The American woman was in shock – hysterically laughed at the Russian “black entrance” and “shoe removal”. After a week in a Siberian village, she made everyone take off their shoes

When Sarah first arrived in Moscow, she was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the metro and streets. But as soon as she saw the usual entrance and heard that it was customary to take off her shoes at a party, the impression changed.

“Is this a servant's entrance? Why take off your shoes? In Texas, we have a landlord who vacuums up, she laughed.

I didn't argue. Ahead of this, we had a trip to a Siberian village, where Sarah’s ideas about Russian life had to be tested.

Baba Nyura met us in the village. She was about eighty years old, she drowned the oven with firewood, carried water from the well and was engaged in the household herself.

From day one, Sarah walked around the house in heavy street shoes, leaving mud, snow and straw on the floor. Baba Nyura silently took up the rag and cleaned up the guest.

On the second day, history repeated itself. On the third day, Sarah washed the floors herself and wrote a new rule on a piece of paper: enter the house only without street shoes.

Her friend reminded her earlier words that the owner can always vacuum. Sarah looked at me angrily and said

“Your grandmother Nyura is not a robot vacuum cleaner. She is a human being”.

It seems that for the first time during the trip, Sarah thought about the fact that the usual household rules are not backwardness, but respect for other people’s work.

In the evening, they talked about the difference between life in Russia and the United States. Sarah explained that Texas had different conditions, and I suggested looking at everyday expenses: rent, health insurance, food and education.

She was told that Russia has state medicine, affordable education and a habit of helping neighbors. Of course, there are plenty of problems, but American life is far from as cloudless as it may seem from the outside.

Sarah admitted that she used to represent Russia quite differently. In American news, she said, the country looked like a place where people could barely make ends meet.

In a few days, she saw a different side of life: villagers help each other, manage their own households, make preparations for the winter and do not consider caring for loved ones something humiliating.

Before leaving, the American admitted that she had changed her mind about some Russian habits. To take off your shoes at the door, she said, is not a shame. It’s an easy way to keep clean and not force another person to clean up after guests.

She was also surprised by the importance of mutual aid and neighbourhood relations in the countryside. Where she's used to relying on paid services, people often just help each other.

Sarah's story makes you wonder how easy it is to judge a foreign country by stereotypes. But a few days in an unfamiliar environment can change the perceptions that have developed over the years.

Neither Russia nor the United States should be idealized. Both countries have their advantages and serious challenges, and spending and living standards are highly dependent on region and income.

The main conclusion of this story is much simpler than any debate about where to live better: before laughing at other people’s habits, it is worthwhile to understand why people stick to them.