A Laowai in Russia

When I was in Russia this winter I actually beheld snow for the first time in, like, 4 years, and was as excited as a child touching it and making snowballs and throwing them everywhere, all this with unconventional luster in my wild eyes behind the slightly fogged glasses and a wandering smile on my sensual lips. Exactly the reaction people who see it all every day have not. And dressed for the weather I was - to the best of my realization of it. A dress-style that caused my mom to chuckle. Yeah, she loves me, that's what I took her happy laugh for.
So I was walking along the street, throwing snowballs into the trees and making loads of steam form behind my hip scarf, which helpfully added to the romantic matt in my specs through which I was taking in the surrounding reality which in its turn glittered in the sun and engulfed me in that tasty and crisp nose-nipping chilly air. The sun was shining in the azure sky, the birds cheerfully chirped around, and the snow was crunching under my feet. The little square in front of the Central Park seemed especially picturesque to me and, heaping up my bags from the supermarket on the snow, I skillfully hoisted my phone/camera and started clicking away, giving birth to masterpieces:
Suddenly I heard something that didn't really quite register with me: "Hello! Hello-o". The reality rocked a trifle from side to side, shifting the awareness-borderline between being in China and - on the other hand - in Russia. I turned my head in the direction of what I thought was a phantom from my Chinese reality, only to see a bunch of 15-year old girls giggling and bunching up, whispering loudly something like "Uh, a foreigner? Must be a tourist... Hello! giggle-giggle".

Now - is it me becoming a foreigner in Russia or is it Russia getting more like China in the behavioral patterns of the people? Maybe it was my funny choice of clothes (which looked totally normal to me) and my taking photos of a totally common picture... Or is it me acquiring the air of a laowai, subconsciously causing everybody to giggle and shout 'hello!'?

But apart form that amusing incident it turned out to be quite a successful wintery winter with all the due characteristics: