From: smir+@CS.CMU.EDU (Yury Smirnov)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: email advice - Moscow
Date: 16 Oct 92 16:54:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.Bw84AA.48x.1
Organization: Carnegie Mellon University

In article <84600015@glas.apc.org>, Patricia Schwartz <margaret@glas.apc.org> writes:
|> 
|> How I got my computer/modem/email in Moscow in a few days:
|>  
|> 2) HOWEVER then the problem arose of CABLES and CORDS!
|>  
|> MY solution: I bought a Russian cookbook in the Metro. Then I went out
|> and got mushrooms and other nice things from the market. I made
|> a batch of fresh hot Pirozhki s gribami and invited a computer-owning
|> Russian friend over for tea. We had a delightful evening and when it
|> was finished, somehow my system was all set up in the corner on
|> the desk. However, all connections are insulated with elastic bands we
|> found in my girlfriend's sewing basket (it's her apartment I
|> am using) and we were lucky that she had discarded a few old telephones
|> in a cabinet and never cannibalized them for their precious cords.
|>  
|> I LOVE MOSCOW! In priciple, anything is possible.
|>  
|> margaret
|>
   Dear Margaret :
   You look like Hristofor Bonifatievich Columbusov, openning Russia for
   Russians. You solution isn't the easiest one, though the most preferable. 
   My neighbour in St-Petersburg was a genius prostitute. Her main talent was
   that she never looked as a self-selling woman. All her life story opened only
   when she gave birth to her son and had to invite her mother for 3 months to
   carry out of him, then she sent her mother with son back to Ukrain. Probably,
   some local plumbers and carpenters knew it long before, but they didn't want
   to open fishful places ( vyidavat' ryibnyie mesta ). She never even cooked
   "pirozhki", it was redundant. EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE FOR HER from getting
   West visa to booking tickets and immediate hotel reservation, even PAL and
   SECAM became compatible in 10 minutes without hard currency investments.

   After the son's birth she informed 6-7 foreigners and 5-10 Russian men that
   they were lucky to be the father of her son. All year long she was receiving 
   both foreign and domestic parcels and used to go to Finland and Germany
   for holidays. Probably, she would never born her son, but she was greatly
   afraid of loosing her professional tools: her working collegue got cancer and
   refused to born a child. At last her collegue lost a breast and wasn't a career
   person any more, which image was so popular in previous discussions.
   All this her mother told my granny while they were walking with children.
   I remebered it, 'cuz it was the great surprize for me. Due to the excellent
   sound propagation I heard some noises from pipeline visiting process ( up to
   3 people some days), but never could imagine such kind of talent quite near.

   Primer dostoiny podrazhaniya. 
   How terrible should be domestic conditions in a country, so that this way of
   life became the unreachable dream for thousands of Russian gals. Two months
   ago going by bus I heard a talk between ordinary 14-15-year girls :
                                           ======== 
   "Last weekend I met my Finnish boyfriend. Could you imagine that my weekend
    salary is higher than father's annual one ?"
   "Oh, yes. Can you find for me 2-3 boys like yours ?"

   What should be done with the whole country's mood that a prostitute career
   became one of the most respectible, being the strict contrast to the christian
   view, which was in power in Russia for several centuries.

   Yury

   PS. I'm expecting a bunch of replies. 
Xref: sparky soc.culture.soviet:8436 rec.arts.books:17822