If anything, Bulgarians are very similar to Russians. However, it's a very boring read, probably it would be mind-blowing for westerners to read it.

Even though the book is quite outdated, it is spot on! If somebody outside of Russia wanted to have an idea about how people live there, I would definitely recommend to read this book, it covers all the main issues. Plus, it's very funny - at least, for someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia :)

Read this book for letter X for Alphabet Challenge.
Didn't realize this was written in 2001, until quite late.
Obviously it didn't hold up to test of time. But what this book was trying to do, and considering when it was written, it did manage to achieve it's goal. The stereotyping bugged me a bit, and I would've liked it to incorporate more about Asiatic Russian culture

I'm going to be in Russia for 6 weeks very soon!

So, I read this. And yeah, I'm fairly sure this isn't exactly the best book to read. I'm better off trying to read Pushkin, I think.

Nevertheless, I found this very short book nice. It was published in 2001 which means that it is very likely that much of it is irrelevant and yet, I still found it interesting. I know many people who left Russia in the late nineties. This book is a pretty good representation of them.

All in all, short yet eye opening. Here's hoping for best!

This feels like a good place to write some predictions for my trip. So here I am, breaking out of conventional review form for this:

In Israel, Russians always think I'm Russian. However, I have an American accent and can't stop smiling and abusing small talk. The friend I'm traveling with has less of a Russian look, but also has less of an American vibe. How will this influence our experience?

My guess is that I will get along well with grandmothers, even with the language barrier. I might be leaning too much on my experiences in the Czech Republic and Serbia but yes, Eastern grandmothers are amazing, especially since I am confused 97% of the time. I think I'll appreciate nice old ladies implying that I need to dress warmer.

I think politics will be an interesting thing, surely Israelis and Russians can bond over being slandered in Western media? I'd love to talk about Syria but yeah, not sure when that opportunity will arise. I realize that everywhere says that politics is a taboo but the internet said that about Serbia as well and everyone seemed very enthusiastic to talk about Kosovo. So yeah, I predict that politics will come up with young people. Not at the beginning, but I can't imagine having a long conversation with someone without this coming up.

I'm a little terrified of traveling in less organized countries. I kind of feel like this is a barrier that I've got to overcome because most of the world isn't Germany and it's good to grow comfortable with new things. So, I predict I will be more stressed than my friend, that I will be anxious for at least the first few weeks, especially when things go a little wrong. But my impression of the world is that kindness exists and I do believe it'll work itself out. I think I'll be surprised by how organized Moscow is but also by how unorganized Siberia is.

I predict that I'll eventually annoy someone by criticizing Russia. If I don't befriend someone from the queer community, I'll be slightly disappointed. I think I'll get drunk less than people assume, despite having such a shitty tolerance to alcohol.

What I'm Taking With Me
- My ex-girlfriend was Russian and found it hilarious that I want to go to Russia.
- I'm looking forward to seeing what's it like to be a vegetarian there.
- Can we talk about how Cyrillic is much easier to read than Arabic but also harder than I had assumed? The vowel sounds are killing me and if I won't read fluently by the end of my trip, I will be incredibly disappointed.