Posts under "when in Russia"

Out With the New, In With the Old

Posted by yelena 5 Comments
Jan 13 2012

What are your plans for tomorrow, Saturday the 14th of January? Better cancel them and instead celebrate старый Новый год (the old New Year).

Today, January the 13th is yet another the New Year’s Eve. Yes, it’s another chance to finish last year’s unfinished business, to set goals and make promises, and to start afresh. Yes, lucky Russians get to celebrate the New Year not once, but twice.

Russia was 300-odd years late switching to Gregorian calendar. Страна перешла на новый стиль лишь в 1918 году (the country moved to the new style calendar only in 1918). Before then it was using two calendars. For all matters external, such as diplomatic relations and international trade, григорианский календарь (Gregorian calendar) had to be used since that’s what the rest of Europe was using. Internally, however, юлианский календарь (Julian calendar) was used.

It sure was odd and inconvenient, but not without some excitement, I imagine. Crossing the Russian border was a real time-travel experience. The 9-hour time difference between New York and Moscow nowadays is nothing compared to a 14-day difference less than a hundred years ago.

Interestingly, the Russian Orthodox Church still uses Julian calendar. Which is why Russian Christmas is celebrated on January 7th aka December 25th по старому стилю (according to the old style calendar).

The old New Year is celebrated, but in a muted way. It is not an official holiday and, unless it falls on выходной (weekend), it remains рабочий день (a work day). It is not a holiday for raucous parties, fireworks or Presidential addresses to the masses. Instead, it is celebrated with the family and close friends.

For TV stations this is another chance to air старые добрые фильмы (good old movies), such as Карнавальная ночь (Carnival Night, with English subtitles), Чародеи (Wizards, no English subtitles), Ирония судьбы (Irony of Fate) and Старый Новый год (Old New Year, no English subtitles).

In fact, if you are comfortable watching Irony of Fate without English subtitles and you like this movie, you will really like the Old New Year one. Filmed in 1980, it has wonderful actors playing out a story that, as strange as it might sound, is immediately recognizable to Russian viewers (much like the Irony of Fate):

Two families that, it seems, can’t be more different from each other, have something unexpected in common. Their meeting and bonding is both accidental and inevitable as they celebrate the old New Year each in their own way.

The movie has too many крылатые фразы (catch phrases) to list them all, but some of the more memorable ones include:

Веди себя прилично. Ты не в школе. (Behave properly. You are not at school)

Проблема – ТВ и дети. Да, проблема – телевизоров всё больше, а детей всё меньше. (A problem of children and TV. Yes, it’s a problem – there are ever more TVs and ever fewer children.)

Одного «хорошо» на всех не хватит. (A single “ok” is not enough for everyone)

Он завсегда с народом (he is always with the people).

Хватит агитировать. Мы линию тоже чувствуем, по обстоятельствам. (Enough campaigning. We too understand the directive, according to circumstances.)

Если ребёнок плохо учится, то пусть хоть одевается хорошо. (If a child’s grades are bad, then let him at least dress well).

The most memorable philosophical ramblings of progressively drunker neighbor: Мне особо ничего не надо, окромя что есть. А у меня всё есть, что надо. (I don’t need anything other than what I have. And I have everything that I need.)

If you prefer a lighter entertainment, then I recommend watching one of the old новогодний голубой огонёк (New Year “blue light”), a traditional New Year pop-star studded program. The “blue light” refers to the flicker of blue TV screens. Watch it if you want to see all the biggest stars of Russian pop singing oldies, but goodies (sometimes with updated lyrics).

So watch up over some more Olivier salad and clink glasses full of Champaign over a yet another toast to the new beginnings. Счастливого старого Нового Года! (Happy Old New Year!)

Most Useful Russian Phrases

Posted by yelena 19 Comments
Dec 15 2011

I once met a person who коллекционировал (was collecting) words. Actually, he only collected one word, “hello”, but in many different languages. He knew how to здороваться (greet) in over 30 languages and was working hard on expanding his collection for a future кругосветное путешествие (around-the-world trip).

I think learning just one word or phrase is a bit minimalistic. However, what if you are planning on travelling to Russia, but you не говорите по-русски (don’t speak Russian), don’t have time to learn it, yet need some basic survival phrases.

