Just Another Russian
Moscow is seriously lacking a tourist infrastructure. It seems most tourism is group tourism, arranged by an agency, and involving a herd of people following a tour leader around Red Square. I can’t say I really blame them, as it’s faily challenging to get around here. All of the signs are in Cyrillic script, (including all of the signs in the metro), which means I’m illiterate. To complicate matters even more, I approached about five people the first day I was here to ask if I was on the correct street and not one of those people could even read roman script, much less speak English. I realize this is Russia, so it makes sense Russian language and script are used almost exclusively, but the lack of English is still very surprising in a city like Moscow.
An interesting side effect of the lack of tourism, is that Russians have yet to develop an eye for foreigners. I’m obviously never mistaken for a native in Asia, and I’m usually identified as a foreigner in Europe, but here in Russia, everyone assumes I’m Russian and just walks up and starts talking or asking for directions. It’s relaxing to know you blend in, but frustrating not to be able to communicate. So it goes when you’re traveling, I guess.
Tags: Amanda Formoso, Moscow, Russia, Trans-Siberian, Travel
Amanda
I’m a little surprised also that there isn’t English spoken in Moscow. I met a Russian man on my travels who said pretty much the same thing you just did – only he was talking about being in Japan! Your blog is a good idea – it’s like being along on the trip (well almost!)