties, the whole district was left without hot water for four months only because one plant located in the same territory had big debts.
Firstly, the unreliability of people. The United States has its own business etiquette, when an American promises to arrive somewhere at a certain time in two weeks, this will happen. With us, anything can happen. Therefore, constantly in business negotiations with the Russians to make control and reminding calls.
Secondly, in Russia they are not able to particularly separate working time and personal time. For example, in the USA, after working on working moments, it is not customary to name. It’s different with us, Andy called home at a later time, which at first was very annoying. Now he refers to this stoically.
In our country, Andy, in his words, primarily likes the people themselves. With a Russian, you can just sit down and talk heart to heart, in the United States this is generally impossible. The Russians directly say in the forehead what they think, in the States they get by with hints. The American’s job is precisely in helping with the negotiations, where he helps to establish mutual understanding between Russian and foreign entrepreneurs. And this could not but affect Andy himself:
Of the traditional Russian entertainments, the American likes the bathhouse, of the atypical - kefir. According to him, he is not in the States.
Arrival
The American got to Perm by train, having been in Moscow for only a few days. The Russian train of the mid-nineties sample and the Ikarus accordion bus made an indelible impression on him. And then there were the famous Russian frosts at minus 40.
Russian lessons
Andy began to learn our language already in a hostel with truckers. Then he went to Russian courses, but after two classes he was put out from there, saying that he had nothing to do there. Further training was based on the principle of "deep immersion." As a result, he quickly mastered spoken language, but due to the lack of a base, grammar and endings are still lame. Interestingly, the American even began to forget some English words and speak his native language with stumbling blocks.
Russian "jokes"
Drinking tea in the hostel, Andy was surprised to learn the custom of dividing one bar of chocolate into several people. In the USA, this is not accepted, the principle “one person - one chocolate bar” operates there. He was also puzzled by the Russian compote of dried fruits floating on the bottom, which he saw in the student cafeteria:
How is it: juice, and the bottom is dead fruit? Why, why? It was strange for me. Why are fruits left that need to be discarded already?
He also completely did not understand the "joke" with turning off the hot water. In the USA there is no central heating; everyone has their own boilers. Once, in the late nineties, the whole district was left without hot water for four months only because one plant located in the same territory had big debts.
What do not like in Russia
Firstly, the unreliability of people. The United States has its own business etiquette, when an American promises to arrive somewhere at a certain time in two weeks, this will happen. With us, anything can happen. Therefore, constantly in business negotiations with the Russians to make control and reminding calls.
Secondly, in Russia they are not able to particularly separate working time and personal time. For example, in the USA, after working on working moments, it is not customary to name. It’s different with us, Andy called home at a later time, which at first was very annoying. Now he refers to this stoically.
What do you like in Russia
In our country, Andy, in his words, primarily likes the people themselves. With a Russian, you can just sit down and talk heart to heart, in the United States this is generally impossible. The Russians directly say in the forehead what they think, in the States they get by with hints. The American’s job is precisely in helping with the negotiations, where he helps to establish mutual understanding between Russian and foreign entrepreneurs. And this could not but affect Andy himself:
When I am here, I am American, and when I am there, I am Russian. People notice this, because I behave differently, I can be more direct than most Americans.
Of the traditional Russian entertainments, the American likes the bathhouse, of the atypical - kefir. According to him, he is not in the States.
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