With this in mind, I asked our Facebook community to come up with the most essential and useful Russian phrases. And then I sat back, enjoyed чашка горячего чая (a cup of hot tea) and waited…

While waiting, I kept thinking about what kind of phrases would be наиболее подходящи (most fitting). After all, they are going to constitute the entire Russian словарный запас (vocabulary) of the hypothetic tourist.

Needless to say, our tourist will need some common courtesy phrases such as здравствуйте (hello), до свидания (goodbye), спасибо (thank you) and извините (excuse me). Now, I know, здравствуйте is a pain to memorize and pronounce, especially compared to привет (hi). But it’s a must because nothing will brand you as невоспитанный человек (a bad-mannered person) faster than неуместная фамильярность (an out-of-place familiarity). Same goes for choosing до свидания over a more informal пока.

This immediately eliminated all the где? (where?) questions. If you don’t understand verbal instructions, these questions are pretty бесполезные (plural form of “useless”).

Imagine you need to find out где туалет (where is a restroom). You’re lucky if it’s in the line of sight so that you are told вон там (over there) accompanied with a pointing gesture. More often than not you will not be so lucky. So how would you understand even simple directions such as на перекрёстке – налево, потом в переход, выйдете – там кафе есть, но там только для покупателей (turn left at the intersection, then go through the underground crossing, at the exit there’s a café, but they only let customers use their restrooms).

If you are in a situation like this – a Russian starts giving you an answer that you don’t understand, the phrase я не понимаю (I don’t understand) will come really handy. Of course, you are running the risk of hearing а зачем же спрашиваешь? (then why are you asking?) So right after you say я не понимаю, flip out a pen and some paper and ask покажите, пожалуйста (show it, please) or напишите, пожалуйста (write it down, please).

Of course, our tourist will probably be buying сувениры (souvenirs). The single most helpful phrase in this case is сколько это стоит? (how much does it cost?) or simply сколько это? (how much?). Again, напишите, пожалуйста (write it down, please) comes in handy here as well. The second most useful phrase for buying souvenirs is это слишком много (it costs too much).

If a seller is pushing something you don’t need, like yet another set of Russian leaders matreshkas, you can say мне не нужно (I don’t need this). Then remind about what you really need by pointing to the item and saying мне нужно (только) это (I need (only) this)

Now, quite a few answers on the Facebook page were about vodka, including где купить хорошую водку (where to buy good vodka). Here we go again with the “where” question. I think a more useful question would be это хорошая водка? (is this vodka good?) In this case, there are only a handful of possible answers – да (yes), нет (no), не особенно (not especially), мне нравится/мне не нравится (I like it/I don’t like it).

A bigger concern might be how not to get drunk on the trip. Russians can be tough when it comes to getting out of drinking to yet another тост (toast). (But please, do not assume that ALL Russians are big on drinking vodka) A simple я больше не пью (I’m not going to drink any more) won’t have much success and neither will я – непьющий (I don’t drink). Instead, a determined-to-stay-sober-throughout-his-visit tourist should use мне доктор запретил (my doctor said I can’t). Another option is мне нельзя, я завязал (I can’t because I’m on the wagon (quit drinking)).

A very useful word, suggested in the conversation on Facebook, is можно? (may I?) as in можно попробовать (may I try?), можно купить? (may I buy? Is it for sale?), можно проехать (may I drive through here?), можно потом? (maybe later?), можно договориться? (договориться in this case is a euphemism for a bribe). Again, since our tourist’s vocabulary is so restricted and there is an almost infinite number of phrases that use the word можно, he can just accompany the word with gestures.

Finally, there are quite a few words and phrases that should not be used on the first, second or even tenth trip to Russia – мат (swear words), грубые слова (rude words) such as отвали (get lost) and отстань (give it a rest) and any phrases that build on the grotesque stereotypes of Russia as the land of drunks, easy women and bears roaming the streets. After all, as one of the fans pointed out, в России люди добрые, трезвые и культурные (in Russia people are kind, sober and well-mannered).

Got more must-know phrases that you used or wished you knew on your last trip to Russia? Please share in the comments.

Back from the Surgery

Posted by yelena 8 Comments
Oct 11 2011

Looks like I missed a whole week on the blog. I apologize for that, but I do have a great «оправдание» [excuse]. «Дело в том» [The case is] that I had «операция» [a surgery]. As far as surgeries go, it was a minor one. Still, I am still bed-ridden.

Since I’ve been busy recovering for the last few days, today’s post is all about «оперaция» [surgery] and related things.

