У кого-то есть совет мне? - Does anyone have any advice for me?

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

Вчера я узнала что я буду жить с русской семьей на два месяца в этой осенью. У кого-то есть совет мне??? Я xочу быть xороший гость и ничего не досадного делать... (Я не когда не жила в России; я бывала там раньше но только туристом.)

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Yesterday I found out that I will live with a Russian family for two months this fall. Does anyone have any advice for me? I want to be a good guest and not do anything annoying. (I have never lived in Russia; I've only been there before as a tourist.)

I'm particularly interested in polite things to say... (Also, should I use Вы with younger members of the family?)

Comments

[ex-leave-a-c756.livejournal.com]

домой пьяная после полуночи не возвращайся

[vaguevogue.livejournal.com]

Я думаю, русскую семью ничем таким пронять невозможно...если это обычные люди. Просто будь вежлива и приветлива и убирай/мой за собой посуду:)

[danvolodar.livejournal.com]

Мыть за собой посуду - дурная примета.
Washing the dishes after yourself is a bad sign.

[bricoleura.livejournal.com]

really? haha, my families never seemed to mind when i washed the dishes!;))
there are a lot of superstitions in Russia. Some of them even contradict each other.

[blind-wolf.livejournal.com]

And fewer people pay attention to them than one might think. If nobody washed up the dishes after himself, this country would have been a hu-u-ge mess.

[danvolodar.livejournal.com]

You sound a bit disdainful to my. Am I wrong?

Curious...

[happy-accidents.livejournal.com]

Was this supposed to be posted in practicerussian?

[danvolodar.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a bad sign when a guest, washes the dishes, like the hosts can't do it themselves!

[bricoleura.livejournal.com]

me?? No, not at all!! I'm sure it is a superstition, just one that my neither of my families paid attention to.
:)

Re: Curious...

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

Since I wrote in Russian, I figured that it would be ok... No one else seems to have any objections. If it is the wrong place, where would you recommend I put it?

[oryx_and_crake]

I have to remind that the working language of this community is English. Many people here just started learning Russian and they will be unable to benefit from your comment unless you provide an English translation. Thanks in advance.

[oryx_and_crake]

I have to remind that the working language of this community is English. Many people here just started learning Russian and they will be unable to benefit from your comment unless you provide an English translation. Thanks in advance.

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

Sure - next time I'll put it in both languages...

[bricoleura.livejournal.com]

Oh, that’s great you get to live with a family!! I think you’ll find them very eager to teach you new phrases and words, and about life in Russia.
You should know, you’ll get fed A LOT. A lot! “Чуть-чуть” (a little bit) usually means nothing!;) I’d still get a heaping plateful of food, and a full glass (glass, not shotglass) of vodka. Speaking of which, you’re probably going to have your share of vodka.
Bring some slippers/flip flops with you. It’s customary to remove your shoes when you enter a home, and then put on a pair of “тапочки”. (i happen to walk around the house barefoot a lot, and this seems universally frowned upon)
Bring some photos of your family and friends, and of your city. People will be very interested. Also bring some little gifts with you. I live near an Indian reservation, so i brought some Native American handicrafts—went over very well!
Can’t think of anything else right now, but if you have any questions (or just need reassurance:) let me know:)

[oryx_and_crake]

Actually, this comment was not addressed to you, but it is a good idea anyway - some community members whose Russian is not as good as yours will be grateful for that, probably.

[bricoleura.livejournal.com]

i see what you mean:) You're right, when i first meet my hosts they never allow me to clean up, but when i become part of the family---i am more than welcome to wash the dishes!:)

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what I'm worried about! When I lived in Azerbaijan, I lived by myself and I was able to really control what I ate (I lost 25 pounds!!!), but I was lonely and felt very out of touch with the people at times... I decidedt to live with a family, because I really wanted to improve my Russian and get to know the culture, but I'm scared that I'm going to get fat. Я ТАК ЛЮБЛЮ РУССКУЮ КУXНЮ!

Thanks for the advice... I am just really scared that I'm going to do something to offend the family I'm living with... What kind of gifts other than Indian artifacts would you recommend?

[snopova.livejournal.com]

There's one problem for English-speaking ppl, who come to Russia to learn Russian. Your surrounding in Russia will try to show they all know English, so instead of teaching you Russian, they might start speaking only English) You must just stop them)

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

That's another thing I'm worried about... I'm going to try to make a deal with my new Russian friends that want to practice English with me: if they'll run/jog/exercise with me, we can speak English while we're doing it. This way, I'll get exercise and not get fat from eating pelmenie all the time, and they'll be happy to practice their English. Anyway, that's the plan:)

[bricoleura.livejournal.com]

haha, sorry for confirming your fears!;) I gained weight each time i went to Russia...and still haven't lost it:(
Why can't i have skinny Russian girl genes???;)
I forgot to mention the chocolate...when there's tea, there's chocolate, and there's always tea:)
You will not offend your family!! i'm sure of it. they will be so excited to meet you, and ask you tons of questions, and talk all about their lives.
Do you know anything about them? are there kids? husband and wife?
Other ideas for presents: photo albums or frames--every family i've visited always brings out the photo collection. (really bring a small album of your family and friends to show! they'll love you, and it's a great conversation starter)
Anything special to your region?
Bring more presents than you think you'll need...

[hopeinagpa.livejournal.com]

hahaha. what a clever idea!

But isn't there a tremendous amount of walking involved already in daily life? I ate 4 heaping meals a day for three weeks and didn't actually do any exercise other than walk around when I had to (which was all the time--to/from bus stops/school/around town/sightseeing) and I didn't gain quite as much weight as I would have expected from that kind of caloric intake.

[ex-leave-a-c756.livejournal.com]

;-)

[yers.livejournal.com]

this comment was not addressed to you

Why not? I'd say the rule should apply universally.

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

I'm really hoping that that's the case for me... Good to hear that you also walked a lot... Where in Russia were you?

[red-kitti.livejournal.com]

I'm bringing Splenda for tea time... and I'm going to pack it around with me EVERYWHERE.