Russian wisdom from Natasha

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

One of the places I really look forward to taking Alla is a small little Greek pizzeria in my town. IMHO, pizza chains suck. I can't say any of them Alla would consider "tasty" as even I don't any more. Years ago, Little Caesar's was great, but now they serve out production line "Hot & Ready" garbage. I definitely plan on introducing Alla to Target and Meijer (I don't and won't shop at Walmart). I think they will be great places to buy her growing children their clothes. We also have a upscale mall where I already have bought several outfits for Alla at. It will be interesting to show her the stores where she has been receiving clothes from since 2004!

Pizza here has been hit and miss so far, though generally they like the pizza we've tried (Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy's, Little Cesear's). In Russia (Volgodonsk), we ate at the local pizzeria several times and although the pizza was FAR DIFFERENT than what you and I would call pizza, it was good in a different sort of way. As for shopping, we've hit Walmart, Target, ShopKo, 2 different malls, and several smaller stores too. Natasha loves to shop, and as Vika says, now that Natasha has me, Vika doesn't need to go shopping with her any more - that's my job!

[LvivLovers 39]

Hope it's ok that I post here even though my wife is Ukrainian...so many things seem very similar and unfortunately I haven't found any active Ukrainian threads as enjoyable as these. Here's one I bet most people here haven't gone through:

I'm 36 years old and although I'm not bald by any means, my hair is a little thinner than it was at age 20. My wife has fantastic hair....very long, straight, strong, and beautiful. She swears to me that she had almost no hair up until about age 12 when she started undergoing several "treatments". Needless to say...she wanted me to also undergo some of these "treatments" (she also underwent said "treatments" again with me). The first one I have done 3 times so far...she ground up a fresh onion using our Magic Bullet and smeared this all over my hair in a thick goopy mixture that was dripping down all over me. I had to wrap my head and face up in a towel. The smell was unbearable. I was not to wash this off for 30 minutes. I can't even describe the smell...washing my hair every day for a week still does not remove it. I've been informed that in actuality I'm not supposed to wash my hair afterwards with anything but water, but I just couldn't do this. Also, it's really supposed to be mixed with cognac also.

She has also informed me that another alternative is to use mustard seed or something like this (since I complained about the harsh smell of the onions). She has used these little packets of mustard a couple times when she was feeling sick. We put these packets in water and then placed them on her chest, back, and feet...they got really hot and burned red marks on her skin exactly where they were placed but she insists that this was critical towards her overcoming whatever illness she had.

It's all a little strange to me and of course I have hundreds of such stories already, but what can I say. It makes life much more interesting and entertaining. I love my wife like crazy and enjoy all these little things that make her her. I'm still waiting to see how well the whole onion-hair treatment works but I have to do this every few days for like 6 months before I should see some results. I will report back my findings....

[LvivLovers 39]

As far as pizzas go....I had a few while I was in Lviv...I'm sort of a picky eater so whenever I thought I could get away with I would request pizza. Believe it or not, I liked most of these better than I do American pizzas from the big pizza chains. My wife kept getting corn as one of the pizza toppings...she said I don't eat enough vegetables. It wasn't bad though. I don't know if it's just me but when I was younger I used to think our pizza chain pizzas tasted a whole lot better than they seem to now. I suspect that they have cheapened up the ingredients over time. My experience with Lviv pizzas made me feel like maybe this really is what happened, but of course I can't prove it.

[Okiebollweevil 0]

As far as pizzas go....I had a few while I was in Lviv...I'm sort of a picky eater so whenever I thought I could get away with I would request pizza. Believe it or not, I liked most of these better than I do American pizzas from the big pizza chains. My wife kept getting corn as one of the pizza toppings...she said I don't eat enough vegetables. It wasn't bad though. I don't know if it's just me but when I was younger I used to think our pizza chain pizzas tasted a whole lot better than they seem to now. I suspect that they have cheapened up the ingredients over time. My experience with Lviv pizzas made me feel like maybe this really is what happened, but of course I can't prove it.

