This is one of my favorite things to give advice about, it might seem like such an easy concept, but a surprising number of people don’t think it through. Almost every time I’ve given my spiel about what to pack for a long term trip, I get the response “oh, wow, that’s actually really helpful, thanks!” They don’t think it’s going to be helpful- BUT IT IS.
My first strategy is to keep your big suitcase open in the middle of your floor for a week. Just throw stuff into it as you see something you want to take with you. Looking at that huge pile of stuff you want to bring is a great wake-up call. When you’re ready to really pack, you need to pull everything out and have a good talk with yourself to see if you really need it. Does this bring me joy? It really is quality over quantity- bring your favorite and the cutest outfits, they’ll be in all your pictures!
When it’s time to really pack- you have a choice to make: to roll, or to fold? I’m not that into rolling when you roll EVERYTHING, but it does have its benefits. Fold the big stuff- jeans sweaters, etc, but roll the small stuff, and tuck it into the spaces. When you roll big stuff it leaves big canyons between the rolls and you lose all that space.
One thing you might not think about when packing for a long period of time is the changing of the seasons. Its hard to think about what you’ll be wearing in spring in the middle of winter. My favorite advice is pack more warm weather clothes than cold weather clothes. You’re going to be wearing a coat in all of your winter pictures anyway, so it’s not like you need the variety. Another plus side is that shorts and shirts are smaller, so you can fit way more of them!
My last bit of advice is a trick to give yourself more room to bring home souvenirs- pack BIG bottles of your favorite bath products. Not only will you have a nice luxury from home for a while, but you’ll be able to fill that space with trinkets later!
From my times working and studying abroad, I’ve noticed that I’ve changed quite a bit. Of course I’ve changed in the expected ways- more independent, more adventurous, and more sure of myself, but I’ve also changed in some unexpected ways.
I’ve started to speak completely differently. I might even go as far as to say that I lost fluency in my OWN language. You interact with so many people who speak such different levels of English that you tend to simplify as much as possible so you can make sure you’re understood. I’m actually quite proud of the fact that I can have a full conversation with a Russian five-year-old who barely speaks English, but I do miss using long words and having complex conversations. It might just be me, but I can’t do both.
I’ve also become a little bit more closed off. The problem with traveling to countries where they don’t speak your native language, is that you slowly start getting quieter and quieter. My real problem is that I haven’t felt ~comfortable for over a year now because I haven’t been able to grasp enough of the language to be able to talk anyone. Every time I leave the house I worry about having to talk to someone. You really take it for granted in your own country that you can just talk to people; you can ask someone in the store to help you find something, you can respond to someone talking to you on the street, you can be polite to waiters… I miss it.
I have a harder time making close friends. When you jump from place to place you make more friends, but you don’t make close friends. It’s sad to get close to people and then leave. It’s sad to know that it’s likely you’ll never see your friends again after you leave the country. Its also hard to hold on to old friendships. People have lives and no matter how much effort you put into your friendships, it’s different when you’re not there. You have to be there, physically hang out, and see them regularly to keep your friends close.
Everything is give and take, and it’s hard for me to know for sure that I made the right decision with where I am. Every decision you make will change the path your life takes and I wonder if I’m making the right choices. Or even if there are such things as right choices. Who would I be if I had never left home? Would that person be better or worse than who I am now?
My personal philosophy with kids is to try to be their friend. Whether they’re your kids, or your students, your friend’s kids, or some neighbor kid that you have to interact with on any sort of regular basis- it’ll make your life so much easier if they like you.
Becoming friends- Kids just want to be treated fairly- they don’t want to be treated like babies. Like any friendship, you should make jokes, be goofy, tell them stories, get excited to show them things- it’ll make them more invested in the things you have to say, and it’ll make it easier to get them interested when you need them to sit down and listen to the lesson. If they’re up for it, you can even tease them, or make up stupid nicknames for them. Something that shows you’re invested in them.
