Tag Archives: russia
Top Ten Things to Do in Russia Posted by josefina on Mar 10, 2010
We’ve studied the language for years, we’ve almost mastered the grammar, we’ve stopped pronouncing half of the words in any given sentence all wrong, we’ve read every single great novel by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, we’ve recited Pushkin’s poetry by heart out loud – what next? What else should one do when in Russia? Because…
Top Ten Russian Phrases Posted by josefina on Mar 8, 2010
So you’ve made it to Russia – now what?! Don’t feel discouraged by not having mastered Russian language fully yet. Life is long and there’s still plenty of time ahead for you to get a grip on all of those cases and to understand why so often the letter «о» sounds like the letter…
«Вот неожиданно»: Russian Poetry Quiz! Posted by josefina on Mar 2, 2010
Once upon a time I shared a room for a year «с японкой» [with a Japanese girl] and every day she would comment on something in our Russian life by using the adverb «неожиданно» [unexpectedly, unawares; at unawares, by surprise; suddenly, all at once; overnight]. Her reaction to almost everything in Russia was «это было…
«Выходные в Вологде» [A Weekend in Vologda] Posted by josefina on Jan 19, 2010
The famous and magnificently beautiful «Софийский собор» [Saint Sofia Cathedral] where Shalamov’s father, «Тихон Шаламов» [Tikhon Shalamov], worked as «православный священник» [an Orthodox priest] in «Вологда» [Vologda] in the early 20th century upon his return from missionary work in Alaska. Behind it you can sneak a preview of the house where Shalamov was born, which…
Two Years with Russian Blog! Posted by josefina on Nov 9, 2009
«Да!» [Yes!] «Наконец!» [Finally!] Today is not just another day, today is «девятое ноября» [the 9th of November] and a very special day. Why? Not simply because today is «день рождения великого русского писателя Ивана Тургенева» [the birthday of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev] – happy 191st b’day to the author of «Отцы и…
Riding «общественный транспорт» [Public Transportation] the Russian Way Posted by josefina on Oct 9, 2009
Sometimes «остановка трамвая» [a tram stop] look like this in even a larger Russian city – this picture was taken on the central «площадь 1905 (тысяча девятьсот пятого) года» [‘The Square of the Year 1905‘] here in «Ёбург» [‘Yekat’, it’s Russian slang for «Екатеринбург» (Yekaterinburg) since that takes far too long time to pronounce on…
Евровидение! [Eurovision Song Contest!] Posted by josefina on May 13, 2009
Suddenly it is that time of the year again – the time when one cannot help but feel that one is, was and will always remain a European. This feeling is first and foremost connected with an important European annual event in May: «Евровидение» [Eurovision Song Contest]. This year the competition takes place here in…