Posts under The Russian Emotion

«В карантине» [In Quarantine]

Posted by Josefina
Nov
13
2009

«Вот и началось…» [And so it has begun...] Yesterday I woke up with a cough and a terrible head ache, went to the doctor at the university who convinced me that «у меня нет свиного гриппа» [I don't have the swine flu] and sent me to the pharmacy to retrieve necessary medicine. And yesterday I did believe her, because I kept getting better steadily during the day. Then today I wake up some time after lunch and realized that I have much higher fever than yesterday and greater pain in my entire body. After consulting with my mother in Sweden over the phone, it was settled finally that «у меня есть грипп A/H1N1» [I have the A/H1N1 flu]. «Вот и прекрасно!» [ironic: Well isn't that wonderful!] Today, while rolling around in my bed, I found out per sms from a friend that «университет закрыт на неделю до 20 (двадцатого) ноября» [the university is closed for a week until the 20th of November]. Now I have read up on how things are locally in the town where I live, «Екатеринбург» [Yekaterinburg], and as it turns out I am far from alone. The past three days 12,500 people have become sick here, and 70% of them are very likely to have the A/H1N1 flu, as you can read more about in this article here: «С 13 (тринадцатого) ноября в Екатеринбурге вводится карантин» ["Beginning on the 13th of November Yekaterinburg will be in quarantine"]. At least I won’t be missing out on any classes due to my sickness… And I’ve never been in quarantine before. Could be interesting. If I weren’t this sick, that is… The only reason as to why I’m writing this is to forewarn all of you readers that you might not hear from me in a while! I’ll be back once I’m feeling better, could be a few days, could be a week. I don’t know. I’m off to bed now, or else I might just pass out in front of the computer. «Нехорошо!» [Not good!]

«Моя личная армия лекарств» [My personal army of medicine].

 
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Two Years with Russian Blog!

Posted by Josefina
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 дети» ["Fathers and Sons"]! - but also because «в этот день» [on this day] two years ago I published my first post here on this blog. So it is finally official: «я пишу для этого блога про русский язык, русскую культуру и русскую литературу уже два года» [I have written for this blog about Russian language, Russian culture and Russian literature for two years already]. «Ура!» [Hurrah!] I thought I’d take today to switch to a more personal tone in this post - something I rarely do due to the enormous amounts of grammar that constantly need to be dealt with and explained. Today I will tell you a little something about «моя жизнь тут в России» [my life here in Russia]. After all, most of the readers of this blog have probably noticed a steady decrease in the amount of post published here these days, and there’s an explanation for this. This explanation is «моя русская жизнь» [my Russian life]. Before continuing any further I would also like to say that - just like I did in my post a year ago - all of your comments are very dear to me! I love it when you correct me and my sometimes sloppy grammar (big shout out to all the native speakers who read this blog! Thank you! both Russians and native speakers of English, that is…). I love it when you share your thoughts and experiences from Russia with me, and I would very much like this dialogue between us to continue also in the future. So keep reading, and I’ll keep writing - anytime I get - and keep commenting! I love the comments. They give me so many new ideas of what to write about, so keep them coming!

 On nights like these I fall in love with Russia all over again…

What can I say about myself, then? When I started writing this blog two years ago I was 22 years old and living my fourth year in Russia. Now I’m 24 years old and this is already my sixth year in this country. Originally I’m «из Гётеборга» [from Gothenburg] the second biggest city «в Швеции» [in Sweden]. I moved «в Россию» [to Russia] in late August 2004 when I was 19 years old. First I lived in Saint Petersburg for a semester, while I studied Russian as a foreign language. In February 2005 I moved «в Омск» [to Omsk] «в Сибири» [in Siberia] where I also studied Russian as a foreign language. I stayed in Omsk for a year and a half and even though it is pretty much impossible to sum up that experience in just a few words, I can say this much: it changed who I am forever. Summing things up even more I can say that I have grown up in this country. When I arrived here I didn’t know anything. I was a teenager with nothing but a huge dream: I wanted to become a professor of Russian literature. But at the time I didn’t speak Russian at all. All I knew when I arrived were two words: «пиво» [beer] and «привет» [hi]. Needless to say, my first week in this country was splendid… I am living proof that it is actually possible to «выучить язык» [to learn (completely, fully) a language] just by living in a country and studying hard and trying with all that you’ve got. Now I wasn’t always the best student. Right now I am the best student I have ever been, as a matter of fact, but I’ve always tried hard and spent a lot of time with Russians. And that’s how I learned this language and this country’s culture - from spending a lot of time with Russian friends. If you don’t have anyone to talk to, then you’re not going to learn how to talk. So during these past five years and plus-two months I’ve done a lot of talking! That’s one of the best advices I can give to anyone who wants to learn Russian - find Russian speaking friends! If you’re not in Russia, then go to a language club or café and sit there with your little phrase book and try your best at making conversation. Who knows? Maybe you’ll not only learn something new, but also find a new friend in the process….