As an English teacher for kindergartners your job is to speak as much English as you can; to them, at them, around them… Just talk and talk and talk. Talking to them about stuff you care about not only fulfills a job requirement, but it makes them see you as a person and an equal not just an adult who has to watch them. Have a unit on animals? Ask them about their favorites, and tell them how much you love baby hippos, show them pictures, and be excited. I bet next time you ask them about animals they’ll tell you they love baby hippos too because your excitement rubbed off on them! They want to be just like you.
Play- REALLY play with them. Don’t just watch them play. Show them you like the same things as them. You’re around kids. There’s no room for embarrassment. Roll around on the floor, pick them up, toss them around, run around, make silly faces. The extra energy is worth it when they start begging you to play with them.
Rules- If you have administration that is okay with it, try setting your own rules too. You should have the same rules as the school sets, but if something is reasonable, or not that big of a deal, then let it go. Make sure your kid knows they did something wrong, but that you understand the circumstances and that you are going to let it go because you respect them as a person more than you respect the idea of blindly enforcing arbitrary rules. They’ll come to you when something goes wrong and they won’t be afraid of you. (This clearly only works with kids that are already pretty good though. If you have a group of crazy kids, you can’t come in and just be a no rules kind of teacher.)
Crying- If one of your kids is upset, talk it through. Your schedule is less important than their emotional health. Little kids have little problems and it will make them feel like they can rely on you if you take their problems seriously instead of just trying to get them to stop crying as fast as you can.
Honestly just get to know your kids. Different ages, different cultures, different people, you’ll get to know what each individual needs and wants from you. You’ll always have some that don’t like you, but I think it’s worth the effort to try to be their friends. It’s a lot of work at first, but it pays you back tenfold.
So if you travel a fair bit I’m sure you have googled or at the very least noticed the difference between American milk and European milk. Shelf stable is the norm in most of Europe and it is EXPENSIVE compared to American milk at least. Also, once it’s opened it only lasts for a few days, which drives me crazy. I’m a true blooded American who loves her chemicals ;).
In Russia it’s a lot of the same as the rest of Europe. You can buy shelf stable milk in Tetra Paks or you can buy fresh milk in bottles. The fresh tends to be a little bit more expensive, doesn’t last as long, and tastes… funky. More funky that other European countries’ fresh milks. I don’t know what it is. I don’t mind the boxed milks, but I haven’t been able to find a single brand of fresh milk here that I like at all. So I’m stuck with TetraPaks, which seem really bad for the environment because they’re not ~really recyclable. (Not that Russia has a recycling program anyways.) I feel really guilty using so many TetraPaks, but they’re so common here!
The biggest problem with the dairy industry here is that it’s completely government controlled- its a command market, not a free market. (I had to look up that term. The more you know! Lol) So all milk, and all dairy products are produced IN Russia. If you look for some specific cheese imports, you won’t find them because of sanctions and Russia’s counter sanctions. (I clearly do not know enough about this topic to explain literally anything about sanctions or how they work.) All I know is that you CANNOT buy real Italian or French cheeses here. That Parmesan is a LIE.
The milk, cheese, yogurts, sour creams here are definitely okay, but I wouldn’t say they’re great. And it is kind of sad that you have limited options, because all the brands are basically the same. The nice thing about government control though is that the prices are also controlled so that they stay reasonable. So you win some, you lose some.
In researching the dairy industry, I also found out that Russia has sanctions on all sorts of things- mainly things that are deemed necessities, like eggs, bread, flour, chicken, dairy, etc. The only ones that I have noticed really aren’t great are dairy and bread though.
All stores carry the same brands of bread, and none of them are great- they don’t taste amazing, and they mold really quickly, which makes me think the mold was there to begin with. You can go to bakeries, but it’s nice to just be able to buy your bread while you get the rest of your groceries. On the plus side it’s made me get really good at making homemade bread!
