Archive for 'when in Russia'
Why Are Russian Place Names So Long? Posted by Maria on Oct 29, 2018
Perhaps one of the things you noticed when visiting Russia is how long the city and street names were. Maybe you never quite learned to sound out the name of the metro station closest to your hotel. “Novo… whatever,” you’d say, before taking off. Why do Russian names have to be so bulky? The answer lies…
Life in Russia Through 3 Vlogs Posted by Maria on Oct 4, 2018
If you haven’t had a chance to visit Russia or another country where Russian is spoken, or if it’s been a while since your visit, video blogs, or vlogs, are an excellent way to catch a glimpse of someone daily life. This post will feature three such videos and highlight certain vocabulary and cultural tidbits…
Advice for First-Time Travelers to Russia by Arie Helderman Posted by Maria on Jun 11, 2018
This post is the second in a series of first-hand accounts and tips from people who have traveled to Russia. Check out previous posts in this series here! Our second guest author is Arie Helderman, a freelance copywriter from the Netherlands. He runs his own site about learning Russian at learntherussianlanguage.com. The rest of this post…
Advice for First-Time Travelers to Russia by Emily Owens Altman Posted by Maria on May 1, 2018
This post is the first in a series of first-hand accounts and tips from people who have traveled to Russia. They will share their experiences and give prospective visitors some advice. Our first guest author is Emily Owens Altman, a librarian in Richmond, Virginia. The rest of this post is by Emily, with Russian spellings and…
3 Myths Most Russians Have Heard About Themselves Posted by Maria on Dec 19, 2017
There are certain things you hear a lot as a Russian traveling or visiting abroad. Of course, this list is a generalization and summarizes the experience of an average Russian. It does not reflect every person’s experience and is meant to be taken in good fun. 1. “You must be used to the cold” Russia…
What Subjects Should I Avoid In A Russian Conversation? Posted by Maria on Nov 2, 2017
Once you’ve learned enough Russian to have a conversation with a native speaker, you need to think beyond what you can say about what you should say. Let us look at several common “taboo” subjects and see how they are treated by Russian speakers. I will mostly base my observations on what I saw in…
3 Russian Drinking Traditions You May Not Know About Posted by Maria on Oct 26, 2017
Drinking alcohol is one of the first associations many people have with Russia (whether rightly or not). However, the drinking culture may be different from other countries. In today’s post, we will look at three alcohol-related behavio(u)rs specific to Russia. Drinking Gesture Covered in our overview of popular Russian gestures, a flick or tap on…