Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	Be very careful.  You can ask 5 people at the MVA the same question and get 5 different answers.  They are technically wrong and I know of many people in your situtation who have been issued citations by the Maryland State Police for driving without a licenses.  You end up going to Court and at least some of the Judges are finding people guilty.  Well, everybody I've talked to at Annapolis MVA seemed to have the same answer. Needless to say that I drove myself to the driving test and that was not a problem. Thanks anyway. Luckily, I did not get "caught" though and I've had my MD driver's license for over a year now. Good news is that I won't have to deal with MVA until 2016 - that's when I'm going to have to renew my DL.	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-07-02 20:08:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	Actually, after getting the translation and exchanging SS card, I easily passed the knowledge test and I'm now waiting for the skills test. I was told in MVA that I can drive with my Russian DL (even though the website says that you're only allowed to drive with an out-of-state DL for 60 days only) while I'm waiting for the test. And the soonest day for the test was April, 30th	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-03-10 20:51:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	ONA...do not just slink off quietly to the next county MVA, make sure you let your state representative know what happened. Our acceptance of incompetent boobs is what promotes this nonsense. It is nothing less than denying you privileges and rights because they are ignorant of their jobs and that is NOT OK. Oh... I will. I definitely will, but I'm going to do that after I get my DL.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-06 05:19:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	If you face incompetence at one DMV office, you can go to another one. It can be in a different county altogether - for as long as the state is the same! My husband and I had to drive to a different county several times to get our DL's and ID's renewed, because the DMV office in our city was acting up. So keep this option in mind next time, it does work Thank you! that's good advice, we'll try it next time if we have any issues. Edited by ONA, 05 February 2012 - 05:46 PM.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-05 17:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	I don't understand. If you are taking the vision,knowledge, and skills test, why is your Russian license even an issue? My step daughter has a Russian license (I think she bought it as she has absolutely no driving skills) and is trying to get her drivers license here in Florida. She took the exam but failed the skill (driving ) portion. They told her she could continue to drive using her Russian license until she passed the Florida exam...LOL! I know each state is different. Well, with my Russian DL I can pass all the tests and get a regular Maryland DL, without having to obtain a learner's permit then a provisional license. Maryland is very strict, even though I had a license - I still had to go through a 3-hour class (they call it "Safe and Sober", but it is some sort of introduction into driving in Maryland). If I didn't have a license from Russia, I would have to go to a driving school - they don't issue a learner's permit unless you bring them a certificate of completion of a driving school course.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-04 10:44:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	It's funny, because when me and my husband were applying for a marriage license, we (all of a sudden) needed to provide our SSNs too. But in our case I had an SSN, so it wasn't that painful.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-03 21:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	Well, my name actually transliterates slightly different in French as opposed to English. In my international DL it is transliterated in English. The thing that makes me really mad though is that I had everything that I was required according to their instructions (now I also think that I should have taken my copy of Maryland driver's manual with me, because it has the same information as the website), but I was refused service, because either the information they provide is misleading or because people in the office are not qualified for their job. And I really thought that GIBDD office in Russia might cause problems, but the biggest problem I ever had there was an endless line of people. At least the office workers there knew what they were doing. Edited by ONA, 03 February 2012 - 08:52 PM.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-03 20:51:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MVA frustration	If something ever has to go wrong somewhere - it happens at an MVA office (well, MVA for Maryland, can be DMV or whatever in other states). So I planned to get done with my vision screening and knowledge test today and schedule the skills test, so I can get my Maryland DL. I gathered all the necessary paperwork: proof of residence (including a copy of the marriage certificate), social security card, my passport, certificate of completion of Safe and Sober class (local requirement for out-of-country drivers), my Russian DL and my international DL. Me and my husband waited in line and finally got to the clerk... And after looking at my Russian DL for about 5 minutes straight, she says that they need a translation! And not just a translation, but the one made by an MVA certified translator (and there are only like 7 or 8 of them). I said that it was clearly stated on their website that they might need either a translation or an international DL (which is basically just a book with translations to a bunch of different languages INCLUDING ENGLISH). She acted like she didn't know what the website said, so my husband asked her to look it up on her computer - she said that they weren't allowed to look at their OWN website while they were at work She called 2 supervisors and they weren't any help. I don't know what's wrong with this whole office, I wanted to find somebody to complain to, but my husband stopped me. It's all fine - we already arranged a translation with a very nice Russian lady, who happened to be a certified translator and it will be done tomorrow, so we can go back to MVA. I don't understand though - you either work according to the information provided on your official website or just get the website straight, stop giving people information, that's clearly misleading! Just wanted to share, I got really frustrated because of that today.