GROUP+DISCUSSION

 = VENN DIAGRAM =

Here are our views on the topic the US/Russian way of life!
Anny Volodina's view:

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[[image:Unicorn_140x140.jpg]]Kirill Vakulin's view:


This is an audio file attached to the pdf file:
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Nikita Tarelov's view:

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Alex Rachkov's view:
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R. Erezheev's view: == This is an audio file attached to the pdf file:

=** Comments of the American teacher, Renee Abramson: **= = Food: In the US a lot of people are moving away from fast food like McDonald's because we are realizing that it is not healthy for us – but as far as ‘taste’ Americans LOVE it. We do not eat meat, potatoes and soups and quite often an evening in a restaurant is a nice big salad. At barbecues hamburgers and cheese burgers still rule. The meat should not have any kind of spice in it at all. We eat (or are trying to )very little red meat and substitute chicken. Many people here are not fish eaters. The biggest problem is the family never makes time to sit down and enjoy a meal at all. This is why there is a huge shift in how we eat. We work a lot and have little time to prepare food. Therefore many people like prepared food. Personally I do not because they are loaded with salt and like many Americans I cook with very little salt. As a mom I cannot get any of my children 19-27 to eat soup. They just do not. Many, many Americans will not eat anything if there is a cooked vegetable in it- especially cooked carrots and we prefer our vegetables raw.= =We are huge fans of breakfast and many Americans will eat eggs for breakfast and dinner. Our large meals tend to be dinner and not lunch. We love pizza (real Italian pizza and not Greek or Egyptian pizza which make up well over ½ of our pizzerias)- the difference is in the dough). We put everything onto a pizza (not me) from pineapple and ham to chicken and onions. People love calzones which is a pizza folded in half and cut up. We are not big cake and dessert eaters or tea drinkers. The closest to cake we will eat is a doughnut (not me as it is way too fatty).= =We are always on a diet and always trying to eat better (some of us). Because we are a nation of immigrants we eat many cultural foods. ALL Americans love Chinese food. Often it is meat with sweet sugary sauce. My kids all love it but I am not a fan of it- however they may pick out the vegetables and not eat them. Instead they say they took a multi vitamin pill and do not need their vegetables. We also never ever organ meat like liver. You could not pay us $100 to take a bite!= =Recently my husband and I went to a Russian market to shop. It was quite an experience! You eat A LOT of fish! However, it was so salty we did not buy it. We loved the cheeses as we love cheeses but saw you made many from sheep milk. No American will have any milk product unless it comes from a cow. The cakes at the store were SO beautiful!! We do not make cakes here because no one would eat them as we know how many calories hide there. My husband and I might go and order a small piece of cake and then split it- half and half. Also you had dried little fish that people eat it like candy? I am sorry- but eww eww eww. No American would eat anything that it still looks like the alive animal.= =We eat real home made foods for holidays. I cook at home twice a week and save it for the family. It goes back to my busy lifestyle.= =Americans are big fans of macaroni and cheese and peanut butter- something that most people do not understand. In fact, I am making macaroni and cheese tonight because my family will worship me. Americans also like Italian food such as baked lasagna.= =We teach our kids to be healthy. I tell my own kids when you eat pasta that you say “yummy” inside your body will turn into sugar in ½ an hour. You ate lasagna but your body tells you cake. So go to the gym and work it off.= =Good luck finding an American wife she will never cook J =

= Education = =Kids go to school here from 7:35-2:14= =Out of this 30 minutes is lunch and 5 major subjects are 55 minutes each. Students take art, music and gym. In general Americans do not like Math. Perhaps we were taught a different way of understanding it- and we also as a nation are low achievers in Math.= =In Elementary and Secondary school students like gym. Students are very lazy about homework and do not know how to take notes. We just started state testing to make sure that the students are responsible for basic knowledge in an area before graduating. Many people do not like this. They say, “What does a high school diploma give you anyway”(touch job market and you need college to succeed in life.).= =I have 3 of my own children in college. One is studying to be a police office. Yes- college for a police officer. However, a policeman makes from $60-105 thousand dollars a year. Right now he works as Mall security and makes $13 an hour (40 hours a week) while in college full time.= =Public school teachers make from $40- $70 thousand dollars a year (private school teachers make less). As a teacher I am given 10 sick days a year and two personal days with pay. (I am using two this week as I am really sick.) Health insurance is so expensive so we need a good job for this.= =It does not mean we are wealthy because things are expensive here. Milk is $2.79 a gallon. A dozen eggs are the same price. Meat is not that expensive. I can get a kilo of meat for $4.50.= =My kids like taking some classes online but they tend to be harder. However it frees up their time to work more hours. Here we know you work you make money to buy all the extras that you like. They each have cars (it used to be that mine was better than theirs). For example my son’s car is a 2002 Chevy Impala. When I got it I paid $4000 and it was only 4 years old. Cars are not a lot of money here. Sure I can buy a brand new car for $50,000. I won’t when I can get a brand new one for $11,000.= =I think people work hard here, and the ones who do not are unemployed. You are free to make a million and lose a million here.= =We have such a freedom here. We can talk trash about our leaders in public. We can demonstrate against anything. We feel freedom. However while exercising our freedoms we cannot deny someone else theirs.= =College is expensive. I live in Massachusetts and we have wonderful schools like Harvard and MIT. I cannot afford them. My kids go to state schools and are getting a fine education.=

= LET'S TALK! =  Guys, here you should discuss the topic of your project. So we the core stuff to be discussed is differences in the Russian and North American traditions, way of living and culture. What are the differences and things that unite us? Express your opinion, but remember that it should be well-structured and supported (about 15 sentences). Also it's necessary to comment other students' posts.