The last Russian Fair was a concoction of good and bad elements. I knew it would be…ahmmm…let’s just say…. different. It would be like a 6 year old going to her first school bus ride. She’d be alone, facing the bullies, acquiring friends as soon as she can. That’s how you cope, right? Acquiring as many allies as early as possible so you won’t have a traumatic experience that will scar you for life.
Anyway, we may not have a formal organizing committee, but at least the delegates HKEA (HK Exporters Assoc) volunteered to step up and take care of their co-exhibitors. There were four exhibitors from HK – a cosmetic, souvenir, an export servicing company, and house ware. There were ten of us, set to conquer the land of the unfriendly Russians.
Ok now here I go… Can I just say this?! I was so disillusioned! Russians are the least friendly people in the world. Ok, forget that they’re pretty and tall, you pervert. I am talking about the service people not trying to reach out to customers. On second hour after landing, we were trying to buy a sim card at a booth in some mall. I’m obviously a non-Russian with my petite structure, flat nose, brown skin, plus I was with three other Chinese peeps. Before we could even open our mouth trying the usual hand gestures and occasional writing little notes, one blonde saleslady who bore the least accommodating face you could ever see butted in and said “Nyit” (‘No’ for Russian). She didn’t even know what we were looking for! The bitch! Ok, I understand that they are not really obligated to learn English for bloody foreigners, but how about a simple smile? You can pretend to listen to this little person’s queries and then say Nyit as many times as you want then look like you tried to help her, but you just couldn’t. That’s simple common sense customer service! It’s surprising how they try to become the world’s next superpower, when they obviously do not have international relation skills. My translator told me they were educated to act that way. She’s been a student at Moscow State University for six years now and she admits that she still feels alienated every single day. Had it not been for her Chinese friends at the same university, she would not make it through another day. She calls it torture.
Let me share this story she relayed to me. It happened six years ago, but I bet newcomers in Russia experience this everyday.
Background: She was buying water. How hard could it be to buy water, right? She was trying to point what she wanted. But this vendor was in the mood to do some power tripping on a little Chinese girl. Conversation was Russian.
L(translator): Can I buy ‘that’ water?
V(vendor): What do you want, sparkling or still? 1.5L or 750ml? Brand?
L: I just want that water. (in broken Russian)
V: What are you doing in Russia when you don’t speak our language?
L: That’s why I’m here, to learn Russian.
V: Ok, let’s put it this way. You learn Russian from your school. Don't go out. If you can speak it fluently, go back here and buy water from me!
Bitch, right? Haayyy… In fairness to them, there are nice Russians, too. I dropped my scarf and one guy told me where I left it.
What else?! A-ya! Don’t forget the insanely good breakfast buffet at the hotel! It’s a glutton’s paradise! How about a Chocolate Fountain first thing in the morning? And they have this best cereal meal in the world! It’s like the Cerelac baby food which you have to admit you still love up to now! The hotel is better this time, when we talk about space and all. I got a bathtub, too! Haayy… if money had not been an issue, I’ll get a giant bathtub in my giant bathroom! The hotel location is not so good though. The area is known for roaming policemen out to arrest tourists without any reason just to extort money.
And since I’m alone this time, I got the two-bed hotel all to myself. Nobody’s asking me to clear my luggage, or telling me to go to bed early.
I was able to go to the Red Square once again. I’d always love that place. It’s just b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! I can stare at the St. Basil’s Cathedral all day! We were able to go to St Michael’s Church, too! My gosh! It’s the biggest Catholic Church I’ve gone so far! I got dizzy with all the saints clad in gold and mural paintings!
Oh! Oh! The Fair also featured a Philippine pavilion! I bought different handcrafted accessories and chimes! It was really nice to be bonding with the Cebuano exhibitors! You’d be proud to see how they get good business with Russian customers. Blockbuster! And dig this, their famous governor came over for photo taking! Imagine, wasting taxpayer's money just to have that photo op?! She could have shown her support to the exhibitors in another way, but she didn't.
And the very last good thing about travelling alone?! Unlimited budget! Haha! Well not really unlimited-unlimited.. But at least nobody questions the restaurants we should go to.. We were eating at Sbarro for five straight days! Ok, let me tell you a secret… All those accessories, Russian beauty products, etc.. etc… paid by the company! Haha! Just a little tweaking on the expense report, and voila! ALL expenses paid! Haha! I know they’re wondering how I could spend so much alone… Well, just make sure to collect receipts from the nearby table… Clever.. Clever… They don’t understand the Russian characters in the receipts anyway!
Wait, wait, scrap that… The very last good thing about travelling alone, in Russia? Bonding time with Lena, my translator/interpreter. She was with us last year as well so she practically knows how to go about our price list and answer queries. She’s so good that I was like 70% absent at the booth. I might be out buying lunch, taking my time to the washroom, going out with fellow exhibitors for sightseeing during office hours, or visiting the Philippine booth. And for the remaining 30%, I was really mentally absent. Blame the emails that I still had to answer when I return to the hotel. Since we are the same age, we understand each other’s drama. And it was nice having to talk to a girl-friend again about dreams, relationships, plans, crises.. haayy… now I miss my bestfriend.
Photos soon…
1 comment:
wuaw.
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