What things about USA/Europe makes your RW laugh?

[LatinSwede]

What things about your country or everyday life makes your slavic sweetheart laugh?

A while back I told my dyevoshka about the US embargo situation with Cuba.  She thought it was really funny how US citizens are forbidden to go there.  After I explained how I could get in big trouble for trying to bring in a box of those fancy cigars. she laughed.  Cuba, beautiful culture, but an enemy government.

[PeeWee]

She told me that "Hi. How are you?" and "Have a nice day." wishes makes her laugh. "How insincere can you people be?" was her comment.

Mexicans who illegally enter the US also amuses her. She can't do it legally with out jumping through a world of hoops yet a Mexican can one day decide to move, so he packs a picnic lunch and relocates to the US. I told her it was much harder than that, and much more dangerous.

I like those illegal cigars. Yet I can get them and I don't think they are all that they are legened to be. Think Dominican in this case.

Peewee

[Phil dAmore]

Laugh?  I wouldn't know.  In my almost-5 years of living with Nina I have never heard her laugh. 

[Bruce]

   Now this could be a positive thread.  If my wife is not laughing at the cute things our daughter is doing then she is generally laughing at the stupid things I am doing......................the funny things that seem to happen in life usually bring out the biggest laughs.  Situational comedy - now if only I can remember the situations.  In New York there are alot of characters floating around.  Now those often bring a laugh or two. 

My wife gets a kick (as do I even if I can not really understand him) out of Maxim Galkun, a younger Russian comic on the Russian TV stations occasionally. 

However, I am not exactly sure what makes her laugh at the USA.  I believe she does not laugh at the USA since she is struggling to understand the USA's culture, politics and people.   

[Manny]

My lady finds it incredible that she can buy a carton of cigarettes for about £1-50 (less than $3) in Russia and we can sell them here for £20 ($37) - and if you buy some from a shop in the UK with Robber Blairs taxes on them they cost about £50 ($90) a carton!

Needless to say, 10-15 cartons a visit offsets £200+ from the air fare in profit!

Who says Russian Girls cant embrace capitalism? 

[LatinSwede]

In regards to Cuba, I rented a Spanish language movie called Hormigas en la Boca (Ants in the Mouth).  It's about the social/political climate of Cuba in the 1950's before Castro took over.  In my culture, there is like a new wave of really good movies coming out of Latin America.  Chronicas (with John Leguizamo), Secuestro Express (Venezuela), and Dias Del Santiago (Peru) are worth seeing.

I don't smoke, but I always come back with a lod of ciggarets to pass around to friends that do.  It's really funny when I hand them a pack of Trioka, and they start choking.

[LatinSwede]

Maybe this sounds mean spirited, but I really want to give her the Iced Tea Test, and the Gatorade test.  Usually Europeans tend to find the all American beverage Iced Tea disgusting.  A musician freind of mine from London's East End thnks its absolutuely disgusting.  During my "starving artist" days in Holland, an American freind of mine brought an Iced Tea maker.  We thought it was a riot watching our local Dutch aquaintances act like we just tried to poison them.

My Russian freinds here, think Gatorade is really horrible.  I guess the wife, won't be stocking Alpine Frost (my favorite flavor) in our fridge.

[Son of Clyde]

She does not laugh but was very shocked at the number of obese peopls she sees every day in the US. There are many black people in Baltimore which surprised her.

She really smiled the first time she entered one of our humongous Giant Food stores and went to a WalMart. Instead of her going to 10 stores in Ukraine she can get by with one or two in the US. She really was elated when I took her to a Hecht's/Macy's store, the second day she was here.

[Turboguy]

She really was elated when I took her to a Hecht's/Macy's store, the second day she was here.

But SOC it is not as important that she be elated going to a Hecht's/Macy's store as it is for you to be elated when you are leaving.

[catzenmouse]

But SOC it is not as important that she be elated going to a Hecht's/Macy's store as it is for you to be elated when you are leaving.

Darn hard to be elated when your credit card has melted from being used too much...

[LatinSwede]

I better go ahead and cut my VISA card in half before she gets here.  Do not get the store credit card!  It's an even bigger trap.

[golden25]

My { former } Russian wife Elena always laughed at black people, she made fun of the way the talked, the way they walked, and she always claimed they smelled bad. she told me that watching black people is the same as watching monkeys at the zoo.

[prince_alfie]

Does that mean the humor was racially motivated? This raises another question about whether the concept of political correctness exists... (sorry, off topic now...)

[Durk]

            Swede, let your friends try the RAIN version of Gatorade. Not
 near as heavy. Some reg. flavors I have to cut with water when training!
  The RAIN Lime is not to bad. I would like to know what Russian drinks are
  good. (Starting with nonalcoholic ones)?

[catzenmouse]

Does that mean the humor was racially motivated? This raises another question about whether the concept of political correctness exists... (sorry, off topic now...)

