10 surprises for an American living in Russia 

I wanted to say a big THANK YOU, и СПАСИБО огромное for the response to this video! There are far too many comments for me to be able to respond to everyone, but just know I really appreciate your responses to this video. I've been away from RU-vid for a while, but know that I am back and making new videos, so please stay tuned for what's to come on my channel! :)

The only reason why Russian girls wear scarves is that they don’t like winter hats and find scarves more elegant. No religious context to be honest 🤷‍♀️ Edit: I'm not talking about church here. I'm talking about street fashion in big cities like Saint Petersburg or Moscow. And yes, I'm Russian and orthodox, so I pretty much know what I'm talking about ✌️

It's not really "military presence" Soldiers don't patrol or control, except in facilities. You basically see youngsters in uniforms coming and going. That's all.

Being a cold war kid, I think it's incredible that Russians come to the US to tour and party and Americans go there to do the same. Both countries are awesome.

You look like a Disney’s princess from “brave”

As a Russian there is a thing I can say about the military academies in SPb. Saint-Petersburg is the place where the Russian navy was born, so military/navy academies are there a lot, while in the US, they are in remote places (West Point) or smaller towns (Annapolis), that's why military personnel is more noticeable here. plus there's a lot of policemen, national guard, etc

I miss those looooong escalators. It feels like a nice transition from the underground world to the surface. You get to calmly check your smartphone as the mobile connection comes back, to look in the mirror, to gather your thoughts... I take it as meditation and some time on your own

I'm gonna get into university to study Russian and wanna live in Russia and work there it's my dream!!（I'm japanese ）

Russia is amazing glad to see your enjoying our country thank you! 🇺🇲🇷🇺♥️

Russia sounds really cool. I want to go.

I love your video! Why did you stop. Even tho I'm not American but I've been to Russia four times and St Petersburg is always my favorite. What you talked about in your video is just reminding me of all those good memories.

My tip if you want to get million views, translate that video into Russian (subtitles or dub). You will be surprised. All similar videos where foreigners are talking about Russia but for Russian people to watch, got loads of hits.

Don't forget to add Sour Cream to everything )) with the Dill

Rachel - thank you for producing such a well done analyzation of Russia/St. Petersburg! It isn’t always easy to get a perspective from an American. Your video was salubrious, good natured and quite charming all at the same time. Although also being educational. Great job! I look forward to more videos like this on your channel.☺️

Great video. Thanks. I liked the way you structured it as well as your close attention to interesting detail that most people would probably not deem worthy of mentioning in a video, however those were very interesting things. Exactly the types of things I was hoping to get out of this video.

Lived there as well as Vyborg for a few months following my Italian husband's job assignment. I find the city enormous, coming from Milan, italy. Hubby would say let's walk, it's across there, but it's not, it's such a distance away!! Love their pies and mushroom soups!

this was really informative. I'm becoming interested in Russian culture so this was really enjoyable. I had no idea they put dill on everything. you look beautiful in the scarf too

St Petersburg has a lot of army bases for training selective service recruits. Military service is mandatory and that makes for many recruits.

6:25. Ну не надо. 8-10 минут на эскалаторе в Питере нигде не стоим. В среднем 3-5 минут.

Very interesting. I’m an American living in France for the last 28+ years but in a ´former’ life I was a major Russophile and spent 8+ years actively studying Russian in various capacities. Now it’s more of a hobby. I spent a semester in Leningrad ЛГУ in 1991 as part of my Master’s program. Things were MUCH different back then. One example : hardly anything on the shelves in grocery stores and we were issued ration coupons. :)

This is a great video 😍, Loved your work.

I LIKE dill. Also, your hair is very beautiful and you look very cute with your head scarf. Thank you for this video.

You have a really great pronunciation! It's actually the first time I hear an English-speaking person sounding so natural.

I love your video. I like how you chose interesting points to talk about.