Let’s start with the word «операция» itself. Its most general meaning is “operation”. So it can cover surgeries, police actions, military deployments, and bank transactions among its many meanings.

«Пациенту требуется срочная операция»[Patient requires immediate surgery] – this is not something you want to hear from your doctor. Thankfully, my surgery was «запланированная» [planned, scheduled] one although I was given just a couple of days to prepare.

Of course, unlike the other types of operations, «хирургическая операция» [surgical operation] will be done by «хирург» [a surgeon] in «операционная» [an operating room].

«Пациент» [patient] will be given some sort of «анестезия» [anesthesia]. A more commonly used word for «анестезия» is «наркоз». It means the same thing, anesthesia, but shares the root with the word «наркотик» [narcotic]. The specialist who administers anesthesia is «анестезиолог» [anesthesiologist]. Interestingly, «нарколог» is a specialist who treats drug addictions.

Now, this was my first surgery ever and I was thrilled to learn that I’d be getting «общий наркоз» [general anesthesia] that would carry me through the entire procedure. I was, however, surprised to learn that it would be «амбулаторная операция» [out-patient surgery] which meant I’d be sent home that very same day.  I sort of counted on this being «стационарная операция» [in-patient surgery] requiring a short stay at a hospital under constant care of «квалифицированный медицинский персонал» [qualified medical personnel].

As such, I was released home the same day. Luckily, «мои родители» [my parents] were able to help. Actually, my mom helped and my dad mostly entertained me with stories of how he survived «операция по удалению аппендицита» [appendectomy surgery] while «под местным наркозом» [under local anesthesia].

Here’s an interesting medical trivia for you – «Леонид Рогозов» [Leonid Rogozov] was the man who performed emergency appendectomy on himself in 1961. Reading Rogozov’s own account of the procedure made me feel like a total wimp.

Now, if for some reason you end up having a surgery in a Russian hospital, there are a few words and phrases that you will need, such as

«У меня болит…» [My …. hurts] – insert the applicable body part, always keeping it in nominative – «у меня болит голова» [my head hurts], «у меня болит живот» [my stomach hurts], «у меня болит сердце» [my heart hurts].

In case you forget the Russian word for a particular body part, you can always use the universal «здесь» [here] and a pointing gesture – «у меня болит здесь» [it hurts here].

If it hurts when you try to do something, the phrase is

«Мне больно …» [It hurts to…] then add infinitive of the verb as in «мне больно дышать» [it hurts to breath], «мне больно глотать» [it hurts to swallow], «мне больно стоять» [it hurts to stand].

Thankfully, I am not allergic to any drugs. But if you are, make sure your doctor knows right away by saying «у меня аллергия на…» [I am allergic to…] then the name of the drug. For example, «у меня аллергия на пенициллин» [I am allergic to Penicillin].

Some other useful words are

«капельница» – IV drip

«реанимация» – intensive care unit

«палата» – patient’s room (this can be either private or shared)

«укол» – injection

«противопоказание» – counter-indication

«симптом» – symptom

«жалоба» – complaint

«боль» – pain

«острая боль» – sharp pain

«тупая боль» – dull pain

«приступ» – onset, bout

«врач» – doctor

«медбрат», «медсестра» – nurse, paramedic

«побочный эффект» – side effect

Hopefully this post will be of no use to you whatsoever. But being prepared is not a bad thing, right? What words and phrases would be the most useful to know in the event of medical emergency?

How to Talk Like a Russian (Pet)

Posted by yelena 16 Comments
Sep 28 2011
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Ever wondered what do Russian animals say and how they say it? Well, consider this video your pronunciation guide and this post – the not-so-boring and definitely non-mandatory reading. 

I have a bi-lingual cat (here’s his picture). Seriously, my cat is a genius. Not only does he understand everything we tell him whether in Russian or English, he can answer in both languages. Sure, his vocabulary is limited, but his accents are purrfect (pun intended).

Ever wish you could teach your pet Russian? Or maybe you’re packing for a trip to Russia and plan to hit «птичий рынок» [a pet market], «зоомагазин» [a pet store],  «зоопарк» [a zoo] or even a local «ферма» [farm] or private «подворье» [backyard]. Whatever your plans are, I guarantee you this post will be either fantastically useful… or totally useless.