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-02-03 20:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Police report translated into english at for the Russian Consulate?	I have done all the translation myself. Didn't notarize anything. It worked just fine.    Same here. You just have to make sure that you certify your translation (by adding a statement that you are fluent in both English and Russian and the translation is accurate to the best of your knowledge).	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-09-19 23:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Translating Russian University Degree	Thanks for the replies...   She is looking to work as an adjunct professor at a local college.... I guess we will contact them to ask what they want.   What does she want to teach? I did my evaluation through ECE and their report says that I have an equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education and an MA in English Linguistics.   I started looking for a job as soon as I received their report and have been working as an ESL Instructor and a TOEFL TCA at a language school in DC for about a year and a half now.   I would love to go back to school and get my doctorate, but that's just me. A lot of other people would be more than happy with what I have right now.	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-09-16 22:34:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Where is everyone from in the states?	I'm living in Arlington, VA. Not that many Russians but there's sooo many in DC. Looks like we'll move to Houston soon. Are you, guys, still in Arlington? It would be fun to meet up some time   we are in smaller town outside DC, Woodbridge VA. Interesting to find or neighbor was a Russian language instructor You, guys seem to be relatively close too.   We live in Severn MD, which is about 15 min outside of Baltimore and 40 min from DC (if there is no traffic). I work in DC though, so I am always sort of close to VA.	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-09-28 21:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	renewal of red passport?	DO NOT let the Russian passport expire.  My wife was going to renew hers in Russia, but we made a mistake when looking at the expiration date (expired 9/10 instead of 10/9....you know how we write dates differently) and just missed going to Russia.  Called the Russian embassy and they said she would not be allowed to enter Russia.  Thought about using the agency in Chicago and even spoke with them.  They seemed helpful and legit.  The embassy said that she would need to prove she was a Russian citizen since her passport was expired.  We paid the embassy and provided all the required documents, but as is typically Russian, that wasn't enough.  We have tried everything we can think of here, and with influential friends in Russia but just have not been able to fix the issue.  A couple of grand would probably do it, but we don't need it that bad.  My wife is a US citizen now so we can go pretty much anywhere EXCEPT Russia, which is fine with her. First of all, if the internal passport is still valid, the OP's wife is fine. My international passport expired in December 2012, I renewed it in 2013. It was not a problem at all, but my internal passport was still valid. Second of all, proving your citizenship is very easy, even if all of your passports have expired. I know people, who have done it recently - not a problem. I don't know what you're talking about by saying that something was "typically Russian" because everybody I know, including myself, had a very positive experience dealing with the embassy in Washington DC.   I will never understand people like your wife. How can you call anything a dump if you haven't been there for years? I visited my city in July and it was amazing.	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-10-19 22:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	How many Ukrainians (or Russians, but I am told this is done in Ukraine) clean their carpets by taking them out in the snow and scrubbing them with fresh snow? How did this one escape discussion? My parents used to do it, but they stopped with the development of technology. However, I hate stupid carpets in every house here too. We are getting rid of carpets in our house some time soon. Edited by ONA, 04 January 2013 - 02:01 PM.	ONA	Female	Russia	2013-01-04 13:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	She loves her little Toyota Yaris, it drives like a go cart and she can whip it into any paralell parking spot as easy as pie. LOL I drive a Yaris too, my husband keeps joking that if I ever can't find a parking space, I should just put the car into my purse	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-12-29 18:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	If my dishwasher's broken (or on vacation) I'll just eat fast food. I saw my husband doing the dishes the other day. I took a picture of it - I thought there was a bigger chance to see a Yeti, than to see my husband doing the dishes. (our dishwasher broke down too recently )	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-30 10:59:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Be careful who you listen to. As Eekee said, "banging" is the only one of those words understandable to someone born after 1980. Thanks for the note. No, I'm not going to use any of it anyway	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-17 11:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Balling, banging, boinking, bopping, boffing, schtuping, yada, yada, yada Thank you for an English lesson Learning something new every day! Speaking of which, Little Mini-Bone turns 1 year old in approximately 13.5 hours, si man. Congrats!	