Hello, I have been watching videos from Russia for many years starting with the Car Crash genre. Those started with "they really drive like that" type reactions and just kept going until I was not able to endure the stress and horror of what they showed [mostly all from dashcam-so you could listen to the music and conversation-to CCTV]. Many excellent and very humorous videos of regular life such as ice fishing, lots of animal interactions, and strange things that pass you on the road in a Lada, like a cow. lion, and other assorted 'wild things.' I did enjoy the towns and cities and the mix of buildings and architecture as you noted. A few of these videos had English subtitles that actually distracted from what a viewer could just infer. It was easy to pick up some of the language by ear and figure out what should not be said in polite company. You are so fortunate to have this grand adventure. I do not plan to ever visit the country because of political views but I still love the people. Best wishes on your grand beginnings there in St. Petersburg, and I hope you can make it to the Hermitage if you like art.

You're a very charming girl. Be sure to make a video on the same topic after 1 year of life in Russia. You might see something that other bloggers almost never notice in this country.

Перевод ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fGVYzJmAU6M.html (хоть что-то полезное сделаю для таблетки)

i'm russian and i actually HATE the lack of trash cans it's SOOO annoying sometimes

The “military presence” are students. I know you kind of covered it but just helping people make sure.

Dill and sour cream are fantastic add-ons that pair well with so many things...

I’m Russian and I was adopted and I live in America but I really want to go back

Thank you so much for sharing this!!

I'm Brazilian and I loved St. Petersburg. Such a beautiful city with those canals, churches and parks. I'm currently living in Romania and they put dill everywhere here too! And I see a lot of grannies with headscarves or very furry hats during winter here.

What a great video! You are a fortunate young lady to experience living there. I was particularly impressed with your appreciative attitude toward Russian culture. So many foreigners are caught up in criticizing or even ridiculing the ways of the country they are visiting. You have a lot of class! Some things that you noticed about the people were actually very similar to the US prior to about 1960. We used to see many young men in uniform on the streets, and they looked very handsome. Now when young soldiers are on the street they wear civilian clothes. Women and even young girls often wore scarves for the very reason that you discovered: they are very warm in winter! Now you never see them. And lastly, the young men and women together. Well, that is not so common now either, sad to say. Women used to wear dresses all the time, and schoolgirls wore dresses and skirts too, clear through high school. Different society now, different culture, different values. I subscribed. God bless.

Rachel, Well, it's 2021 already and just discovered your channel. Very informative and interesting. i really miss the babooshkas in the U.S. They used to be quite popular and somehow, they've just completely disappeared. You can't beat them for warmth, protecting your hairstyle, and so many are very stylish and very feminine!!! We need to bring them back!!! Looking forward to watching more of your videos!!!

Good job. After twenty years in the USA, I was surprised how clean all cities are in Russia . The streets are swept like personal backyards. Also, people are polished and no freaks.

За платок респект, очень красиво выглядели. А вот языка, да почему мы должны владеть английским языком? Мы уже общаемся на одном из мировых языков. Мы же не удивляемся, почему в Техасе не говорят на русском. Мы не обязаны.

Lovely video, thanks. Hi from Russian living in Cambridge :)

Hi Rachel! I`m so impressed by the way that you tie your kerchief! )))

Happy New year 🎄

I seem to fall in love with this firefox ...

YAASSSS mother russia! im from ukraine and i was in russia only once when i was really little before we immigrated to the US, but it's very similar. the young people and high fashion was amazing to me. they wouldn't be caught dead in sweatpants and flip flops lol. but the head scarf (platok) looks so cute on you! you can totally pass for a natural-born russian. in fact, i might start wearing plotki around here..they don't squish and frizz your hair like hats do. also, i love the curly red hair, so pretty!

Enjoyed it! Love the hair too!!!

Hi Rachel, your remarks are very interesting, the more so that I live in Minnesota and three months ago I returned to my native city Krasnodar in Russia. So whether I want it or not but I keep comparing what I see here with what you are describing. Cars do not beep on the street at all here (I believe it's kind of not allowed, I am not sure). Garbage bins are all over the place and the city is impeccably clean. I haven't been in St. Petersburg since 90s so probably the city has really changed for the worse. Thank you very much!

