Originally Posted by Seltzer (Post 1668636)

Yeah, I imagine MB and most forums have been losing a lot of members to reddit. And to be honest, RYM has satisfied most of my musical needs over the past few years.

I'm planning to stay in Russia for six months or so from April, but I want to leave NZ a month or so before then and travel a bit. Haven't really decided where but I'm thinking Morocco, Italy or Portugal. I'm trying the whole digital nomad thing :)

Originally Posted by grindy (Post 1668637)

Russia?
Interesting decision.
How come?
If you need any help with the language and/or culture, feel free to ask.

Originally Posted by Seltzer (Post 1668648)

Heh, I do receive mostly bemused responses when I mention it, even from the Russians at work. Some of them are quite enthusiastic about it, meanwhile others question my sanity :D

I've always been a bit into the culture so that's part of it. But the main reason is that I enjoyed studying languages back in high school and I want to rekindle that interest and gain some level of fluency in Russian... it's a beautiful language and seems like a suitably masochistic challenge. Beyond that, Russia strikes me as a fascinating country with some decent tourist destinations. Also, I get on well with the Russians I know - they're all pretty interesting people.

Thanks for the offer. I might be pelting you with questions in a few months haha. Are you currently living there? Anyhow, my first task is to get into the country - the visa rules are crazy strict!

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1668688)

Be sure to try krokodil and tell us all about it.

Originally Posted by Seltzer (Post 1668648)

Heh, I do receive mostly bemused responses when I mention it, even from the Russians at work. Some of them are quite enthusiastic about it, meanwhile others question my sanity :D

I've always been a bit into the culture so that's part of it. But the main reason is that I enjoyed studying languages back in high school and I want to rekindle that interest and gain some level of fluency in Russian... it's a beautiful language and seems like a suitably masochistic challenge. Beyond that, Russia strikes me as a fascinating country with some decent tourist destinations. Also, I get on well with the Russians I know - they're all pretty interesting people.

Thanks for the offer. I might be pelting you with questions in a few months haha. Are you currently living there? Anyhow, my first task is to get into the country - the visa rules are crazy strict!

Originally Posted by dwnwthvwls (Post 1668694)

russian is actually not that difficult to learn. I took two years of it in high school.

Originally Posted by grindy (Post 1668696)

Ну-ка, блесни знаниями.

Originally Posted by Carpe Mortem (Post 1667164)

The other forum I frequent has implemented a like button. We need that here.

^like

Originally Posted by grindy (Post 1668661)

Russia is a fascinating country. The only time I've really been there was a week I spent in Moscow about ten years ago. It's an incredible city and it was one of the best trips abroad I've ever had.
I was born in the Soviet Union and Russian is my first language, but I've lived most of my life in western Europe.
I might not know lots of current things, but my Russian is still perfect and I'm still quite immersed in the culture, so I still might help you out.
I guess people are bemused because it's not really a country for tourism. No, the evil Russians are not all out to get you, but the authorities love to **** with foreigners, many cities have parts one shouldn't go to even during the day and the current political climate is very tense. Try not to pass for an American.
And for god's sake, don't buy food from street vending babushkas or those shawarma joints
Don't let that sour your expectations though, I'm sure you'll still have a great time.

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1668688)

Be sure to try krokodil and tell us all about it.

Originally Posted by DwnWthVwls (Post 1668694)

Russian is actually not that difficult to learn. I took two years of it in high school.

Originally Posted by Seltzer (Post 1669524)

Ah cool, I was torn between staying in Moscow or SpB. Settled on SpB because it seems more balanced and cultural but I still intend to visit Moscow and Kazan if I can.

I think a major reason people negatively judge Russia is that they fret too much over corruption and over-estimate its effect, imagining people living in constant fear. I can't speak from personal experience (never been outside Aus/NZ), but I suspect that corruption is simply the status quo in many countries as it's just the way things are done and people accept it. If you live in India, you probably have to pay off people every now and then in order to get things done. Sure it's not ideal, but I imagine it's no biggie for the most part. Of course, if you're a foreigner, it's much harder to know how to play the game. I guess it's just something you have to learn, just as you'd have to learn how much to tip a waiter if you go to America.

I'm kinda curious about the political opinions of Russians and I've been trying to gauge them from reading Russian forums etc. But at the same time, I think it's probably sensible not to discuss politics while I'm over there.

Haha, from what I've heard, I don't have high expectations of Russian food... dill on everything and spices on nothing! But I might be pleasantly surprised. After all, I've cooked solyanka and shchi and liked both.



Haha, my brother said the same thing :D


Yeah, I'm not too worried as I've studied French and Latin, so I should be mostly ok with the grammar.

Though I've actually heard from a few people that the learning curve becomes a fair bit steeper after a couple of years. I remember seeing some meme about it somewhere. I'm trying to find it, but all I can turn up is this :laughing:

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah (Post 1669597)

http://rs1319.pbsrc.com/albums/t678/...h=480&fit=clip

You guys my necklace came!!!! Not that you guys knew I was exspecting one ...but I was. I figured if I get abducted by aliens when they go to drop me off, they will know where to drop me off.....Just get me to earth guys...Ill get back to Florida on my own.

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah (Post 1669597)

http://rs1319.pbsrc.com/albums/t678/...h=480&fit=clip

You guys my necklace came!!!! Not that you guys knew I was exspecting one ...but I was. I figured if I get abducted by aliens when they go to drop me off, they will know where to drop me off.....Just get me to earth guys...Ill get back to Florida on my own.

Originally Posted by FRED HALE SR. (Post 1669635)

You look fantastic. :drummer:

Originally Posted by Paul Smeenus (Post 1669654)

Thanks, Fred :love:

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah (Post 1669597)

http://rs1319.pbsrc.com/albums/t678/...h=480&fit=clip

You guys my necklace came!!!! Not that you guys knew I was exspecting one ...but I was. I figured if I get abducted by aliens when they go to drop me off, they will know where to drop me off.....Just get me to earth guys...Ill get back to Florida on my own.

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah (Post 1669909)

Thats a lie.....Kleenex's stock was through the roof last night.

Originally Posted by Exo (Post 1671683)

http://i.imgur.com/6cKeIuX.jpg?1

Took my passport photo. This is how they'll identify me if I die. Perhaps they'll say "what a lovely beard to glasses combo this dead corpse had".

Originally Posted by Exo (Post 1671683)

http://i.imgur.com/6cKeIuX.jpg?1

Took my passport photo. This is how they'll identify me if I die. Perhaps they'll say "what a ****ing hipster".

Originally Posted by Exo (Post 1671683)

http://i.imgur.com/6cKeIuX.jpg?1

Took my passport photo. This is how they'll identify me if I die. Perhaps they'll say "what a lovely beard to glasses combo this dead corpse had".

Originally Posted by grindy (Post 1671696)

Looking good, but why the **** do people use hair gel?
It's gross and unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Chula Vista (Post 1671750)

Exo, you look just like the guy that eventually is exposed as keeping three teenaged girls chained up in his cellar.

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1671752)

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1671752)

Originally Posted by Mr. Charlie (Post 1671726)

Me, with a stupid expression. :laughing:

http://i65.tinypic.com/2heeryh.jpg