Change

Not that kind of change. I'm talking about money. Change is a precious commodity here. There aren't enough smaller bills to go around and it's hard to get change. If you go to the store and you don't have exact change, people give you the evil eye. If you have a 1000 ruble note they might get upset and refuse to sell you something.

The most reliable place we've found that accepts "large" bills (equal to about $40 USD) is Grossmart, the semi-westernized grocery store down the street. Westernized in the sense that selection is pretty good and you're allowed to look at and touch things by yourself. There are still stores where everything is under glass, and you have to look at the selection and then say what you want. But Russianized in that there are a bunch of people employed to stand around and stare at you to make sure you aren't stealing something, and you have to check any extra bags at the door before you can shop, so you don't smuggle food into your bag and walk out with it.

On the opposite extreme is really small change - kopecks. Everyone hates kopecks. It's a game to see who gets stuck with them. During the past week, I've received an avalanche of kopeck-change from buses and marshrukas.

This morning on the bus, I counted out 7 rubles, almost all in 10 or 50-kopeck coins. I passed it to the ticket lady, who swore and asked me if it was really 7 rubles. I said yes, of course. As I sat and watched her count, I felt a moment of personal victory at winning the change game - for today, at least.