I think my Masha and son will come to the US in late July and they should start packing . My question to those Russians already in the US is the following. What do you wish you should have brought, or what has proven indispensable here from Russia ? Of course documents but let's try to be specific so that newcomers pack what they really will need here in the land of the free.

Spasiva (Sorry Kazan's tiger... I just don't learn but my accent is really good... or so Masha says ).

It's me again. I guess there is already a subforum dealing with this topic: Getting Ready. Isvinitie .

My wife regrets not bringing her wisp from Russia. She says that the wisps here in America are not hard enough for her. She says a good wisp should leave your skin red after using it. The wisps here in America don't do that for her.

Okay dont forget your wife!

We had a similar issue here and a trip to the local Asian market cleared it up.

what are wisps?

I believe they are long skinny sticks used to whip people.

and you can't find a good one in american woods? only in russian woods?

Birch Treeeeeeeeees

There's birches here too..

Plenty of birch trees around here.

Not really close to Russia, there are thousands of Birch tree forests!

I misunderstood. I was thinking of a wisp as the small, mitten-looking thing you exfoliate your body with. It's kind of scratchy like sandpaper on one side and soft on the other. Lather up with one, scrape it off with another. Anyway, bring one of those things too (whatever they're called) as the stores in the U.S. don't really have them.

Are talking about a loofah? They have those everywhere here. Loofah on one side and spongy on the other. Any bed, bath place should carry them.

He means the really hard and scrubby one
not soft

They are. One side is hard, rough, scrubby and the reverse side is soft. We had one in Kazan' but they are here too.

I think my wife's Russian wisp was made from nylon. I have bought her similar ones here in the U.S. but they aren't abrasive enough for her. When I went to Russia to visit my wife she scrubbed my back with her wisp several times. Each time she did it, it felt like she was rubbing my back with sandpaper.

Those are really bad for your skin.

lmao... ouch !

yeah, i've launched a campaign to get my guy to stop using them, but have been unsuccessful so far.

Actually they are good for your skin. It helps your body shed of old skin flakes fast and revitalizes with new.

Exfoliation is good, but not with something so rough. You should not be using anything that people would compare with sandpaper on your skin. Something with the texture of a sugar scrub is far better and you really shouldn't exfoliate more than once a week. It's especially bad if you have skin problems, like eczema or acne.

I have to say that whatever it is (just asked, it's called a mochalka ruka'vitsa) it works for her. She uses it quite often and it scrapes off all the old flaky skin and the soft new stuff grows in it's place. Works especially well with Dead Sea salts.

She tries to use it on me every-now-and-then and I immediately squirm out of it, jump out of the shower and go running. It amazes me the amount of pain women will endure to be beautiful. I'm lucky, I'm just naturally so pretty.

I was looking yesterday at our shower, and there are 12 bottles of personal products in there. 11 of them were hers, the bottle of AXE shower gel, that I use to wash everything from top to bottom, was the only "manly" product to be seen in there. Maybe that's the real "axe effect." On the commercials they show guys being swarmed by women but what really happens is your lone bottle of shower gel gets swarmed by all those girly products. Those commercials, although true, are metaphoric only.

Maybe it's ok if you don't have any issues with your skin to begin with, but I know that if I used it i'd probably get scarring. I still maintain that it's not necessary to sand your skin away, though. Especially if you're doing it every time you go into the bath.

Very, very good. We have as #1 absolutely necessary Russian item: wisp = mochalka ruka'vitsa. Let's move on. What else is #2 absolutely necessary Russian item?

It depends which state she is going to..since i moved to California,i never brought with me any coats,all furs stayed in russia..No regrets...
Just tell her to bring also clothes that she wears at home,like hoodies and pants...every time i go shopping here,i would rather buy something to wear out than in...

Let me be more clear here, I'm not saying the wisp/mochalka is #1, I'm just saying it's up there. I just reinquired, and the #1 answer is Russian books/music/movies, etc. and Russian medicine.

(If you're going to an area with a good Russian market or you're pretty computer savvy, this stuff may not be necessary. However, if you're going to a place where there's not much available, bring something with you.)

Of course. I just put as #1 because it created a good exchange of replies. I will call Masha today and ask her about it. I don't think she uses it but I will not be surprised if she does. Thank you again and please continue sharing .

Excellent advise. She is coming to beautiful Bakersfield where sunshine is plentiful... Thank you.

