My first trip to Russia: gifts for my host?

[Andrew James]

About to venture on my first trip to Russia. Doing this through a dance group which is running a week long camp in St. Pete & the Baltic Sea. Following this I will be staying with a host family for a few days. (A family of one of the girls at the camp.) Will obviously want to repay her/them for their hospitality, yet unsure about etiquette. What kinds of things might a Russian family like? Memorabilia from  my country, something for their house, a husband for their daughter? (These girls appear to be middle class, English speaking Russians, so that might help to set some parameters. i.e., bringing them a hamper of food might seem a bit condescending?)

*The camp has covered almost everything, including getting me my Visa support for free - making this a rather appealing way or traveling to the FSU - but there are a few things I will have to do myself. So a couple more questions: Will I be able to get cash out of their Bankomats and buy tickets on the Metro with only a basic grasp of Russian? (e.g. I tend to sound each letter in Cyrillic before arriving at the word, which I sometimes know, and sometimes don't.)

[OlgaH]

About food... there would not be anything wrong to bring something exotic. I would like to bring something from US for my friends and relatives, problem is that I can not bring it fresh only canned 

Here is a website Souvenirs Australia
http://www.souvenirsaustralia.com/category27_1.htm

Maybe it will give you some tips 

My lady friends (regardless of their age) love when I bring something like "Bath and body works", especially Aromatherapy: Pillow Mist, oils and body lotion 
http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2966726&cp=2484528.3214835&view=all&parentPage=family

Looking through Souvenirs Australia website I saw AUSSIE SKIN OILS 
http://www.souvenirsaustralia.com/category39_1.htm

For example MEN LEATHER AUSTRALIA WALLET would be a nice souvenir for a man. What about Bundaberg Rum? 
http://www.souvenirsaustralia.com/category8_1.htm

Just look for something very Australian 

My mother uses a debit card (visa) that we sent her, she doesn't have any problem. Probably you should notify your bank that you are going to use your card in Russia.


 

[Andrew James]

Thanks for that Olga. Sounds like Aussie might just be the way to go, even if I do end up having to buy these things in London! (Carry On only on the budget Australia-to Britain leg : rolleyes2:, unfortunately; more options for luggage from London to St. Pete on British Airways.)

Re. the Visa credit card: all is sorted with what card/s to take. My main concern is not being able to read (fast) enough when using their ATMs and ticket machines. Wouldn't want to hold people up on the Metro at 5PM - the time I predict I will arrive at Moskovskaya Station from the Pulkova Shuttle Bus!

[mendeleyev]

Given your luggage constraints, postcards and perhaps a photo book on your city or region. As long as you arrives with a small bouquet of flowers for the hostess and a bottle of something for the host, the other items will be fine.

[Aloe]

ATM's all have english menu, and if 1 doesn't, that's a rare exception so move on to the next 1.
In metro (at least in moscow) you buy tickets from a live person behind a window, all you need to do is give her money and show on fingers how many trips you want, i do that sometimes when i don't feel like speaking

[Andrew James]

mendeleyev:
Appreciate your recommendations. Flowers sounds nice and practical, as does Olga's suggestion of Bundy Rum. The keepsakes from home is a great thought too. Just got to work on something for my hostess, which will perhaps reveal itself in time. (I don't know anything about her at this stage, other than the fact that she is one of the 250 FSUW at the camp, to go with the 140 guys who have registered as well - which includes a couple of international blow ins like me!).

Aloe:
Thanks for that information. You have certainly put my mind at ease. (It's little things like this that can throw a person in a foreign countries.) I got a laugh out of your line about 'using your fingers when you don't feel like speaking' too!

[Aloe]

oh and try to use an ATM that looks legit, like is inside some kind of building or built in in a wall, there was this big scandal about someone installing a fake ATM on a street in Moscow, i'm pretty sure it was 1 time case, but you never know

[Sculpto]

backing up what Aloe said about buying tickets on the Metro.. I can say "skolka" but its actually quite useless when I can not understand the number amount they reply.  HAHAHA.. but nevertheless I had no problems at all buying single ride tickets or multi day tickets.  When I was feeling pressured bythe long line behind me I just passed a large enough bill through the window and always got the correct change back.  No problem.. don't worry! 

I would also back up Olga's ideas for gifts.  I noticed especially wallets are popular gifts.  My wallet is a tiny bit worn out but my GF insisted on buying a new one for me at the same time she was getting one for her best female friend.    And, what lady wouldn't like anything scented.  Though, I pose this question to Olga.. isn't that kind of gift a little intimate for a casual guest?  I mean, I would never give such a gift to the wife of an American friend as it could be seen as an innapropriate flirtation.

[OlgaH]

Though, I pose this question to Olga.. isn't that kind of gift a little intimate for a casual guest?  I mean, I would never give such a gift to the wife of an American friend as it could be seen as an innapropriate flirtation.

