My personal impressions of what it's like to live in Moscow, Russia, especially as opposed to life in America. Of course, one cannot take my observations as pure fact. I do not intend to offend anyone.

WELCOME TO RUSSIA! (organization and punctuality optional)

...On Society
People stay up later in Moscow. Things open later, and consequently stay open later. I havn't found it uncommon to have someone respectable and of middle age call me at midnight, or call someone around midnight and find them still up. In America, unless it's a close friend, this has always been kind of forbidden.

In America, for most legal bussinesses the customer is always right. That's the rule. If you don't smile, you don't sell your stuff. In Moscow, as far as I've been experiencing, being nice is not mandatory. Especially with jobs such as cashiers for government operated services, the people who work there are harsh, and in general just don't give a shit. A day is not complete without a grumpy old person (usually women) yelling at you regardless of what you do.


...On People
People here seem to be either increadibly lenient or increadibly stubborn. Sometimes the rules are the rules and there are NO bending them, and the other half of the time, no one knows details about anything and you can do what you want, or they keep changing their minds. It's very different from how it is normally in america.


...On The Metro
The number of people who are using the metro in a given moment is moscow makes most of NYC look like a sunday morning durning church. It's packed. People move like rivers, and it's increadibly easy to nativate. In this way I mean signs to destinations actually exist, and as opposed to in chicago, they are easy to understand for someone who is not a native.

Also, in moscow, the doors to trains and busses open when the vehicles are still moving. I think America is too obsessed with suing and insurance claims to let that happen. HA!


...On Drugs
Prescription drugs here are wonderfully cheap. If you ever doubted the blatent money hungry green of american drug companies, comes to russia where a bottle of almost any prescription you want doesn't seem to be anything over US$10. Granted I don't know the quality, or if it's even possible for there to be good or bad quiality prescription drugs... but regardless, calling them prescription drugs is rediculous, because here you don't really need a prescription to get anything.
However, more than once, I've had pharmicists change their mind on me, and suddenly demand a prescription note.


...On Toilets Public toilets are far more rare here than I'd experienced in America or even Europe. When they do exist, they're almost always pay toilets, and far more often than not, squat toilets, which means just a hole in the ground with some plastic covering resembling a toilet seat.
Regardless of the type of toilets you will find in Moscow, or russia in general, It is defnitely advisable to keep some toilet paper on you at all times. Usually the pay toilets work on the stipulation that you pay, and then recieve toilet paper in exchange. However, it's not guarenteed, and in any other establishments you might visit (i.e schools, hospitals...etc.) there is rarely any tp provided as far as I have experienced.