Realizations on my first visit to Russia

I had several pre-conceived notions about Russia on my very first visit there, and I was glad to be proven wrong

You limit your perspective when you only view things a certain way.

Take my perception of Russia. I made certain assumptions about it – all of which turned out to be wrong.

So here are a few questions I had in mind on my first visit there and the answers I got.

• Are they into social media? Yes. Russians use FB and IG just like you and me, although there are local app versions of these as well.

• Access to foreign news? CNN, BBC and others are readily accessible.

• How about your fave burgers or coffee places? Yup, those brands are all there too. But I like exploring the local coffee scene and cafes, which did not disappoint at all.

• Are they communist or capitalist? Well, businesses are owned by private individuals so that makes them capitalist.

• Freedom of religion? Yup, all kinds of churches are here.

• Cars, traffic? Super traffic in Moscow. St. Petersburg is more of a walkable city.

This trip has made me realize that sometimes, we tend to be rigid in our views that we rarely bother to think that there may be other perspectives other than what we choose to hold on to.