ПРИЕТ! My name is Lubomir Chano and I am from Slovakia. I arrived in Nizhny Novgorod just few days ago and I would like to tell you something about my first impressions of Russia and this city.
Despite my Slovak language is quite similar to Russian, I had some hard times to get here, because people just don’t speak English very much and to understand their transport system, after you find out, that you have to show your passport just to buy a train ticket to another place in the country, it`s… Confusing a little bit. So unless you don’t speak Russian or even not able to read their letters, you will have it difficult over here at start.
russian halloween party
But either way, don’t be scared so much. Everything`s gonna be ok. I was actually lucky to get here in September, so I could see Kremlin – something like a defense base of this city. It is open only for about two months per a year. There are many places like this all around Russia. One of the first things I saw was an exhibition of war machines like tanks, anti-aircraft guns, small war vehicles and so on. The fortress was very nice as well, I love this architecture. Red color on the walls, monumental towers and never-ending fire near the place, where Volga and Oka connect. From here you can see downtown, which seems very industrial to me. Yes, that is the place where I live.
When I arrived in Nizhny, I was picked up by my mentor. She is a very nice, kind and helpful girl. She even cooked a very delicious meal for me and I felt like the most happy person after my very long and exhausting trip. When we arrived to my flat, there were many people inside. They were previous, finishing EVS volunteer and they had something like a goodbye party in our flat. And yeah, I started to feel like a housekeeping lady. Nevertheless, I met my roommates and they are very nice girls from Czech republic and Poland, who both, unlike me, speak fluently Russian. I am a lucky guy. Because I can learn Russian fast, of course.
apple day
So far I have managed just to walk through the city centre a little bit. In general, houses and buildings are usually from soviet times, seem quite old and kind of destroyed. But you can also find beautiful churches and interesting buildings over here. What is unique, is public transport. There are many kinds of transport, everything costs 20 rubels, except one maschrutka, which Is cheaper, because people did a big demonstration. I am lucky that it is my to-get-to-work maschrutka. It`s a small bus, where you need to buy a ticket. If the bus is too crowded, you just hand money over the other people, who give it to a ticket lady or a driver, and in return, you receive the ticket. I love that, it is so nice.
So far I think that I will love Russia. It`s very specific, people are very honest and straight. Weather is quite normal, just like a finishing summer. I am curios about winter. It will be cold, but I am from Slovakia, so I will be able to handle it. Yeah, and food… There are fish everywhere, and quite cheap. Much cheaper than in my country, and quality is better. Much better. I cannot wait to cook. I have my first attempts behind me and I am still alive. I hope I will keep that way for the rest of my stay. I have no doubts about it. If you want to have a great experience, come to Russia.
Ľubomír Chano
Financované Európskou úniou v rámci programu Erasmus+.
