Tre Miller Rodriguez's Blog, page 38
June 2, 2017
Hello, Blue-tiful! (at Governors Island National Monument)
Hello, Blue-tiful! (at Governors Island National Monument)
May 25, 2017
Congrats on surviving junior high, top scholar! You’re the...
Congrats on surviving junior high, top scholar! You’re the
May 23, 2017
Practicing our puckers at Almanac Tap Room. #SourBeersFTW
Practicing our puckers at Almanac Tap Room. #SourBeersFTW
May 21, 2017
Our first 12k: done & dusted! #baytobreakers (at Ocean...
Our first 12k: done & dusted! #baytobreakers (at Ocean Beach, San Francisco)
Ready, set, race! #baytobreakers (at San Francisco, California)
Ready, set, race! #baytobreakers (at San Francisco, California)
May 19, 2017
Get a load of Not-Tiny-Rick! (Barcade, Brooklyn)
Get a load of Not-Tiny-Rick! (Barcade, Brooklyn)
Get a load of Not-Tiny-Rick! #RickAndMorty #donteventriproadtrip...
Get a load of Not-Tiny-Rick! #RickAndMorty #donteventriproadtrip #lastnightgram (at Barcade)
May 14, 2017
Heart-shaped gratitude to Laurie, Jorge and my mom for all the...
Heart-shaped gratitude to Laurie, Jorge and my mom for all the Mother’s Day joy.
May 13, 2017
13 Things I Didn’t Know About Russia
Back in the ‘80s, my now-late grandparents staged a slide show of their USSR travels for our family at Christmas. It wasn’t edited so it wasn’t short, and I’m pretty sure I was only grandkid who took notes.
Here’s what my adolescent brain recorded: Don’t drink the water. Do drink the vodka. Also, if you place a laminated portrait of Gorbachev next to a few Mickey Mouse t-shirts and pairs of Levis, your luggage will be golden. As in, customs will accept your bribe of Disney and denim, leaving the rest of your stuff alone.
Fast forward a few decades to a Russian dictatorship that pretends to be a democracy. To televised arrests of protesters and not-so-televised incarcerations of people suspected of being gay. To the hacking of the DNC and Hillary’s campaign that influenced our 2016 American election. None of these realities make the case for why an American would want to visit Russia right now. But I just visited St. Petersburg for the first time—and I found it friendlier, more accessible and safer than its reputation in the West. Here’s the stuff I didn’t read in any guidebook:
1. Gay bars aren’t underground. Can’t speak for the whole country, but we stopped into a couple of St. Petersburg bars (shown above) that weren’t trying to pass as straight. No raids happened during the drinking of our drinks.
2. Karaoke is big. Those Russian chicks next to you? Yeah, they’re about to kill an Elvis, No Doubt or Madonna song.
3. American or British music is everywhere. Every Uber, restaurant and bar that we encountered in St. Petersburg was rocking Western music. (Perhaps the reason why their karaoke game is so strong?)
4. Ordering coffee is complicated. If you’re ordering at your hotel, ask for a large (“bol-shoy”) coffee, not an Americano, and ask for a bolshoy cream on the side. If you’re at Starbucks, order it black and when you pick it up, ask for the cream IN THE BOX. Don’t get the hot or whipped cream—Russia’s magic-unicorn-cream comes from the box.
5. Irish pubs are everywhere. Inside, you’ll meet lotsa cab divers (but few Irish people) and very friendly bartenders serving plenty of familiar brands of spirits. Shout-out to Katya and the Eugenes at The Templet Bar on Nekrasov Street (shown below).
6. Peanut vodka is delicious. Especially the homemade version at Brimborium.
7. No one wears sunglasses in winter. If you prefer to not be singled out as a tourist, do as the locals do.
8. Vegetarian food is delicious and everywhere. Try the khacha-puri (shown below) and anything with seasoned eggplant or sulugani cheese. Trust.
9. Very few visible homeless people. Not because living on the street is illegal—because the right to shelter is one of Russia’s constitutional rights.
10. Souvenir postcards are rare. If that’s your thing, buy ‘em when you see ‘em. You won’t find any at the airport on your way home.
11. We found Steven Seagal. He’s been kinda busy being Russian, practicing his best Dr. Evil impression (see below) and collaborating on an energy drink and a line of essential oils.
12. There’s no Yelp in Russia. Use Trip Advisor to vet restaurants and bars on the free Wifi that’s avail in pretty much every restaurant and bar.
13. Like the Internet, St. Pete’s is made of people. Since our election, I’ve found myself hoping other countries aren’t judging all Americans by our idiot dictator president. Extending that same decency to people in other countries governed by scary leaders is only fair. The trade-off? Locals who were willing to teach us Russian slang, direct us to their favorite restaurant or craft-beer spot, ask us about New York or just practice some English with us.
Countries are made of people, not just politics or policy or regulations. And once you get past airport customs—no bribe needed these days, BTW—it’s about human relations. If you’re interested in seeking the commonalities, you’ll find them. Whether it’s a root word or a brand of beer or a type of food or a particular custom: all these things offer a bridge to discovery, to humanity, to understanding. And empathy makes it a lot harder to generalize an entire culture and much easier to separate a people from its politics.
May 5, 2017
Sending off my cousin, Scotty, amid the silly stories,...
Sending off my cousin, Scotty, amid the silly stories, horticulture and minerals for which he was so famous. (at Southwick, Massachusetts)
