While at first glance the social aspects of modern day Russia may appear to be quite different than those in America, it seems that beneath the surface both societies are strikingly similar. Naturally, there will always be minor differences in specific customs and traditions when analyzing two different countries, but in the overall sense people will always be people. I have come to realize that the traditional American Russian stereotypes are completely false. And in actuality there are only a few differences between are two great countries.

The greatest difference that I noticed between cultures is the overall demeanor of Russian citizens while in public settings. The degree of appropriateness for different expressions of happiness, affection, and other feelings depends on particular settings. For example, one of the most commented on observations of our group was that nobody on the street showed any type of emotion. It was said that nearly everyone appeared to be "rigid" and "cold". However, after getting to know a good number of Russians I quickly learned that this was definitely not the case. I have come to believe that in Russia there is simply a time and a place for everything. The place for conversing and having a good time is not on the street, but rather in a tavern, for example. Furthermore, I believe that this "time and place" social structure revolves around the ideas of not expressing weakness and drawing attention to oneself. By maintaining a "rigid" and "cold" appearance in unfamiliar surroundings or in the company of unfamiliar people an individual may mask any vulnerability and also maintain social conformity--a direct carry over from the pre democratic era.

As for my observances on interaction between myself and other Russians and also Russians with each other, I noticed nothing that would be out of the ordinary in a typical American setting. Some people were quite friendly and outgoing while others were annoyed that someone else was bothering them. Though I do understand that this may not have been the case with many others in the group. I feel that I may have had a slight advantage in not being viewed as a foreigner because all of my free time was spent in the company of Russians and in many cases most people that I met were surprised to find that I was not Russian. My nickname back on campus is the Angry White Man so my only reasonable assumption is that I appeared to fit right in. In terms of our group's interaction as a whole with different Russian people I could easily see a negative view being cast onto us. On nearly every occasion when our group would be travelling somewhere together I would let myself fall a few meters behind the pack and just watch the reactions they were given by different people. Though I cannot specify exactly what was being thought by others as we passed by, I can definitely say that they were not thoughts of admiration. I believe that the size of the group alone attracted quite a lot of attention, but to add the conversive and free-spirited ways of the group were frowned upon. But given my thoughts on there being a time and place for everything, not to mention the standard universal regard for tourists, this really does not surprise me.

The people that I met and the friends that I made in Russia are what made the entire trip worth while. The people that I met ranged from the conservative, take it easy type to the party all night, every night kind. From my standpoint, I went out at night on a fairly moderate basis and I had two completely different reactions. The son in my host family asked me one day "How can you live like that?" referring to his perception of my extremely frequent late nights, while on the other end of the scale other friends of mine were significantly disappointed that come 3:00AM I would start to become rather tired.

These two general reactions seem to be completely consistent with the same reactions that I would receive in the states. I have friends that insist on going to bed every night at 10:00PM and I know others that do not even begin to think about sleep until the sun is rising. So to generalize the various commonalities that I have with my Russian friends is impossible because each person, as expected, has completely different traits and things in common with me. However, I did notice one universal commonatlity between everyone that I met in Russia and myself--and that is an extreme sense of nationalism and pride. Like myself when referring to the United States, especially Chicago, every Russian friend that I made was extremely proud of their home and country. And just as when referring to Chicago in my presence, anything bad said about Russia is not taken lightly by its people.

Domestically, there is a large gap between Russian and American lifestyles. While today in the United States the idea of gender designation has more or less subsided, in Russia there are still traditional roles followed by the men and women of different households. For example, cooking and cleaning is primarily the woman's responsibility. Although my hostess held a full time job just as her husband did, it was strictly her responsibility to prepare meals and take care of nearly all kitchen chores. On the flip side, this designation of roles in the United States more or less died in the 1970's. Humorously, I was asked in conversation by a Russian friend what my mother usually makes for dinner and after I stopped laughing she looked shockingly at me as I replied "Nothing! If I want to eat I either cook it myself or go buy it."

Another easily observable domestic difference between Russia and the USA is the manner in which guests are treated. In Russia the guest is given a pair of slippers, offered tea and a food of some sort, and the entire situation is well received and somewhat formal. Whereas in the states, at least in my experience, the traditional guest reception(excluding rarely seen guests and people to impress) is simply to take a seat on the sofa, watch television with the host, and maybe if one is lucky to be offered something to drink.

The food in Russia was different, yet very good. My two complaints are that the servings typically came in much too small of a portion, and also that the main filler of each meal was bread which was only able to hold me over for about an hour at a time before I would have to eat again. While at times I did indulge in American style restaurants, for the most part nearly all of my meals were eaten at home with my host family or at Russian cafes with friends. The Russian food that I did eat during my time there includes: hot cereal, open-faced sandwiches, and juices for breakfast, and soups anging from borshch to okroshchka, rice, chicken and beef, potatoes, and noodles for dinner. Occasionally, depending on where I was at, I also ate shish-ka-bob, pelmeni, and Stroganoff. And more often than not, each meal was almost always topped off with either tea or ice cream and fruit. Aside from the traditional Russian soups, most of what I ate in Russia was either the same or very similar to dishes that I usually eat in the United States. The only big difference that I was able to notice was the method of preparation. Chicken, for instance, was boiled quite frequently, whereas I usually eat grilled chicken in the states. The only other minor difference that I noticed was a complete lack of drinking milk. It was easy to see that most Russians consume their dairy intake through cheese and ice cream, whereas I am used to drinking at least a gallon of milk a day. Though I would not classify the Russian diet as nutritious, I would say that it is much healthier than the average American's diet. I felt that most of the fat intake in Russian food came from adding either butter or sour cream, while in the United States a lot of people choose to eat food that is unhealthy simply because it is easier or quicker to prepare.

