Every American college student should go to Russia. It's just such a great experience. Russian friendships are intense. The Russian countryside is gorgeous. Astonishing museums and architecture. There are beautiful churches in which to pray and contemplate what good works we might like to accomplish over the next year. Ah, such opportunities! So why is it that those American students always end up drinking obscene amounts of vodka, throwing up at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, singing “Rubber Ducky” with a German accent in the middle of Red Square at three in the morning in the company of some Russian ballet dancer they've been flirting with since eight in the evening at the Irish Bar on the Arbat? And in the morning they wake up with похмелье, a hangover.

A smarmy American might even suggest that we have a spiritual obligation to get at least one hangover in Russia since the Primary Chronicle quotes Vladimir the First as rejecting Islam because the Russians love to drink, and thus to really get into the spirit of Russian language study, you have to tie one on. Wow, a little education and we can justify just about anything.

“I have a hangover” in literary Russian is «У меня похмелье» or «Я с похмелья». Notice that с here is followed by the genitive case, not the instrumental. It is incorrect to say «Я с похмельем». You'll also hear the more conversational «Я с бодуна», which means the same thing. Here are a couple sample sentences:

Actually, I doubt hangovers have anything to do with sneezing. Probably they just encountered a drunk with a cold.

You might think that people would battle hangovers with the obvious solution: sobriety. Nope. There is an incredible wealth of material out there discussing the question «Как опохмелиться наилучшим способом?» “What is the best method to cure a hangover?” More precisely, the verb опохмеляться-опохмелиться mostly means “to treat a hangover by using more alcohol,” or as some people say in English “to take a hair of the dog that bit you.”

Russians can discuss this question for hours and hours on weekends… weekends with bloodshot eyes and aching heads and the taste of dachsund fur and horseradish in their mouths. There is even a website devoted to the issue. Here is an actual answer to the question I found on the web:

The guy's spelling suggests he was actually writing with a hangover «он писал с похмелья». I thought he was making up the Антипохмелин, but apparently it's a real product. You can see a picture of it at the right.

The words for male and female in Russian are самец and самка. Самка is an uncomplicated word with genitive plural самок. Самец is an end stressed word:

In English we might say "A rooster is a male chicken" or "A mare is an adult female horse," but we have to rephrase it slightly for the Russian version. In Russian one says «Петух — самец курицы» “A rooster is the male of the chicken.” In other words, the word that follows самец or самка needs to be in the genitive case. Likewise «Кобыла — взрослая самка лошади» “A mare is an adult female of the horse.”

One of the most important things when meeting new Russian people is to be able to properly introduce yourself. A few years ago I was invited to a picnic that a few of my Russian friends organized. When I arrived, I noticed that there were other Russian people there with whom I was not acquainted. Upon arrival, I introduced myself to the new crowd by saying «Меня зовут Оля» “My name is Olga.” I followed by asking «Как вас зовут?» “What is your name?” It is important to note that this is a formal acquaintance because I was meeting new people. If I wanted to introduce myself to a child, I could speak less formally and say «Как тебя зовут?» My friend approached me and asked «Ты знакома с Сашей?» “Are you acquainted with Sasha?” I said that I was not and told Sasha «Очень приятно познокомиться» “Very pleased to meet you.” Sasha was a beautiful woman, and I was suprised to find out that she was not in a romantic relationship at that time.

Among the group, there was also one married couple who introduced themselves by saying «Разрешите познакомить вас с моим мужем» “Let me introduce you to my husband” and the husband stated «Разрешите познакомить вас с моей женой» “Let me introduce you to my wife”. For the rest of the day, we enjoyed eating, talking, and enjoying the beautiful weather. We all sat on a blanket under a tree, eating apple pie and enjoying the shade that the beautiful tree provided us with, and the scent of the sweet apple pie as the breeze came through has stayed in my memory ever since.

Every year, Russia celebrates many holidays праздники, some of which are also celebrated in the United States. New Year's «Новый год» is a universal holiday that is celebrated all over the world. Unlike in America, Russians usually buy Christmas trees on December 29th or 30th and will decorate them with all kinds of beautiful ornaments. The tree will be left until January 7th which is the day that Russian people celebrate Christmas «Рождество Христово». On March 8th is International Women’s Day «Международный женский день» when men all over Russia buy gifts such as flowers and candy for women that they love. (Тhis could be wives, girlfriends, fiancéеs, or daughters). Every year on International Women’s Day my father buys roses for me, my sister, and my mom, and we say «Kак приятно! Ты купил нам розы!» “How nice! You bought us roses!” My crazy ex-boyfriend could have learned a thing or two from my dad.

Another important holiday in Russia is Victory Day «День победы». This is a day when people celebrate the USSR victory over Germany in WW2 while also remembering the soldiers that died during those four bloody years. Following Victory Day is April Fool's Day «День смеха» on April 1st. Once, my sister tricked me by placing sugar in the salt shaker and salt in the sugar container. I was mad at first but then began laughing. Троица Whitsuntide on June 15th is another important Russian holiday. This holiday celebrates the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is traditional for people to bring plants into the home on that day. Some families will even sprinkle grass around the home and many churces do the same. Finally, Easter Пасха is the greatest church holiday in Russia. Many people visit a church or monastery on that day and bake a special Easter bread, which is also called пасха, just like the holiday itself. The Easter bread along with a small container of water is taken to church and made holy during the service. Afterwards, people go home to enjoy the holy water «свячёная вода» and holy Easter bread «свячёная пасха» along with many other foods and drinks.

The Russian word for farewells is прощания. (The singular form of the word is прощание.) There are different ways of saying farewell, and they all depend on the situation. When my family was leaving for the US, our friends and family were afraid that we would not be able to come back, but they tried to stay calm and high spirited by saying «Желаем вам всего наилучшего» meaning “We wish you all the best”. When we arrived in Arizona, my family was very tired and we went to sleep fast that night. My aunt showed us the rooms and said «Спокойной ночи и до завтра» “Good night and till tomorrow.” The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast of waffles and orange juice. It was only 6:30AM when my aunt stood up and said «Боюсь, что мне пора на работу» “I'm afraid I should be going to work.” Surprised at how early my aunt was leaving, my mom said «До вечера» meaning “Till evening,” and my aunt ran out the door.

Once in a while my mom called my grandmother in Russia and talked about family matters. At the end of the conversation, my mom always said «Передавай привет папе» meaning “Send my regards to Dad,” and my grandmother said «Хорошо, пока!» meaning “Okay, bye!” Whenever my grandfather talked to my mother on the phone, he became emotional because he missed our family very much, so he stayed off the phone and communicated through my grandmother. When someone says пока, this is usually a term used when talking to family or friends. However, when talking to strangers, co-workers, or other unrelated people, it is more polite to use the phrase «До свидания» “Goodbye” instead.