A Russian Bride’s First Visit To America: How To Impress Your Girlfriend, Fiance Or Relative

When we have a girlfriend, fiancée, friend or family member who comes to the United States for the first time, each one thinks about what to do or what to show to impress the visitor. How do we get to what could be? Is it based on personal interests, perhaps conversations with that person or just what others show tourists? Is it culture, or action, or physical characteristic or…? What is it about your home, your state, be it the East Coast, the Midwest or the West Coast, that you think will capture the attention of a Russian woman?

I was very happy that my mother recently flew to the United States for the first time. Since she has already traveled a lot in foreign lands, I knew it would be a challenge to surprise her, but I still tried. I showed him the beauty of Minnesota’s lakes and nature; the bustling life of the Minneapolis skyways; Guthrie Theater with its majestic “Endless Bridge” overlooking the Mississippi River; majestic St. Paul Capitol… I thought I’d show her all the things a first time visitor to the Twin Cities might want to say she’s seen.

Interestingly, none of these experiences made as big an impression as simply driving home through the neighborhood streets. We saw big, colorful signs that immediately caught my mom’s eye with the variety of hers and produced new terms for her: yard sale and yard sale. A few minutes later we came across another, where the whole family, big and small, was outside in the garage with clothes hanging on shelves, displaying baby toys, some furniture, etc. We were forced to stop and go look – there was no way my mom could pass up the opportunity to explore what they had for sale, find great deals, and connect with the friendly owners. She happily listened to the stories of how each item was acquired, why it was so dear to the owner, and the reasons they had for selling it. He then shared his experiences in post-Soviet Russia, where they would rave about the second-hand clothes brought there from “beyond the border”, all with different styles and fashions, and about later Soviet and Russian commission stores. Unwilling to throw away the good stuff and with the prospect of salvaging something of value, Mom and Dad always brought their used items there. The similarities ended there, however, since they would never see the buyer, share the special history of the thing, and give them a discount just because they wanted it to go into “good hands.” In what seemed like an instant, almost an hour had passed and we said goodbye.

The first question I heard from Mom the next morning was not about the Mall of America or the famous Sculpture Garden, but about going to another garage sale. Whether Russian or American, we all love finding deals and meeting new and interesting people. Where many will seek the dazzling lights of a fancy marquee or the prestigious neighborhood to pass through, we discovered that, of all things, garage sales are about that and about being an integral part of an American culture that allows people, regardless of the circumstances. , to connect on a personal level. My mother’s experience showed me that these neighborhood sales really are something to see and experience.