Thread: Cultural Differences Between Americans and Russians

Bronx residential area courtyards in pictures

Блог о городах - Бронкс — крыши и дворы

Originally Posted by LXNDR

the passengers must request the stop out loud the earlier the better but even then there's no guarantee the driver will hear them so sometimes quarrels break out over who's mute and who's deaf, doors get slammed and driving becomes erratic

"State" buses, trolleybuses, etc. always stop at predefined stops without asking. Only smallish "marshrutkas" ('taxis for poor') tend to skip small or "unpopular" stops and prefer to stop there on demand only, which is nice, since it makes the ride faster.

overall it's an inherent chaos

??
I'd say the system is pretty straightforward.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

"State" buses, trolleybuses, etc. always stop at predefined stops without asking. Only smallish "marshrutkas" ('taxis for poor') tend to skip small or "unpopular" stops and prefer to stop there on demand only, which is nice, since it makes the ride faster.

OK, where i reside there're no 'state' buses, the 'state' trolleybuses run once an hour on two routes only, the rest is fixed-route taxis many of which technically are buses, and these do not like to stop on demand preferring to do so at fixed bus stops (another law violation) which still need to be requested, and skipping them if nobody requests or waives from the bus stop, sometimes they don't stop despite being thumbed
under passenger seat at the back you're likely to find a wheel or a tire

over here it's the trolleybuses which can be called 'for poor' as the fare is lower and the ride is slower, i believe this should apply for everywhere since trolleybus and trolley depots are state owned

Originally Posted by LXNDR

i rode once a Germany manufactured bus which i don't believe doesn't have climate control system, the day was hot but still it wasn't on

... We tested new buses on an exemplary Artiom street. Talked to a cashier and he confessed that buses made in Lvov (a Ukrainian city one of Euro-2012 hosts) constantly go out of order. From him we also found out the secret of the climate system, an issue which bothers many Donetsk residents, namely why the air conditioning being ostensibly present, doesn't actually function. It turned out that having spend the finances on the air conditioner the orderer (that is the city council) saved on the pipes which channel the cold air across the cabin.


source: Архив журналиста - Европатруль в Донецке, часть 1 (19 фото, 5 видео)

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Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

??
I'd say the system is pretty straightforward.

that was said about life in general



another very interesting custom is painting border stones white near houses on the eve of festal days that goes along with lime daubing of trees trunks

Originally Posted by Lampada

Sorry to say, but I think you are being judgemental yourself here.

I respect what you're saying - but what other response shall I give to "American kids go to college because they're too stupid to flip burgers?"

Imagine the reverse:

"Russian kids _____ because they're too stupid to ____ ."

"Irish people ____ because they're too stupid to ____ ."

"Asian people _____ because they're too stupid to ____ ."

Where is this going to be acceptable? And in what sense could we fill in the blanks that it would not create a judgmental and biased statement?

Maybe the error in judgment I made was thinking that his train of thought would lead to nothing but further debasement of that demographic. Maybe instead it will inspire some American kid. "Flip burgers, eh? Well, nothing to do in the face of insult but to change the entire frame of my personal life in the hopes it will sway the stereotypes made against my demographic, across the breadth of time to come. [Attends college with the immeasurable goal of meeting capecoddah's unmentioned standards of behavior]"

I have no argument with the statement he/she is making about hiring practices. I do take issue with the wanton use of stereotypical language, only suitable here because the culprit is "American kids" and not "Russian kids" or "jews" or "blacks" or "women" or "disabled people."

I like being friendly and agreeable with people on this website, but there are times when I have to speak frankly.

And why would you want to defend this train of thought?

Originally Posted by kidkboom

...I like being friendly and agreeable with people on this website, but there are times when I have to speak frankly.

And why would you want to defend this train of thought?

Where have you seen me defending negative stereotyping? I absolutely did not like that capeccodah's post but we are all entitled to our own opinions.
It's when I feel that posting is getting too personal and too angry I want to interfere.

People talk ...(Deleted. L.)

That's a pity. It was a nice philosophic aphorism without anything personal towards anybody concrete.

Originally Posted by it-ogo

That's a pity. It was a nice philosophic aphorism without anything personal towards anybody concrete.

You made me curious.

As a neutral observer.... It seems to me that one of the things that Russia and the USA have in common culturally, is that the level of education and intelligence varies dramatically between different parts of society. (Europe does not have as dramatic differences, everyone is more in the middle of the scale.... )

Russia is famous both for amazingly smart people... elite mathematicians, chess players..... and for yobs, hooligans and alcoholics!
The USA has some amazingly smart and creative people at the top universities and organisations... and like Capecoddah said, university graduates who think Africa is a country.

I was wondering, what has the TREND been in education in the USA vs Russia over, say, the last 30 years?
In the opinion of natives of the respective countries..?
Is it getting better or worse.... what ought the government do, if anything?

