Archive for 'when in Russia'
Russian Summer Wardrobe: Get Your Speedo Ready! Posted by Jenya on May 20, 2015
Summer is upon us and with it the desire to finally shed multiple layers of clothing and feel the warmth of the Sun on our skin. Of course, if you live in Florida, California or some other place that is just as warm, you probably don’t get quite as excited. But what if you live…
Victory Day Parade in Russia Posted by Jenya on May 13, 2015
May 9, 2015 saw Russia’s annual Victory Day Parade in a momentous fashion. The Russian government spared no expense in pomp and circumstance. The parade celebrated the seventieth anniversary of the Allied victory on the Eastern Front against the Nazis. Several world leaders were in attendance, several key members that have attended in the past…
Using Cell Phones in Russia Posted by Maria on May 11, 2015
If you are traveling to Russia or staying there for a long time, you probably want to keep in touch with your friends back home. Besides Skype and other similar programs, cell phones are an important tool for staying in touch. No Strings Attached Almost everyone in (urban) Russia has a mobile phone (моби́льный…
These Six English Loanwords Don’t Mean What You Think in Russian Posted by Jenya on Apr 22, 2015
The fact that loan words are present in nearly every language is well-known to most people. It is fairly clear that Russian language has been affected by this practice more than some other languages. Whether certain rulers of the past, certain technologies of the present, or globalization are to blame is a topic of…
Why Won’t Russians Answer Me In Russian? (Part II) Posted by Maria on Apr 20, 2015
We are continuing from last week’s post on why some Russians will seemingly give you the cold shoulder and won’t answer you in Russian. We looked at how certain pronunciation gaffes can obscure understanding. There are also social and interpersonal reasons for the person’s reluctance to respond to you in Russian. Hungry for Practice As…
Why Won’t Russians Answer Me In Russian? (Part I) Posted by Maria on Apr 16, 2015
So we’ve all probably been there. You spend a lot of time learning a language and finally get to a point where you can understand some spoken phrases and form coherent responses. You run into a native speaker and happily start talking Russian (or whatever language you’re learning) to them — only to get a blank…
Economic Struggles of Russian People Posted by Jenya on Apr 15, 2015
Try to imagine this scenario: the price of many goods and services you’ve come to depend on have increased by at least a third, food costs in many cases have doubled, while your salary has stayed the same; there is talk at work of going to a three-day work week or closing down all together. For…