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The experience between us and our Russian colleagues was somewhat amusing, as it was fun to see that it was already morning there, while here in Mexico it was nighttime. During the 40-minute call, we were able to discover some stereotypes about Mexico, generally fueled by movies. One of the things that stood out the most was that our colleagues associate the country with lots of parties, spicy food, tequila, and sombreros. This last point made us reflect on the importance of good representation as a country, as well as the need to maintain effective communication between cultures to avoid falling into stereotypes and limiting thoughts about a culture. Our colleagues also mentioned that one of the things they like most about their country is the fact that Russia occupies a large portion of the land area. They also mentioned that something that most impacts them about Mexico is "the island of dolls."

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The conversation was brief due to the time difference — it was 9 a.m. in Mexico and 9 p.m. in Russia — which limited the interaction time. Still, it was a valuable experience. Although communication was somewhat limited by the language barrier (they didn’t speak much English and we didn’t speak Russian), the exchange was cordial and enriching. What stood out the most was learning about their customs, important dates, and traditions, which are quite different from those in Mexico. It was surprising and at the same time fascinating to see how other cultures live and express themselves. The experiences thought us : The importance of willingness to communicate: Even with a language barrier, the positive attitude from both sides made the interaction pleasant and meaningful.
Appreciate diversity: Seeing people so different from those we’re used to reminds us how vast and varied the world really is.
Learn through direct experience: Listening to and observing people from another culture teaches us more deeply than just reading about them.

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We make a zoom, everyone talked from both sides. As everything , we had some complications in the language but we spend great time with them

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Our conversation was vey interesting. During our call, we had some trouble at the beginning with the internet connection of one of them, but then we were able to talk for almost an hour and a half. Even though our Russian teammates didn't speak very fluently English, we were able to communicate by using the translator and we did have a lot of fun with it. First, we presented ourselves, by saying our names, ages and what are we studying at University. They made us some questions about our culture and what were some stereotypes we had about Russia. For example, they asked us if we had a traditional instrument, food, and animal . They asked for some interesting facts such as souvenirs or common slangs used in mexico, basically they seemed to be very intrigued by our culture . We asked them too about the stereotypes they had of Mexican culture, as well as if they knew some words in Spanish and if they would like to visit Mexico. Finally, we said goodbye with a big smile.

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Mafer, Nawi, Emelyn, Alexis, Sofia and Nicolás

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Mafer, Nawi, Emelyn, Alexis, Sofia and Nicolás

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In the interview, Russian students from Yekaterinburg shared things about their daily routines, which typically involve attending school and spending time with friends or family. Also they believed that there are similarities with students in other countries.

We also discussed the challenges young people face, such as academic pressure and family expectations.

Finally we asked about some stereotypes about Mexico and some of them had heard of tacos, la vigen de guadalupe and iconic mexican movies. So they expressed their curiosity about Mexican culture.

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This experience consisted on a video call with several Russian colleagues. We were able to speak and share some information, but the communication was not 100% clear due to the English level that they spoke. Despite this, we were able to enjoy this experience and expand our perspective about Russia and Mexico.

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During this video call with our Russian colleagues, we were able to discover new things about their culture, as well as them about ours. For example, we discovered that unlike us, who celebrate the Day of the Dead as a day to remember our deceased relatives, they also have a similar day in Russia. However, they act more seriously and don't celebrate it like we do.

There were also some difficulties expressing some things in English because the accent was very strong, but in the end, we managed to communicate and get along very well.

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Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I was not able to join the videocall with our international teammates from Ural Federal University (UrFu). However, I stayed in touch with my team to understand how the experience went.

According to what my classmates shared with me, the videocall was interesting but also a bit uncomfortable at first, mainly due to the language barrier, as the Russian students didn’t speak much Spanish. Despite this, the group tried to keep the conversation going by finding common topics and being patient with the dynamic.

I believe this kind of activity is very valuable because it pushes us out of our comfort zones, helps us develop intercultural communication skills, and teaches us to adapt to real-life situations where cultural and linguistic differences are present. Even though I couldn’t participate in the call, I truly recognize the importance of this type of exchange for both our professional and personal growth.

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Due to time in my team we could not all coincide with the video call, however, we had a dialogue with students where they asked us what our perception of their culture and country was, in addition to how difficult it was to communicate with people from other countries where English is not the base language to communicate. In my personal opinion it was very interesting that they asked us that kind of questions because they would know our perception about a country that we had not had interaction with someone as we have had, on the other hand, the girls told us that it was difficult for them to speak English but that they tried to understand little by little what we wanted to say and they were impressed to tell them what our perception was about their country, since we related it to dances, alcohol or typical Russian things

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The conversation lasted approximately 50 minutes. While it proved quite challenging, we ultimately enjoyed it. Initially, we attempted oral dialogue; however, persistent comprehension gaps led us to switch to chat combined with translation tools, which significantly improved the interactive dynamic.

A notable finding was confirming that the only cultural reference our Russian counterparts possessed about Mexico was limited to the culinary sphere specifically tacos. Beyond this dish, their knowledge was remarkably scarce. Nevertheless, we managed to exchange some basic expressions in both languages, though without delving into more complex linguistic aspects.

Personally, I believe the experience would have gained greater value with extended duration, particularly to consolidate cultural exchange and expand shared vocabulary.

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Valentina, Jennifer, Jailet, Samuel, Jonathan and Sandra

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Valentina, Jennifer, Jailet, Samuel, Jonathan and Sandra

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"During the call, we couldn't talk much due to the language barriers, but we met at 10:30 PM Mexico time. We were very excited to meet the Russian girls, and we tried to share a little about our experiences as students in each country. We realized how important it is to speak English to communicate with people around the world.

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In the videocall we had an amazing time interacting with each other, presenting ourselves and talking about our countries, we talked about our activities in our daily basis, how we spend our time studying or hanging out with friends and family, etc. It was an awesome experience to interact with some people we are not used to talk to

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We had the call via Zoom at 9 in the morning. At first, we were nervous, but then we had a very friendly and fun conversation. We didn’t ask any questions. It was a bit difficult to understand each other, but we managed. We learned a lot about their culture, traditions, and things we thought were true that turned out to be completely false. We really enjoyed meeting people from other countries.

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Team:  Leylani, Fernanda, Ana Camila and Javier.  

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Team:  Leylani, Fernanda, Ana Camila and Javier.  

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During the call, we chatted, smiling at the questions given, they told us about Russian traditions, some interesting facts about Russia and their perception of Mexico, they perceived Mexico as a very happy country and found the food and the Day of the Dead very interesting, saying that they wished they could come to visit Mexico one day. An important part that stood out to us is that in their country Instagram, Spotify and other apps are blocked, which left us surprised, they said it was because of political problems they had. In general the call was very cool, both groups flowed in the conversation and in the end we ended up talking a little more by telegram which is the app they use, which we thought was great to have friends from Russia.

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During the call, we chatted, smiling at the questions given, they told us about Russian traditions, some interesting facts about Russia and their perception of Mexico, they perceived Mexico as a very happy country and found the food and the Day of the Dead very interesting, saying that they wished they could come to visit Mexico one day. An important part that stood out to us is that in their country Instagram, Spotify and other apps are blocked, which left us surprised, they said it was because of political problems they had. In general the call was very cool, both groups flowed in the conversation and in the end we ended up talking a little more by telegram which is the app they use, which we thought was great to have friends from Russia.