My dear readers,

Goodbyes are tricky, aren’t they? Maybe that’s why the majority of Russian speakers hang up the phone by saying «Давай, пока» or sometimes just the “Давай”. I wish I could do the same, but unfortunately, this will be my final blog here. I do not want our goodbye to be a sad one. Instead, let’s give it all the festiveness of a live show finale, like they have on Russian television. If you have ever seen one of these, you probably heard the TV show host say something like:

Мы с вами не прощаемся, а говорим до скорой встречи!

We are not saying “goodbye forever”, we are saying “until next time”!

So, I thought it would be lovely to go down a memory lane and reflect on the topics that you and I shared over the last two years.

Photo by Genine Alyssa Pedreno-Andrada from Pexels

I.

It all started with my very first blog on Russian interjections. I always thought of these as the smallest part of the Russian language that makes all the difference in the world. Of course, every language-learner needs to familiarize themselves with interjections and expressing emotions in a different culture. But there is something so magically vibrant and uniquely expressive about the Russian “Эх!” or “Ого!” and my favorite “Ну” (especially when said in an indecisive manner).

However, even the most expressive use of Russian interjections would not take you far when speaking the language. And that is where we went into the deep and often treacherous waters of Russian grammar.

II.

Previous writers on this blog created so many wonderful and insightful blogs before me and I really enjoyed building onto them, often creating sequels to already existing topics but also writing my own mini-series on the different parts of the language. From prefixes, particles and conjunctions to dissecting letters of the Russian alphabet – we covered plenty of interesting grammar topics together. And looking back I realize that I did have a fascination with the smaller parts of the Russian language. What can I do since they are the ones that pack the most character!

III.

Speaking of which, we also had very interesting conversations about the Russian culture. I always really appreciated how much you connected with the different topics in the comments and shared your personal thoughts and memories. My absolute favorite were the blogs where I shared the culture through my experiences and family stories with you. Thank you for going to the Russian banya with me, talking about my favorite non-Russian Russian books, reminiscing about Ded Moroz, dyeing Easter eggs with my siblings, and even making kvashennaya kapusta with my grandma’s old family recipe.

IV.

Lastly, I wanted to thank you for being excited and curious with me about all the little language things that Russian has to offer. And I do not just mean particles, conjunctions, and interjections. Do you remember how we spent a whole blog holding the word “рознь” under a microscope? What about the times we analyzed every aspect of the words like терпение, подвести, and изюминка? Or how fun it was to mess with Google translate through some Russian double-negatives and the power of Russian syntax. I will certainly miss these times. Thank you for two very exciting years! Wishing you all the best on your language journeys, my friends! Давайте, пока!

Stay curious,

Akbota Yergaliyeva