Meggan's Random Russia

There are a lot of different and weird things that happen here that I find interesting but wouldn't exactly make up an entire blog post. Here are a few:

• On the farms over here, female tractor drivers are called tractoristas. It sounds like they should be able to make fancy coffee too.
• Apparently, because this is company housing some people don't feel the need to knock. I just had a truck driver open my front door and come in to ask for directions.
• You will get yelled at by a Babushka if you don't have a hat on your kid, even if it isn't particularly cold or sunny or windy. 
• Eggs come in packs of 10 instead of 12, and they don't need to be refrigerated because they haven't been washed. While that does free up room in my teeny tiny fridge, it is disconcerting to see poop and feathers on your eggs.
• If shop keepers think that you don't need something, they won't sell it to you. My friend tried to buy a diaper bucket without a baby and was told she didn't need it so she couldn't have it.
• It seems like all the women wear nylons. It is a little odd to see a teenager with shiny old lady legs under her super short skirt.
• Most of the grocery stores won't let you take a cart out to your car, so you have to be careful not to buy more than you can carry.
• All the dairy products come with the milk fat percentages on the front of them. 1% or 0% milk fat is really hard to find. That could be because we are out in the boonies. It might be easier in a big city.
• There is only one gas station in our town of 15,000 people! Getting gas is a real ordeal for me, especially when it is just me and AJ. I have to hold her while I try and pull the hose over the truck to fill up both tanks. Recently the company gas card didn't work and they had to shut down a pump for 30 minutes while I tried to get it straightened out with an interpreter. Needless to say, I am not super popular at the gas station.
• There are two kinds of people in the world. People who slow down what they are saying when they realize you don't speak their language, and PEOPLE WHO JUST RAISE THE VOLUME OF THEIR VOICE BUT CONTINUE TO SPEAK AT THE SAME SPEED AND THROW IN A LOT OF EXTRA WORDS JUST FOR FUN!
• Everything needs to be stamped. To get out of the electronics store in the mall you need three stamps on your receipt. I had to get a stamp and special permission to drive Dave's work truck. 
• Here you can break up packs of things with no problem, you can buy one diaper or one yogurt. Beer doesn't come in packs or cases, but it does come in lovely half liter bottles for an extra 4 ounces per beer!
• Nobody sells ice! You have to really plan ahead to have frosty cocktails.
• There are small random cemeteries all over the place. There is one behind our house. What I don't get is there aren't quite enough of them if you consider how long Russia has been a country. What were the doing with all those dead bodies before the 1800's?

I am a little home sick right now. I could sure go for an iced coffee and a gossip magazine and a pedicure and my mom. Oh well, no one said being an international ranch wife of mystery would be easy.