MOSCOW, RUSSIA SEPTEMBER 28, 2019: A view of the Moscow Kremlin and St Basil's Cathedral at night. Marina Lystseva/TASS (Photo by Marina LystsevaTASS via Getty Images)
So I’ve been having some major issues dealing with seasonal affective depression alongside homesickness and I made it significantly worse by visiting my warm, sunny, amazing home over the holidays and then coming back in the middle of JANUARY.
In an effort to be more mindful and thankful for my current living situation (and to help mitigate my depression) I’ve been actively trying to notice the really great things about Moscow.
Honestly there aren’t that many amazing things in Moscow- a few cool attractions, but mostly its just really easy to make it home.
Public transportation is AWESOME. I’m hesitant about busses everywhere I go because they have been terrible everywhere I’ve lived. They take forever, they don’t go where you need, they cost more than it’s worth when you can just walk. But the busses here are incredible, especially in conjunction with the metros which are laid out really nicely and run every 1 or 2 minutes!!! Everything works on a Troika card which you can refill on an app and it’s so cheap. And even when you don’t feel like taking public transportation, taxis are SO affordable. Infinitely better than anywhere in the US or Italy at least. Slightly more expensive than China though.
Grocery stores are EVERYWHERE. From the front door of my building I can get to 3 grocery stores in under a 5 minute walk. And within a 10 minute walk I can get to an Ашан megastore (but I think that was just the luck of the draw because there are only 3 of them in Moscow). And I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, you can find practically ANYTHING you might need/want in a Moscow store.
Heating and hot water are better than you could possibly imagine. When we were in Milan, it was SO COLD, but heating was SO expensive, so we never turned it on, we just wandered around our apartment wrapped in blankets. Its way colder in Moscow, so I was worried about our heating bill, but then I found out that the heat is set by the GOVERNMENT?!?!? (Apparently they set the interior temp based on last year’s temps that day, so sometimes it gets too hot and we have to open a window.) The heater in our house doesn’t even have an option to adjust it. It’s always so nice and toasty warm, and all of our utilities together have never been more than $30 a month. Also you know how in winter you always seem to run out of hot water? Not in Moscow. Unlimited SCALDING hot water- instantly. Seriously, it’s so hot you can burn yourself, and I still forget all the time and turn it all the way to maximum hot.
Drying clothes indoors is MAGIC? Because heaters are always running full blast the air inside is super dry. If you put sopping wet clothes on a drying rack indoors, they’ll be bone dry within 24 hours. For reference if you’ve never lived somewhere without a dryer, out on the balcony in the wind in Milan, it still took 2-4 days, and longer indoors. (Side note, dryers are horrible for the environment and you should try to airdry as much as possible! It makes such a difference and it’s way better for your clothes!) This super dry air makes everything really shocky though- way too much static electricity. I work in a kindergarten and I always forget that its so shocky and I feel horrible when I shock my babies on the face or head.
It’s easy, it’s accesible, its cushy, it’s comfy, it’s cheap. I would probably recommend living in Russia if I was being honest! As long as you don’t mind snow and can pick up a tiny bit of Russian, you’ll settle right in!
You can read the Instagram post, this is just another shameless excuse to plug this incredible place, and these incredible people. I ask only that if you go to this restaurant, please show them my picture. I would give anything to go back. Truly the most genuine, passionate, kind people you’ll ever meet with the best food!
What should I buy to fill my kitchen? What do I need? What kitchen stuff should I NOT buy?
I have to ask myself what’s a worthwhile investment every time I settle into a new country and a new kitchen. And my major decision maker is how long I’m going to stay. If it’s for 6 months I limit my purchases a lot more than I do if I’m staying for a year or more.
