Russian for beginners and travelers

Hello again. Long time not been here. Was there more pain than pleasure in learning Russian the last few weeks? Luckily not. I nicely continued going to evening class, did my test before Easter holiday and am now ready to start the last trimester. Although I lacked a bit of enthusiasm and commitment to really improve my Russian knowledge, all things considered. One evening per week is just not sufficient and I didn't find the time to do some extras.

I managed to watch the interesting tv-series Rusland voor beginners though. It was a Belgian Dutch-language series but as Lena De Winne, Russian wife of astronaut Frank De Winne, was the central figure of the series (she travelled each episode with a Belgian personality through Russia, focusing on themes as religion, ecology, economy, arts, etc.), most of the conversations and interviews were either in English or in Russian. So, if this series will ever be released on DVD, I will certainly let you know here - it is also worthwhile watching it if you do not know the Dutch language.

And concerning this upcoming trimester of my fifth year of evening school... I participated a bit half-heartedly in the lessons lately, yes, but I have a good motivation to start focusing again: in a few weeks, I will go to Ukraine. Okay, Russian is not the first language in Ukraine but I imagine that some knowledge of the Russian language will certainly help during the trip. So, time to rehearse the Russian for travelers vocabulary...

Очень холодно!

It is terribly cold here in Belgium. Yesterday it was about
-10°C. With our maritime climate, we are not used to it. A little snow on top of it yesterday evening during peak time and we broke our record of kilometers traffic jam. Winter tyres become worthwile considering...

My Polish colleague tells me it was -27°C in Poland that same day. But people are used to it there, is her opinion, and houses are isolated well. Still...

On the Russia Today website, I read that Ukraine had
-35°C and that  there are already hundreds of deaths in Ukraine, Russia and Eastern Europe. Horrible!

Russia Today ends with some good advice: "Dieting is strictly discouraged – consume enough food and drink to allow the body to keep generating heat." Ha, can do that! Will do immediately :-)

7 Russian books

End 2011, I followed this course on Russian literature, which was taught in such an enthusiastic way that you end up leaving the room with the firm decision to actually READ these books that you have just discussed.

Now, Russian classic books are not exactly what you would name 'thin booklets'. And there are many of them. So unconsciously I had always considered the reading of Russian classics as something I would do 'when I am retired'.

Yet, retirement age going up all the time and inspired by the course, I decided to make a shortlist, slice it up (meaning: read one or two of these enormous books per year) and voilà, in a few years I will have at least a basic knowledge of the Russian literature.

So here is my shortlist:
1. Dead souls - Gogol
2. Crime and punishment - Dostoyevsky
3. Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
4. War and peace - Tolstoy
5. The master and Margarita - Bulgakov
6. The cherry orchard - Chekhov (drama)
7. Eugene Onegin - Pushkin (poetry)

If you consider that I have already read Anna Karenina and The master and Margarita and that I am currently finalising my reading of Dead souls, it seems perfectly doable to finish this shortlist in a relatively short time period. So off I go. Next on my list: War and peace - a whopper!

Note: I will read these books in Dutch, in case you wonder; if I read them in Russian, I need decades, not years, to finish this shortlist!

Jan Balliauw komt naar onze school!

't Is echt waar, Jan Balliauw (denk aan de onlangs uitgezonden documentairereeks Back in the USSR) komt op woensdag 15 februari naar onze school. Normaal gezien enkel voor cursisten maar ik ben ervan overtuigd dat een telefoontje naar onze school wonderen kan doen :-)

Russian movies: good stuff!

First of all: С Рождеством - Merry Christmas!
Having Christmas and New Year already a week behind me, it almost escaped my mind. But yes, in Russia Christmas is celebrated on 7 January because the Russian orthodox church uses the old Julian calendar for religious celebration days. So all my best wishes to everyone who is celebrating today!

Apart from that, what I wanted to share with you today is this: I discovered the Russian movie (yes, better late...) and I am enthusiastic! I am not talking about the American movies and television series based on Russian literature I watched so far (and enjoyed). I am not talking about the 'War and Peace' and 'Doctor Zhivago' movies but about 'the real thing': the Russian spoken and Russian made movie:-) And I must admit: they have 'good stuff'!

So much that I don't have time to write anything more now because my next Russian movie is waiting for me (honestly!). But if you are interested (and are not an expert yourself yet), then follow my discoveries on my I can recommend page. The list will be updated regularly!