Potpourri

-Russians always take their shoes off when they go in people's homes and wear slippers inside. No one is ever barefoot. 

-I had no idea before, but many different kinds of porridges exist, and I think I've tried a good number of them this summer. Not all porridges are created equal though. 

-My host family tells me there's virtually no middle class in Russia. Most people are poor while a few at the top have money. I'm guessing they're closer to the top, judging by the number of homes, employees, and vacations they have. 

-Russian cuisine consists mostly of meat, potatoes, and soups. As a vegetarian, I can't eat most of it. There doesn't appear to be a wide variety of pastries in this country either. 

-Black bread is good and hard  but not actually black. 

-And they drink tons of tea! 

-They put something called Smetana on almost everything they eat. Bread, soups, vegetables, you name it. Smetana is similar to sour cream but milder and less sour. I can't say it's my favorite. I think the dependence on smetana to add flavor to anything reveals a lot about Russian food. 

-the White Nights of St. Petersburg are finally over. I'm glad the sun is setting at a time I'm more accustomed to, because it was hard to fall asleep with the sun still up at midnight. 

-Russia is a place of extremes. Extreme poverty or extreme wealth, almost 24 hours of sunlight in summer or almost no sun in winter, no sense of style or...no sense of style. Ok maybe this isn't one thing or the other, but Russian fashion sense can best be described as extreme. The people here walk with a stone cold serious expression on their faces, and they  seem to have that same serious attitude when it comes to getting dressed. Russians are not playing around with their clothes. Clothing MUST have leopard print, velour, floral print, or rhinestones on it for it to be worn/purchased. If it doesn't have any of that, get that ish outta here! There are fashion trends that Russians seem to have a lasting, cross-generational love for, and that they never want to see die. Like velour track suits, which I thought people stopped wearing after 2005.  What I'm saying is, they don't know how to dress. 

-Russians' style of driving is best described as aggressive. They drive fast and with little regard for the rules of the road. I'm grateful my host family has a driver to take us everywhere, because I would be too afraid to get behind the wheel myself. 

-hitch hiking is very common here. People stand along the side of the road the same as anywhere else.  Unlike other countries, Russian hitch hikers will pay the car that picks them up.  Any car has the potential to be a taxi. I haven't done this yet and I don't plan on it since my languages skills are subpar.