Picking Wild Flowers

Another monument at the edge of the city.

See... What ha' happen' wa'...

We're in the middle of a 4 hour bus ride to Suzdal, and have yet another hilarious incident, as well as a cultural lesson about Russia.

Y'all saw my dorm, cute & cozy, oh and that mammoth building that keeps showing up in all my photos, that's it. That's my home for another 4 weeks, pretty cool, huh? It's amazing walking up to it every day. Anyway, I never showed you the bathroom, because, well there's nothing too special about the one in our room. Toilet room on one side, shower and sink room on the other, nothing crazy about either. That was pretty deceiving. Went to the bathroom at the airport, nothing too bad, just figured it was a busy one, so the usual mess and lack of supplies. Same for the mall and a few other public places. The buildings on campus, nupe. They're hit or miss. If you're in a building/on a floor they've already refurbished, it's not too bad...

Let me just warn you about them a wee bit... go into any public bathroom expecting similar conditions you would find in the women's bathroom at AJ's (a popular 18+ bar by FSU's campus, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure...) at 1am the night before a big home football game, say vs one of those schools down south... THOSE conditions... then if you experience something better, you're delightfully surprised. Unless you're on the outskirts of town shopping at an open air market, in which case you pay 25r for a hole in the ground with walls around it. I haven't tried it, but I've heard stories from those who did. We have yet to check out the pay toilets we've seen throughout the city either.

This looks like a nice place to pick some flowers!

So, now that you have an idea about the conditions of public restrooms, you can only imagine how bad it could be when you stop somewhere on the highway. My professor told us stories... nupe. I don't want to find out for myself. Anyway... a while down the road, once we got out of the city congestion (everyone is heading to their dachas, for real - we left at 8am and traffic leaving the city was heavy) someone on the bus needed to go. So, a request to stop at a gas station or something was made, which queued in my professor's horror story. But that was followed by a legit cultural lesson. Because the conditions of public restrooms are terrifying, drivers just pull over and go "picking flowers". Cue 2 women walking out of the woods, through a field of dandelions, back to their car. In that moment, the "I'll take my chances, or hold it" mentality was thrown out the window. When in Russia, right? So the bus stopped, and a bunch of girls learned how to pick flowers. Hi. Freaking. Larious.

If you really want to know about that horror story, (and you know you do) you can now enjoy a delightful reenactment courtesy of Emily (one of those awesome friends I made while in Russia) and some of her classmates!

https://youtu.be/TIhFlIdZzI0

Now that you're thoroughly terrified, here is today's lesson: public restroom survival tips.

• Keep some napkins with you at all times. A lot of toilets don't have TP.
• Learn to hover/squat. The toilet seats are nasty, because apparently all women just hover here. Really though, the joint would stay cleaner and smell less if you would just sit. C 'mon bro.
• Don't expect soap. Or paper towels. Hand sanitizer is your bestie. Invest in some.
• The "poop shelf". I have yet to have an issue with it yet, but I've also been avoiding the bathrooms on campus. Just be prepared for the water to flush from a weird place.
• You may have to pay for a hole in the ground. Literally. Be prepared to pay, or be told that you can't use the toilet in whatever store your at.
• Oh, and holding your breath isn't a bad idea either.

On a much more pleasant note- the best public/restaurant bathroom award goes to a cute little restaurant in Suzdal we went to on Friday. More details on those adventures are to come!

Who knew Russia was so green? Or had so much swampy land?

Would it be sacrilege to pick some flowers here?

A lovely welcome to Suzdal - these churches were just the beginning!

This salad is FANCY... also good. It's an Oliviye

Blini with fresh jam is a perfect dessert in the summer!

So THIS is the horse we'll be riding? (jk... it's the one we'll eat tomorrow.)

Really... does this town NEED so many churches?