Job Discussion Forums

[bobs12]

... you try to fix a leaking oil sump with a one kopeck coin and some two-pack epoxy resin...

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

I once tried to fix a broken toilet plunger with a coat-hanger and a rubber band.

I really hated sticking my hand in that cold, rusty toilet water.

In case you're wondering, the coat-hanger didn't work. I ended up 'manually' flushing the toilet for several weeks until a plumber with a real toolbox could be found.

PS: I have a feeling this will be a long and interesting thread.

[Communist Smurf]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi CSmurf:

In your case, the plumber was probably the building's own resident plumber - in which case the service is already paid for in the form of a modest monthly fee paid by your landlord.

In my case, it was a bit different. We called a plumber and arranged a time for him to come and inspect my toilet. Two men showed up the next morning without a toolbox or wrench, looked at the plunger, and then mumbled something in Russian and left.

I was at the time, but now it all seems pretty funny.

[zaneth]

....you're surprised and feel slightly out of place if a saleclerk smiles.

... you feel slightly nervous about how loud Americans talk on the street.

... old women gardening by the railroad tracks wearing skimpy bikinis seems perfectly natural

... you find it normal to check out keys at the front desk whenever you need to do something, and have learned to treat the old geezer's nitpicky demands with polite respect.

...a full sized piece of chalk seems like something rare and precious to be treasured.

... you feel thankful when you see that some helpful person has left a few napkins and bits of newspaper in the wall tray of the toilet stall.

...you think nothing of swimming downstream from the nuclear reactor.

... you would be surprised to see a cop with a shirt that fit.

... strips of seal fur seem like a normal fashion accessory.

...you don't necessarily expect a store to be there the next time you go.

...you see the space between road and sidewalk as potential commercial real estate.

... you've lost the habit of asking people what they do for a living.

... a steaming, towel clad old man sitting outside of a building in winter wouldn't particularly draw your attention.

....you don't even think of showing up at a shop within 20 minutes of the posted closing time.

...when you think about times in the past when you met new people (in your own country) you catch yourself briefly trying to remember who did the translating and how good the new acquaintance's English was.

[ntropy]

... you think doing laundry in the bathtub daily is a pleasurable experience.

[zaneth]

touche!

[waxwing]

maladyetz, guys, maladyetz..

now then, how about:
you know you spent too long in Russia when you go home and the first time you go into the local shop to buy some milk you shout 'Girl!' at the 45 year old woman serving behind the counter.

я в англию домой хочу .. я так давно не видел маму ..

PS what is it about toilets here? I have the exact same problem. My landlord came round and fixed various things which promptly unfixed themselves the following day (including the toilet flush).. I haven't had the heart to tell him yet

[zaneth]

We flushed our toilet manually with a bucket of cold water for oh, about 6 months I think it was. Guests loved it. Part of the reason I left it that way was that the bathroom was so small (How small was it!??) It was so small that it felt bigger with the toilet tank stuck unused under the bathtub. The thing I don't understand is this design where the only thing holding the tank to the bowl is this rubber gasket thingy, and the whole apparatus leaks if the the tank isn't lined up properly with the bowl. Would it be so hard for the tank just to sit on the back of the bowl? Who thought that design up? When the guy came to fix the pipe, he said that if I hadn't started the repair job and dismantled the toilet, he would have done the complete job and put everything back together into a useable form. But since I had taken stuff apart he would only put it back together if we paid. My wife was the one at home, and not wanting to deprive me of my sense of accomplishment, she didn't pay him.

You ever have the thing where hot water comes out your cold water pipe?

I still can't bring myself to use devushka for shop clerks. Still cringe every time I hear it.