Political Correctness is not a Russian issue. If they have an opinoin on something or someone you will know it. PC (in my opinion) is one of the biggest problems in the West. We're so afraid of tellng the truth that we have to sugar coat it so we don't have any possibility of ever coming close to coming close to offending anyone of any race, religion, gender, age, food group, hair color, fingernail length, or any thing else you could possibly think of.

It is very refreshing to be in Russia (FSU) as you actually know where you stand with people.

Ken

[Son of Clyde]

I better go ahead and cut my VISA card in half before she gets here.  Do not get the store credit card!  It's an even bigger trap.

Just put a spending cap on it. She will want to shop in this new country. I made the mistake of not putting a limit on her spending at first.

[LatinSwede]

One of my Russian freinds told me "Never give your bank card to Russian woman".  FOr the meantime, She better settle for Wal-mart and target for the first few months.  After the trouble of getting her over here, and moving into a new place it will really sap my finances.

I've heard some of the Russian girls (guest workers) talk about black people being loud and rude.  One girls said "Black people talk too much nonsense".  IMO it doesn't mean they're eager to find a Klan rally.  Many of the RW's are turned off by obnoxious behavior. 

[catzenmouse]

I'll have to disagree about the bank card. Elena saves just about every cent she earns and usually only buys little things that are often gifts for others. If I was going to trust anyone with the family money it would have to be her.

I've also heard some of those comments about blacks (and some other ethnic groups) from Russians but not in a mean way, more of a "can't believe how obnoxious they are" kind of comment. They do get a laugh out of the clothes they wear. You know, pants hanging off their butts, what looks like a panty on their heads, t-shirts that look like dresses.

Ken

[Wild Orchid*]

I'll have to disagree about the bank card. Elena saves just about every cent she earns and usually only buys little things that are often gifts for others. If I was going to trust anyone with the family money it would have to be her.

I was good with my money in Russia, I am good with them here… 

2 all. How do you know that you woman is a big spender? Wal-mart? Thank you, but no thank you

[JustPlaneCrazy]

Experiences with my x-girlfriend of 4 years.

Somehow in one of our conversations about sex, I made the comment 'blow job' which she did not understand and I had to explain, she found this funny but what was more funny, at dinner one night with her family (parents and brother) she asked (out loud) if I wanted "to go home for blow job", I about fell off my chair.....luckily, she and I were the only ones who spoke English......

She asked me one day what time it was, I said "ten to two" ...she looked at me and started laughing and asked what kind of time that was....

She found no humor in black people, she disliked them and told me that "Bush should spend his money for boat to send them all back to Africa instead of fighting Iraqi's"

I agree, RW women know nothing about being politically correct and speak their mind, no matter what....

[prince_alfie]

Wow... quite a relevation... okay so basically do Russian women like jazz or hiphop at all?

[catzenmouse]

A Russian woman will like, love, dislike, and hate all of the same things that women from all over the world do. Each one is an individual and as individuals they each have unique tastes. A blanket statement will only cover your eyes so that you won't see when the train is coming... 

Ken

Wow... quite a relevation... okay so basically do Russian women like jazz or hiphop at all?

[Manny]

In my experience they like the black music as much as the next girl. I have had a few moments with my lady in UK, on her first visit she saw a black man with a white girl in a supermarket and went off (loudly) about her opinions on such a union. (and he was much bigger than me and far from amused - I think only her accent saved me!) There are no blacks at all in her home town, she has never met one, but of course they watch the news seeing racial tension in many countries and seem glad that Russia does not suffer from too much immigration.

Multi culturalism works in many countries in many different ways. In the UK I think there is more racial tension than the US, and we are not so PC and tend to voice our views more. Of course we are a much smaller land mass also.

Prince Alfie, being of Asian descent, has asked the question before on the RW view of Asian men, the general view was that although it will restrict him with many, it will not prohibit him to all.

If you google Passportmagazine in Moscow, there was a recent very interesting article about racial tension in Russia. (in English)

Moving back to topic, another thing that makes my lady laugh is our manners, in Russia, often a grunt or similar will do where in UK that "aha" (to mean yes) thing is sometimes taken as bad manners! 

[prince_alfie]

And it may depend on where in Russia that these racial tensions exist too. For example, Armenia or Uzbekistan or other "southern" FSRs would probably have less racism I would suppose because of the ethnic diversity.

[Manny]

And it may depend on where in Russia that these racial tensions exist too. For example, Armenia or Uzbekistan or other "southern" FSRs would probably have less racism I would suppose because of the ethnic diversity.

I was referring to Russia itself, not former states or neighbouring countries. Of course the closer you get to the border of another country there would be more ethnic diversity thus more acceptance of different colour/creed. What seems to be universally accepted is that Russian Christian women will avoid Muslims at all costs (excepting the ones who go Jollying to Turkey for extended periods - they fall into the Andrewfin 'Dirty Barrel' theory as a rule) My comments on this referred to my experience in Central and Western Russia.

Again, to remain on topic, my lady is surprised as to how the UK government mothers non white and especially illegal immigrants to the UK, especially the way Blair throws cash at them. On the flip side, when one is coming here legally, you have to jump through many hoops and are entitled no no free cash.