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-17 05:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	what kind of pie are you eating? Ever had what we call an apple pie? Anyway, to settle this I asked Alla. She is always right, if you do not believe me you can ask her. Alla, is it pie or cake? "Neither" What is it? "Sharlotka" There you have it! It is too bad she can never run for President because she would be great in the debates. In Russia we call it a pie. Yes, I had American apple pie + vanilla ice-cream. Totally messes up my 1200 calorie diet	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-10 08:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Thats it. Must be where the "harlot" reference comes from. THAT's a pie? No. It has all the characterics of cake. I would call it a "coffee cake" in equivilent English, although what the British call "pudding" is hardly the same as what we call pudding. It's a pie See, that's the difference, I don't understand why you call a "coffee cake" a CAKE. It has all the characteristics of a pie to me.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-10 05:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Gary, I don't agree with the choice of apples in Ukraine (or Russia) either. There are all kinds of sorts of apples there - some are greener or more yellowish or red of different shades, different shapes, sizes, different taste, some are more firm than others etc. Both of my grandmas live in small towns and there are a bunch of apple gardens around them - people there know the names to every sort.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-09 11:09:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	It's not a cake, it's a pie. And it's called "Sharlotka"	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-09 11:02:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	We had SO much from New Years that the frig was filled and covered dishes and plates were put on my workbench in the garage! It is probably colder out there than the refrigerator. Our friends came over for New Years, they were shocked by the amount of food we had My husband was in Russia for New years twice though, so he totally gets the concept: you cook all day on New Years eve, than you don't get up for the next 2 days, and you don't have to cook - you still have something to eat. I got extremely homesick on New Years though, so while we were cooking, I was watching Russian TV online (even though I barely ever watch TV), shut the drapes, imagining there's snow outside and started celebrating New Years at 3 pm with my family in Russia via Skype.	ONA	Female	Russia	2012-01-05 09:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	But you can say the same thing in Russian; you just wouldn't use ????? or a derivative form every time. There might be even more options in Russian...	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-30 16:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	I used to have a big Russian-English dictionary of swear words on my computer back in Russia. I even learned some Russian words I hadn't known before My husband was so proud when I taught him how to say "b*tch" in Russian - he was telling everybody: "I know how to say "b*tch" in 3 languages!" (English, Spanish, Russian). I don't usually teach him that stuff... Also my friends taught him a bunch of Russian swear words	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-29 21:02:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	THEN (and this is where I get to you, ONA) Pasha takes me aside and says, "Y'know that is a Donetsk region slang word for clothes hanger, if you said that in Kiev or Moscow no one would know what your are talking about anyway" ALLA!!!!!! You are teaching me regional slang??????? SMR is right, the regular Russian word for "hanger" is veshalka. Sometimes it's called "plechiki" (from "plechi" - "shoulders"). I know what you're talking about "????????" is the word they use in Donetsk and Kharkov. I know a lot of Ukrainian slang words and they are actually widely used in my city too, because the region I'm from borders Ukraine. So like un-blatting-believable! Is that what you mean by a link word? Almost What I actually mean is that some people talk like "And then blat I told them blat to come over tomorrow blat".	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-29 13:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	I believe it is roughly equivilent to "#######",or "#######". Basically a dirty woman that just wants sex. It is. But when you're mad it's used as the "f-word". Slim's wife seems to be using it like a link-word, which is also possible I believe that Russian mat is very strong. I once sent an article about Russian mat to my husband and it was written there "if English curse words are like beer, Russian mat is like vodka"	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-29 09:56:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	The funny thing about Russian women...they're so beautiful and sexy (well, mostly) but looking at the mommas, they don't age well. What I see in older Russian women is what we Americans thought ALL Russian women looked like during the Cold War...the term was "bovine." Cow-like. Well, the mommas I've seen are bovine...large and ugly as sin. Even women in their mid fifties look like hell. How can they look so good at 40 and so bad at 55? What a turnaround! Theories? Have you ever seen a picture of Kip's MIL? That can prove you wrong. And there are plenty of women like that in the FSU actually.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-28 04:53:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Young punks Alla insisted on BOILING the sheets when she first arrived. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! "that is how my mother did it" She got over it and uses the washing machine now. What? People still did it in XX century? I thought it was old medieval stuff... I only saw it in some movies. I should have prepared a speech!	