Honestly, never thought about aromatherapy gifts as an inappropriate flirtation

As we say (joking) in Russia: everyone thinks within the limits of his perversity 

[Sculpto]

Honestly, never thought about aromatherapy gifts as an inappropriate flirtation

As we say (joking) in Russia: everyone thinks within the limits of his perversity 

lol .. no the aroma therapy would be fine.. but the body creams and so on is what i was referring to..

shouldnt the joke be everyone is perverse within the limits of their thinking...

[OlgaH]

What is wrong with body lotion. I would agree with you that the oil for intimate massage would be too much 

shouldnt the joke be everyone is perverse within the limits of their thinking..

This also is true. 

[Andrew James]

Thanks Sculpto. The wallet would certainly be easier to transport than a bottle of Rum. Besides, depending on how nerve wracking on my first day in Russia, the rum might not even make it into the hands of my host.

[Blues Fairy]

A lot of Russians associate Australia with the movie Crocodile Dundee, so perhaps something from that imagery - a leather belt perhaps, or hat with crocodile teeth , or an interesting flask flled with something uniquely Australian, etc. Depends on the family, of course, and whether or not they have a sense of humor.

[SANDRO43]

A lot of Russians associate Australia with the movie Crocodile Dundee, so perhaps something from that imagery

Or, if they're musically inclined :

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC9w4KWEgJE[/youtube]

[Kuna]

Andrew,

You can get lots of stuff made from Kangaroo skins...  in the souvenir shops you'll find lots of purses, wallets, little hand bags etc.  They really go down well because the first two words out of peoples mouths when I meet them are usually kangaroo and koala..  no need for sentences, they just focus on the animals.

Bundy Rum is an Aussie icon and if your hots is a drinker then you should take some.  It need not be the 1125ml bottle, they will appreciate the different taste but WILL be confused when you mix it with coke because they'd NEVER mix vodka with coke!  

Boomerangs are also great (mostly for kids) because they may have heard of them but certainly would never have used them before.  They are light to transport too!

Having a mental blank at the moment but the other aboriginal wooden thingy on a string that you twirl around to make a bellowing noise... pretty cool if they'd not seen one before.

More bizarre stuff includes a coin purse made from a kangaroo scrotum... errrr....  but maybe not for someone you don't know.  

Have fun!

[SANDRO43]

Having a mental blank at the moment but the other aboriginal wooden thingy on a string that you twirl around to make a bellowing noise... pretty cool if they'd not seen one before.

Bullroarer ?

[Kuna]

Bullroarer ?

   OK, we're getting closer... we're looking for the aboriginal word for bullroarer (according to Sandro) and I'm pretty sure it starts with a W.

 

[Andrew James]

BluesFairy: Can't believe we are still getting mileage out of "Crocodile Dundee"! Can be fun playing to these national stereotypes though. It's part of the whole RW mythos too (however misadvised), so I might as well offer something small in kind.

Kuna: Would probably go with an ordinary wallet, rather than specialized scrotum variety - which, along with those overly sensual body oils, might not set the right tone for the parents.

Kuna, Sandro: A Bullroarer/Wife-Caller. Very clever. Could pull one out at the end of the camp and give it a whirl, see if they work?

[SANDRO43]

Kuna, Sandro: A Bullroarer/Wife-Caller. Very clever. Could pull one out at the end of the camp and give it a whirl, see if they work?

According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:

BULLROARER, the English name for an instrument made of a small flat slip of wood, through a hole in one end of which a string is passed; swung round rapidly it makes a booming, humming noise. Though treated as a toy by Europeans, the bullroarer has had the highest mystic significance and sanctity among primitive people.

This is notably the case in Australia, where it figures in the initiation ceremonies and is regarded with the utmost awe by the "blackfellows." Their bullroarers, or sacred "tunduns", are of two types, the "grandfather" or "man tundun," distinguished by its deep tone, and the "woman tundun," which, being smaller, gives forth a weaker, shriller note. Women or girls, and boys before initiation, are never allowed to see the tundun.

you could play with your tundun, but NOT show it - unless things have changed over these past 98 years. But you may need some practice with this stunningly primitive tool first, if you really want to knock them off their feet :

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kf_RYVt2XQ&feature=related[/youtube]

[Aloe]

Boomerangs are also great (mostly for kids) because they may have heard of them but certainly would never have used them before

what. i grew up with those toys, i'm sure i'm not the only one.

[Ooooops]

"I bought a new boomerang but can't get rid of the old one - it keeps coming back!"  (c)

[Andrew James]

Sandro:
But they left off the important part: "Aborigines also used it for communication hence the name wife-caller". (http://www.bushcrafts.com.au/Aboriginal_Artifacts_and_Paintings.html)
Pretty versatile device by the sounds of things.

Ooooops:
 
Could take a boomerang for the show off effect, though I'd probably lose my fingers trying to catch it (much to the amusement of all these drunk Russian men, laughing hysterically at how crazy we Australians are.)