I'm in the process of learning Russian

Interesting video. Thank you for your observations. I have been visiting Saint Petersburg only as a tourist from 2014 till 2018. I have visited eight times in both summer and winter. Each visit was between a week to ten days. So it's not the same as actually living there, but I do know Saint Petersburg well. It is a very beautiful city. I agree with some of your observations, but it's interesting how you describe them. For example, before my first visit, I taught myself some Russian. When I travel, I don't expect everyone to speak English. Why would they? So I make a point of trying to learn some of their language. I thought there were more people speaking English there than I expected. But whenever there was not someone who spoke English, I had no problem communicating, since i could speak some Russian. You are correct about the people. The people there are very good looking. And very young. I really noticed this when I return to the USA and see everyone around me is so old. It's like returning to an old folks home. The metro stations are all gorgeous. To me this is what I tell people. It's odd to emphasis the length of the escalator. It didn't seem like eight minutes to me. But then, it never occurred to me to time it. I am curious as to what part of the city you are living in. In all my visits, I never noticed a military presence. On one visit in the first week of August, I saw a few guys with sailor uniforms on. I asked at the hotel and they told me it was the day they honor those who served in the Navy. I thought it was very cool, since in the US we celebrate veterans day. But we don't have a set aside day for the Navy. Having served in the Navy, I was glad to see the celebrations. Well, I am noticing my comments are getting long. So, I don't want to bore you. Again, thanks for the video. I can't say I completely agree with your observations, but everyone's experiences are going to be different. Even on observations that I agree with you though, my perspective is different. Enjoy your stay there. Saint Petersburg is a grand city and you are lucky. I would love to live there myself.

You are so cool. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Ohh, you are so sweet wearing the scarf ). Nice video, well done!

Your hair is so gorgeous!

Thanks for the video. Just to clear sth up, Russians do not add dill to everything they cook. I don’t even remember the last time I had it and nor do my family and friends. As you said, “your friends put it all the time”, I guess they just like it that way. There’s no such thing as a typical Russian breakfast as it just doesn’t exist - everyone eats whatever they find delicious; so, it varies a loooot. Anyway, it was an insightful video to learn about your experience as a foreigner in Russia.

You are awesome! Greetings from Ilya from the city of Nyen (St. Petersburg) - Ingermanlandia.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

And word about number of people who know english in Russia. I went to the school in 1987. In school, we have two teachers who can teach french language (I believe because France has strong socialistic block in the government and was one of the non-NATO states of Europe) and one teacher who can teach german language (I believe because of East Germany was our strongest ally in Warsaw Pact), but no teachers who can teach english (maybe because there was a clod war time when they graduated). So, statistically, more 35+ people can say few words in german or french, than english ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I lived in a few cities along the Volga River from Jan 2001 to October 2002. Russians do love dill! I remember it on Russian pizza often. I crave dill to this day, often put it in food, especially sandwiches. Was very little English spoken in public in those cities, but that was fine since I speak Russian. Nice video, thanks for posting about your positive experiences in Russia. Russian people are great and I miss them dearly. Cheers.

Thanks for this great video

Interesting video from a different angle, and what a fantastic head of hair you have! 👌🏻 Some Celtic blood in there for sure. Would love to visit Russia, but the language is so hard too learn.

Want to see her video when she come to US after long time spent there.

Scarf isn't only for wind protection, girls of our age use it mostly for not damaging the hair style, while hat would destroy it completely. One more thing: in our culture all married women had to cover head and hide hair, because it was a shame to show your hair to anyone except for your husband. Single girls used to wear a braid, but when they found a future husband they started to decorate braids with some nice bands, like a sign for everyone that trying to get the girl is already pointless because she already had found someone.

Hi Miss, I have a question for you. Do you go to the villages? I like village life.

приезжайте к нам в Россию! Мы Вас любим, такие интересные и смешные в хорошем смысле))

Actually, the deepest metro station in the world is Arsenalnaya in Kiev, Ukraine (105 m). The deepest station in St. Petersburg is Admiralteyskaya which is 86 m, and it takes about 3.5 minutes to get down there.

You look very elegant in your scarf! Thank you for sharing your impressions. By the way, dill is great in food. Maybe you just have to get used to it.

When I stayed outside Saint Petersburg for a few months, I was forced me to learn basic Russian. A whole new world of opportunities opened up.

Sour cream is also being added into everything

oh my god I found your channel today and love your video. I actually want to move to Russia but no idea how to start...

Saint Petersburg has very old military Academies. It would be sort of like walking around Annapolis and West Point. I'd personally love to explore Krondstant, but I doubt I will ever get the opportunity.

