I like Russians

I am constantly trying to define Russians, trying to pinpoint some overarching character trait and create a mold. The futility of this is beginning to dawn on me. I’ve never tried to define what Americans are, because how can you? There is no one thing that binds all 300 million of us. There are good Russians and there are bad Russians. There are friendly and outgoing Russians and there are obstinate Russians and there are pretty Russians and ugly Russians. Yes, I guess all I can really say is that Russia, like anywhere else, has a great diversity of personality.
That being said, Russians do have a unique culture and a way of doing things that is different from what I’m used to. I first noticed this when I went to New York with English and my Russian friend Vasily. We drove from Clemson to Washington D.C. to New York, and along the way I noticed a few things that I now know are characteristically Russian.
Firstly, Russians seem to have a special love of automobiles. Vasily loved to drive. He chose to drive to New York City when we could have easily flown for about the same price. To him it was a great American road trip; to me it was I-95 for 14 hours! All the same, Vasily was so impressed with the quality of the roads, and cruising around in his older-model Lincoln Towncar we were really riding in comfort. He was very particular about the car, which was at least 15 years old and had way over 100,000 miles on it. It struck me as kind of funny because he bought it when he got to the United States, and he is returning to Russia sometime this summer- so this was not a long-term investment. But, before we could take off in the morning we would turn the engine on, sit in the car, and wait for about five minutes for the engine to warm up: “this improves the longevity of the car.” Well, no reason to argue. We stopped a few times along the way to let the engine cool, though the gauges suggested that it was operating at a normal temperature.
Vasily really treated his car well. My Russian friends here are also very particular and very proud of their cars. My friend Max has an old Lada, a Russian made car, that has difficulty starting in cold weather and sometimes turns off at stoplights. But, he has put a lot of work into it, fixing it up and making it run well. The Russians are a bit car-crazy; they love Mustangs and American muscle cars. I have seen more luxury automobiles in Moscow than I have ever seen in my life: several Bentleys cruising around, countless Mercedes, Audis, BMWs, and we saw a Ferrari dealership the other day.
Secondly, Russians have a fluid concept of time. When we were in New York, I wanted to be active. If we were going to eat, then I wanted to be in and out so that we could maximize our time adventuring! Vasily liked to take it easy and thought I was funny in my rush. When I am on vacation, the last thing I want to do is rest. I can rest at home, so let’s go see everything while we’re here! Vasily didn’t mind taking his time with things. When English and I accidentally took the subway over to Brooklyn and then had to backtrack, I was frustrated at the hour that I lost. When Vasily decided to go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the hour-long line to get tickets didn’t faze him, neither did the tremendous opportunity cost of being out on the water all day.
Especially among our male Russian friends, schedules may as well be written in the sand with the tide coming in. I learned quickly to not base my schedule around them. When they say “we’ll be there at three to do ____,” that really means “we’ll be there around five, sit around a bit and talk, and then go do ____ at six thirty.” It’s not a bad trait, it’s just not the way I do it.
Thirdly, Russians take things in stride. When things didn’t go our way or schedules were interrupted, Vasily would not be worried in the least. Where are we going to stay tonight? Where are we going to park? What are we going to do? Eh, we’ll figure it out; that was Vasily’s attitude. It’s a nice way to be. I’ve found Russians to be calm in situations when I am angry or worried. I like to be proactive with things. I like to channel that nervous energy towards fixing problems and finding solutions! I enjoy the emotional rush of uncertainty. Also, when something doesn’t work out, it distresses me. I’m bothered when my plans go awry. It’d be accurate to say that Russians are fatalistic: things happen, and that’s the way the world works. Nope, things happen because we make them happen!!!
When we went to the Georgian restaurant and were ripped off (previous post), the Russians didn’t seem too bothered about the whole ordeal. It’s just money after all. I guess that’s true. In the grand scheme of life, I’m not going to miss $25. Still, that didn’t have to happen…
Anyways, you can probably disregard everything I just said because it’s likely to be completely untrue. Still, those are my impressions.