last night i had dinner at my parents house. they were telling me some stories about what life was like in russia when they lived there that really made me realize just how lucky we are to be living here in america now. i guess in russia, a lot of people used to live in communal houses. these were large houses that had large rooms that connected to a kitchen and bathroom. but, instead of each large room being a bedroom used by one person, each of the rooms would actually be used for a whole family. so, basically, several families would all live together in one of these houses. there was no living rooms or bedrooms or whatnot… your family would just get *1* room to itself. the whole family would sleep in the same room (usually using rollout beds or cots for the kids). the same table that would be used for the kids homework etc, would also be the table that dinner and breakfast was eaten on. the whole family was just crammed together all the time.
how crazy is that?? but there’s more! basically, the government allotted 3 square meters (imagine a five foot by five foot square) of space per person. so you would live there as a family w/ your parents. when you got married, your wife would just have to move in and live w/ you and your parents. then you’d have kids, still in that same small room!! when the family was large enough that there was less than 3 square meters per person in that room, then you could put your name on a list and the government would find you a new room in another communal house where you could finally move out from your parents. unfortunately, it was a slow process. sometimes it would take up to 10 years for you to move out from the time you first got on the list.
i was so shocked when i heard all that!! sheesh, and i’m used to america, where most people can move out the second they turn 18 and afford to live on their own etc etc. all of it really made me realize just how amazing america must have seemed to my parents when they first moved here. it must really have been a magical place…
-v
Dude, are you serious? You never knew that? I keep forgetting that you were really little when you moved here. Man, I lived with my parents, my sister and my maternal grandparents in one freaking room. We had a huge armoir to divide the the room that that my grandparents could have privacy. Their bed was behind the armoir. Oh, and we had to share our bathroom and kitchen with four other families in the same ‘wing’ of the building.
I remember all of us sitting in the kitchen listening to a ham radio broadcast of BBC. My dad spoke fluent English and he would translate it for all of us. It all seemed soooo foreign then. And now, sitting in my own apartment, watching BBC on my cable TV, it’s just mind boggling. Dude.. ask your parents about the three government controlled tv stations! That’s a trip. Oh, and ask them about “Spakoynuy nochi, malushi!”
Lora
Obviously things are very different here, however with so many people coming in from other countries, that kind of living is happening more and more around here. I’ve come across a number of areas where small homes hold more than one family or one family, but including all of the extended family as well. One home I came across had 3 9×9 bedrooms each housing like 5 people or something. It’s amazing how some people live.
5 people in a 9×9 room?? like the size of caryn’s old room?? that’s fucking insane. even hanging out w/ 5 people in a room that size would feel cramped… but living day to day life?? ugh.
yeah, i was only 3 when we left russia so i dont remember back then at all! i can’t believe you experienced all that. was it just absolutely nuts to come to america and completely change the way you live? did you get your own room when you first came here? how old were you?
oh, also, caryn says you want to show us around the russian side of SF…
Totally. I think it’s a hispanic thing… well at least the families I have come across like that have been. Of course it’s not solely them, but based on what I have seen and been told it seems they are the majority of people living that way. Based on what I have been told, usually one or two of the family get over here to work and support their families and eventually they get to the point where they can bring them all over to live. I’m guessing life isn’t much different there from how many live here. I can’t imagine life like that. It makes me feel pretty lucky.
Wow, I can honestly say “been there, done that”. When we first moved here, we lived in San Franciso on 28th between Geary and Anza. I had to share a room with my sister since we lived in a two bedroom. Then my grandpa came over a year later and he moved in with us, but he slept in the living room. Then my uncle, his wife, her mother, my grandmother and my cousin came here and lived with us for a while as well. Then we moved into a 3 bedroom in the Sunset, at Park Merced, so that my grandpa could have his own room. The first time I had my own room was when I was 16. After much begging and pleading.
The funny part is that we totally lived like we were in Russia for a few years and then it all went to pot. After my parents started making money and we could afford more stuff, the excess rolled in and good reason rolled out. But it was still pretty insane to remember how we ‘used’ to live. There’s no sense of privacy, obviously, comming from a Communist country. All your morals and values are screwed up.
Oh and you guys should totally cross the part and go to Geary. From about 22nd to 18th ave, it’s little Russia. Russian food, gift stores, video rentals, money exchanges, pharmacies. All written in Russian! It’s nuts! More so than it was 10 years ago.
And I thought I had it tough when I had to share a room with my sisters and brother. When my parent’s got a divorce, we lived in the two bedroom house that my grandma owns so that my mom wouldn’t have to pay rent… and could afford to raise four kids on a teacher’s aide salary. Once he got older my brother started to sleep in the living room, since we were all teenagers. When I moved out into my own apartment with a boyfriend, I was 18, and my brother (the youngest) was 10.
I seriously thought I had the most crowded living conditions, but to imagine ALL of my WHOLE family… Mom, and 4 kids living in one room, with Grandma, Grandpa and unmarried Aunt, in the next, and then Uncle, Aunt and their three kids down the hall… OH HELL NO!!!