The other quandary that really weighs on me is the amount of waste. I like to use things until they are absolutely destroyed. I’ll keep using things until I know for certain that there is no possible way I can MacGyver it back to life. I feel terrible buying a bunch of brand new stuff that I know I can’t take back home with me because I know it’s just going to be thrown away after only being used for a few months. And then when I settle back down I’ll have to buy another one! It the worst part about moving countries a lot. If I was moving within the states and I could just drive it to the new destination I absolutely would. But stuffing pots and pans into my single suitcase just isn’t feasible.
So without further ado- here is my shortlist of the things you can get by without:
Strainer/Colander
It’s a really easy skill with some practice to strain pasta using the lid of the pot
Toaster
Listen. I love toast. It’s one of the things I always want the second I get home, but buying a toaster is silly. It’s expensive and it only does one job! Plus there are so many other ways to toast bread. You can pan toast it, you can toss it in the oven. You don’t really need a toaster, even though I will admit, its so much better in a toaster than it is in a pan or an oven.
Pizza Cutter
Unless you are literally eating home cooked, uncut pizza more than once a week, you don’t need a pizza cutter. Use a knife and push down to cut, don’t slice.
Citrus Juicer
Okay, make your own choice on this one, but either way, do not get an electric juicer. It’s not worth it unless you have an orange or a lemon tree with tons of fruit. You aren’t going to be buying enough fresh citrus to warrant one because it’s pretty expensive all over the world.
Personally if there was a very cheap, and small hand juicer, I might be tempted though, because I do make a fair bit of lemonade and lemon squares, but it only takes a little bit longer to juice them with a spoon and then scoop out the seeds.
Crock-pot
If you are making soup once or twice a week and gas is expensive, then go for it. But otherwise, crock-pots are expensive, they’re bulky, and they’re awful to clean. They take up a ton of room and they are only helpful if you make a lot of soups.
Rolling pin
There have been a lot of times where I needed a rolling pin and I had to get by without. But it wasn’t that hard. Any cylinder shaped object will do the trick. I’ve used cups, water bottles, I even used a bottle of toner wrapped in plastic wrap to roll out pie dough once when I had weird shaped cups. Plus rolling pins that are any better than a water bottle or cup are usually made of wood and pretty pricey.
Mortar and pestle
Straight up you just aren’t going to be using it that much. I needed to grind some mustard seeds because I couldn’t find them pre-ground, a mortar and pestle would have been great, but I ended up grinding them with a glass bottle and a cutting board. Most things you can just make sure to find the ground version though.
Garlic Press
If you love garlic and use enough to warrant buying a garlic press, why not just eat bigger pieces, either eat the cloves whole, or do a rough chop with a knife? You can also just toss a whole bunch of cloves into a food processor, its even less hassle than a garlic press if you want an absolute mountain of garlic.
And the things you absolutely DO need in your kitchen that you might not have considered normal necessities-
Rubber Spatula
So many uses. So cheap. So helpful. So small. Saves food, saves sauces, saves a ton of hassle.
Food processor
I thought for sure that a stick blender would be the best option. You can blend things in a bowl you already own, you can blends soups in their pot. But actually I have really been turned towards a food processor. You can mix stuff, you can cut butter into flour quickly before it sweats, you can shred chicken, you can mince garlic without getting your hands stinky, you can whip eggs, make sauces, its amazing.
After running this twitter poll I ended up buying this bad boy- a three way stick blender, hand mixer, AND tiny food processor! It’s by far the best option because it saves money vs. buying all three, and it saves space! I love it so much.
Mixed China and Russia flag, three dimensional render, illustration
Pros and Cons
This is just based off of my experiences, but I think for the most part they are fairly similar to most people’s experiences. Paperwork for both is equally TERRIBLE.
Pro-China: great pay, low expectations, low cost of living, easy to get the job
Pro-Russia: organized, official, good communication & expectations, more western culture
Anti-China: poor communication, often unofficial, unstructured, unpredictable
Anti-Russia: snobby, critical, lower pay, high rent
The Good and Bad of China
I’m definitely glad I did the China experience. That being said, I’m still glad I limited it to only 6 months.
