While I walk I notice things that are very different in Russia:
Maybe I will make this several articles, only because I have a bunch of thoughts as I walk. If I get going explaining everything You will find it too long and probably boring to read it all….thus I will expound one small post at a time…
Lets start with the Russian people:
As you walk around Russia you will notice, elderly mothers and daughters arm in arm walking. Not just a few this way, but daughters walk with their mothers and walk at the slower pace to accommodate the mother. I am talking about 30 and to plus 80 year old moms. The daughters of Russian women are very and I mean very attentive to their mothers. This starts at a young age and never leaves the social system….They walk and talk and they do things together. It is nice to see…
The elder woman is the true matriarch/patriarch of the family. Dad is boss, but very few dads would ever tell you that women are not the top dog so to speak. The woman is the reason that life is good and that life is pleasant in Russia…
The Russian woman is the glue that holds the family together and no man worth his title as dad and father would disagree. His life is as good as it is because of his wife and the kids that she raised with him. Thus, it is realized that women hold the true future of the family….
The reason that women stand out more than men in this aspect is simple life span of the two genders. In Russia women definitely live longer then men…
Men are very rough and very tough:
They have a sense of total lack of abandonment. Life is to be lived and experienced. Men will do 1000% more crazy things than almost any Russian woman would dream of doing and thus, men fulfill a real need for many Russian women….thus it leads to a shortened life span in many cases…
Svetochka and I are a perfect example of such an existence. I will step over the known boundary and jump off a cliff at a whim. That whim seems to be foolhardy to her, yet she jumps with me and we have fun and more fun. She has learned that I would not endanger her in any way at all. Again, it is things she would not do and never try, but by my side she will trust and jump with me…
The woman in Russia is simply a very stable part of the family and if a balance can be met between the man and woman. Happiness is the result…
When you walk you see an abundance of this coupling of male and female…
Which leads me to the next thing common as I walk:
Couples walk hand in hand and talk constantly as they walk. Yes there are individuals who go to work and do their thing constantly. But, when a guy is walking with his girl, she is his world and what she wants to do is the priority. When she wants to stop and buy something, guys stand patiently and wait for her to do her thing and we guys stand outside many shops waiting. No one ever talks much, we just mind our own business and wait for the better half to do what it is she wants to do…
This leads me to the introvert Russian society:
I am an introvert in the American society, yet in Russia, I am considered an extrovert. That should give you the huge difference in societies. But in my case, my core attributes are tuned to the Russian society much more than they were ever for me in America. I am simply an extrovert prone introvert… 😉
As guys stand waiting for their woman to shop, there simply is no acknowledgement of each other and no desire to communicate. This is perfect for me, as I do not want to talk and bull the time away. I have things to think about and I will look around and watch people as they pass you by in their own little worlds. Typical watching encompasses in a norm, families, mothers and daughters, couples or all ages and lessor but still prevalent individuals going about their business…
The one thing that is a solid fact, is that everyone is communicating with someone. The individual is prone to using the phone to see what the significant other needs or want, the couples are deep in conversation about what is important in their life, the mother and daughter are discussing dinner and or the upcoming holidays for the family and very prevalent is the families with kids and they are a bundle of energy and excitement….and you will find many guys walking and talking with the kids after work, while mom stays home and gets a much needed break from dealing with the monkeys since dad is at work all day….Dads listen to their children and you will find that most children have dad well trained in Russia…
The Russian family is a very communicative device. Not with everyone around them, but with themselves and this brings up outsiders…
Families from outlying CIS countries as par Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova to name a few, are much more extrovert and they are like walking beacons of noise, arm waving and turmoil as they pass like a wind through the crowded stores and streets…
Let me tell you: The day you see a Caucasian family of six to eight kids pile driving through a local store and or eat at a restaurant, you will understand the huge difference between Russians and Caucasians…
It is like a thunderstorm slipping up on you…
Well that is all for today:
I will continue tomorrow. These writings are for getting things that I see and feel and do as I experience Russia. You may not see them as important, yet it is Russia and it is from an outsider that lives among and with Russians daily. I realize that you have these people everywhere in the world, yet in Russia, what I mentioned above is the brunt of the populace, not the exception…
The exception in Russia is someone, smiling, talkative and being flashy to all around. There is a huge difference between how a Russian acts with family and strangers. If a Russian does not know you, you would think that they are very rude, yet, if they know you and like you, you will be offered all and as much as a family would receive…
One thing that I see and this is important, Russians will hold out their hand and help you up if you fall, even if you are a stranger…
They just do not smile as they are doing it!
WtR