назад в СССР!

[peacetraveler22]

I'll never know or experience life during Soviet times, but during some of my visits to Russia I feel like I'm transported back to that era, or even another century. The road trip is coming to an end, with the final stop today in Yaroslavl. Along the way, I explored many small towns and spent an entire day and night in a village, talking to the locals in their homes, eating freshly prepared meals, and sleeping alone in an old house in the forest! But that will be the topic of another post. Yesterday in Soligalich, I entered a small meat shop and discovered this woman. I don't know for certain, but this blue uniform looks very Soviet, especially the hat. However, the most interesting thing in the provincial shops was...can you guess from the photo? :)

The object below! I became so confused when the shop owner started moving the balls, and thought she was offering to play some type of game. Then, my Russian travel companion informed me this is the shop's "calculator" or cash register, to add up the total cost of your purchase. How does it work? I still don't understand, but I was always bad at math. :)



The woman in the cheese shop next store was wearing this same blue outfit, but she is progressive! She had a normal adding machine, and even modern day scales to weigh the cheese.



I think it's always good to preserve your culture, including some old customs. But, yes, I was shocked to enter many small shops in Russian provinces and see no cash register, but this wooden contraption to calculate sales. Not just one or two shops, but a lot. Is it normal for a "modern" country? I think not. But maybe older people are so tied to tradition that they don't even want to purchase a basic calculator, which I assume is inexpensive in Russia. Progress in thought, technology, infrastructure...all signs of a healthy nation and culture in my view.

So many other things to write about, but I have no time on the road. :( On this trip, I've  met a lot of friendly Russians, and experienced no hostility based on the fact that I'm American. I'm very happy about both of these things! More to come soon...

Comments

[naysayer15.livejournal.com]

ссаный жиденок или усраинец или мразь какого ты вида? все никак не успокоишься? Тебя поймали русские и отымели в твою нацменскую жопу, шваль?

[volgota.livejournal.com]

Там если кто охереет из покупателей, можно сразу бить его счетами по башке, а компьютером это проблематично. Так что вещь полезная.

[volgota.livejournal.com]

Just for hitting sommebody's nagly morda with them:)

[kremlin-curant.livejournal.com]

Agree. You must be very strong to live in such a country as Russia. If you are weak and sick you will be crushed.

[kremlin-curant.livejournal.com]

Who said fatty meat is healthy? Never heard about.

[mila-xm.livejournal.com]

Everybody in the first grade at Russian schools had. It is not for the purpose of using this device in the future, but to learn how calculate faster. You use not only imagination and vision, thinking about figures or writing them, but a child can also "touch" the "figures", which for some people is faster way to learn and remember. For the same purposes counting rods, cards, marbles, etc... can be used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_rods

[mila-xm.livejournal.com]

yes, the big ones are pretty good for riding, especially if you have someone to push you.

[ryanka.livejournal.com]

Шеннон, вряд ли понимает, что это относится к ней.. к сожалению.

[ryanka.livejournal.com]

Shannon, did you watch the movie "the world made straight"? if no, it is strongly recommended for you. Maybe you will see a new America you never saw before.. people living in barracks in small villages, no normal job, no good roads, old type cars, drugs, crimes and corruption. "Is it normal for modern country? I think not" (c)
maybe after watching that you will finally realize that every country has it's dark side and there is no reason to pick up and share only "strange" and "weird" things about nation you are interested in, as you said previously. the smell of this interest is really strange at my opinion.. it looks like you just like to feel yourself so progressive among non-progressive people. it is time to grow and hide the ego though.

[anishenko-v-v.livejournal.com]

Что есть Библия как не притчи для убеждения не слишком разборчивого электората. Русские не используют притчи в своём общении. Притчи есть инструмент воздействия на слабое сознание.

[anishenko-v-v.livejournal.com]

Очевидно вы правы

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

svetlyachok. livejournal. com/715078.html

howtoloveme. ru/kak-produkty-iz-razryada-zdorovogo-pitaniya-teper-stali-prichinoj-ozhireniya-i-diabeta/

The English language sources are listed in the end of the second artile.

[kremlin-curant.livejournal.com]

You confused everything. The article in Washington Post reads cholesterol is not considered anymore dangerous for healthy adults, but fat is different story.
Fat, particularly saturated one which contained in the fatty meat, butter and milk is very bad for the health.

"The greater danger in this regard, these experts believe, lies not in products such as eggs, shrimp or lobster, which are high in cholesterol, but in too many servings of foods heavy with saturated fats, such as fatty meats, whole milk, and butter."

[alter ego (from livejournal.com)]

yep, был один урок, imho, в третьем классе.
вот тут можно скачать старые учебники:
kazanobr(.)ru/node/1601
so-l(.)ru/news/show/6370215
www.rusichi-center(.)ru/e/3171357-staryie-sovetskie-uchebniki-skachat

это что, мы ещё логарифмическую линейку изучали! и считали на ней...

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

Yes, you should not eat "too many" of anything...

When I want meat I eat meat, when I want rice or vegetables, I eat those.

If I eat no enough meat I feel weak.
If I eat too much meat I feel poisoned a bit.
And so on with other products.

Just listen to your body, not to the doctors.

[kremlin-curant.livejournal.com]

Sure. If you want to be sick person at age of 35, you can eat everything.

Chinese in SF shops

[olhanninen.livejournal.com]

Some Chinese in SF shops do not speak English at all. In what century do they live?

[sasharivman.livejournal.com]

Long Live Israel

[marin-mulier.livejournal.com]

Sometimes there is no electricity, so wooden "schyoty" is very useful. And can the presence of that thing be a sign of abnormality of a modern country? Or may be it is something about you?
I know how to use it, and if it needs, all can learn such a skill. It is very exact. If you can see them attentively, you can notice it has some lines with ten little things on each line. It's very simple thing, so it is ideal)

Re: A bit older, than USSR, lol:

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's an ancient device, but the shop workers inspired the title of the post - Back to the USSR. :)

Re: Yeah, it's called "abacus"

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

A lot of things you see in the Russian province are weird. Life from another century!

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

No, sometimes google translate fails me.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

When was the last time you visited America? :) American children do not use calculators in school. They learn the same math as everyone else. In American villages, everyone has a toilet in their home, not in the woods. And, in the USA, there are toilets available almost every five minutes on road trips. Every has station has them, there are rest stops, cafes, restaurants everywhere with free toilets. The infrastructure in our countries is entirely different, they are not comparable in any way.

abacus

[habarforever.livejournal.com]

Hey, Shannon, glad you are in Russia, it’s abacus. I recalled old US comedy, 60 or 70 –th, same guy in this movie took mon to invent a calculator and he presented an abacus.

Re: Chinese in SF shops

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

In 22nd, when Chinese will replace English as a common language...