A Russian Diary —

 Peace Corps Volunteer Explores Life in Izhevsk

By Katherine Koonce

It is difficult to believe I’m into my eighth month in Russia. I think my experience has been both wonderful and awful, but after it is over, I know that selective memory will take over.

  I live in Izhevsk, which is the capital of Udmurtia, a semi-autonomous republic just west of the Ural Mountains. It is home to Mikhail Kalashnikov and his famous weapon, the AK-47. It is also claimed to be the suicide capital of Russia. The beautiful log houses that line the main streets here are overshadowed by Stalinist architecture.

I teach a country studies course to 11th graders and a discussion class to first-year university students. I never know what is going to happen day to day. My students are very intelligent and inquisitive. I never know which way a class will go. The reactions and opinions of the students almost always surprise me.

I spend the little free time that I have with friends who are mostly other foreigners. It has been difficult to make friends with Russians because they have so little free time and most my age are married.  I have done as much traveling as time permits. This is a very big country and train rides are long!  Moscow is a 20-hour train ride away, and that is considered close!

I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen. Russian food is good; however it is very bland. A lot of the food to which Americans are accustomed is just not available. I have perfected the art of making pizza, tortillas, hamburgers, and French fries. Of course Russian friends laugh because these are such stereotypical American dishes. What can I say, it’s all I know!

I have my good days and I have my bad days. There are some things it has taken me almost eight months to realize. Some major problems I have faced stem from cultural differences. For example, miscommunication is a common problem. Just because we are speaking the same language does not mean that we understand each other. Body language and other styles of communication are very often misunderstood. For example “maybe” does not mean “maybe” in Russia; it seems to mean either “yes” or “no.” I have not figured out how to decipher the difference yet.

I have learned a great deal, not only about Russia, but also about myself and about the United States. Russians live their lives very differently than we do. I had never thought that some things could be done another way. There are subtle differences that never occurred to me before. There are a lot of things that frustrate me mainly because of those cultural differences. 

One example that comes to mind is the idea of collectivism. We learned in our cross-cultural sessions during training that Russia is a “collective” society and the United States is “individualistic.” I try to encourage my students to think independently and they have a lot of trouble. They do not understand the concept of thinking on their own. Slowly I am learning why things are the way that they are. Why women wear such high heels and so much make up, why people eat the way they do, and so on.

The thing that puzzles me the most is that people are extremely perceptive. If the slightest thing is bothering me and I walk into school with a smile they will say, “What’s wrong?” They always seem to know exactly how I feel on the inside no matter how hard I try to hide it. They even know how I feel before I do. One friend asked me why I always try to hide my feelings. I suppose this is another trait of my personality that is so typically “American.”

The past eight months have flown as much as they have dragged. I have learned a great deal even if life here is not all “beer and skittles.” This experience has been rewarding for me in that I feel I have introduced ideas and concepts to my students that had never occurred to them before, as much as they have done for me. 

They make me feel so good and we are beginning to understand each other and why we are the way we are. They want to know why I don’t wear make up, why I’m not married, why I drink so much water, why I left my family to live on the other side of the world for so long. I try to lecture them on “normal” topics such as Dickens, or another assigned topic. I see them staring in awe. When the room is silent someone will finally speak up and say, “In America…?” It makes me feel really good that they are interested in my life, and me. Sometimes I feel like a celebrity!

Mastering The Language

I have found the best way to cope with the bad times is to have a good sense of humor.  Contrary to stereotypes, Russians are very fun loving people. They laugh at me all of the time, but I’m glad I amuse them.

At Christmas time I thought it would be funny to make a tee shirt for a friend. To make things easier I wrote down ahead of time what I wanted it to say.  I lost the note and as I was looking for it I told the woman at “Photo World” that “I urinated a note” instead of saying “I wrote a note.” The verbs are the same depending on which part of it you stress. She laughed and my friend reminded me that I told her I peed. I was quite embarrassed but I’m glad we both got a laugh. If anyone knows Russian, you know about all of the cases…

  Buying things can be quite difficult: words change drastically according to how many of whatever it is you want. I usually choose a case depending on what mood I’m in. The ladies always give me a lesson and praise me when I get it right. The words for flour and suffering are the also the same, depending on which part is stressed. Imagine asking for a kilogram of suffering! The people know what I mean but always giggle. I’m thankful they don’t give me what I ask for.

My fears of singing, dancing, and performing have been realized! Russia is a country of talented people who love to perform. Of course being a foreigner, I am often asked to perform. At first I thought, “This was never in the job description!” But after dressing up as “snow girl,” the granddaughter of “father frost” (the Russian Santa) several times, singing Christmas songs and giving presents to the wee ones, I rather enjoy it.

The matter of law enforcement also offers some stark contrasts from America. I once had something stolen. Rather than sitting for three hours filling out paperwork and getting interrogated at a police station, a detective named Vannya took a personal interest in my case, since I was a foreigner.

Russian militsia can look pretty intimidating on the outside, but really ones I’ve met are quite jolly fellows! Vannya told me chilling stories about close encounters with bears and wondered if there were bears and wolves in America. I never thought going to the police station in Russia (or anywhere) could be such an enjoyable experience. I thanked him as I left.

In thinking back over my experiences during the past months, I realize that Russia deserves more credit than it gets. The greatest asset this country has is the people. They are truly wonderful, hospitable, and very cultured.

It breaks my heart that they are experiencing troubles that I can even begin to imagine.

(Katherine Koonce, a 1995 graduate of Newtown high school, is currently on a Peace Corps assignment in Russia.)