It's official...

One element of cultural shock lies in the difference in what is regarded as professional, or official.


There are times when I notice something like a typo and think...we would never allow that to be publicized in the States. And at other times, if I am performing or presenting something for review, I realize that to the Russian eye I look ill-prepared, because I haven't used a format that is up to their standards.

The mark of the ink stamp is very highly valued in the Russian Federation. Visitors have their first encounter with this at passport control. When you hear the big STAMP! you know that everything is okay and you have passed inspection (a lot of countries stamp you at passport control, but in Russia especially this is a sign of things to come). +/-

In fact, it seems that anything that has a stamp on it is regarded as official. I have been amused upon noticing seemingly mundane announcements with an ink stamp. It seems a bit excessive.

Another reason it seems strange to me, I suppose, is that I am used to everything in my country being computerized. Handwritten signs are a thing of the past. When I see something written sloppily in a Russian hand, it seems unworthy of the accompanying stamp. In the past this may have been a question of technology, but computers are fairly widespread nowadays. It must be by habit that a Russian form may be printed out, only to have all the remaining information filled out by hand.

When I went to my first classes at the university, I met with the advisor and she took down all my information by hand in a little notebook with lines. Then she filled out my form by hand, which I then took to the general office so that they could complete my contract by hand, which will then be signed by several parties and stamped (I assume). And then I'll be official!

It is still a bit disconcerting to see grocery store prices written by hand. Not because I think I am being cheated, but because I wonder how they can keep track of everything if it isn't computerized.

This is not to say that Russians have bad hand-writing. It is, in fact, very beautiful, and whenever I have received letters, the handwriting has been evenly spaced with the help of pencil lines which are then erased. There is nothing wrong with the way it looks other than the association. Handwritten text is for primary school homework and personal notes. Everything else, if it is meant to look professional, should be typewritten. It's the mindset that is ingrained in me.

I suppose, the equivalent of the ink stamp in the U.S. is that everything look as far from hand-made as possible. If any text is to be displayed, it is typewritten about 90% of the time, with the rest being special artsy publications like a menu that changes daily.

There are some cases where it is the opposite. For example, homemade pastries are considered celebratory in the U.S., whereas in Russia it is the custom to buy an elaborate cake in a bakery for a special occasion. I used to make greeting cards, until I discovered that Russians often buy them...however, a perfunctory message (store-bought or not ) is not sufficient, and they write out long, flowery birthday wishes.

My roommate received an invitation to study in the U.S., and found it strange that the organization had used a form letter. She said that Russian officials prefer that a letter be more personalized, with more specific information. In both cases, attention to detail and precision are present. But they are evaluated by contrasting criteria.

I could probably think of a lot more examples, but hopefully that will suffice for now!