Originally Posted by Lampada

Where have you seen me defending negative stereotyping? I absolutely did not like that capeccodah's post but we are all entitled to our own opinions.
It's when I feel that posting is getting too personal and too angry I want to interfere.

Well, I apologize.

I could probably benefit from the utilization of a little more restraint, myself. I'll watch it in the future.

What could we say about the concept of "fate"? There seem to be major differences in the way Russians and Americans think about fate or destiny.

In my experience, Americans prefer to believe that they can create their own fate, whereas Russians seem to think fate is something outside of one's control. Can anyone elaborate more on this?

Also--

Originally Posted by Deborski

Also, dressing standards in America seem "poor" to many Russians who do not understand "Wal*Mart People".

I must confess, I don't understand Wal*Mart people either. I refuse to go there. When my husband shops there, I sit outside in the car. I have anxiety attacks if I go inside. It's crowded with the most ignorant people you can imagine. *shudder* And then there is the whole moral dilemma of buying stuff "cheap" - which destroys local "mom and pop" businesses, creates a retail economy, and supports horrific working conditions in countries like China. Wal*Mart is pure evil, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by LXNDR

lime daubing of trees trunks

Why is this done? I have wondered about this all my life. In some countries this is really common and in some countries you never see it. I have never been able to figure this out.

They do it to protect trees from sudden weather change in early spring and late autumn. Also to protect from bugs, lichen, timber fungus, etc. There are many kinds of covering: different mixes of lime, clay etc.

Painting trees with some white substance is widespread in Russia
I remember an explanation from primary school that it's done to help insectivorous birds to find and eliminate bugs on snow-white trunks. But I'm not sure if it's true.

Originally Posted by Deborski

What could we say about the concept of "fate"? There seem to be major differences in the way Russians and Americans think about fate or destiny.

In my experience, Americans prefer to believe that they can create their own fate, whereas Russians seem to think fate is something outside of one's control. Can anyone elaborate more on this?

Well, "fate" is probably a way too bookish and alien concept for most Russians.
The word "авось" (a syncretic union of chance, luck , hope, and some efforts) could probably be more accurate.

Originally Posted by Dmitry Khomitchuk

They do it to protect trees from sudden weather change in early spring and late autumn. Also to protect from bugs, lichen, timber fungus, etc. There are many kinds of covering: different mixes of lime, clay etc.

Originally Posted by xdns

Painting trees with some white substance is widespread in Russia
I remember an explanation from primary school that it's done to help insectivorous birds to find and eliminate bugs on snow-white trunks. But I'm not sure if it's true.

i'm really curious how trees survive without it in other parts of the world

basically if you wish to make a city look like a village daub trees with lime

man, it's so lime


ok this at least has explanation, is there explanation for painting border stones white?

Originally Posted by LXNDR

i'm really curious how trees survive without it in other parts of the world

basically if you wish to make a city look like a village daub trees with lime

man, it's so lime
ok this at least has explanation, is there explanation for painting border stones white?

Well that's interesting because some of the countries where trees are painted have exactly the same climate and flora / fauna as countries where trees are not painted.
So who knows?

As for painted stones, the story I heard in school is that stones are sometimes painted white or reflective paint to be visible for low flying airplanes.
It must be a very old practice though, because throughout my lifetime at least, there have been more modern ways of navigating for airplanes...

A lot of weird things like this though, are from the War.... For example removing street signs... So if the enemy invades, they won't be able to know what street they are on... LOL! To this day there are still places in the UK where there are practically no street signs, and this is the explanation I have heard.

When I was going by train in Romania, I swear most stations had no sign to show the traveller what station you were at, and they did not announce it either. You were forced to ask somebody if you needed to know. Half the time you were not even sure whether the train was even at a station or not.
This too, is supposedly some kind of old paranoia related practice, although it's hard to notice what difference it makes.

Originally Posted by LXNDR

i'm really curious how trees survive without it in other parts of the world

basically if you wish to make a city look like a village daub trees with lime

man, it's so lime

Man, do you see ANYTHING NOT in the negative light?

The primary goal of painting trunks is to scare off hares and such (in village areas) and insects when a tree is in its most vulnerable (it also kills bugs who already managed to hide in the bark). The other reason is that it protects bark from sun and frost burns and prevents isolated parts of a tree from an early "awakening", because during early spring the difference between night and day temperatures can be quite big and potentially damaging.

At least it's supposed to work this way, as our primary teacher insisted. There are different opinions on this matter.

This practice is widespread in cities now, but initially it was used mostly for fruit trees for obvious reasons: they are more fragile than wild trees, and a fruit tree that awoke and blossomed too early would not give a lot of fruits - the blossoms often fall off when the late frosts strike. And in regards to city "non-blossoming" trees it's probably mindless tradition, supported by a fact that some people think that it looks nice (early spring in city could be very muddy and gray, and white trunks lighten it up a little).