10 things that stuck in my mind about Belarus when I visited there in the summer 2002:
 

-by Khashyar

1) Belarusians were much thinner than Americans
This was clearly true... Maybe this is because Belarusians (and Russians in general) have to work hard for their sustenance, and perhaps this is because of their difficult life in general (or all that walking that they do because they don't generally drive cars). After 2 months in Russia and Belarus, I lost 20 pounds without even trying

2) I was the only man with olive/ tan skin in Mogilev and Minsk Belarus (in fact, I did not see a single tan person in Belarus while I was there)...
Belarus really is a pretty white country. People were interested and curious about my combination of tan skin and English speaking. I did meet three African refugees who also lived in Mogilev (they received political asylum), but they told me that they were having a hard time in Belarus because they had a difficult time finding jobs. They said that Belarusians preferred to give jobs to native Russians (and the economy was not and still is not the best). One of the African men (who spoke excellent English) told me that he felt embarrassed because he had to ask his family IN AFRICA to send him money, and he felt that it should have been the other way around (that he should be sending money to African to help his family).

3) Belarusians' (and Russians') taste in music is much more cosmopolitan that in the U.S.
Belarusians seems to enjoy a wide variety of music, and I heard music from Europe that I had never heard of, even a 1970's disco song (that I thought was a newer song ) called "Johnny" by the European band "Gilla." I was impressed at how open Belarusians seemed to new kinds of culture.

4) People were VERY fascinated and charmed by the fact that I was American and that I was a native English speaker.
I wonder how they feel now since the raise of anti-Americanism throughout the world. I imagine that Belarusians and Russians in general still like and enjoy American culture very much... I think that some of our Russian women also seem exotic to Americans (or Westerners) when they come live in my country. I know that people are often complimenting Lena's accent and enjoy speaking with her...

5) Restaurant service is not as customer friendly as it is in the U.S.
I think that this is because Belarusian (and Russian) waiters don't usually work for tips, only a regular salary, so they don't have that incentive to be very friendly and accommodating to you. In fact, when I was visiting Lena in Mogilev, she did not want me to leave tips for the waitresses or waiters because Russian people don't normally do this. but once you surprise a Belarusian waiter with a tip, then they seem to become more friendly and smile more when they are serving you your food I think that I have genuinely shocked some Belarusian and Russian waiters with my modest 10-15% tip that I left them.

6) Air pollution is not very good in Belarus or Russia...
They simply don't have the standards (or money) to spend on worrying about how to make factories cleaner. I smelled some odors in the air (especially when driving by factories) that I had never smelled before. These fragrances smelled as if they should not be in the air Riding the bus (in Mogilev, Belarus) also exposed me to "some" auto pollution that gave me a slight sinus infection. The air in Los Angeles felt as if cleaned out my lungs after having been on the streets of Belarus

7) Sometimes, especially during one month in the summer, there is NO hot water.
The hot water in many Russian cities and towns is centrally heated and then pumped to individual houses. There is a month in the summer when the government water officials must be working on maintaining and cleaning the hot water system because THERE WAS NO HOT WATER During those times, you either have to boil hot water to use, or make due with taking a bath or shower with cold water I actually became sick with a fever for taking so cold bath/showers during the water system maintenance period.

8) There is a BIG bureaucracy in Belarus as their also is in Russia.
When you need something done through the government, you spend time waiting in a government office, and are often told that you need to pay another additional fee (which you must pay at the bank and receive a receipt to present back to the government office), you are sent to another office. I think that perhaps they don't have as clear of regulations, and some things might be left to the discretion to the government officials more than in the United States. I think that paying you bills and government fees at the bank is a pretty good idea, and it reduces some of the corruption. (So would raising the government workers standard of living )

9) They don't have good ice cream in Mogilev or Minsk
I'm used to a wide variety of delicious ice creams available in the U.S. The kind of ice cream that we could buy in the store in Mogilev came in a plastic bag, and was a basic white cream ice cream It seemed that I could have mixed together some cream, milk and sugar and have made the ice cream myself But, on the other hand, it seemed that it was still a treat for Belarusians to eat it.

10) If you go to Belarus (or Russia), take a trip on one of their river boat cruises
These are one or two hour cruises on a river, where people drink, listen to a live lounge singer (who sings favorite Russian party songs), dance (especially when the passengers become very drunk and more relaxed), and just let down their guard and have a great fun time until they have to return home to get ready for another day of work the next morning...



Khashyar

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