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-27 20:07:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	I wash everything in the washing machine, dry everything in the dryer. I just divide the clothes by colour and fabric.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-27 11:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Our grandson is almost three now. (and another is 6 months) He always has to show me what the "new" thing he can do is. "Let me guess, it involves running" that makes me smile We have a little niece (my sister-in-law's baby), she'll be 2 in March. We all speak her language too: "boom-boom", "bad-bad!", "ugh you" (love you) etc. She says the whole sentences too, but there is no way I can understand that - toddler's English seems like a whole new language to me	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-24 14:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Oh god the potatoes. How could I forget about them. Like almost every night. I fry them with onions now so I don't have to eat them boiled. I mean how many boiled potatoes can someone eat? I only boil it when I want some mashed potatoes. I fry them with onions and mushrooms - yummy! I bake them a lot + there are recipes that have potatoes in them. Our favourite is: a layer of onions (with salt, black pepper and oil), a layer of meat (we use anything from ground beef to pork), a layer of sliced potatoes, mozzarella cheese and mayo on top - bake for about an hour in the oven... OMG, it's soooooo good! Maybe not that healthy, but delicious.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-20 00:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	And on the pork...I think we have pork here at least five times a week. I think Iv'e ate more pork and sausage in the past two years that all my previous years combined. Pork is easy to cook and there are a lot of ways to cook it. We don't eat that much pork though... All we have right now is actually chicken and venison. My husband is joking about how much potatoes we eat though... He says he used to buy 2 bags of potatoes a month, now we get 2 bags of potatoes every week or two	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-20 00:16:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Over in Belarus they are big on salted meat...maybe due to refrigeration...not sure. But anything here that can be cooked "quick and easy" is bad in her eyes. When she goes shopping it takes twice as long as it does for me for the fact she reads the labels and see's what's in the stuff. I mean I never read a label. She's coming around but it's all part of the "de-Stalinization process". I do read the labels, but I'm OK with the "quick and easy" stuff once in a while... The way I think about it: in Russia we eat so much pork and put mayo or sour cream nearly on anything... some canned greens aren't going to hurt me, probably. It's interesting how they have anything "organic" even the canned food. that sounds like a cologne. It's a type of seasoning: He sounds like an East coaster. They salt and spice the ####### out of everything. It's amazing those people back east have any taste buds left. Yep. I loooove eating blue crab with melted butter seasoned with Old Bay... I like it on other seafood, but people here use it for nearly everything... They also eat cantaloupe with salt and black pepper on it Edited by ONA, 19 December 2011 - 03:17 PM.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-19 15:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	That's weird... I put salt and butter on local sweet corn, tastes just the same as it did in Russia. My parents liked it too, they were also surprised that it's cooked really fast. My husband puts salt, butter and Old Bay on his corn - it's too much for me. the only time anyone salts meat and/or fish is to preserve it. Here we don't sell it because we eat it while it's still bleeding. We buy fresh salmon and I salt it. My husband loves it. I don't know what you mean when you talk about salting meat... I mean... there is "salo", but it's not meat, really.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-19 11:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Definitely not an Alla thing either. She thinks her granite sink and the heated floor in the bathroom are the best parts of the house, even enough to keep our marriage together She keeps her sink clean, will not use the garbage disposer, she has one of those screen baskets in the drain and throws everything in the trash. Having a clean house is not a problem here, she is very clean. I would say she was a clean freak and would be a clean freak if she had the time, but between her work and classes we settle for a "very clean" home instead of OCD clean. Yeah, my husband also thinks that the house is "very clean". I still think it's a little messy, but it's all right Edited by ONA, 09 December 2011 - 09:46 PM.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-09 21:45:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	I know that feeling. My wife used to put everything in the sink...including bones, tea bags, paper towels, napkins and other items generally meant for the trash can. I used to have to fish out the contraband from the wet greasy muck in the sink and transport it to it's rightful home...the trash can's plastic bag. And, I also had to fish out metal items from the garbage disposal after hearing the horrific metal to metal grinding noise. Despite having one of those plastic perforated drain inserts to catch such items, my wife would take that insert out for no good reason, and this allowed silverware to enter the disposer. Most of my silverware bares the rough edged, combat disposer scars from my wife's kitchen practices. Adios wife. Sane kitchen. Yeah man. Sounds nasty. That's not a Russian thing, it just means that your wife is neither a neat person, nor a well-organized one. I'm far from being a clean freak, but your post is literally like a nightmare for me...	