Russians Are Extremely Welcoming Contrary To The Global Misconception
Having secured a Russian government-sponsored Master’s scholarship in 2018, I embarked on an eleven-hour journey to Moscow from Nairobi, Kenya, albeit with scanty and unclear information about my intended destination. While traveling was one of my hobbies in the past, anxiety of the unknown deprived me of the pleasure as myriad questions lingered on my mind regarding Russia, the people, and, of course, ITMO University.
Specifically, the image of Russia, as portrayed by the Western media, dominated my thoughts, ranging from the most powerful president on earth to advanced supersonic weapons, through to hacking capabilities of my would-be host nation. Indeed, I struggled to erase all the images mentioned above to no avail as my brain fell short of finding a replacement, at least during the entire trip.
As if the little psychological torture during my trip was not enough, my arrival in Russia was equally demoralizing, to say the least! Notably, I arrived late in October, an issue attributed to the delay in the processing of my travel documents back in Kenya. During this time, the cold weather, though considered normal to the natives, was beckoning, coupled with light showers. This was really strange to me, especially coming from Nairobi, "The City under the Sun," as authored by the famous British writer, Barbara Wood. I had to check in a hostel for one night before proceeding to the university the following day to begin the admission process as required by the university.
It is in this hostel that I started to gain an insight into the behaviour and perceptions of the Russians, and perhaps gauge them against the predetermined opinion I had formed, courtesy of the Western media. The hostel accommodated at least three people in one room, with different beds, of course. We were four people in the same room, me being the only foreigner among the three natives! Although the environment appeared tense to me at first, my colleagues accorded me a warm welcome by introducing themselves to me, even though two of them struggled with the English language. To my surprise, one individual hugged me, having informed them that I came all the way from Africa. Strange, right? Hold on to your thoughts for a moment! As expected, I failed to understand the reason for the hug and would seek clarification on the same, but no sooner had I embarked on that line of thought than he jumped in to explain further.
He averred that he had travelled to Africa, particularly Kenya, in one of his myriad visits to the continent. This revelation was sweet music to my ears as I felt I was home, away from home! However, what followed left me tongue-tied, so will you, I suppose. After receiving a warm welcome by my newly found friends and roommates, I gained a little confidence, over 9000 km away from home, and asked the gentleman about the city or cities he had visited while in Kenya. Zimbabwe, he confidently and audibly marked! For those who have no clue, Zimbabwe is a country in Africa, just like Kenya and not a city in Kenya.
If the warm welcome at the hostel was not enough, what awaited me both at the university and my new dormitory during the subsequent days of my stay at ITMO was, and still is unimaginable. Contrary to the widespread notion and misconception about the "dreadful" or "unfriendly" nature of Russians, these people are one of the "sweetest" human beings I have ever known. However, I should set some facts straight before proceeding, though. Generally, Russians do not "dish out" smiles as is always the norm in other Western countries; neither do they greet anyone on the streets. They also walk very fast, irrespective of the distance to their intended destination. Sometimes you can greet an individual on the street or smile at somebody without any form of response. You may think this is weird, right? I felt so too until I got to understand the local populace. Do not take it personally, because that is the prevailing culture here, and it has nothing to do with their attitude, behaviour, or feelings. In fact, they remain one of the warmest people on the surface!
Although language was an uphill task for me, having learned only one word "хорошо," loosely translated as "good" in three days, my class mates would chip in every time I needed help, such as finding a direction to a class or laboratory. Indeed, I designed a strategy to create as many friends as possible by always "getting lost", including directions of places I had previously visited. The natives would still stop what they were doing to show me the direction and resume their activity afterward, isn’t that sweet? This is just a tip of the iceberg concerning how extremely welcoming Russians are, contrary to their portrayal by the western media.
