Traffic
Is unnecessarily dangerous. Unlike California, there is no such concept as pedestrian right-of-way. This confused me for my first 3 days in Russia.
On Day 2, as my host brother escorted me to my new place of employment and we darted across traffic, he noted: "Don't worry! No one has been killed in this spot for two years." And this is a statistic for a city to be proud of??! As one teacher put it, "Russia is the only country where you can get hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk" since cars drive everywhere and anywhere they want to at any moment.
One night we were driving around the city when we saw a car wreck surrounded by several ambulances. "Nekolye, see what can happen when you walk across the street? Be careful in Russia!" WHY is this considered normal? I have noticed that my expectations of what services the government should be able to provide are higher than the average Russian citizen's.
This morning I was examining the rain/slush/ice consistency through the window when I heard a dog screaming because it was hit by a car. On the street directly in front of me. He yelled for awhile, then went running away on 3 legs, with the fourth held up in the air - hopefully towards someone or something that could help him.
On Day 2, as my host brother escorted me to my new place of employment and we darted across traffic, he noted: "Don't worry! No one has been killed in this spot for two years." And this is a statistic for a city to be proud of??! As one teacher put it, "Russia is the only country where you can get hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk" since cars drive everywhere and anywhere they want to at any moment.
One night we were driving around the city when we saw a car wreck surrounded by several ambulances. "Nekolye, see what can happen when you walk across the street? Be careful in Russia!" WHY is this considered normal? I have noticed that my expectations of what services the government should be able to provide are higher than the average Russian citizen's.
This morning I was examining the rain/slush/ice consistency through the window when I heard a dog screaming because it was hit by a car. On the street directly in front of me. He yelled for awhile, then went running away on 3 legs, with the fourth held up in the air - hopefully towards someone or something that could help him.
posted by russiangirl at 9:17 AM
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