DUMMERSTON — I'm quite surprised how American journalists are acting in Russia as they cover the Winter Olympics in Sochi. They're taking it out on Twitter about poor hotel conditions, dirty water, dual bathrooms, rudeness, and this, that, and the other thing.
It doesn't matter what kind of international sporting event this is. It's going to be chaotic and unpredictable. It's in Russia. Don't expect things to go smoothly.
What is happening is no different from what happened in Beijing, Sarajevo, Athens especially, and many Olympics before that. But these journalists really are making it about the country they are staying in.
I spent 4½ months in St. Petersburg, Russia. I can't explain my deep connection to that country. It just is. It was the toughest experience of my life, but it was also the most rewarding.
There's more to the world than just U.S. or western Europe destinations, and I wish these journalists would leave their entitled expectations and their Western standards at home. Just because it's an international event doesn't mean the same ideas of customer service and treatment can or should be expected in a host country.
As it happens, there is no concept of customer service in Russia. Western ideas of hospitality are non-existent there. Russians treat waste differently than what we are used to. Things break down a lot, and things are always changing unexpectedly.
The conditions at the hotels where the journalists are staying are no different from the majority of - if not all - Russian hotels. Other than the few that really cater to the one percent, you can't expect the same treatment or the same kind of amenities that you get at American or western European resorts.
And why would you want to stay at a place like that? It doesn't represent the real Russia that I experienced.
Studying abroad there was fascinating. It's hard, it's uncertain, it's different, but it was also beautiful - and it was also miraculous. The most peaceful moment of my life was standing in the middle of Red Square in Moscow - by myself.
I used to live across the street from the Lenin Library in St. Petersburg. My home-stay family told me they started construction around 1985. Ten years later, it still wasn't near completion! I doubt it ever has been.
* * *
Sochi is not the best venue, and corruption and incompetency at government levels are compromising these Olympics and compromising the completion of these facilities.
The incomplete state of the Olympic Village living quarters is nothing new from when I was there. The real reason why nothing is finished is because of corruption in Russia, which is like the Big Dig on crystal meth. It's just as bad as it was during Soviet times.
That's why tourists - and now sadly, journalists - should have been briefed before they went. There is no concept of customer service and hospitality in Russia. Period. Things are there one day and gone the next. I don't know what else to say other than I learned this the hard way.
But those kinds of conditions make me miss Russia. It was just all part of that experience.
* * *
I think these journalists are acting like entitled children because they expect a certain kind of treatment when they go abroad.
Complaining about the living situations in Russia is not reporting, especially when it's done on Twitter. That's a big difference.
Journalists should by all means talk about corruption and other important issues. I'm all for that. But they need to do it in context, and they cannot make it only about Russia being such a shitty place to be covering an international sporting event.
If these journalists don't like where they're staying, then they should pack up their bags and go home.
I blame the networks and outlets that they are representing for not explaining to their employees what they would encounter in this culture.
That's the right thing to do, whether you go abroad for business, pleasure, or to study.
Publicly complaining is the antithesis of what journalists are supposed to be doing there in the first place.
I understand they're not there to immerse themselves in Russian culture. I just wish they would understand that what they're going through resembles a lot of what I remember when I stayed in Russia.
Instead, journalists covering the Olympics should be inquisitive and curious about about where they are going. They should see things with their eyes open and write about the experience.
It's very likely that none of them will ever get a chance to visit Sochi again, let alone Russia. That is a privilege. Why are they making fun of where they are?
I've been wanting to go back to Russia for the last 19 years. If they can't stand being where they're at, then let me go. I'll kiss the tarmac the minute I arrive at Sochi International Airport.