I moved «в Екатеринбург» [to Yekaterinburg] in late August 2006 and have been living here ever since. All the time I’ve been a student «в Уральском государственном университете» [at Ural State University], «на филологическом факультете» [at the department of philology]. Now I’m a second year student «в магистратуре» [in the Master's program] and will be graduating in June next year with a diploma that says I’m «преподаватель русской литературы» [a university teacher of Russian literature] with all «отлично» [‘excellent', the equivalent of an A or a 5] grades - so far, anyway (keeping my fingers crossed). I have already worked as a university teacher, though, at Ural State University since October 2007. But I don’t teach what I’ve actually studied; I teach Swedish as a foreign language. And that’s one of the main reasons as to why I don’t have enough time to write here as much as I would like to since the beginning of this fall semester - this year I have three groups in different levels and I teach three evenings straight a week, leaving me almost dead by Friday night. I have two hour classes every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 18.30 to 20.30. But I love to teach, and I love my Russian students. We learn from each other, I teach them Swedish and they teach me Russian, they teach me about Russian reality and I try my best to show them what Swedish reality is like. I would also advice anyone who ever gets to chance to teach abroad to take this chance - it can give you so much! You’ll meet lovely people, though - of course - there are going to be many though times and rough patches and hard obstacles to overcome. Thankfully, I only have lectures in the Master’s program on Mondays and Tuesdays, so that leaves me with enough time to prepare my own classes the rest of the week. When I’m not stuck reading tons of Russian literature for seminars, that is…

I love Russian literature. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anything as much as I love Russian literature (except for my family). That’s why I also love this painting of «Владимир Маяковский» [Vladimir Mayakovsky] that I came across on my way home one evening.

As you’ve probably noticed if you’ve been reading this blog already for some time, I have two favorite Russian writers that are dearer to me than all the rest of them (although I appreciate all of them equally!): «Фёдор Достоевский» [Fyodor Dostoevsky] and «Варлам Шаламов» [Varlam Shalamov]. My Bachelor’s thesis was on Dostoevsky’s time in Siberia, and my future Master’s dissertation will be on how he used material that he collected during his time there in his future novels. But in the future I would like to go on and research the connection between these two writers; I would love to write a doctoral dissertation on how Shalamov used Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Dead House” in his “Stories from Kolyma”. To get even more personal I can reveal that I have applied to study at a graduate program in the U.S., but I’m not sure if I’m going to get in. Come early February and I’ll know where I’ll be headed next - perhaps, to California! If not, then I will continue to dedicate myself to Russian literature and Russian language somewhere else. Perhaps I’ll move back home to Sweden and start working at the university there instead. I would have loved to stay in Russia for all of my life, but for many reasons this is not the best place to start an academic career. And I really want to start an academic career! Does that sound silly? I suppose it is a little bit silly. But then again, most dreams are a bit silly… My ultimate life goal - or maybe it is just a dream anyway - would be to move back to Russia in a couple of years, once I’m done with my Ph. D. and go teach somewhere in Siberia. I love the city of «Томск» [Tomsk], where I’ve been twice, but I think I’d rather go to «Иркутск» [Irkutsk] and live there instead, even though I’ve never even been there… Not even traveled through!

I think it is true that once you’ve become very close to a foreign culture, when you’ve come to close that it has become a part of who you are, then you can never truly let go of it. Even if I’m not always going to live in Russia, a part of my heart will always belong to this country. People here often ask me about my future, and since I don’t know where I’ll end up, I always tell them: «Несмотря ни на что, душа моя требует России!» [Despite everything, my soul demands Russia!] There is still much in this country left for me to discover, and still I have many stories that I haven’t yet told anyone… This country has taught me a lot. And I am so thankful for everything that this country has given to me - education, experience, friendship. Maybe this sounds like I’m already saying «до свидания» [farewell] with another eight months left to spend here? That’s not entirely true. I’m just summing up what I’ve come to understand so far. And what I’ve come to understand is this - life is beautiful. And no matter what we must always appreciate, respect and love life.