China is tricky- you can’t predict what kind of job you’ll land (the school, the location, the manager, the people, the PAY) but in general, it is fairly easy to land a job. If you have a bachelor’s degree, are a native English speaker, and have a TEFL degree, you’ll have no problem. If you look around enough you can find a REALLY well paying job, and there are TONS of schools that are always looking. If you’re going for money alone, China is your place- highest pay coupled with the lowest cost of living. Don’t settle for those low paying ones though.
It’s kind of a show up and start system. you don’t get a lot of training at most places, which would be bad, except they also have matching low expectations for teachers. If you want to learn how to teach without limitations, restrictions, or really any structure at all, this would be ideal. It stressed me out though- I love teaching, but I need some kind of structure to follow beyond “teach shapes for 4 weeks straight.”
Living in China is tough: questionable hygiene, very different food, and very different culture. Its very common for your managers to not tell you expectations for events or meetings and then expect you to learn a complicated dance in one afternoon. By far the most difficult thing to get accustomed to though was that literally no one speaks English. In most European countries you can throw a rock and you’ll find someone who can speak English, not quite so in China. Working with people you can’t talk to gets pretty lonely. I constantly felt like I didn’t know what was going on, because, well, I didn’t.
The Good and Bad of Russia
I would say overall Russia has been better than China for me. From the beginning, expectations were made clear. The interview process was THOROUGH. They wanted experience, teaching videos, and a mock lesson- it felt a lot more like a real job from the very beginning. I had support and advice for the whole process of my initial paperwork.
Russian is super hard and I think it helps Russians be really good at languages. Of all the people I’ve met who speak English as a second language, the Russians have the best mastery of it. It makes a big difference at work to be able to talk to my coworkers, and I think the fact that Russia has a more Western culture than China made a big difference for me too.
The flipside of all of the nice things about Russia though is that they expect a lot more. The highest paying jobs in Moscow are patroned by the ultra-rich, and they want to be in control of every word you speak to their children. And unlike China, the parents speak enough English to actually know what’s going on. Culturally, Russians tend to be a little bit brusque with their criticism and it comes off as harsh, especially to Americans. That’s difficult to get used to, but if you like following really specific rules and love structure, it could be great for you.
Rent in Russia is also more expensive. Not crazy expensive, not like Switzerland or Austria or anything, but Moscow and St. Petersburg’s costs of living are significantly higher than anywhere in China. Even the highest paying English teaching gig in Moscow pays a lot less than you could be making in China, and that’s not ideal when paired with higher rent costs.
Should I teach in China or Russia?
They both have good and bad. I like living in Russia more, but its definitely a harder workload with less money than China. But at least the kids are cute in both countries!
Grocery stores are absolutely one of my major passions. It’s one of the most fun things about living in another country and its a great way to really “be” more local.
Before you move to or just visit another country, people (I’m sure) will come up to you and offer advice; what to expect, etc. In my experience they are wrong. I don’t know if I’m listening to the wrong people or what, but if someone says I can’t find something, then I always do, and if they say its easy to find it never is! So you can choose whether or not to believe me, but I swear this is the honest-to-God truth (at least it is true in 2019).
Before coming to Russia, I was told that food would be incredibly bland. Absolutely not true. They told me when I tried to cook I wouldn’t be able to find any good spices and that I should bring some taco seasoning/mexican spice blends with me from Arizona to use “when I got tired of eating boiled potatoes.” Wrong on both levels- Russian food is delicious and healthy! Also I found every spice I could want in the grocery stores as well as Mexican seasoning and taco blends. They also have tortillas and salsa!
