I haven’t played badminton since I was ten. It can be super fun to play if there is no wind, but then again, there is almost always wind, so it’s just one of those sports that always irritated me. Imagine my surprise when I saw people playing badminton in the wide spaces of the main university building and in the courtyards of the dormitories. The thing that gets me is that students play badminton for HOURS here. They laugh loudly, look embarrassed after missing the birdie, but laugh it off and serve again.
Medvedev and Putin test their skills in badminton. Putin sizes up Medvedev’s badminton capabilities, while Medvedev analyzes his racket.
And it’s not just badminton. Every night a large group of students gathers into a circle and hits a volleyball around until three in the morning. I am baffled by Russian students’ commitment to non-seriously staying active until the wee hours of the morning. Rollerblading and bike riding are also huge here, as are scooters. In fact, scooters are the vehicles of choice for getting to class. I see students carrying fold up scooters in the academic buildings on campus all the time. A week ago I even saw an adorable elderly couple, a babushka and a dedushka, slowly riding scooters together along the university streets.
Even Putin and Medvedev ride bikes!
Like everything else, leave it to Russians to make scooters look cool again after their disastrous downfall in the U.S. in the early 2000s. Now I want a scooter, too.