 What it all comes down to is that I’m just «обычная девушка» [an ordinary girl] and like all other girls I love «пить вишнёвое пиво» [to drink cherry beer]. So is there a better way to end today’s post than to say «на здоровье!» [cheers!]?

 
Posted under Culture, History, Literature, News, The Russian Emotion, Traditions, language
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In Russia Snow Walks…

Posted by Josefina
Nov
1
2009

A couple of days ago - I think it was «в среду» [on Wednesday] - we received our first snow here in Yekaterinburg: «выпал первый снег» [the first snow fell (down)]. On Wednesday, however, I had the bad luck to be feeling a bit under the weather - in Russian «я захворала» [I got ill; this perfect colloquial verb «захворать» means ‘to be taken ill' or ‘(with instrumental case) to come down with (something)']. Because of this I was unable to catch «первый снег этой зимы» [this winter's first snow] on camera and when this snow melted away in just a few days I felt very sorry for myself due to this, since I badly wanted to write a post about it here and as always attach some current photographs «из современной России» [from modern Russia]. Then I thought about the fact that this is «моя шестая русская зима» [my sixth Russian winter] and that I have plenty of pictures of snow from the five previous Russian winters that I have experienced in this country. And as I went through my archive of photographs on my «съёмный диск» [external hard drive] I was reassured that it is indeed so. But there’s always something special with the first snow. Every year it falls as if for the very first time. There’s something exceptional about those first fragile white snowflakes that makes us feel and act like children again. And this ‘something’ makes us smile as we look out the window and instantly feel an urge to put on our heaviest clothing and go out and try to catch one on the tip of our tongues… In my mind and in my memories Russia will always be dressed in snow. For the most obvious of reasons, when I look back and think of Russia I always see this country as a white wonderland where the skies are clear and blue, where the sun shines over glittering «сугробы» [snowdrifts] along endless Siberian highways… I know that most people who have never ever been to Russia - I know because they have told this me many, many times - think of this country as looking exactly like that «круглый год» [all year around]. But we who have been here, we who have lived here, know that this is not the case. But we also know that winter is best in Russia, don’t we?

And here we are again! Tomorrow it is already «первый день ноября» [the first day of November] and that means that «осень» [fall] has officially ended and that it is time for «зима» [winter] - «русская зима» [Russian winter] - to take over with full force! When the first snow came down on us this week, I looked out the window and then turned to my Korean roommate and said: «Снег идёт!» [It's snowing!] Only after a while, as I watched the snowflakes tumbling around in the air outside, did it occur to me that the verb «идти» [impf., verb of motion used for movement in a particular direction: to go; to walk; to come; to come out; to follow] was no where near a correct one to use when describing the way the snow was moving.

 «Снег идёт» [It is snowing] somewhere on a Russian railroad.

Thus yesterday I asked one of my Russian friends who is a Master’s student of «русский язык» [Russian language] this important question: «Почему снег именно ИДЁТ в русском языке? Почему он не ходит?» ["Why is it that snow in Russian language walks? Why doesn't it go around (without any particular direction)?"] «Ходить» is the indetermened variant of the verb of motion «идти», it indicates a movement there AND back again and means ‘to walk, to be able to walk; to run, to operate; to be going around’. She understood my confusion, but - «увы!» [alas!] - could not give me any answer other than that it, of course, would make more sense to describe snow coming down from the sky with another verb completely. The thing is that Russian language lacks such a thing as «снеговать» or even «снегить» [I made up both of these verbs; do not make a note of them!] as apart from, for example, my native language (Swedish!), and thus must use what it’s got. What does it have then? What else can we say when we see snow outside our windows but don’t really think ‘it’s walking’ but doing something different entirely? Let’s have a look!

«падать» impfv.: to fall; to crash; to decline, go down, fall.

«Снег падает» - [Snow is falling].

And from this combination of noun and verb you can make another noun in Russian that describes this exactly: «снегопад» [snowfall].

«Выпадать» is impfv. and «выпасть» is pfv.: to fall out; (of snow, rain, etc) to fall; to turn out to be; to fall to, to befall.

«Снег выпал ночью» - [The snow fell at night (in the night, during the night)].

