Aw, c’mon, give us a name!
Hah, 7th floor, korpus 3, 1995-96. The floors for foreign students had improved dramatically by the time I got there, but the Russians’ dorms were still way the hell nasty. I didn’t care, I was there to party with Russians, not with other Americans. And god damn, do I miss Baltika beer…
So, did you go to LGU? (It was SPbGU by the time I was there.)
My wife got me started in making sure to say something like “Have a nice day” or “Enjoy the weekend” to cashiers/clerks, etc. It is truly surprising how it seems to brighten their day. About a third of them are really surprised, like I’d offered them a hundred bucks to play their favorite video game or read their favorite book.
I worked at Domino’s, as a walking cash box, so I don’t have the real cashier hell stories. My pet peeve is in a restaurant where the customer orders an appetizer. When the waiter comes back, they ask for a drink. When the waiter comes back with the appetizer and drink, the customer asks for some more napkins. when the waiter returns with the napkins, the customer asks for some Tobasco sausce. Repeat for the whole meal. People, the damn waiter can carry more than one thing at once! Let’s try to cut down on the number of trips.
Yep, LGU through CIEE’s Russian Language Program. I was lucky enough to be the only American in my blok, so my language skills improved more than most peoples’. I wasn’t there to hang out with the Americans, either, but mostly hung out with the North Caucasians, Ukrainians, and Cubans. (Actually, the Cuban was half-Czech.) There was no separate floor for Americans, so we suffered along with everyone else: the fitful plumbing, half-assed heating, and all. But I saw the regular dorms, and they were much worse.
Never tried Baltika beer (I hate beer), but Dagestani cognac could degrease an engine…thank God Dagestani guys don’t expect women to drink! It was a great experience all in all, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.