Since I have a cat, I’m going to start with cats – «коты» [male cats], «кошки» [female cats] and «котята» [kittens]. When these furry creatures speak Russian, they say «мяу-мяу» [mew] or «мур-мур» [purr]. Every cat in Russia can «мяукать» [to mew] and «мурлыкать» [to purr] fluently.

Next come «собаки» [dogs]. Now, there are two ways to say “a dog” in Russian. One is to use «пёс» [male dog] and «собака» [female dog]. That’s if you want to play it safe or are speaking to amateurs. However, if you are in a company of «собаководы» [dog breeders], «владельцы собак» [dog owners] and «собачники» [people who love dogs], you might find «кобель» [male dog] and «сука» [female dog] more appropriate. But be careful with these two words since taken out of dog ownership content they become serious insults, particularly the former. Regardless of their gender or breed, dogs in Russia know how to «гавкать» [to woof] – «гав-гав» [woof-woof].

Somehow «морские свинки» [guinea pigs], «хорьки» [ferrets], «кролики» [rabbits] and «хомячки» [hamsters] stay silent. You might think it’s because they are so small. However, «мыши» [mice], which are smaller than these, make a «пи-пи» or «пик-пик» sound.  Interestingly, «крысы» [rats] stay quiet.

It might be because «мыши» appear frequently in fairy tales where they are very helpful and mischievous. At the same time the only mentions rats get are negative, such as «тыловая крыса» [chair ranger], «корабельная крыса» [ship rat], «офисная крыса» [office rat] and «подопытная крыса» [lab rat], not to mention the whole negative PR in «Щелкунчик» [The Nutcracker].

Out on the farm, «коровы» [cows] say «му-му» [moo-moo]. This is not such a huge departure from what American cows say, is it? The verb for “to moo” is «мычать» which is also used in a rebuke «чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала» [a pot calling a kettle black].

«Лошади» [horses] on Russian farms don’t “neigh”, but instead say «и-го-го». Now, try to form a verb using this sound… Ok, I’m tricking you. The verb for “to neigh” is, unexpectedly, «ржать». Bizarrely (or not), it is also a verb that describes an act of laughing uproariously and, typically, inappropriately. The noun for such laughter is «ржачка», undignified as it is. It is not to be confused with a noun «жрачка» which, again, rudely, means “grub”. Take note that these two words should not be used in a polite and well-mannered company.

Russian «петух» [cockerel] says «ку-ка-ре-ку» while his flock of «куры» [hens] says «ко-ко-ко» and «цыплята» [chicks] say «пик-пик-пик» (yes, sort of like mice). As for other farm birds, «утки» [ducks] like to «крякать» – to make the sound of «кря-кря» and «гуси» [geese] say «га-га». Which explains my logic in calling «гусыня» [a female goose] at a local lake «Леди Гага» [Lady Gaga]. By the way, the act of making a «га-га» sound is called «гоготать» and can also mean “to laugh loudly, and possibly inappropriately”.

As for the small wild birds, such as «воробьи» [sparrows] or «скворцы» [starlings], they generally say «чик-чирик». More melodious birds, including Russian favorite «соловей» [nightingale] sing «фьють-фьють». Big black «вороны» [female crows, singular «ворона»] and «вороны» [male crows, singular «ворон»] say «кар-кар». The verb is, of course, «каркать» and can also mean “to bring bad luck” or “to prophesy gloom”.

One of the most interesting sounds that you can hear out on the farm is that of «свинья» [a pig] – «хрю-хрю» and not at all the Western “oink-oink”. The verb “to oink” is «хрюкать» and a pig is also referred to as «хрюшка». In fact, one of the beloved TV show characters of Soviet children was a puppet «поросёнок Хрюша» [Khrusha, the piglet].

Sort of to redeem for the tongue-twisting of porcine talk, Russian «лягушка» [frog] says «ква-ква». The verb is «квакать» and a frog itself is frequently called «лягушка-квакушка» in Russian fairy tales.

Of course, this list is far from being exhaustive (although if you got this far, you might be exhausted from reading it). So feel free to add other animal sounds you know or heard.

Want to know more about Russian animal-related words? Check out earlier posts about pet names and Russian sayings about animals.

Moscow, Again, or What Is It That Flows Together?

Posted by yelena 10 Comments
May 18 2011

Alexandr Pushkin, that most famous of the Russian poets, wrote

«Москва… как много в этом звуке

Для сердца русского слилось!»

