Job Discussion Forums

[bobs12]

Babushkas selling kittens outside supermarkets.

Kittens sleeping on the meat/dairy counter.

Babushkas feeding stray cats in winter.

Little kids calling you 'uncle' when they want two roubles to buy sweets.

Souped-up Zhigulis trying to do Schumacher-style starts at traffic lights.


Anyone else?

[angstrom]

Funny you should ask, because I will as a matter of fact leave in exactly two weeks to the day, to my great dismay. However, I feel it's time to move on after an on and off 10-year love affair with Russia. I feel that Russia is like an impossible love with a drunken derelict man. On the one day you miss it terribly when you're away, but on the other hand, it's not really a place you'd wanna raise your future kids in. So, I'm washing my hands off of Russia and moving on to greener pastures; Having that said, I will miss everything about it, the sweepers down my street that I hear early in the morning, then in the winter, the snow plowers who woke me up with their gentle crisp shovels, the newsstand salespeople, the escalator lady, the toilet attendant who invariably poured her soul out to me, the rude bouncers, security guards, body guards, etc... Just about everything I suppose. But I'll be back, I'm sure, if only for a vacation. Oh and most of all, I'll miss the language, which I find is the most beautiful sound in the world. Ok, time to go, I've ranted enough.

[waxwing]

also relevant to me; i left about 2 weeks ago ..
I'm now in China, so that's the contrast I'm dealing with

first, the one that everyone expects you to say - beautiful women they are pretty special

some friends who were much better friends than perhaps I realised ..

I always felt Russians had a very European outlook, and that's something I think I will continue to miss

speaking Russian (feel like a real idiot here)

Russian black humour

Russian winter - the way it looks! I have some great snowy photographs

the Russian determination to have fun - the parks with funfairs and cafe-bars, the playgrounds in the dvors for the kids, the beer kiosks and the vodka drinking (dangerous but fun if done properly ).

btw who's seen Nochnoy Dozor? Don't miss it!

a personal one is that I will miss the clean environment .. you laugh? it's because I was in Stavropol, north caucasus near the mountains and I've moved to a city of 8ish million in China with the concomitant pollution - the difference in air quality is huge

[bobs12]

Wow! How long were you in Stavropol? What was it like living/working there? Money okay? Isn't the Caucasus area supposed to be e bit dodgy?

Easy seeing you're in China if you reckon Russians had a European outlook

[Nexus]

I also left Russia a couple of weeks ago and, like waxwing, my vote goes for the girls!

I have to disagree about Nochnoi Dozor though. I thought it was pretty poor and only keep the pirate copy so I can watch the scenes from around the city and the metro if ever I feel sentimental. There are far, far better Russian films around.

[bobs12]

why is everyone leaving Russia?? My Yankee colleague leaves next Tuesday. Is there something I should know?!

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[zaneth]

My daughter.

[dostogirl]

I left Russia 1.5 years ago. I miss..Russian kitchens...time spend in them, drinking russian tea, discussing politics

[rulezz22]

I left 7 years ago and miss my city (St. Petersburg) and friends.

[expatella_girl]

We went back to the States last month and I missed Russia terribly. Couldn't wait to get back to Moscow.

I missed the freedom and the chaos. Nobody in Russia gives a damn what anybody else does. That same attitude creates the chaos.

I missed the wonderful long summer evenings drinking beer on some nice little outdoor patio cafe till the sun went down at midnight.

I missed the (dubious) adventure of shopping. Hunting through various rynoks and kiosks looking for the most common yet elusive items. Shopping at Walmart is like shooting ducks in a barrel.

I missed riding the Metro anywhere I wanted to go for 15 cents.

I missed the music and the street culture. America is a wasteland of canned entertainment devoid of soul.

I shudder to think of leaving Russia for good.

[Phillip Donnelly]

I also have just left Russia; come to think of it, it must be five months now, but it doesn't seem that long, for some reason. In fact, I was only there for 10 months, but it was probably the fullest 10 months of my life! Life in Russia can be enfuriating in many ways, but at least it's never dull. And even when it is dull, it's dull in a uniquely Russian way.
Now I'm in Bangkok, living an easy if not very challenging life. People here are polite to a fault, the food is amazing, the weather's divine, and I'm paid nearly double what I made in Moscow. So why, I ask myself, am I sitting at my computer getting nostalgic for the good ole days in Moscow?
Maybe this is how soldiers feel after the war is over and they return to their home towns, and go back to working steady 9 to 5 jobs. Your life is much more comfortable, but somehow you miss the trenches.

[rulezz22]

I still wonder, why I'm not going back to SPB? Shoot, probably American life makes me, native Russian, feel unsafe thinking about going back? Isn't it crazy? I just wish I could find a way to feel good just where I am.

[bobs12]

It's a weird place when you feel more homesick for it than you do for your native land.

As much as the last week or so has thrown up more problems than a lifetime in Scotland could, and I dearly want to leave... I can't.

Masochism?

Hey, Bangkok... there's an idea... I was thinking of somewhere in Germany, but why not Thailand... Mmm... Thai curry...

[zaneth]

O the weather outside is frightful, but the snow is so delightful.

Though thai curry does sound awfully nice,

I'm looking forward to a slow winter of drinking tea with friends.

.....