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Your Stories From Abroad

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The Cop Who Took My Money And Then Wished Me A Pleasant Stay

Life is good, I think to myself, as I jauntily step out of the Taganskaya metro station. I somewhat know my way around Moscow, I can respond to people when ... read more

 

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There Are Some Things My Russian Host Mother Won't Talk About

A snowy Sunday evening was the perfect time to sit and catch up with Svetlana Franzevna, whom I felt like I hadn’t seen in months. At the end of ... read more

 

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I’ve Never Been So Glad To See A Western Supermarket

“Going somewhere?” My host, Tatyana Alexandrovna, appears from the living room. I live, it seems to me, with the oldest woman in all of Russia. She is less than five ... read more

 

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Naked Floggings, Arctic Plunges, And Other Russian Cultural Experiences

There is a fine line between pleasure and pain. Lying stomach-down on a scalding hot wooden bench, naked as the day I was born, receiving a lashing of birch twigs ... read more

 

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SLIDESHOW: Roaming In Russia

After a Russian Orthodox Easter celebration and booming shouts of “Christ has arisen!”, believers quietly pray in front of the ... read more

Elizabeth Dausch
 

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Bribery isn't funny

In Russian stylistics class last week, the topic of bribery arose when we were talking over a point of grammar. For the next 15 minutes, rather than continue our discussion ... read more

by Alec Luhn

18 Mar 2009
Slang

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Russian sports cheers

I won’t go into the murky expanses of the rude cheers fans yell in mat (the Russian cuss-word dialect), but I will mention the popular chant, “Sudyu na miylo ... read more

by Alec Luhn

18 Mar 2009
Etiquette

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Don't shake hands in the doorway

Russians have many superstitions. One that I tend to forget is that when being welcomed into a home, it is considered bad luck to shake hands or offer a gift ... read more

by Brendan Wilson

23 Jun 2009

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My Third Published Book: The Global Balance of Power

Book Description The measurement of the global balance of power focuses on the paradigm shift from the United States post-September 11th, 2001 preemptive doctrine of unilateralism to one of partnerships and corporations in a modern multilateral order. Although the challenge to the unilateral doctrine brought to light new actors on ... read more

Binneh Minteh

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Down Days

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by Cole   Anyone who has ever made a snowboarding trip or any outdoor based journey for that matter knows about down days. These are the days where the weather simply doesn’t cooperate. To say days like this are boring would be a huge understatement. ... read more

Cole Patterson

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The Sign Curve of Life

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by Cole   Nothing is ever as bad as it seems and if it is then the light is definitely right around the corner. All too often on this trip, we seem to find ourselves in crummy situations. The truth of the matter is that ... read more

Cole Patterson

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4 Weeks Down

I think its safe to say that nothing ever goes as planned. In the Marine Corps we have this saying that a 70% percent solution now is always better than a 100% percent solution later. The point is that taking action now with an idea of how things will happen ... read more

Brian Lipski

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Rain in Winter?

Sochi, Russia was suppose to be one of the most epic and awe inspiring stops on this adventure…..but instead of tons of snow, heli-boarding, and mighty terrain we were only met with cload ridden skies, rain and one huge wet mountain. This winter has been a major down year for ... read more

Brian Lipski

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Russian Stew

We as Americans know that attempting to trace our family tree back to its roots can be a daunting task. Sure we are familiar with our immediate family, our grandparents, and maybe even our great grandparents but that is merely scratching the surface. Digging deeper we find that the roots ... read more

Brian Lipski

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5/25- St. Petersburg, Russia

I took the metro to the hostel to meet my tour group.  If possible this hostel was sketchier than the first...it was above a sex shop....  The group went to Cafe Idiot for dinner, really good food, they gave us free shots of vodka--they tasted like gasoline/hand sanitizer.  I had ... read more

Tricia Reville

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5/20/2008 St. Petersburg, Russia

The woman working at the front desk called the airport and arranged to have my bag dropped off.  Thank god.  Today I went on the walking tour of St. Petersburg recommended in Lonely Planet.  I walked a few miles on Nevsky Prospect which included Kazan Cathedral, Stroganov Palace, Bankovsky Most, ... read more

Tricia Reville

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5/19 Continued...- Taking the public bus instead of a taxi in Russia, bad idea

So I got to St. Petersburg at about 5pm, went through the visa check and went to the baggage claim.  I had a sneaking suspicion, pessamisticly thinking my bag wouldn't be there--it was not.  I told a Russian soldier, he smiled, and walked away.  I filled out 3 copies of ... read more

Tricia Reville

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5/19/2008 Journal Entry- Leaving the US for Russia

It's 4AM NYC time and all I want to do is sleep.  Why do airport chairs have bars b/t the seats?  I have two more hours until my flight to St. Petersburg boards.  The lady on the flight over (Russian, Polish?) would smack my arm whenever she wanted to move ... read more

Tricia Reville

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Books

Alexander Pushkin is your new favorite author

Elizabeth Dausch

19 Aug 2009

Russia

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Elizabeth Dausch

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Ever heard of "Eugene Onegin"? "Queen of Spades" perhaps? If not, it's time to brush up on your Pushkin before going to Russia. You'll see statues of him everywhere because the novels and poetry of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (1799-1837) are not only loved by Russian people, but are also sacred pieces of national identity. As many Russians love talking literature, one should be prepared to address the issue of Pushkin. If you've read him and hate him, or have never read a single page of his work, it's better to err on the side of praising the man. Saying you're not that big into Pushkin is the the rough equivalent of your Russian friends telling you they don't think Benjamin Franklin was that great.

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Etiquette

Don't shake hands in the doorway

Brendan Wilson

23 Jun 2009

Russia

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Brendan Wilson

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Russians have many superstitions. One that I tend to forget is that when being welcomed into a home, it is considered bad luck to shake hands or offer a gift through the threshold of the door. You must always enter the apartment/house completely before offering your hand. For me, it has always been customary to offer my hand as soon as I see someone. If you do this in Russia, you may be rebuffed.

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Slang

Bribery isn't funny

Alec Luhn

18 Mar 2009

Russia

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Alec Luhn

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In Russian stylistics class last week, the topic of bribery arose when we were talking over a point of grammar. For the next 15 minutes, rather than continue our discussion of how to write an official business letter in Russian, we talked about bribery in Russia and the many words related to it. One such phrase is "vzyatka borziymi schenkami," or "bribe with wolfhound puppies." It means bribe with fancy, expensive things, and its etymology comes from the days when most important officials hunted and, as a result, highly valued hunting dogs. I jokingly asked my stylistics teacher whether she takes such bribes. "No, I'm not stupid like that," she said, her face slightly wistful but completely serious.

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