My wife loves papa john's pizza but only one variant the rest, foo! She shops at Walmart to send clothes for infant nephews, recently hit the mall for a clearance sale at Dillard's (regional equivalent of larger chains) bought a bunch of items for herself, sent cousin a cashmere sweater that she bought for $5 original cost $225. Stocked up on a lot of Antonio Melani and Ralph Lauren. I got a few chapters read in a book I keep in her car for that very purpose. She hates "wind" in the house so running a fan or opening a window is a nono, unless it is in "my" room, then the fan goes of and the window down when she visits me in my den. Our gas bill runs 1/2 of a 9 unit apt. bldg. we own. Took her and another Russian lady to see Russian pianists performing in the home of some wealthy person. She brought flowers, the 1st pianist was shocked, probably having never received flowers at a performance here in the US, the second performer who she idolizes loved the flowers and gave her a buss on the cheek and a warm smile. My wife came back to her seat with rosy cheeks and tears. Then the home hostess announced that the flowers were an indication of how much the community at large appreciates Valery. My wife was incensed, and kept asking me why this woman did this. I advised that rich Americans always try to turn something to their advantage, that Valery knew who and why the flowers were given no matter what the woman said.

[visaveteran1 33]

Like most good Americans, I like pizza. But due to cholesterol issues i have to give up (mostly) junk food style eating which I consider most pizzas, especially the ones from the chains. I can actually make my own and it's reasonably healthy but my wife does not seem to like pizza.

On my very first trip to Moscow years ago, I do remember a pretty well know pizza place in the city near the Pushkin Museum that was quite good...but not cheap. Can't remember the name but it was good. Anyone know about it?

[visaveteran1 33]

Speaking about fans, I don't have a ceiling fan but I have a room air cleaner that's got like 5 speeds and is fairly loud at the higher speeds. I actually like the noise to sleep as it's like white noise.

I'm hoping my wife is not one of those folks who can't sleep with any noise like fans. I've really gotten to like that white noise.

[eekee 182]

papa johns and pizza hut are much better in russia than they are here. i would never eat at these places in the us, but in russia the ingredients seem to be much fresher.

i also buy frozen pizzas from germany under the dr. oetker brand... they have a really good four cheese variety. i did not like the pizza made by russian pizza places at all. too many things like corn and dill that should never ever be on a pizza.

[KGSodie 0]

As far as pizzas go....I had a few while I was in Lviv...I'm sort of a picky eater so whenever I thought I could get away with I would request pizza. Believe it or not, I liked most of these better than I do American pizzas from the big pizza chains. My wife kept getting corn as one of the pizza toppings...she said I don't eat enough vegetables. It wasn't bad though. I don't know if it's just me but when I was younger I used to think our pizza chain pizzas tasted a whole lot better than they seem to now. I suspect that they have cheapened up the ingredients over time. My experience with Lviv pizzas made me feel like maybe this really is what happened, but of course I can't prove it.

Vika's favorite pizza in Volgodonsk also featured corn, and though I was skeptical I agree with you - not bad at all!

[KGSodie 0]

Speaking about fans, I don't have a ceiling fan but I have a room air cleaner that's got like 5 speeds and is fairly loud at the higher speeds. I actually like the noise to sleep as it's like white noise.

I'm hoping my wife is not one of those folks who can't sleep with any noise like fans. I've really gotten to like that white noise.

I have a fan that I use for white noise to help me sleep, but Natasha likes it quiet (not to mention the evils of air movement) so they're now both in the closet. Perhaps I can sell the idea of an air 'purifier' though.......

[NavarreMan 10]

Hope it's ok that I post here even though my wife is Ukrainian...so many things seem very similar and unfortunately I haven't found any active Ukrainian threads as enjoyable as these. Here's one I bet most people here haven't gone through:

I'm 36 years old and although I'm not bald by any means, my hair is a little thinner than it was at age 20. My wife has fantastic hair....very long, straight, strong, and beautiful. She swears to me that she had almost no hair up until about age 12 when she started undergoing several "treatments". Needless to say...she wanted me to also undergo some of these "treatments" (she also underwent said "treatments" again with me). The first one I have done 3 times so far...she ground up a fresh onion using our Magic Bullet and smeared this all over my hair in a thick goopy mixture that was dripping down all over me. I had to wrap my head and face up in a towel. The smell was unbearable. I was not to wash this off for 30 minutes. I can't even describe the smell...washing my hair every day for a week still does not remove it. I've been informed that in actuality I'm not supposed to wash my hair afterwards with anything but water, but I just couldn't do this. Also, it's really supposed to be mixed with cognac also.

