We all have preconceived thoughts about new places we have yet to visit. We form our ideas off of what we see in the media or stories we hear.
I wanted divide this blog into two parts, the first part being about my thoughts before visiting and the second part describing my actual experience.
I have always wanted to visit Russia, but after reading about how expensive and difficult of a process it is to get a visa I decided to put my visit off for a while. I took advantage of the World Cup taking place there this year (2018). I attended the last World Cup in Brazil and it was amazing! I knew I had to do it again. The World Cup opens up the opportunity of visiting a country, requiring a visa, allowing for a free visa and a much easier process, in this case for Russia. As long as you have a match ticket the visa is included. Russia decided to do a Fan I.D., this included sending in passport information, your ticket order number, and a passport photo. They processed all the required information and sent a laniard that visitors were to wear when visiting. This gave you entry into the country along with your passport and entry into the matches, with a valid match ticket. So I recommend using the World Cup to your advantage when you can.
As always I researched different topics about Russia before embarking on our journey.
Food
I wasn't sure about the food. I never really thought about what they eat there. The only time I came across a reference to Russian food was in Netflix's Orange is the New Black, when the background story for Red was given and we learn about her days in Russia.
After a bit of research I found out that Borsch was a traditional soup eaten in Russia. I came across many other dishes that all consisted of a hardy ingredients such as meat and potatoes. I was not surprised considering how cold and can get in Russia. I am not picky so I decided to go to Russia with open arms and try any foods we came across that were new.
People
After only seeing movies with Russian antagonists I had a slightly negative idea of how the people were going to be. I try not to form my ideas off of such things but being the only form of exposure I have had to Russian people it was difficult to be neutral. Leading up the World Cup and after the Trump election and the stories about our countries relationship was with Russia didn't put my mind at ease.
Environment
We all have seen Russia pop up in movies and they always portray many of the run down building giving us an eerie idea of what the environment might look like. I knew that probably wasn't the real Russia but that was the picture painted in my mind. I like to check out creepy places to an extent so either way I would content. I also thought it would be more left from the Soviet Union.
Clothing
Before I go anywhere I like to research how the locals dress in the countries I travel too. Not only do I not want to stand out as a tourist but I want to make sure I am respecting the culture of the country I am.
Before leaving for Russia I researched online and asked people in my community that would know about Russian culture for some tips on how a women would dress.
I found that people dress a bit more on the conservative side and the women often wear heels. I found an old website on Pinterest with some examples. So I did my best to choose similar clothing options while trying to keep to a capsule wardrobe best I could.