Hey! There was an idea like "walking outside with uncovered head is rude (even in during the summer)", so it was a thing till 1980's or so.

Technically speaking most of the buildings in the center are from the 19th century, actually very few ones from early 18th century survived, so the city definitely didn’t look like this back in 1703 ;)

Oh, YES, we loooove dill c: It's very tasty in dishes and by its own) Everyone grows it in countryside 😂 Yum-yum

cool video. thanks for sharing! it was interesting to know facts surprised you in SPB

Great video, thanks for sharing!

Russia born living abroad here and i miss dill 😭🥺

Very cool. I've become very interested in Russia (especially St Petersberg) and world travel in the past few months. The movie Andrei Rublec inspired me... I'm learning some Russian, little buly little. I'd like to talk to you about your experience

A lot of what you commented on here I've found also applies for China - except maybe the shoes. The Chinese wear very practical shoes, as they often walk reasonable distances, since owning a car is still not the norm, and using public transport is very common. But I know what you mean about the car horns - it took me the longest time to get used to the constant beeping of car horns...! The headscarves tend to be worn here by the older women, but it is purely for warmth - it keeps the wind off your head and ears, and saves on having to carry a hat as well (and hat hair!).

my daughter (20 yo, born Monterey mx. teen years in Santiago, Chile) has been attending university in Moscow for 2 yrs now. She drives a Chinese pick up because she says Moscow public transit sucks, but it can at times be dangerous because of road rage and total lack of courtesy. Even though she doesn't drink, she says EVERYONE drinks, and drinks a lot.Although she is learning Russian rather quickly, she says she hates the Cyrillic alphabet....I think she will stay in Russia after she graduates....she really loves it there.

Great video, very interesting 😁 Always wanted to go to Russia, but visa stress can be exhausting 😭

Rachel - I've lived in Russia for 20 years and NEVER in Moscow or Petersburg. If you ever travel, visit the Ural Mountain area. I live near the mountains in Ufa. It is refered to as - Moscow with out a metro!

Your channel is blowing up a year later, I hope RU-vid algorithm will get you going because I would really enjoy for you to post more videos of Russian Adventuring, it's a city I look forward to see this year, 01/13/2020 wish you good luck

I was eating while watching the video and when you said about the dill, I was surpsrised because I've never thought about the amount of it, I'm just so used to it. And then I looked at the soup and there was the dill xD It's a very interesting video!

Это ты снималась в "Храбром сердце"?

Omg I'm in love 😍

Thanks for the video! Always wanted to travel to Russia, may consider a study abroad problem over there now.

I love your hair 🖤

Вам очень идёт платок! Я из Питера, вы очень хорошо про него рассказали!

Nice spelling) glad of foreigners like you) greetings from Moscow)

Hi Rachel, the main reason why the underground in St. Petersburg is so much below the ground level is that it was designed to serve as a bomb asylum if required (not just to carry the passengers). Kind of dual function, same with Moscow btw. The swampy ground in Spb could be another reason, but I guess it's not the main one. Cheers.

Thank you Rachel for sharing this stay kool

I lived in Leningrad for a semester back in 1991 - let's just say that "things have changed". Ha! '

Im russian born but never lived there would love to return at one point!

I would say we encountered different experience with English knowledge. In St Perersburg a lot of people spoke english, where as in Moscow almost not at all, our colleague that didnt speak russian had a hard time in Moscow, but my friends in Spb said it is amazing how a lot of ppl speak english, ofc more younger people.

They built the subways deep underground to act as bombshelters. Kiev subway is super deep as well.

звучание слов "бибикать" и "бибип" заставляет заподозрить русскоязычного человека!

Лайк не глядя! Один только позитив!

omg i love you i wish u made regular content.

Thanks for the fun listen! :)

"...there is a surprisingly lack of English here..." I wonder how many Americans speak Russian?! What kind of person speaks many languages - polyglot. What kind of person speaks only one language - American.

U R a very beautiful person. God bless, hope you have a great life. Aim high . Seek God

Also note St Petersburg used to be called Leningrad which is why you'll likely see more statues of Lenin then you would normally as a lot of his statue were taken down after the cold war

my grandmother wore a headscarf all the time. she was a serb. its normal in many countries.

i'll not think that you're an american if you spoke russian for the whole time in the video but a native russian just based on your looks.