She has also informed me that another alternative is to use mustard seed or something like this (since I complained about the harsh smell of the onions). She has used these little packets of mustard a couple times when she was feeling sick. We put these packets in water and then placed them on her chest, back, and feet...they got really hot and burned red marks on her skin exactly where they were placed but she insists that this was critical towards her overcoming whatever illness she had.

It's all a little strange to me and of course I have hundreds of such stories already, but what can I say. It makes life much more interesting and entertaining. I love my wife like crazy and enjoy all these little things that make her her. I'm still waiting to see how well the whole onion-hair treatment works but I have to do this every few days for like 6 months before I should see some results. I will report back my findings....

Lviv Lovers,

Welcome to the dark side!

Of course you are welcome to join in. Good advice and stories are always welcome. Your story reminds me of the Bugs Bunny Hansel & Gretel story with the witch with all the bobby pins in her hair. My mind works that way sometimes...

Tanya has dicovered Neosporin and think it is a miracle drug. We are sending several tubes of it in a care package to home. Good luck with the hair.

[NavarreMan 10]

Awesome pizza can be had at Bison Creek Pizza in West Seattle or at SeaTac Airport. Unfortunaely for me this is 2500 miles away and they do not deliver. Best pizza I have ever had. Locally it is good only if you delight at grease dripping, soggy pieces. I usually have Canadian bacon & pineapple. Personal preference. Less grease and I think it tastes great.

[eekee 182]

florida has horrible pizza! i don't understand why, especially where my parents live where half of the population is actually from new york.

Awesome pizza can be had at Bison Creek Pizza in West Seattle or at SeaTac Airport. Unfortunaely for me this is 2500 miles away and they do not deliver. Best pizza I have ever had. Locally it is good only if you delight at grease dripping, soggy pieces. I usually have Canadian bacon & pineapple. Personal preference. Less grease and I think it tastes great.

[pianojangee 0]

One of the places I really look forward to taking Alla is a small little Greek pizzeria in my town. IMHO, pizza chains suck. I can't say any of them Alla would consider "tasty" as even I don't any more. Years ago, Little Caesar's was great, but now they serve out production line "Hot & Ready" garbage. I definitely plan on introducing Alla to Target and Meijer (I don't and won't shop at Walmart). I think they will be great places to buy her growing children their clothes. We also have a upscale mall where I already have bought several outfits for Alla at. It will be interesting to show her the stores where she has been receiving clothes from since 2004!

Since you mentioned Meijer, I assume that you live in Michigan? I was wondering if you live the state of Great Lakes, if you know any Russian resturants in Detroit area. I have heard from people mentioned that there are a few Russian places in Detroit, but I failed to get any details about locations. My husband is Russian and he became so loving Korean food, since I cook lots of Korean and my own fusion food of American, Italian and etc. I get to taste real Russian food when we go to Sister-in law's in Brooklyn, but I'd love to have some more Russian food near by.

Thanks for any info ~

Edited April 22, 2008 by pianojangee

[peejay 327]

We are fortunate to live in an area of Houston close to our house that has two Russian stores that stock foods, medicines, books, movies, etc. from Eastern Europe and many of the former Soviet republics. I lived there even before I met my wife, so it has turned out to be a plus. She has discovered American brands that are acceptable to her, but has the Russian stores to fall back on for certain things. Most notably unrefined sunflower oil, halva, various sweets, church wine (Kagor), and buckwheat (gretchka) comes to mind.

Sadly, Omaha has one 2 Russian stores that I have been able to find. One is down in the fru-fru section of town and is very expensive, and very selective in what they stock (It's called "Red Square"). The other is a gas station named "Terror-free Oil" and though very small, stocked every day stuff that made Natasha feel like home.