[Moscow… how much there is in that sound

That flows together for the heart of the Russian!]

If we approach the problem from a strictly «количественный подход» [quantitative approach], there are «почти девять миллионов» [almost 9 million] search results on Google for this phrase.

But what interests me most is not «количество» [quantity], but «качество» [quality]. In other words what exactly “flows together” for the hearts of Russians and foreigners alike at the mention of «сердце Родины моей» [the heart of my Motherland].

I must admit, my experiences of Moscow are mostly second-hand, through history textbooks, literature, conversations, etc. I spent a total of about 7 days in Moscow in my whole entire life, in 1996 and again ten years later, in 2006.

Thus I decided to do some arm-chair travelling with the help of you, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for all your awesome responses to the question on our Facebook page.  Once again, I’m blown away and deeply grateful!

There were a lot of mentions of «музеи» [museums], «Красная площадь» [the Red Square], «мавзолей Ленина» [Lenin’s mausoleum] and «Собор Василия Блаженного» [St. Basil’s Cathedral]. All are must-see when one’s in Moscow, for sure.

Another must-see is «московское метро» [Moscow subway], that boasts some of the most beautifully decorated subway stations in the world. At least, it is true for the old stations. The new ones are either plain or plain weird, like «Достоевская» [Dostoyevsky station] with mosaics depicting key characters and scenes from the “Crime and Punishment” and “Brothers Karamasov”. Not the most «жизнерадостные» [cheerful] or «оптимистические» [upbeat] choices, especially for an underground space. But if there is going to be a macabre tour of Moscow, this station must be on it along with «мавзолей» [the mausoleum] and possibly «Патриаршие пруды» [Patriarshiye, or Patriarch’s, Ponds] from “Master and Margarita”.

Several mentions were about unfriendly, unsmiling people and the general hustle and bustle. I guess the latter is unavoidable in any large city. Besides, life is hard for Moscovites, what with «пробки» [traffic jams], «толчея в метро» [crowded subway], «дороговизна жизни» [expensive living] and freaky weather extremes.

Seriously though, many of my American friends note this outward somberness, lack of joy on the faces of Russians. To which I say – just get to know them better! Yes, Russians are «скупы на улыбки» [thrifty with their smiles] with strangers. But once the initial barriers are broken, it’ll be hard to find a more «отзывчивый и приветливый друг» [understanding and companionable friend] and a more «гостеприимный хозяин» [welcoming host].

Many of you mentioned delicious food, from «блинчики» [blintzes] and «пирожки» [small pies] to «борщ» [borsht] and «мороженое» [ice cream]. In my opinion, if there were only three things you could try while in Moscow, I would make it «чёрный хлеб» [dark bread], «беляш» [small round pie with meat filling], but only if it’s «с пылу с жару» [so fresh, it’s still hot] and «мороженое» [ice cream]. Oh, and just for my American friends, I’ll add «горячий шоколад» [hot chocolate] to my list.

Not sure «как обстоят дела» [how things are] with hot chocolate in other countries, but here in the States it’s just hot water with some cocoa powder mixed in. In Russia this drink is called «какао» [cocoa]. That’s for kids. But «горячий шоколад» I had in cafes in Moscow, boy, it was served with small spoons – that’s how thick it was.

And since I’m no this hot chocolate detour, here’s the recipe I found that best approximates the hot chocolate I had at various cafes in Moscow and St. Petersburg:

 

  1. Start with 100 grams of high-quality dark chocolate. Break it into pieces and «растопите» [melt] it «на водяной бане» [in a double-boiler].
  2. Add 1 table spoon of water and «размешайте» [stir].
  3. In a separate «кастрюлька» [small pot], «доведите до кипения» [bring to boil] 250 milliliters of milk or light cream.
  4. Slowly pour milk into chocolate, «непрерывно помешивая» [constantly stirring].
  5. «Взбейте» [whisk] hot chocolate for a few minutes. Optionally, add sugar to taste and/or fold in some whipped cream.
  6. Pour the real hot chocolate into cups and forget about cocoa powder for the rest of your life.

The tough part about travelling to Moscow is how expensive it is, especially for a foreign tourist. So here’s my question for you – if you only had an overnight stay in Moscow, what would you like to see or do? «Москвичи, посоветуйте нам, гостям столицы!» [Moscovites, do offer your advice to us, the guests of the capital!]

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