«вьюжить» is a verb that I have only heard from Russians but can’t find in the dictionary, though it is clear that it is made from the noun «вьюга» meaning ‘snowstorm; blizzard’. I’m not sure if this could be combined with «снег» in such a sentence as «снег вьюжит» [‘snow is storming' or ‘it's snowstorming']. Perhaps one should be content with just saying «вьюжит» [‘there's a snowstorm/blizzard going on'].

The same goes for the verb «метелить» made from the noun «метель» (fem.) [snowstorm; blizzard]. I always have a hunch here that you can’t say «снег метелит» but must go for a construction like «на улице метелит» [‘there's a blizzard outside'] instead.

But since the most common verb used «со снегом» [with snow] in Russian is after all «идти» let’s have a look at how to make use of «совершенный вид этого глагола» [the perfect aspect of this verb] - «пойти» [to begin to walk, to set out; to start moving; (of snow, rain, etc) to begin to fall]:

«Скоро пойдёт снег» - [Snow will soon begin to fall].

«Вот и снег пошёл!» - [And so snow has begun to fall!]

Yet on this photograph we have snow without any motion at all! Here «снег лежит» [snow is lying]…

 
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It’s That Time of the Year Again: «Сезон гриппа» [Flu Season]

Posted by Josefina
Oct
23
2009

And then it’s that time of the year again - «осень» [fall], which equals «сезон гриппа» [flu season] in all countries located in the more northern part of this our splendid globe. The object of our common affection - «Россия» [Russia], officially known as «Российская федерация» [Russian Federation], or why not call it old-school by «Русь» [Rus'], or perhaps keeping it not-so-short and but-oh-so-sweet with the words «территория бывшего Советского союза» [the territory of the former Soviet Union] - is just such a country. A country located «на севере» [in the north]. This year, «этой осенью» [this fall] we «северяне» [northerners; plural form of: «северянин»] have a new flu to be worried about, the so-called «свиний грипп» [swine flu]. In an effort to illustrate how this new threat to public health is dealt with «в русской провинции» [in the Russian province] I will post «два объявления» [two notifications] on the blog today that I’ve photographed in the Russian reality around me.

«Грипп снова диктует вам моду?» [Is the flu telling you (lit. dictating) what to wear (lit. fashion) once again?] «Прививка - лучшее средство для борьбы с гриппом!» [Vaccination - the best way to fight (lit. for a fight) the flu (lit. with the flu)!].

Here we find the interesting verb «диктовать» [impf.: dictate] Perhaps you can see that it shares a common root with the noun «диктатор» [dictator]? And how to use this verb, you might wonder? Well, have a look at this:

You should combine the verb «диктовать» with an indirect subject in dative: «кому?» [lit. to whom?] and the direct object in accusative: «что?» [what?]. Here’s an example of what a sentence might end up looking like:

«Он всегда диктует мне как жить» - [lit. He's always dictating me how to live, though a better translation would be: ‘He's always telling me how to live'.]

«Внимание» [Attention]. «Убедительная просьба всем проживающим в общежитии, не желающим прививаться против гриппа, написать отказ на имя ректора в свободной форме и сдать оный заведующей общежитием» [A persuasive request for all those living in the dormitory who do not wish to take the vaccine against the flu to write a refusal to the principle in free form and give it to the manager of the dormitory].

The note above I found hanging on the wall next to the elevator on the first floor in the dormitory where I live yesterday. I didn’t know that all people at our university have to «прививаться» [refl. impfv.: (of a vaccine) to take] against the new «свиний грипп» [swine flu]. Today I read that «Вакциной от нового вида гриппа будет привить каждый третий житель России» ["Every third inhabitant in Russia will be vaccinated against the new type of flu"]. I hope they won’t include foreigners though! I’m very afraid of needles. I think I just might have to sit down and write one of those «отказ на имя ректора в свободной форме» [a refusal to the principle in free form] and try to explain my enormous fear of everything having to do with hospitals in general… You could also make of note of the rare use of the pronoun «оный» which is old and used very rarely in modern Russian. It means «тот» [that] and «тот самый» [the same] and is made from pronoun «он» [he; it].

New words today - and excellent words to use this season - are as follows:

«грипп» - [flu].

«прививка» - [graft; vaccination, inoculation; jab].

«вакцина» - [vaccine; animal lymph].

But don’t get me wrong - «я же желаю вам всем здоровья!» [I really wish all of you health!] 

 
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«Возвращение!» [The Return!]

