{"id":2740,"date":"2012-05-28T00:10:49","date_gmt":"2012-05-28T00:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2018-08-17T17:39:47","modified_gmt":"2018-08-17T17:39:47","slug":"hi_everyone_im_rob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/hi_everyone_im_rob\/","title":{"rendered":"\u042d\u0442\u0430 \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0430 \u0438\u0437\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438\u043b\u0430 \u043c\u043e\u044e \u0436\u0438\u0437\u043d\u044c…"},"content":{"rendered":"

(“This book changed my life…”)<\/p>\n

…and it could change yours, too!<\/p>\n

No, I’m NOT talking about Dianetics<\/em>, or Think and Grow Rich<\/em>, or Lose Two Pounds A Day The Herbal Way<\/em>, or whatever.<\/p>\n

\u042f<\/span> \u0438\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u044e \u0432 \u0432\u0438\u0434\u0443<\/span> \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0442 \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u0443 \u043a\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0443<\/strong> (“I have in mind this book here”):<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

\u0412\u041d\u0418\u041c\u0410<\/span>\u041d\u0418\u0415! \u0427\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u043a\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0438 \u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span> \u043a \u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0447\u043a\u0435! \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u044c \u043e\u0442 \u0434\u0435\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u0439 \u0434\u043e \u0442\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442!<\/strong> (“WARNING: Reading this book may be habit-forming! Keep away from children under 13!”)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And how did this book change my life? Well, it started like this…<\/p>\n

\u041a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span>-\u0442\u043e \u0432 \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435 <\/strong> (“Sometime in my childhood”), \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span> \u044f<\/span> \u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043c, \u0438 \u043c\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u043e \u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442 \u043d\u0435 \u0431\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0435 \u0434\u0435\u0441\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u0438<\/strong> (“when I was a boy of no more than ten years”), we were living in Ankara, Turkey — \u0433\u0434\u0435<\/span> \u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0439 \u043e\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u0446 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u043b \u0432 \u0430\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435<\/strong> (“where my father worked at the U.S. Embassy”.)<\/p>\n

Since we were in the general neighborhood of the Soviet Union, \u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0438 \u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u044f\u043b\u0438 \u0442\u0443\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0446\u043a\u0443\u044e \u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u043a\u0443<\/strong> (“our parents hired a Turkish college-girl”) who was fluent in English to watch me and my little sister for a week, while they \u0443\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u044d\u043a\u0441\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0441\u0438\u044e \u0432 \u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0432\u0443<\/span> \u0438 \u0421\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0442-\u041f\u0435\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0443\u0440\u0433<\/span> \u041b\u0435\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0434<\/strong> (“flew off on a guided group tour to Moscow and Leningrad”).<\/p>\n

They returned full of stories about the trip — although to ease our annoyance at being left behind, they reassured us that we would have been bored out of our minds, because the tour was so museum-oriented.<\/p>\n

And they also brought home some cool souvenirs. Of course, there were the obligatory \u043c\u0430\u0442\u0440\u0451\u0448\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (“nesting dolls”) and \u0448\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u043a\u0438 \u0441 \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0438\u0430\u0442\u044e<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u043c\u0438<\/strong> (“lacquer boxes with painted lids”).<\/p>\n

I was especially entranced by the \u0431\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0438\u0433\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (“carved wooden toys” named for the village of Bogorodskoye), with moving mechanisms activated by \u0440\u044b\u0447\u0430\u0433\u0438<\/span><\/strong> (“levers”) or\u00a0swinging \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u044f\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (“pendulums”).<\/p>\n

And since I was an avid reader, they also gave me a number of Russian books — in English translation, of course. I later found that some of them are now regarded as classics of Soviet “kid lit” — for example, Aleksandr Raskin’s \u041a\u0430<\/span>\u043a \u043f\u0430<\/span>\u043f\u0430 \u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u043c<\/strong> (“When Daddy Was a Little Boy”).<\/p>\n

But the one that affected me most was the one above — Vasalisa the Beautiful<\/em>, a \u0441\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0445 \u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u043e\u043a<\/strong> (“anthology of Russian fairy-tales” — the editor and primary translator is Zheleznova, Irina).<\/p>\n

Of course, I was fascinated partly by the highly exotic settings and events: heroes climbing into the ears of talking horses; \u0438\u0437\u0431\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044c\u0438\u0445 \u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043a\u0430\u0445<\/strong> (“huts on hen’s feet”); magical apple trees growing from a buried \u0442\u0435\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0447\u044c\u044f \u043a\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430<\/strong> (“calf’s intestine”); unkillable wizards who hid their mortality in the point of a needle inside an egg inside a duck inside a hare…<\/p>\n

And although the book was in English, the language itself made an impression on me. Note how vividly the speed of the villain’s horse is described in this passage:<\/p>\n

\n

The English translations of some \u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0438<\/strong> take minor liberties, but the language here is \u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0431\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043a \u043e\u0440\u0438\u0433\u0438\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0443<\/strong> (“very close to the original<\/a>“), in which the talking horse boasts \u00ab\u041c\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e \u044f\u0447\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u044f\u0442\u044c…\u00bb<\/strong> (“One could sow some barley”), etc.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So, this one book of traditional fairytales lit a lasting curiosity in me about Russia and its culture, and this was definitely a factor that encouraged me to pick Russian for my foreign-language requirement when I started college way back in 1989. And here I am today!<\/p>\n

After a LOT of persuasion, Yelena convinced me to \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0432 \u043a\u043e\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0443<\/strong> (“join the team”) as an official writer for the Transparent Russian Blog. Of course, I’m still skeptical about the wisdom of this, because \u043f\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0434\u0435 \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>, \u043c\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0447\u0442\u043e \u044f<\/span> “\u0432\u043b\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u044e” \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u043c \u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c \u043d\u0430 \u0442\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c \u0436\u0435 \u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0435, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0438 \u0422\u0430\u0440\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u043d.<\/strong> (Frankly, I think that my “command” of the Russian language is about on the same level as Tarzan’s.)<\/p>\n

But if she thinks it’s a good idea, I’ll trust her — and I’m thrilled by the chance to discuss Russian on such a great forum, share some of what I’ve learned over the years. And always remember, I’m a learner, like you guys — so to quote a Russian saying that was supposedly a favorite of Ronald Reagan, \u0414\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0439 \u043d\u043e<\/span> \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0439<\/strong> (“Trust, but verify” — i.e, when in doubt, ask Yelena or another native speaker!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(“This book changed my life…”) …and it could change yours, too! No, I’m NOT talking about Dianetics, or Think and Grow Rich, or Lose Two Pounds A Day The Herbal Way, or whatever. \u042f \u0438\u043c\u0435\u044e \u0432 \u0432\u0438\u0434\u0443 \u0432\u043e\u0442 \u044d\u0442\u0443 \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0443 (“I have in mind this book here”): \u0412\u041d\u0418\u041c\u0410\u041d\u0418\u0415! \u0427\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u044d\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0438 \u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u043a \u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0439…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":2761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1216,1250,13008],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-russian-art","tag-russian-literature","tag-russian-sayings"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t