Understanding cultural differences is a critical life skill that, when developed, opens the door to new and exciting opportunities. In my life, I have been lucky to have many different experiences with new and different cultures. From a class trip to study abroad to overseas job assignments, I have interacted with many cultures, each with different norms and traditions. One culture that has been exceptionally foreign to me has been Russian culture.
During our conversations, Anna and I discussed various aspects of culture. Initially, we planned to discuss cuisine, starting with Russian and then looking at American. However, once we got to discussing the similarities and differences, we shifted our focus to more general cultural discussions. In discussing culture, we talked about some key aspects—sports, the pandemic, food, holidays, entertainment, and slang.
As we got to know each other, these topics came naturally, the way that friends tend to talk to one another. In our first call, we talked about shared experiences in Ukraine, as I had worked there, and she had family there. This built a bridge upon which we could share our own cultural experiences. It also gave me an opportunity to understand the differences between American culture, Ukrainian culture, and Russian culture. As a student of the region this was fascinating.
Sports is a major part of my life. Whether it is getting outside and playing a sport, watching it on TV, or being at the event, I eat, sleep, and breathe sports. Typically, soccer (football)is a bridge between cultures that has been a great inroad for making friends and acquaintances. We talked about the upcoming World Cup, but in Russia soccer takes a back seat to hockey, its true love. Being a fan of the “Russian Five,” the love for hockey was no surprise, but I didn’t expect such apathy for soccer.
While Anna enjoys sports, they are not her passion. We talked about the Olympics and the various sports that we both enjoyed watching, and those we individually prefer. We were also able to share our passion for skiing. During the winter, she said, she is like a lot of Russians who enjoy going to Sochi for ski trips. For her, ski trips were a great way to escape the business of Moscow life. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she wasn’t able to go in the past couple of years.
Our discussion about skiing led us to discussing the COVID-19 pandemic. For her, and many others, the pandemic drastically changed her life. She planned to travel and had hoped to study abroad. But restrictions at home and abroad prevented her from doing either. Like in the US, the pandemic in Russia has led people to stay at home much more than normal. The availability of delivery apps and telework allows Russians to weather the pandemic more comfortably from home.
After an unexpected break in communications, we reconnected later in the semester. When we reconvened, spring was arriving and with it came the Easter holiday. Being a nation that rose with the spread of Eastern Orthodoxy, we talked about the holiday when we celebrated it in the US, and when they celebrated it in Russia. While it is still an important holiday in Russia, I was surprised to find out that it was not as important as it is here in the US or as it was while I lived in Ukraine. We also discussed the differing traditions between Ukraine and Russia for celebrating the holiday. It surprised me to learn that Pysankas are an exclusively Ukrainian tradition, as they were one of my favorite traditions while there.
There were a surprising number of traditions that I associated with Russia, that proved to be Ukrainian. While the topic of Ukraine was sensitive, we did discuss at various times traditions that I had thought were Russian (borscht, Pysanka painting, etc) that turned out to be Ukrainian.
While talking about holidays, one tradition that stood out was the role of movies in Russian celebrations. Like in the US, holidays in Russia have movies associated with them. Most of the movies we discussed were all directed by Leonid Gaidai, one of the most famous directors in Soviet film. The notable exception is the traditional film watched at New Years, The Irony of Fate. She confirmed the rumor that all Russians watch it every year on New Years.
Our most fun, and probably most inappropriate conversation revolved around the use of slang in the daily lives of Russians, especially young Russians. We talked about how swearing in English is very easy, and there are only a few key phrases to learn. On the other hand, in Russian there are many ways to say each English phrase, and with varying levels of intensity and vulgarity. It was quite fun to learn the various new ways to talk more like a Russian, as I had wanted to know how to more accurately express my emotion previously but lacked the proper vocabulary.
Getting the opportunity to connect with Anna was a unique and enjoyable experience. Coming at a time where our two nations and two cultures are at such a tense place, it was nice to build a bridge, however small, across that gap. While this essay only contains a small amount of our discussions, we learned that while our cultures differ greatly from one another, they also share many similarities.