It's not only finding familiar products in these stores, but these stores are often a gathering place for other Russian speakers and a place to make social contacts with others from the former Soviet Union.

The biggest and oldest Russian store in my neighborhood is the Russian General Store. The history of the store is interesting. I am not Jewish, but there are many synagogs, a Jewish community center, etc. in my neighborhood. In the mid 1980's the Soviet Union started allowing Jews that wanted to leave the USSR to immigrate. The synagogs sponsored hundreds of Soviet Jews and they naturally congregated in my area of the city to be near the synagogs. Other Russian speakers that are not Jewish also began to congregate in the neighborhood too. So it is natural that the store prospers in my area of town. It is jointly owned by a circle of friends from Russia and Belarus. It is quite well stocked and the prices were reasonable until the US dollar started falling. It is still reasonable, but not as reasonable as when the dollar was stronger. In fact, the local produce in the store is cheaper than any of the grocery chains in the Houston and we buy our produce there often. I have seen various ethnic groups from all over the former USSR working there and as customers. The store has several free local Russian language periodicals with ads from local Russian owned businesses and local Russian community events. My wife's favorite free periodical is Наш Техас (Our Texas).

My wife and stepdaughter found the Russian stores helpful in setting down their new roots here, but it probably helped more that they were already very fluent in English before arriving in the USA. It was a lot harder on my stepdaughter because she left all her friends and it took a while for her to make friends here. Almost all of her present pals here are from the former USSR. Her present boyfriend here is a Ukrainian. Her two earlier ex-boyfriends were Kazakhstanis. In contrast, most of my wife's friends are Americans and she goes places with the American ladies in my neighborhood often. She does have a girlfriend she met from Uzbekistan and another from Russia, but they live across town from us and she sees them, at most, once or twice a month.

My mom's parents were immigrants from Byelorussia and I still have relatives there that I maintain contact with. In 1997 my cousin Igor asked me if I would help a friend of his that won the US Diversity Visa Lottery from Belarus. He didn't know anyone from the USA and was very surprised he won Green Cards for his family. I was living alone at the time and had plenty of room in my house, so I agreed to help them. The father (Viktor) arrived in Houston with his two adult sons (Ruslan and Vova) in 1997. Viktor spoke almost no English, Vova's English was very limited, and Ruslan actually spoke English very well. Ruslan ended up being the interpreter since I speak Russian about as well as Viktor speaks English. After about a month of me taking them around to get Social Security cards, driver's licenses, etc. I could see that their circle was kind of small. Viktor especially felt isolated. It was then that I remembered the Russian General Store. Even though it had been in my neighborhood for years, I never had been inside or knew a lot about it. When I told them about this place they were very excited to go there. It made all the difference in the world to Viktor. He was very relieved to find that store and to find contacts in the local Russian community. He was especially happy to be able to talk to someone else bsides his two sons. I would say that it made a huge difference in their transition to the USA. Viktor has since returned to Belarus and let his Green Card expire. Rus and Vova still live in Houston, are US citizens, and have done well for themselves. Both of them gave my stepdaughter lots of help when she arrived here in 2004.

The main point to this long winded post is to stress the importance of introducing your wives and fiancees to the local Russian language community if it is available in your area.

[LvivLovers 39]

This morning our alarm clock went off and when I told my wife we had to get up for our AOS interview she blurted out a couple sentences in Ukrainian. I said, "WHAT?!" She repeated it again in Ukrainian. So I said..."Honey, is that Ukrainian?" She said, "Yes." I said, "I don't speak Ukrainian...what does it mean?" She said, "I didn't water the plants yet." I said..."Hmmm....what?" She repeated "I didn't water the plants."

Anyway when she finally woke up she confessed she didn't know what in the world she was talking about. I'm always entertained when she speaks Ukrainian before finally realizing she's in the USA and switches gears.

By the way...most of the Ukrainian phrases I do know are things she yells at the dog! She's got about 30 phrases I hear fairly regularly.

Edited April 22, 2008 by LvivLovers