The first thing Maxim Nikitin did not like about America was the hairdressers.

“I went to the salon and they gave me the worst haircut ever,” said Nikitin, a 19-year-old from Moscow, Russia. “Finally I found a Russian lady at Marketplace Mall who gave me a decent haircut.”

Nikitin arrived in Champaign in June to move in with his aunt. His decision to come to the U.S. was influenced by an exchange program that he applied for, which allows students to come to the U.S. to work, and eventually study at a university.

Nikitin works at the newly opened Za’s across from Marketplace Mall.

“I picked this (job) because I love to cook,” said Nikitin.

Having worked in an upscale restaurant in Moscow, Nikitin found that working at Za’s was an easy transition.

“(At Za’s) you have to mix ingredients and that’s about it,” he said.

Nikitin has been a good addition to the Za’s staff, said Jonathon Schmit, Za’s director of operations and Nikitin’s manager.

“Max is always in a good mood, he’s always talking,” Schmit said. “Sometimes people can’t understand him, but that doesn’t deter him at all.”

Nikitin is also doing a good job of integrating Russian into the workplace, Schmit said.

“He’s teaching other employees a few words in Russian, mostly bad words,” Schmit said.

Nikitin said jokingly that it wasn’t his choice to teach his co-workers bad words.

“They said, ‘if you don’t teach us you’re fired’,” Nikitin said.

Nikitin’s aunt, Anastasia Gusicova, said Za’s was a good opportunity for Nikitin to practice his English and get adjusted to American life.

Gusicova, an Educational Psychology Ph.D. student at the University, said Nikitin had a skewed perception of American culture when he first arrived here.

“If you would look at MTV (music video) clips, that’s how he was dressed when he got here,” Gusicova said. “In Russia, there’s this obsession with what they think is American culture, but really isn’t. I think he’s realizing that it’s not just that, there is more (to American culture). Since he got here, he’s dressed down.”

When asked which culture he preferred, Nikitin found comparing Russian and American culture to be extremely difficult. But, he could define a few specific differences.

“Men and women pay more attention to how they look,” said Nikitin. “Women always have manicure, men too sometimes. (People) always try to look their best, never lower.”

Nikitin also found that people interact differently in the U.S. than in Russia.

“In Russia, I can’t say ‘hi guys’ to elderly people, or ‘hi folks,'” Nikitin said. “It would seem very rude. There, speaking is a lot more official.”

Gusicova said Nikitin really enjoys how in Champaign everybody smiles and says ‘hi’ while walking on the street.

“He told me, ‘I’m going to be such an idiot when I come home, because I’m so used to saying hi to people I don’t know,'” Gusicova said.

Nikitin said he is not sure about whether he will stay in America, but is considering it.

“For now, I wouldn’t mind staying here,” he said. “Other than the hairdresser, nothing has freaked me out about this place.”