From Irkutsk we squeezed into a dodgy mini-van with a bunch of mardy Russians to head to Lake Baikal. If we could stand all of the Russians on their heads it would be so much more pleasant. That way the Russian frown (standard issue on birth it would seem) would look like a smile.
Nic and I have taken to the habit of saying in Russian "You're welcome" to people as they barge past or grab something without being polite. In itself this act is extremely rude, but seems to make the point to some people.
We'll get into the soft gooey centre of the Russians psyche yet. They are a very hard nut to crack. I am so much in awe of what they have achieved (first man in space, first satellite, first ever space station, the largest submarines in the world etc etc) that I would be disappointed to continue through the country only to find that they are lumbering bears who somehow fluked it through history. I'm sure that's not the case, and a second trip armed with some Russian language is the way to do it.
It works both ways I suppose. We were being followed by a security guard all around a shopping mall the other day, despite obviously being on holiday and from the west. Why he thought we would want to steal some doughnuts filled with cabbage I don't know, but it got quite irritating after a while. So, for my amusement I walked up to him and said "Do you speak English?" to which he replied, "Niet", so I smiled broadly and said "you're a dick, mate". Petty, but amusing.
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