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-09 13:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	New Orleans looks better in the dark on any day. ONA you can always see if your husband will send you back for an adjustment at Dr. Finetush's laboratory in the Urals. I thought Germany was a clean country, and it is, really. Then I went to Switzerland. OMG! That is bizarre! My husband doesn't treat me as something he can "send" back and forth. Germany is a clean country. It doesn't mean that all Germans keep their houses in an ideal order - that was the point. I have to dissent from all the other guys. My woman leaves nothing out. Everything goes into the refrigerator--plates, pots and pans (all with another plate on top ). Her mother stayed with us and her mother put everything away too. Thank you! At least I'm not the only "weird" Russian, who cares to put food to the fridge.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-05 21:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Are our wives trained to RAISE the toilet seat (for us) after they do their business, huh man? Lol... No. Russian women try to train their men to put the toilet seat down :-) slim, I never heard of "the toilet ring". It is funny though! Get a soft seat, it won't get cold :-)	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-05 17:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	By national stereotype, though, for instance, Germans and Poles are notoriously fastidious. I never heard it about Poles... I did hear it about Germans, but my friends, who have been or have lived in Germany say that it's not quite true... I've been to St. Petersburg, Moscow (several times), Ryazan and parts of Siberia. I've also seen inside of the Russian hospital system. Shockingly filthy and antiquated. I saw medical staff touching blood stained bandages bare-handed! The equipment seemed to be from the 1950s...took me back to the medicine of my childhood. The public hospital bathroom was so bad, the doctor allowed me (an American) to use the "doctors bathroom." Well, it was nasty...so I'd hate to have endured the public one. Downtown St. Petersburg was better but not up to US standards. The European look and feel of the city helps mask the typical hygiene issues, but it is still Russia. All restaurant bathrooms I dared use in any city (pick one) did not have a toilet seat...just the ceramic rim to use. This was true of my first Russian girlfriend's flat...no seat. I asked about it and she implied they were expensive and hard to get. I was shocked but let it go...as I saw she was offended at my talking about it. The water is not drinkable in any flat I've visited...always looks brown and dirty. I hate to even wash my hands in that water. Bottled water is a must. I've also been to other countries of the FSU but never to Ukraine...so I can't speak about it except I know about the nuclear fallout issues. Hygiene-wise, I doubt there's a significant difference between Russia and Ukraine. I do know both countries have a serious issue with roaming packs of wild dogs. At night you need to be careful, even in Moscow. I've encountered them and it is harrowing just to hear them growling. In my travels, the cleanest and most modern place was Latvia. Riga is charming, modern and clean...I could live there. Not a great place for Russians...the Latvians openly hate them. What year was that? 1918? I'm shocked... Toilet seat was expensive? When? Yes, drinking tap water is not the best idea, but it looks clean. It did in my apartment anyway. Plus, I haven't seen people, who drink tap water here in Maryland - everybody buys bottled water. My husband won't even let me drink filtered tap water... I'm not even sure what he got filter for.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-05 13:03:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUBbette Wives & Housework, si man	Odd, just about every man here married to a Ukrainian or Russian woman says the same thing, food left on the counter or stove...and she did not start doing it when we moved here. Yeah, I don't know, maybe me, my family, my friends and all the people I know are some wrong kind of Russians and Ukrainians My husband actually can forget to put something to the fridge, but I make sure that nothing is left on the stove or on the counter before I go to bed. She will not use pancake mix even...she makes blini from scratch. If she buys juice she bys the ones that say "Ingredients: Orange Juice" Or "Apples" or she makes her own "compote" I won't use pancake mix, because I don't like the taste of those pancakes. I like very-very thin blinchiki and mixing the ingredients for them is the easiest part. I won't buy pizza dough, I make pelmeni and chebureki dough from scratch - sometimes I make extra and just freeze some, so I can save time on making it next time. But I don't see anything bad in using some mixes - you can always check the ingredients and make sure that the mix you're buying only has 1-2 types of flour, baking soda, sugar, salt etc. - the same stuff I would use anyway. Sergey worked at McDonald's not this summer, but last summer and he said "they are just crazy" about bacteria! Alla's thought was "McDonalds worries about bacteria? What about the horrible food?" OK, I worked in different food places in the States, including McD - none of them was "crazy about bacteria". I walked in a pizza place in New Orleans and walked out in a minute, because the first thing I happened to see was a big huge rat. Maybe it is different in Vermont though, I don't know. I have heard from many people, mostly Ukrainians, that Russians are not as clean as Ukrainians. I know that Alla is very clean and our kitchen is very clean and dare I "make a mess" I get the whole "you have to respect my work" lecture. If you drive from Eastern Ukraine to Western Ukraine, you will notice that the streets become more and more clean as you approach the west of the country. Eastern Ukraine and Kiev is the same as a lot of places in Russia. Although, a lot of cities in Siberia are more clean than Moscow, for example. The inside of the house has nothing to do with it, though - it depends on a person, living there. It doesn't depend even a little bit on whether this person is Russian or Ukrainian or American.	ONA	Female	Russia	2011-12-05 07:59:00