That is a direct quote from this man in his 20s who tended our hookah and showed us how to smoke it like a Russian.
[wpvideo XUAc5CKl ]
He was smoking a hookah with his friends right next to us. We tried it and it about killed us.
Russians are very into their hookah. According to this young man the best, most pure tobacco is from Israel. We tried hookah about 6 times throughout Russia. It’s a nice way to enjoy nicotine, but it can be a bit intense.
More on the crazy… In Kazan we were at a bar/restaurant watching a game and the two Russians in the booth behind us ordered a meter of shots. That consisted of a board with 15 shot glasses sitting on it. I had arrived late and Mike and the Colombians at the next table over told me that it was their second order of the same. They were outside for a smoke and as I started to take a picture of it they walked in. I pointed at it and told the one guy that you are crazy. He smiled and nodded and encourage me to take this picture:
Mike mentioned in a previous post that Russians say “We drink till we are done”. If that wasn’t crazy enough, someone had to go and start making a homebrew vodka out of horseradish root. But some Russians say it’s too much of a Ukrainian thing and won’t touch it. But some do it anyways and apparently have fun watching unsuspecting tourists drink it. Lol. I thought it was really tasty, but I felt horrible in the morning.
Hrenovuha:
In sum, Russians take a sense of pride in their ability to be tough. Certainly as a people they have withstood quite a bit. It makes sense that they proudly showcase their resilience.
