I know I know! Week 9 & 10? Talk about being lazy, but no. I have finally, finally finished ‘Culture Shock! Russia’ and I have so much to talk about.
To sum it up right away, it’s been amazing! When we think of a language, we just imagine foreign words and sounds, but since when is a language mere total of its words? Reading up on Russian culture is helping me a lot, even in the sense of helping me read Russian literature someday, as was the original plan. After all, their national character has often found its way in the works of several Russian literary masters, such as Chekhov, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Dostoevsky and you can probably see how long this list can get.
A rather funny side note from the book comes to mind to explain this point. Anton Chekhov was, in his youth, known for his humorous tales. One of them, titledΒ The Stupid Frenchman, finds a French clown Henri Pourquoi on a tour to Moscow. He goes to a restaurant there and sees a Russian man eatingΒ bliny (a form of Russian pancake) with caviar. As he gasps at the fact that a man is eating that much dough, the quantity ofΒ blinies keeps increasing as more and more get brought, along with soup, fish and onion, again and again. As the Russian man enjoys his traditional multi-course meal, Henri concludes that this man is attempting suicide in the most unusual of ways, by overeating! He goes to the Russian to appeal about the joy that life is, why he should hold on to it and that things will get better soon. The man gets pretty surprised as he is just grabbing a quick bite before the real banquet for which he has been invited in the evening! Henri leaves the scene, exclaiming “Oh, country of miracles!” or as they say in Russian <<Π ΡΡΡΠ°Π½Π°, ΡΡΠ΄Π½Π°Ρ ΡΡΡΠ°Π½Π°!>>
So that’s that about ‘the mysterious Russian soul‘, which would always need cultural context in order to be enjoyed and understood. I am usually wary of cultural guides as they are often rife with stereotypes and lack much substance. This one, however, is written by the professor of my friend and she vouched for it and it really was a great read.
In the writing practice, I learnt a lot of new words but it was still less owing to the time I was spending reading the book. Tomorrow onwards, however, it won’t happen (hopefully!) as I can go back to devoting more time writing. The reason I didn’t post last week was that I was in the middle of the book and I wanted to conclude on something.Β Posting today feels much better as I concluded the book. So, that’s that about my week 9 and 10 learning Russian. Hope you guys liked it.Β ΠΏΠΎΠΊΠ°Β ΠΏΠΎΠΊΠ°! (i.e. Bye bye!)
P.S. The featured image is a click of whatever writing practice I was able to do over the past two weeks.
Bonus point:Β There was a section at the end of the book about famous Russian people and it had the name of Dmitri Mendeleev, as in the Mendeleev periodic table’s Mendeleev. While his home country recognises his unparalleled contribution to science with his work in Chemistry, there is one other thing he is praised for. He was the one who created the modern type of Russian vodka with 40% alcohol! I just found this fact interesting, so I wanted to share it. Well, now I am done. Bye bye for real, now.
I image the exploration of a foreign language and culture can only widens one’s ability to creative beautiful writing. It is always great to learn new things. By the way, loved The Stupid Frenchman
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Thank you! It is indeed an amazing and gratifying experience. When I decided to learn Russian, it was out of an emotional response to some pretty moving things I read. Here is a link to that post, in case you want to see:
https://literarylemonades.com/2018/05/19/prochnost-a-tribute/
However, with time, it has taken whole new meanings in my life. I am glad you liked The Stupid Frenchman, by the way π
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I will give it a read. Thank you for sharing.
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Sure π
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This was such a joy to read π
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Thank you Abhinav! I am glad you liked it π
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Very good neha
I also wanna read dostoevsky in original version…
In future I will definitely try for Russian language
Thanks for sharing πππ
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That’s pretty cool, Sushma! I am sure you will love it. Let me know if you need any help π
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Yeah sure neha I loved it.
Nd I will definitely tell you if I need ur help.But nowadays I m busy with other subject……And thanks for this nice response nehaπ
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Always a pleasure, Sushma π
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Loved your post, Neha! I have read a few stories by Anton Chekov in English and I must say I wanted to read more. Hoping to learn Russian someday! Looking forward to reading more such insightful posts π
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Thanks for such a lovely comment, Myrtle β€
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You’re welcome, Neha! β€
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β€ β€
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I remember reading his short stories. And the one that left an everlasting impact was ‘The Bet’.
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‘The Bet’ is an all-time favorite of mine too β€
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Thank you, Parikhit! I’ll read it π
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I love Russian literature π
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Me too π
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Yay! Please tell me you like Dostoevsky better than Tolstoy!
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I still have to read Dostoevsky. Hope I read it soon π
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Keep ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ and ‘Crime and Punishment’ for the end. You can begin with ‘The Gambler’, ‘Poor Folk’, ‘Notes from Underground’. π
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Thanks for the recommendation! Will keep this in mind now π
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You’re welcome π You’ll love Dostoyevsky, of that I am certain.
