How do you keep current with music from your home country even if life as expat over the past 20 years, page 1

What's your life like? I am a Russki young guy who came to America in search of a better life. I was extremely poor in Russia. I wasn't even near the middle class and I was never rich. Not me, per-say but my family. Young adults in Russia were not dependent on money as they were growing up. Therefore we had no choice other than to figure out ways to earn our own money. There were a variety of strategies. They were generally like drunks asking their friends for just a few dollars to buy their vodka bottles. Similar to the previous example the idea of looking for ways to earn cash quickly to even purchase bread. We were always hungry.

And so I made it to America and have been here for a while and seen the entire East Coast from Boston all the way to Miami and Key West and all the way to the middle of the states. There's nothing quite like New York City, Brooklyn, Brighton Beach. This place truly reminds of the home of my childhood. It's noisy filthy, smells like Russia, and people who live there are rude. There is a lot to do, like visiting Russian music and bookstores.



I am a huge fan of music, just as I love reading books. Nowadays, it is possible to browse Russian literature online, as has been the case in recent years. This is why I have stopped buying books that were hard-copy and also because I don't have much room in my home. My wife is nearly a hoarder, so I do my best to contribute to her, including avoiding buying new things that I don't have to store around my house, because I don't have a place for it... After searching for the first couple of months, the stacks of books turned into an ugly sight, and I decided to move them to my garage , where there is still space for my stuff.

Music, however, is different. Because my job requires me to drive a lot I also listen to a lot of music. Because I am an Russian native, there's no way I can like new music from the USA. I'm not a fan of hip-hop, rap or rock, metal, or pop. and all the trendy stuff that kids like to dance to.. The old Russian music is my favorite particularly the songs with a prison theme. They're still extremely popular even though I have been gone for 20 years. Youtube is where everything happens. When I get home from work, I will spend the whole day listening to music on Youtube.

And so after a while I've made a lovely long playlist with more than 300 songs I absolutely am in love with. This playlist is a precious trove of music that I play on repeat every day. It includes over 300 songs. But, when I want to listen to them in my car I do not have internet access. I need it for navigation and driving. I prepare the songs at home. I'm at the top of the list. Then I record a few songs on Youtube to MP3 files. After that, I burn those mp3s onto my computer and bring the CD into my car. The site lets you download your Youtube playlist and print the songs. Each song can be stored on your computer as an MP3 file. Then you can transfer the file to an audio-CD. Sometimes, I'm a little naughty and make a data CDs that don't play in my old car stereo. However it is possible to record audio. It's amazing to look at how technology works. It's not necessary to go online or have any other gadgets to play MP3. Simply insert the CDs into the stereo, and I can hear Russian music blasting in Manhattan.

It's easy and inexpensive to download Youtube videos to mp3 and save them to your Smartphone. A friend of mine hooked his phone to his car stereo , and the phone started playing high-quality sound within less than two seconds. It doesn't require a lot of Internet to stream Spotify or Pandora radio. It's something I'm likely try next. I will however be wary of using wifi that is free.