Cultural (Mis)understanding

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Here in St. Petersburg I have been very spoiled being able to travel with a Russian speaker for the whole week. Alla has saved me from countless awkward interactions, for better or for worse.
At the heart of awkward interactions for me in foreign countries so far has been my interactions with the attendants at public bathroom stalls. I have yet to get used to the system of paying to use the toilet, something for which I definitely take for granted (and enjoy very much) in the US.
The best example this awkward interaction was at a public toilet at Peter's Palace, A palace on the outskirts of the city built by Peter the Great about 300 years ago.

I approached the attendant and paid my 15 rubles. She nodded, then held up her hand, five fingers spread out. I thought she was saying that I owed five more rubles and began to take the money out of my pocket. Then Alla says to me, ‘what are you doing? She told you to use stall number five.’ Then I reach to take the toilet paper, which is on a shelf next to the attendant. We have an awkward interaction in which Alla finally explains to me that I should take only a few sheets, not the whole roll. I say thank you, and that is the end of the interaction.
Without Alla, the event would have happened very differently. I would have paid my money, then seeing her show five fingers, think she meant I needed to pay five more. I would give her the rubles, she would look at me very confused, and think I was tipping her for some reason. Then I would take the whole roll of toilet paper and get yelled at for being a naïve/greedy (maybe) tourist, and I would nervously leave the toilet paper with her (taking none). Then I would most likely have walked into the wrong stall and received a few more stern words from the attendant.
Instead, things went smoothly. I used the bathroom and was on my way.


I came across a passage in a book I was reading by Bill Bryson, about his travels through Europe. Though I did not like the book very much, this one passage hit home for me, about the experience of traveling in foreign countries. When you are traveling, “…Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you suddenly have the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”

‘A series of interesting guesses' is exactly how I would describe much of my daily interactions here.

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Photos

Peter's Palace
The Main Palace. The fountains were built and designed by Peter the Great during the construction of the palace three centuries ago. The fountains are powered through a series of underground pipes using gravitational force. No electricity, no hydraulics. (this is also where I had my bathroom experience).

Comments

[mary and lori]

I can think of other things she may have meant such as, five seconds or five people per stall, or maybe use your hand or...good grief!! Makes me grateful to not be traveling to Costa Rica right now and having to carry my own TP wherever I go.