I think in Moscow it’s particularly weird to order a latte with a flavor. They kind of give you this, “Where are you from?” look, but I don’t quite get it because even the tiny one-man coffee stands in the school hallways have at least 20 different syrup flavors out. So, I mean, if I choose mocha over latte, what’s the big deal?
It’s not Muscovite, that’s what.
So, I’ll learn how to enjoy my lattes plain. Which is fine. I enjoy my coffee black – like my soul. Another part I haven’t quite got yet is the “девушка.” They always call you that. When you’re latte’s done and they call out, “Девушка!” (Devushka, or, in English, ‘girl.’)
I have to mentally rewire my brain sometimes, and this is one of the areas. In America, if anyone calls you, “Girl!” it’s not exactly a good thing. I mean, if you’re close to another girl, you can be like, “Hey, girl, what’s up?” but that’s completely different than the coffee shop barista calling out, “Girl!” No one would ever do that. In fact, if anyone was like, “Heyyyyy, girl,” on the streets, it would be found offensive. And even sometimes, when someone calls me a girl, I slightly jump up and realize, “Oh my God, they’re talking to me.” Then I have to quickly rewire my thinking and culturally immerse my brain.
Dear Natali,
When someone calls you, ‘девушка’ it is a colloquial term, a happy term. A term that doesn’t mean little child, but also doesn’t mean grandmother. It’s a nice thing in Russian culture, it’s a happy thing, and they even call forty-year-old women ‘girl’ sometimes. So take it as a compliment and move on with yo’ life.
Thanks,
Natali
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