Red Corner: Vodka Hangover Cure

by Neil Woodburn on

Anyone who has ever been to Russia is very familiar with the Slavic passion for drink. Indeed, it is almost impossible to get in and out of the country without some friendly Russian sharing this passion with their new found friend: you!

There is simply no avoiding it. “I don’t want to drink,” is met with peer pressure far more intense than that experienced at an American high school dance with a smuggled bottle of Jack Daniels.

“But,” you are told by your new Russian buddy, “We drink to friendship. Friendship!” Realizing only a complete ass would turn down such a heartfelt toast, you acquiesce. Immediately thereafter, the horizontal surface upon which you took your first shot becomes a dangerously slippery slope, at the bottom of which you find yourself vomitous and eventually, deathly hung over.

The usual suspect in this obligatory Russian demise is vodka. Strangely, this Slavic turpentine rarely seems to have much of an effect upon your new Russian friends; not only are they less drunk than you, but the following morning they have almost no hangover.

How to Drink Vodka and Stay Sober is a wonderful post I ran across on Russian Blog (thanks to a tip from carpetblogger in Azerbaijan). It should be required reading for anyone applying for a Russian visa.

The post walks you through the pre-drinking stage (eat raw eggs), the drinking stage (post-shot herrings and sardines) the morning after (pound some pickle brine) as well as a number of other strange, but apparently effective cures.

Cheers!

Word for the Travel Wise (08/22/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Last month while I was dining with a few friends in Miami I inquired about this particular Russian word after finding out our waitress wasn’t from America. It started when one of the guys tried ordering a fish sandwich (thinking he had seen a fish sandwich on the menu), but there wasn’t any fish sandwich. When asked the waitress about this imaginary fish sandwich it confused the Dickens out of her. She did not understand. “Fish sandwich?” She quickly went to grab another waitress to help her compute, but after the fellahs realized there was no fish sandwich on the menu anywhere or on their daily specials they apologized and resorted to another dish. I asked her to tell me the word for ‘thank you’ in Russian and she kindly provided me with this:

Today’s word is a Russian word used in Russia:

spasiba – thank you

Ready to learn Russian? Check out Master Russian first. They have numerous excellent sound files and the text is clear and easy to read. Learning also goes beyond your Russian A, B, C’s at their site as they have crosswords, literature, proverbs, folk music, and homework help. Other good sites include Learning Russian and this Ectaco Translation Dictionary. Click here for two language book rec’s on Amazon. BBC has the basics to download and hear audio, while Wiki provies the in depth Russian lang back history.

Past Russian words: , shakzochniy, paka

Red Corner: Commie Souvenirs

by Neil Woodburn on

When the Soviet Union first fell, it was relatively easy to get your hands on Soviet relics. People were literally standing in the streets selling army hats, hammer and sickle belt buckles, and anything else communist they could get their hands upon.

These days, however, it is a bit more of a challenge to track down Soviet goods.

Thankfully the Vernisazh Market in Moscow (also known as the Izmaylovo Market) still offers up such kitsch to the discerning tourist. Opened only on the weekends, this is the place to buy that propaganda poster, Lenin stamp collection, or cassette of communist anthems.

Communism is dead, however, so expect to bargain hard.

Virtual Hitchhiking in Russia

by Neil Woodburn on

Russians are long last discovering the power of the internet to help with their travel plans when money is tight and distances are far.

Recently launched sites like www.Mahnem.ru and www.Poputchika.net are helping individual travelers find travel companions or shared transport to vacation destinations throughout Russia and the world.

Poputchika, which means “no travel companion,” also doubles as somewhat of a travel related dating site and more. According to The Moscow Times. “Poputchika is… flooded with announcements from women looking for a male ‘sponsor’ to take them on a free vacation to any touristy spot.”

I’ll let you figure that one out.

So, if you plan to travel through Russia and want some local Russian companions, platonic or otherwise, check it out–but you’ll need to be able to read Russian.

(Incidentally, The Moscow Times keeps their links live for only a couple of days so you’ll need to check out the article rather quickly).

Gay Travel Phrase Book

by Adrienne Wilson on

Everyone here knows I’m into learning as much and many foreign words as my brain can possibly soak in, which is why this particular book caught my eye. I’m a straight woman so I don’t know how far some of the phrases in eight different langs will take me in some place like Portugal, but I find it might help someone. I saw this one over at Get Lost Books and laughed at first because I don’t know any of my gay pals that would use this book. (Unless they’re secretly doing so.) According to the short blurb on Get Lost Books the most interesting part of the book are the euphemisms for being gay in different lingos with literal English translation. For example: “he’s from third parish” or “slipped an okra.” That was in English and I’m still confused.

Oh well.