Posted by Josefina
Sep
17
2009

Today’s post is long overdue. «Я знаю!» [I know!] It’s been almost a week since the last post. «Простите меня!» [Forgive (pl.) me!] But there’s a reason for the delay - or, many reasons even! «Будьте снисходительны!» [Be (pl.) permissive; pardoning; forgiving!] Today’s post is named «возвращение» [return] but it won’t be about the splendid movie «Возвращение» ["The Return"] by contemporary Russian movie director «Андрей Петрович Звягинцев» [Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev] - though I highly recommend you watch this movie in the original Russian (with subtitles if you can find it) - but about another «возвращение» [return]: «моё возвращение в Россию» [my return to Russia]. «Моё возвращение на Урал» [my return to the Urals] took place on Sunday evening, and since it’s already Thursday you might be wondering what I’ve been doing during the past four days? Since I’ve evidently been far too busy to blog about grammar and the like? Well, as always «моё ежегодное возвращение в Екатеринбург» [my annual return to Yekaterinburg] means dealing with a lot of stuff, mainly collecting «разные справки» [different ‘documents' - the magical Russian word «справка» means ‘reference; enquiry' in English but exists in Russian reality in the form of a small piece of paper that proves something or other about your person and is authorized by an official stamp and an accompanying signature]. Life in Russia demands a wide and assorted array of different «справки»! First of all I had to gather together a small collection of «медицинские справки» [medical 'documents'] in order to be allowed to live in the university’s «общежитие» [dormitory; hostel]. Most of you readers are already - I think - aware of the rule of having to obtain a negative HIV-test before applying for a visa to the Russian Federation. Well, actually you have to prove you’re even healthier than that once you arrive in the country - at least if you’re going to be living in a «студенческое общежитие» [student dormitory]. You have to а) «сделать флюориографию» [do fluorography (i.e. make sure your lungs are free from tuberculosis)]; and б) «пройти санпропускник» [pass a sanitary check-up (i.e. make sure your hair is free from lice)]. If you’re not sure what Russian «справки» might look like, check out my impressive collection below:

«Справка» - «существительное женского рода» [is a feminine noun] and that’s why it changes into «много справОК» when put in the case that we all love and know as GENITIVE PLURAL - meaning that they’re ‘many’. If you don’t have one then you have to say: «У меня нет справкИ». But thankfully - as you can probably tell by the picture above - I didn’t have that problem this week when I officially reclaimed my room in the dormitory for yet another year to come. My favorite is the one with the x-ray of my lungs… looking good, «не правда ли?» [is it not true (or: don't you think so)?]

Now the picture above is all that remains of these «справки». I had to hand them over to the «заведующая общежитием» [manager (fem.) of the dormitory] order to receive my new «пропуск» [pass] and be allowed to come and go here as I’d like for the next academic year.

 Generally speaking, I’m very excited to be back in Russia! Even though this is my sixth year in Russia - «мой шестой год в России» - and I should be getting tired of this country by now, I am not. Not at all! There’s always something left to explore here, and that’s one of the reasons why «я так люблю эту страну» [I love this country so]! Russia is always a surprise, sometimes not-so-pleasant, but most of the time very pleasant indeed. And one can never learn everything there is to know about Russia, not to mention everything there is to say in Russian! On Monday afternoon, as I walked the streets of Yekaterinburg for the first time in more than a month and a half, I couldn’t stop smiling. It feels good to be back. And I hope that my return to Russia will mean more inspired as well as more frequent blogging! The summer is always a slow time, but I have lots of new ideas that I would like to try on the blog this fall. I am hoping to be able to give you tips on Russian movies to watch (see the title of this post for where to begin if you feel like getting a head start). I thought we’d mix Soviet classics with contemporary Russian movies, and that I would only recommend the movies I’m sure you can get a hold on out there in the world. «Как вы думаете, это хорошая идея?» [What do you think, is it a good idea?] I’m usually not a movie person, but this summer I happened to watch the Soviet classic «Влюблён по собственному желанию» [‘In Love out of Free Will'] from 1983 and fell completely in love with it! Out of free will, by the way!

As a way of preparing myself for this fall’s new classes «в магистратуре» [in the Master's program] I bought «очень патриотические тетради» [very patriotic notebooks]… they only had three different ones and so I had to buy two with the red Kremlin on them. And that’s okay even though my personal favorite is the one with the big Russian flag…

 
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