I hear your accent. Where are you from?

I’m from Russia.

Why did you come to the U.S.?

It was totally random. I had an opportunity to come, so I did.

And, of all the places in the U.S., you said, “”I’m going to Tucson!””

Actually, I didn’t know too much about Tucson, but this is a nice place to be. Especially in winter. Especially if you compare it to Russian winter.

How cold is it in Russia right now?

Um, I need to convert it to Fahrenheit. It’s -25 Celsius, so that’s 10 Fahrenheit.

That’s really cold. How many jackets do you wear?

(Laughs) You pretty much stay at home. And drink.

Drink of choice?

Vodka, of course.

How does the vodka in the States compare to real Russian vodka?

It’s really bad. Not even close. You have to go to Russia to try real vodka.

What’s a normal day in Russia like for you?

It depends. It’s pretty much the same as here. You do your work or study, go hang out with friends. Same things.

What’s the most interesting thing about Russia that you think people in America should know?

There are a lot of misconceptions about Russia. Russia is huge. Russia is not that cold all the time. We have a summer. It’s shorter and not that hot, but we do have it. Um, there are no bears walking around. We are not barbarians; we’ve developed. We have Internet, too. We have cars and cell phones and stuff. (Laughs) We have feelings. We don’t drink vodka for breakfast or eat cigarettes.

It’s weird. Those are all the same misconceptions people have about me.

— Katie Gault