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Haha. I hope I do π π
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I love your grit to learn Russian and your religious way of offering musings on the culture to us. 70 days of dedication that is amazing. I am sure one day you will read the great classics from Russian behemoths in the literature field. Wishing you the best Neha. ππΈ
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Thanks for such a heartwarming comment, Shantanu! Your wishes mean so much to me π π
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My pleasure always β€οΈ
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π
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Wow. Major life goals. One day, soon after I’m done with college and exams, I plan on learning Spanish as well. It’s one of my dream goals too.
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That’s amazing, Lavanya! I wait for your progress posts, in case you plan to write them. All the very best for your exams as well as Spanish learning goals β€
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I enjoyed your writing style. It keeps my attention grabbed. π
And the bonus point was super cool !
You’ve been learning Russian as a language any backstory to it?
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Hi Nishita! Thanks for visiting. Yes, there is a backstory to this, but it will be better understood through this post I wrote:
https://literarylemonades.com/2018/05/19/prochnost-a-tribute/
Hope you like it! β€
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I get this now. Keep Working hard on your goals. π
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Thank you for your wishes, Nishita! β€
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I couldn’t resist myself imagining how the russian man would have been sitting there perplexed with a mouthful of pancakes while Henri was patiently consoling him ππReminds me of the cultural differences in the 70s show “Mind your Language”…
That mendeleev fact is a mindblower.. I blame my chemistry teacher for not knowing this important fact ππ
Oooh and I have to ask.. How do you write so organized??!! Your handwriting is impeccable… It’s like they are printed π±
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Haha. It is indeed a funny story, because feasting is a big part of Russian culture. Mendeleev fact was such a bonus for me too.
I am practicing the Russian printed alphabet first, so that’s probably why it looks that way. I am really happy that you like it π
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Thanks for sharing this with us… Please do post more about Russia π
The last time I was interested about Russia this much was way back in seventh grade. I had the hobby of collecting stamps… Noyta cccp stamps were such a hot commodity in my school days..
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Sure thing! Sharing stories with you all is my plan too, so that everyone else can also gain something from my learning experience π
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This is an Amazing read .. good to know your thoughts on a foreign language and your aptitude to learn the same .. ππ» best wishes to you Neha !! π
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Thanks a lot, Tina! I am so glad that you took out time to read it β€
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My pleasure dear π
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π
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Mention Anton Chekon and The Bet comes to my mind instantly…one of my all time favourite short stories!!
You are learning Russian?! Thatβs impressive!! It always intrigued me ….
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Thank you. Russian is indeed a fascinating language π
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So you are well-versed in Russian language ?
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No, not yet! I am trying to learn Russian for some personal reasons. You can check out this link as this will better explain my reasons:
https://literarylemonades.com/2018/05/19/prochnost-a-tribute/
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I checked the link and can now understand the reason! Initially I thought you are studying medicine or something else in Russia hence learning it!! I was soo wrong! After reading this i can understand the rationale and also what a great thought it is to know something as it originally is! Itβs true the translation may not reflect the soul of writing! The real pleasure is indeed in reading the original works…the subtle nuances, the puns, the emotions and the play of words which the author uses in originality work is so much dependent on the language and many times itβs difficult to replicate that in translation simply because the corresponding word or feeling may not even exist in the other language! So can understand your feelings here!! Very thoughtful indeed! I hope you to get to enjoy the real happiness soon!
And you quit work to write?? Thatβs so courageous and cool!! π … amazing!!
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Thanks a lot for such a lovely and moving compliment, Sifar! I feel truly happy when someone understands the rationale behind Prochnost and I am glad that you got that right. Translations are tricky, you know, and I actually couldn’t bring myself to merely write a tribute without doing something tangible about it. Do stick around for the updates on Prochnost. I really hope you enjoy them just as much as I am enjoying this whole thing π π
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Thanks!! And i got to know the meaning of Prochnost too! First Russian word for me! π
Translation are very hard to get right and i can understand that…i myself while doing it to English dont find the same level of depth or rhyme and it takes a lot of time to do so too….
Sure will keep checking the updates on Prochnost!! Sounds fun π
And thanks for your efforts!!
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Thanks for such a sweet comment, Sifar! Encouragement of friends like you is always welcome π
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Thank you Neha!! And i have followed you as well to keep track of notifications…..hope itβs fine!
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That’s amazing! Thanks a lot for that, Sifar π
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This is so cool, Neha! I am particularly in love with the Russian history especially the last Czar. Do read Nicholas and Alexandria when you can!
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Thanks a lot, Isha! I will surely give that a read β€
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