Hi everyone! New member here...

Hello!
My name is Linda, and I've just joined the site. I'm from Pennsylvania, USA, and I am interested in learning about Russian culture and society, especially how life is for the "average Russian". I am curious about how the regular working schlub lives his/her life, how do they live, eat, play? What do they talk about when they're 'hanging out' with friends? What do they think of politics, religion, sexuality, and are they comfortable discussing such controversial topics? How can one invite such discussions without offending people? I have this feeling that people all over the world have much more in common than they do differences, once you strip away all the trappings of nation, ethnicity, religion, etc. And I feel an affinity for the Russian people-I want evidence that I'm right, and we ARE more the same than not...
I know that my country has not always been very nice to Russia, let's face it, we've not seen eye-to-eye as nations. There's fault on both sides to be sure, but to me, this is a very sad state of affairs. I see no reason for it to be that way, and although I cannot control the actions of American officials, I can try to reach out as a private citizen. It's hard sometimes, because as an American, I'm aware that we are thought of as kinda rude, pushy, materialistic, and that people think we're a bit full of ourselves. We are, sometimes, but remember, we are a young country, we were founded by rejects and dreamers from around the world. So we sometimes combine the brash stupidity of youth with bad attitudes and unrealistic expectations...We'll get better with time I promise, please bear with us...
There is so much I want to ask, so much I want to know, I am filled with curiosity about you folks who are so far away, and so often misunderstood by my people. Your country is frequently used by our right-wing media as a sort of 'boogeyman', and even those who should know better fall into that trap on occasion. I'm sure it's the same over there...it's so hard for either side to get REAL info in such an environment.
By the way, I just want to mention something here. I've been looking through your boards, and see a lot of Russians asking for help with their English. I don't really know any Russian, and languages are not my strong point, but I want to tell you that from what I've read, none of you have anything to worry about! Trust me, you have better command of English than many of my neighbors do, believe it or not...:grin:
Anyway, I'd like to pop in here every now and then to ask you some questions, if that's ok?

Hello Linda,

Sure it is OK. I think this website is created to help people get answers to their questions. I like your frank thoughts about our countries. That was just politics and I think that only people can ruin that barrier between us. Please post here or directly to me. We could also have a voice chat if you will be in a mood. Cheers.