Shopping in Russia proved to be a very easy experience considering a significant language gap--especially with my Russian friends always watching out for me. In every case that I can remember the salespeople were rather friendly, or at least eager to make a sale. While shopping in stores, I noticed no behavioral changes in the salespeople because of me being American. The greatest factor of my American-ness came into play when browsing through goods at private street stands. In these cases, nearly every solicitor spoke adequate English and was more than willing to lower prices to a level that I considered reasonable(though probably still much more than it should be). Furthermore, at most of the places where I did my shopping the stores were more than sufficiently supplied. Everything that I tried to find during my time in Russia, was an easy task(with the exception of one compact disk). As for shopping at food stores I never really had the need to. Except for one occasion when I bought champagne and chocolate, I never found it necessary to buy food. And believe me, the liquor store where I bought the champagne was more than adequately supplied! Of everything that I saw at all of the different stores, the only interesting thing that stands out in my mind is the high level of bootleg recordings of compact disks, movies, and computer software. The concept of bootleg goods did not surprise me, but it was the overflow of street vendors that sell them. The fact that there is no regulation, or at least no regulation being enforced on the pirating of these goods is what really proved to be interesting.

At no point did I have to take a taxi, but on many occasions I made use of the public transportation system and also private cars on the street. The Metro system ran exceptionally well, except for one major flaw. It is my opinion that any city that closes its streets for bridge openings should keep the only viable method of transportation(the Metro) open, regardless of passenger volume. At worst, the Metro should remain in operation and simply run on an hourly basis or something of the sort. As for the private cars, the concept of hitchhiking one's way around the city at a very cheap price is perhaps the greatest transportation mode that I have ever come across. It is a system that works out well for both the driver and the passenger and I only wish that it was readily available here in the states. And while I have read that the private "taxi" industry in Russia is in recent jeopardy of legislation being passed against it, I have also read that it is highly unlikely that any new laws against it will be obeyed. So hopefully on my next trip to Saint Petersburg I will have no problem catching a ride from the main island over to Vyborg Side.

While all of the excursions and trips that the group made were memorable, the organized tours tended to get a bit dull at times. They just tended to last much too long. For example, I made it a point to revisit the Hermitage so that I could walk away with a good memory of the experience. The tour just dragged and dragged and then went more than an hour over its limit so I became more concerned with ending the tour than focusing on the beautiful artwork within. Of all the places and things that I saw in Russia, I have to say that the most memorable and exciting was the trip to Novgorod. I was just completely stunned to see so many buildings from circa the thirteenth century. Also, I was really happy to get out of the city for a few days and breath some fresh air and see some grass. And while this may seem trivial, it really helped in adding to the whole experience. Another one of my favorite points during the trip was going to Peteroff. Seeing the fountains and sea and greenery all mixed together was truly awesome. The trip to Moscow was really unsatisfying for me. After being there for a day I felt that I had seen everything that there was to see--and essentially, I had. Saint Petersburg, Novgorod, and Pushkin are full of things to do and see in terms of history and culture, while Moscow seemed only to be full of things to walk by and look at. Saint Petersburg was by far the most fun and cultural place to be and after a few days it began to feel like home. There was terrific scenery and experiences all throughout, ranging from the boat ride on the Neva to the visit to the dacha to the most excellent Russian friends that I made there.

Finally, there were many more things that I really enjoyed about being in Saint Petersburg than I disliked. However, I have made it a point to only pick five from the "like" group and I was only able to come up with three in the "dislike" group--the last of which is questionable. By far my favorite thing about Russia was that I really felt to be in my own environment there, or with my own kind. By this I mean to say that the social atmosphere and thoughts of the people I met there related to an unbelievable extent to what I feel on a daily basis. Also, along those lines, I also really liked that the people I met were in a constant struggle to better themselves and learn and improve as much as possible. They were not content where they were at, but wanted more and I really respect that. Having food cooked and prepared for me day after day was also an experience that I was a really big fan of. The last two aspects of life go hand in hand, and being from Chicago I am really big into city life and also going to a lot of clubs, so being able to experience both of these things in Russia really added to the experience. As for the aspects of life that I disliked, I really grew tired of having to return home day after day and explain how my day was and things of the sort. I know that it was all good-hearted, but having to fight through it speaking Russian day after day became tiresome. As trivial as it may be, the having to take my shoes off and where slippers inside routine also became quite a chore. A very minor complaint but still something that got to me. And lastly, my constant encounters with the police(totaling 6) are remembered as exciting, but yet annoying. Nonetheless, as I said the likes greatly outweigh the dislikes. And hence, Saint Petersburg( and more specifically the greatest girl that I have ever met) will be getting another visit from me in December. Thank you for the experience professor! It's something that will be with me for the rest of my life!