Fashion-Able clothes; especially shoes and boots and things that are form-fitting and have nice shape. Clothes here are a little more, uh, "loose" and definitely can't be described as "fashion-Able."

one thing that strikes me when I read these threads is the difference between the women who are moving there and the women who live in russia but are visiting the US for work/travel etc. All the ones I know who only visited the US LOVE the shopping here, and are all about American clothing brands/makeup lines etc. I had one professor who teaches in the US every summer and she refuses to buy any of her clothes in Russia. And yet it seems like once they move for good, Russian stuff becomes superior.

it is all part of being ... Fashion-Able?

Spasiva

Your post only adds to my suspicion that it's not necessarily clothes being more fashion-Able or better or worse, but just another excuse to tell the husband that something is better back home. I would pass it on.... but I'm better off saving my breath to cool my porridge. (Something being married over a year has taught me. Even when she's wrong she's right!)

I would bring also all medications-russians self-medicate most of the time..Here you can not just go and buy antibiotics if you are sick..you need a doctor to subscribe and they never subsribe you them unless you have some shitt deasease...thats my own experience..so i would bring all kinds of medications she is used to use..
and by the way american medication is way strong for me...even stupid tylenol gives me galucinations,since i never drink alcohol and never did drugs,its huge for me...and most russian girls are not used to drugs...
so yeah tell her to bring her"aptechka"

I agree also that shoes in russia-especially boots are more unique..about other clothes,definitely quality here is way better,so is the price....

they're only available by prescription to try to prevent superbugs from forming, but people still overuse them.

yeah i know antibiotics are not very good to use,but since we-russians dont have any antibodies,its sohard to fight sickness...

what do you mean? i understand that when you move to the US you have to develop immunity to American germs, but it happens pretty quickly. Antibiotics will only help with infections after you develop them, so they won't help you fight off sickness in general or kill viruses... and using them off-label ruins their efficacy in fighting infections.

The best defense against all of that stuff is to be healty. If you're strong and healthy, get good rest, exercise, eat right, you'll hardly ever get sick because your body will be naturally stronger.

I'm a firm believer in making your body get over being sick. I know too many people that get a little throat tickle (cough!) and start downing three different types of meds. Those same people grab a pill and patch and special drink every time their nose starts to run. Then, when they really do get something serious, their immobile for days on end. Probably wouldn't have gotten so sick if theyd've skipped the meds and just let their body toughen up.

What's the name of that Aussie guy? "You need to harden the F#@K up!"

I agree completely. My dad and stepmom have a stockpile of antibiotics that they keep on hand for whenever someone gets sick and my brother and sister are sick CONSTANTLY. Whoever heard of a six-year-old in South Florida getting a kidney infection?

You ever notice that kids don't just get sick.... they STAY sick! They're always sick with this or that and when the parents super-medicate them, the never get better, just less sick than normal.

Those kids with parents that only give them "Tussin" when they're really, really sick (aka throwing up and hacking up a lung... too sick for school so mom's gotta skip work) those kids hardly ever get sick.

my mom had a "no doctor unless you're dying" rule, which is a bit extreme, but still my older brother and i hardly ever get sick... only when I fly back and forth from Russia does anyone get sick.

[quote name='aspettando' date='Apr 30 2008, 09:27 PM' post='1803325']
....but let's try to be specific so that newcomers pack what they really will need here in the land of the free.

I would bring dumplings maker - make bunch of dumplings get some vodka (joke) & BE HAPPY!!!!

Well, most Russians wear golden jewelry. If she needs to buy something, I would do it in Russia.<br> All Russians from my area and me included don't like gold sold in America. Even if you found item you like, it's at least 20 times cheaper to buy equivalent in Russia

Lots and lots of cheap black market gasoline for the car and natural gas for heating. My wife's family has access to 7 RU / Liter diesel in Russia. Can't beat that. And it only costs sevel 100RU to heat the home per month. Can't beat that.

kak skasash "dumplings maker" po ruski? Hoo! My accents sucks even when I write, so...
how do you say "dumplings maker" in the language of Dostoievski?

We have something called a "pilmineetsa" which is loosely translated as "pilminy maker." It's a plastic circle with 36 holes in it to cover with dough, insert meat, cover with dough again, and then "make" the pilminy by pressing them through the little circles. Works great, but I still have to knead the farsh because I have strong arms. Time to introduce the electric mixer.....

I don't know if dumplings would be pilminy or vereniki or whatever else you have at your house. It's pretty much all the same stuff.... one's just a little bigger than the other and doesn't have a "malinkaya popka" built in.

Thank you very much.