The first meeting with the city – Expats in Moscow

Have you ever heard about the culture shock? With this article we would like to minimalize this effect on you.  This shows you what are the main points of the etiquette and eating habits, and we give you some information about the city.

 


Before moving to Moscow, you should read as much as you can about the city to prepare yourself to the different culture, and the different habits. Moscow is the capital of Russia, and the main city for expats staying in the country. According to the annual Mercer survey, Moscow has made the top four of the world’s most expensive expatriate cities for ten years. Housing, schooling and medical costs make up the largest chunk of the expats’ budget for life in Moscow.

The city has a humid continental climate. Living in Moscow, you are likely to experience the true Russian winter, which is very long and extremely cold. Summers, on the other hand, are usually quite warm.
 


About the eating habits:

The russians eat four times per day:

1.    first meal: Завтрак (zavtrak) – 7.00AM
2.    second meal: Ланч (lanch) – 12.00AM
3.    third meal: Обед (obed) – 2.00PM
4.    fourth meal: Ужин (uzhin) – 08.00PM


1.    The first meal of the day, is usually something light. Many Russians simply eat bread with cheese and ham and coffee or tea.
2.    Ланч (lanch)-It’s usually like what in Europe we call brunch. It’s composed of vegetable salad and sandwiches again or pies with tea.
3.    This is the real lunch and the largest meal of the day. Usually Russians have this third meal around 2 or 3pm.
4.    The last meal of the day, is traditionally a much smaller meal than lunch, and is often only a simple plate of bread, meats, and vegetables.

The most common food is bread. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and beets are the standard vegetables; potatoes are a staple. Onions and garlic are used liberally, especially in soups, stews, and salads.

 



Etiquette

The most significant elements of etiquette are the verbal markers of social status. People use the second person plural pronoun when addressing elders except for parents and grandparents, persons of higher status, strangers, and acquaintances. The informal second person singular is used only among close friends, within the natal family, and among close coworkers of equal status. The more distant two people are socially, the more likely it is that they will address each other with full formality. Addressing someone formally also entails using the person's full name and patronymic. Use of the informal mode is extremely insulting.