Some Russian postcards (actually it's not exactly clear what they are):
Not sure of the source, but I found it here. For all non bird lovers (like me), here's a little guide:
Top two: зарянка (zaryanka) is a robin and probably comes from the word sunrise (заря); мухоловка (mukalovka) is a flycatcher. It can also mean a Venus fly trap plant
Middle two: иволга (ivolga) is an oriole and поползень (popolzen') is a nuthatch
Bottom two: коноплянка (konaplyanka) is a linnet and дубровник (dubrovnik) is a Croatian seaside town and I have no idea! Suggestions on a postcard.
Created: 2008-06-25 18:46,
Tags: languages,
Russian,
words,
Comments: 1
I'm sitting in my garden, the sun is shining and for the first time this year it really feels like summer. I had my first Russian lesson yesterday after ages of not speaking Russian. It wasn's as bad as I thought it would be - I understood everything perfectly, but my fluency when speaking is pretty bad. Speaking of Russian I had a bit of an epiphany (sorry to all non Russian speakers, this may be a bit boring) on Friday.
Now when Russians say "I'm going now, bye!" they use the rather illogical "я пошёл/пошла" which literally translates as "I'm gone". This has puzzled me as to why they say this: they are still standing in front of you, but they are telling you they've already gone. I put this down to the usual Russian madness that you just have to accept. However, at work on Friday my boss was leaving and she actually said "Right, that's it ladies, that's me gone". I couldn't believe it! We sometimes say the exact same illogical thing in English. It just had never occured to me before.
Created: 2008-05-11 10:50,
Tags: languages,
Russian,
Comments: 0
I've never really talked much about my experiences living in Russia in this blog. Russia's a hard place to write about really. There are lots of low points and lots of high points about my time there. People always ask me "was it cold there?" Well, yes and no. It was 40 degrees in May! They are always surprised. "Well, were people really poor there?" And I have to say yes and no again. But most of the time people have no idea what to ask when I say I've lived in Russia.
I was going through my vocabulary notes I made during my time in Russia and it documents all the new words I came across and needed in everyday life. I think it gives a nice summary of what I went through out there. Here's a couple of my favourites (out of hundreds of words)...
форточкa (fortochka) - small ventilation window to keep open at night (and not let all the heat out or all the cold in)
гречневая каша (grechnevaya kasha) - buckwheat porridge - it was an endurance test
мусорка (musorka) - a bin inside the house
алкаш (alkash) - boozer
курсант (kursant) - someone studying at a miliary academy. Nice uniforms...
склад ума (sklad uma) - way of thinking, can be very different in Russia
ларёк (laryok) - kiosk selling whatever you want/need
ломтик (lomtik) - slice e.g. of cheese. A very basic word I didn't even know before I went to Russia
забава (zabava) - fun, amusement
слякоть (slyakot') - slushy, muddy snow
я объелась (ya obelas') - I overate, it happens...
Ярослабка (Yarolslavka) - an inhabitant of Yaroslavl'. The pleasure was all mine
значок (znachok) - badge (of Lenin)
взятка (vzyatka) - bribe
похмелье (pokmel'e) - hangover
лужа (luzha) - puddle
пончик (ponchik) - wonderful, tasty doughnut
сырник (syrnik) - fried curd fritter - not so wonderful
красавец/красавчик (krasavetz/krasavchik) - good looking boy (rare)
оттепель (ottepel') - thaw
шуры-муры (shury-mury) - hanky panky!
солённый (solyonnyj) - salted (gurkins) - a shock to the tastebuds
шмель (shmel') - bumblebee
шарик (sharik) - balloon
сумасшедший (sumashedshij) - crazy!
Ань! (An') - how people called out my name using the old vocative case. I hated it!
I think it's only now that I can start to look back on my time with fond memories.
Created: 2008-04-15 17:34,
Tags: languages,
Russia,
Russian,
travel,
Comments: 2
I found this Soviet New Year card after January 1st, but I thought, hey, I can post it on the Russian Orthodox New Year. That is today, by the way! Yes, it probably is a bit wrong as religion was more or less banned during Soviet times, but let's not get too deep here, I just like Santa riding a rocket. Not as environmentally friendly as reindeer, granted, but now we know how all the Soviet children got their presents in just one night... :)
I got such a surprise when I got home from a dull day at work. A lovely (and heavy!) parcel from my Lithuanian friend. So thanks :) She gave me some encouragement to get on with learning Lithuanian along with some reading material, namely the very interesting (at least the graphics hehe) pravda magazine.
Created: 2008-01-14 21:01,
Tags: life,
Lithuanian,
post,
Russian,
Comments: 0
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