Money, Money, Money

I've noticed a few weird things about money here in Russia over the last couple of weeks. First, it started when a Hillel student asked me what I thought about American men who look online for Russian brides. Hmmm...I wasn't sure what to tell her exactly since many of the thoughts I conjured up were based on stereotypes of scary, weirdos trolling the net, looking for young, blond playthings. Instead, I told her honestly that I didn't know any such men. Why was she asking? Apparently, her mother thinks it's a good way to start a new, better life in America. I turned to the young woman and asked her what she thought. She said that at 24, she wasn't quite ready, but that ultimately, she thought it was a good way out, so to speak. I pressed her on what she meant -- quite frankly, she said, "you have to have noticed that it's not so easy to live here." She was referring, of course, to the discrepancy between salaries (which are often less than half of what they are in the US--but then again, is that only the declared amount?) and the cost of buying household goods (which are often double what they cost in the US). Definitely makes you wonder how the typical Russian makes ends meet.

Then there's this issue with the currency. The coins are pretty much useless, especially those that are worth less than a ruble. Kopecks, as they are called, are basically worth nothing. Take for instance, a 10-kopeck coin: it's worth one-third of a cent. The funny thing is that there still are 10-kopeck coins, 5-kopeck coins, even 1-kopeck coins still in circulation! So it's not surprising that you see these coins on the ground EVERYWHERE. I even saw a woman begging on the street and there were a few coins laying within arm's reach and yet she didn't bother to pick them up and put them in her cup!

A bigger issue is counterfeit money. I never really paid any attention to it until I recently handed a grocery store checkout clerk a bill and she handed it back to me after looking at it under a black-light gizmo. Turns out it was a fake. You could tell with the naked eye: the requisite metallic strip was missing. Since that day, I've looked at my cash before spending it and have noticed on two different occasions that I am handing someone money that could possibly be counterfeit. I'm honestly shocked at the amount of fake money in circulation; that, or I just have really bad luck! [Editor's note: I stand corrected. One of our wonderful blog readers pointed out to me that the old currency still in circulation does not have a metallic strip and it is still legit. Who are you, anonymous comment-poster? We really appreciate your comments!]

Just a few casual items that I've noticed and thought were rather intriguing... As Henry Ward Beecher once said, "It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has." Thanks, Henry.