I had another lady go out of her way to tell me that I wouldn’t be able to make chocolate chip cookies here. I asked in a forum if there were any American Expats in Russia with advice for what I would miss and she said she couldn’t find chocolate chips and vanilla anywhere here. It wasn’t hard. The baking aisle has both. Although I will grant that the chocolate chips are a little bit overpriced compared to how cheap a regular chocolate bar is. Also vanilla is a little bit different here. In the states we sell big bottles of brown imitation or real vanilla. In Moscow, however, they sell it in little droppers of clear liquid that is SUPER strong. It’s different, but it’ll definitely fill your need for vanilla flavoring.
I have been told by Russians here that you can find “anything you could ever want” in Moscow and it might be a little bit harder in St. Petersburg, and definitely harder out in the sticks. And it has mostly been true. Grocery stores in Moscow have been amazing. They have all the best parts of European grocery stores without missing out on any important American imports.
Stores in Moscow have a far better range of products and imports than the rest of Europe I think. They have peanut butter, they have donuts, frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets! They have salad dressings and grape juice (albeit it’s not great). They have ziploc bags when the rest of Europe doesn’t. I even found rootbeer in a regular store here! I’m still looking for ranch dressing and stuffing mix, but I’m sure they’ll turn up.
One thing you would expect them to have but they don’t though, is brown sugar. They technically do, but it’s weird. It’s not packed brown molasses sugar. It’s light brown granulated raw sugar. Not great for baking but not a big deal to live without.
I’ve heard talk of an American import store inside of the American embassy. Apparently you have to make an appointment to go shopping there, it sounds very secretive and fun- I’ll fill you in when I finally go.
*Baking Powder* This is one of those things that’s hit or miss wherever you go, so I usually just play it safe and bring some with me. Italy had something CALLED baking powder, but really it was baking soda. Everywhere has baking soda, and it is definitely possible to substitute, I just don’t like to. You can get baking powder in Moscow though. It comes in little packages and it is called Разрыхлитель теста just know that on a lot of packaging fonts, the T changes to a lowercase m. Couldn’t tell you why. It’s super frustrating when you’re trying to learn.
There are always a few things I miss from the states, (like American milk) but Russia ticks most of my boxes. So don’t worry about not being able to find the things you want in Moscow grocery stores- they’re likely to have it and lots of other fun things to discover.
When I leave Russia there will definitely be things I will miss too- like the amazing selection of pickled things, the variety of dishes featuring beets, and the delicious prepared котлета which is just ground meat and minced veggies and spices in a giant meatball shape.
VPNs are great. What’s not great is that you HAVE TO have one to do basically anything in China. You really do. Don’t let anyone tell you you don’t need one.
They call it the “Great Firewall” which I think is hilarious, but it also sucks. No Facebook, no Google anything, no Twitter, no Instagram, they recently even blocked Wikipedia! WhatsApp is touch and go though.
You can get by with free ones if you’re only there for a little while, but it really sucks to forget that you can’t access something you need.
If you have the space on your phone- I recommend downloading 4 or 5 free VPNs to try out. When I was there I had a paid VPN, but the one that connected the fastest and stayed connected the best was a free one called Turbo, it has since been blocked and no longer works though. Some of the free ones I still use are secure VPN, Ultimate VPN, and Betternet. As far as I know, Betternet is the only free one you can get on a computer. I can’t give any advice on what free VPNs are currently working in China because it is so time sensitive, but just check your app store and download a few of the best rated ones BEFORE YOU GO.
If you do end up in China and none of your VPNs are working, you aren’t completely out of luck yet. But you do need to get into Hong Kong. Once you’re across the border you can get access to WiFi and download a few more.
The big guy paid VPNs that really fight against the firewall are Express VPN and Nord VPN, but I have heard better things about Express. (One other nice thing about Express is it’s the only one that can be installed on a Firestick.) You really should pay for a VPN if you’re planning to be in China longer than a couple of weeks. I chose Express, and my only complaints was that it sometimes took a really long time to connect. I can’t tell you how long I spent staring at the loading screen for Express.
Finding Eden 