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Working With Immigrants

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408

Working with immigrants often mean being able to understand them.

Look at this photo. This is the city above the Arctic Circle, where we spent 14 years, and it felt like eternity. No, we were not inmates, this was way post-GULAG era, we were free people in the way you can be a free person in the Soviet Union.

Vorkuta 

This is winter. Actually, it is only a week after the snow came to reign… And no, it is not January 10, 2013.

- What do you mean it is not January 10, 2013? There is a digital stamp and it says “January 10, 2013”.

Well, it is not. And the digital stamp says not January 10, but October 1, 2013.

- What?

And yes, this date is October 1, 2013. This is the convention in Russia and many other countries as well. First comes the day, then month, and then year. So, here in the US 1/10/2013 would mean January 10, 2013. In Russia it means 1st of October 2013.

Still can’t believe me? Then here is another photo. It is when the snow fell and the winter started. What date do you see here?

Winter came. Vorkuta

Ah-ha, 23rd of September 2013.

That’s right. And don't be surprised that on the 23rd of Selptember it is already snow on the ground. In the Arctic winters start early.

Photos by Olga Kolchanova with permission

Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Jon, yes I have had first hand experience with Russians setting the camera date! 

When we hosted two Russian teachers from Kirov in our home eight years ago I helped Andrei buy a Pentax camera and we set the date using the military way of day, month, and year. 

Matter of fact after Andrei and Tatyana departed I bought a Pentax camera for my wife.

The headline of the bill board says, "Speak/talk ??? "  What does "chestna" mean?  Now?

Oct 06, 2013 03:08 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Bruce - it means "honestly", something lke "Speaking Honestly"

Oct 06, 2013 08:05 AM
Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Thanks, Jon!  How on earth did you end up in Florida from the Artic Circle.  I still chuckle about your story of you and your friend who intimidated the local party official back in USSR times!  I take it your wife was just there visiting?

Oct 06, 2013 08:11 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Bruce - no it is not my wife, but the photograther name is also Olga :)

Oct 06, 2013 10:26 AM
Karen Fiddler, Broker/Owner
Karen Parsons-Fiddler, Broker 949-510-2395 - Mission Viejo, CA
Orange County & Lake Arrowhead, CA (949)510-2395

I can't imagine living in that kind of weather....and it seems you've adjusted to your Florida weather nicely as well. 

Oct 06, 2013 11:05 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Karen - it wasn't always a matter of choice, so I had to adjust. ANd yes, I love it here in Florida

Oct 06, 2013 11:07 AM
Jack Mossman - The Nines Team at Keller Williams in Lodi
The Nines Team at Keller Williams in Lodi - Lodi, CA
The Nines Team in Lodi

Jon ... something so simple, yet it can be very confusing, especially if the photos have no context.  Working with people who have a different background than your own, can be challenging, enlightening and very uplifting .... IF you don't always have to have it your way!  Thanks for the reminder. 

Oct 06, 2013 12:11 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

jacvk - that was a heck of IF, but it is an excellent point, thank you.

Oct 06, 2013 12:21 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

Jon - I'm curious - do you have the opportunity to work with a number of Russian immigrants now? 

Oct 06, 2013 01:07 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Marte - we set the office as American office and I was not working with Russians. I have changed my first and last name (beter say, modified it so that it is a shorter version of the original :). i never put on my card or any advertisement that I speak Russian.

We made a few attemots, but were not successful in it, and got quickly tired of a huge waste of time and energy.

I had a few Russian clients, but it was purely accidental.

And lately I started getting a little business from Russian investors, not on a big scale.

Let me say that clients who are originally from India outweight clients from Russia in number

Oct 06, 2013 01:29 PM
Noah Seidenberg
Coldwell Banker - Evanston, IL
Chicagoland and Suburbs (800) 858-7917

Hi Jon, I came over here after reading Jill Sackler's post about you and are pleasantly surprised. I have to say that your pictures look sort of like Chicago where I live and it does get pretty snowy sometimes.

Oct 08, 2013 10:48 AM