Indian Student Wore Sari Even in Russian Freeze

Sulekha Padalkar came to Russia from India and has been living in Arkhangelsk for five years. The 23-year-old student is studying to become a doctor and simultaneously runs a blog about life here.

The hardest part for the girl was adapting to the northern climate. But the Russian winter did not stop the Indian woman from going out in the freezing cold to take beautiful photos in a luxurious sari.

«I was very cold, but I think I was so engrossed in my look that I wore these outfits even in the frost and was proud of them. Perhaps that helped me endure the cold more easily,» says the Indian woman.

She saw the first snowfall of her life right in Arkhangelsk: «It was like heaven,» she shares.

Sulekha has managed to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Sochi and noticed a difference in the mentality of the people in Russia and India. For example, she says, people here are more punctual but less open.

«In India, if we look at each other — for instance, in public places — it is considered perfectly normal to smile at another person. But in Russia, as I have noticed, people usually do not smile at each other in public because, I think, here people believe that a smile should be sincere, and therefore they smile only at those they truly respect or have genuine sympathy for,» says the girl.

Sulekha Padalkar is in her fifth year of studying general medicine. In a year, she will be able to work as a general practitioner, and in the future, she may become a specialist — for example, a neurologist or cardiologist. But the girl has not yet decided whether she will stay to work here or return to her homeland.