Hairy hares
How are you everybody reading this blog? Here is a little task for you. Find a funny mistake I made in my last blog “A “Washout” of a Summer”.
As Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev said back in the 19th century, Russia can’t be understood with the mind. He didn’t say that Russia can’t be understood, but that it can be understood with one’s heart and soul. Bear that in mind if you are considering a trip to Russia. Remember also to take with you a Russian phrase-book. The staff at your hotel and good restaurants will speak English, but there is no guarantee that a person you turn to for some help outside these two types of facilities will be able to understand you.
Where I live, in a typical winter, snow falls in November and starts to melt in March. There is still some snow remaining in early April. Snow is nice as long as it doesn’t melt. Due to it the streets don’t look dull and drear in winter months. It also provides all sorts of winter entertainment. Skating, skiing, snowboarding etc. There are a few ski resorts in Russia – one in Sochi (where The Winter Olympics 2014 will be held), one near Novosibirsk in Siberia and a few other ones. A smaller ski resort was recently built 10-15 km away from Izhevsk. Haven’t still managed to take advantage of it.
With all respect for Russian winter, my advice for you will be to come here in the summer season :)
Trudi, how are you there? Happy Chinese New Year! How did the celebration go? I did hear about IELTS, how many are there such centres in China? Worldwide? You asked a few questions about the Udmurt language. The Udmurt ethnic group only makes up 30% of the republic’s population. The Udmurt language is spoken mainly in villages and it is only common to hear Russian spoken everywhere. There is an Udmurt TV channel and all the stops in the city have names both in Russian and Udmurt on them; but Udmurt is not taught to children at schools (by the way, the standard set of TV channels only includes Russian channels and all foreign films on TV and in the cinema are dubbed into Russian rather than subtitled). Even though my Mum does speak Udmurt, she never taught it to me or my brother. So I don’t speak Udmurt and, consequently, it doesn’t help me in my study of other languages. But my knowledge of English definitely helps me to learn Italian and Spanish more quickly. However if you ask me, I don’t think knowing your Mother language(s) is of much help when you are trying to learn a foreign language. The reason for that is that you learn your Mother tongue(s) instinctively, on the subconscious level, rather than as a structured system. 
The city centre is the oldest part of Izevsk and it is situated near the Izhevsk reservoir. The further you go from here the more modern the buildings become. You can get to any point in Izhevsk by bus, tram or trolleybus. There are four universities: Izhevsk State Technical University, Izhevsk State Medical Academy, Izhevsk State Agricultural Academy and Udmurt State University. Most people live in flats of four-, eight- or fifteen-storey buildings. It’s what buildings look like in the city centre.
Anita, you are quite right, –ova, -ov are typical endings of Russian surnames and –ina and –in are equally common (e.g. Putin). So, in Slovakia, what happens to your surname if you choose not to have the –ova or –ov ending?
Eugeny, I have been to your lovely little town a couple of times. The best of luck in your exams!
Tanya, yes I believe in God, but let’s not take it any further from here, shall we?
Elena, I haven’t had a chance to read "The Wind in the Willows" yet. My favourite book is “The Return of the Native” by Thomas Hardy (a bit depressing though, like all books by him, but I kind of relate to the main character). What grey hair?! I am never going to have grey hair (or wrinkles!).
Kirsty, don’t get me wrong here. Certainly, most people in Russia are polite and they do not act in a rude way towards all and sundry. It is just commonly accepted among many people here that in some situations it is not necessary to bother saying anything.
I will talk to you again soon,
With best wishes,
Anastasia
It’s a view of the city from the Izhevsk reservoir. The black marks on the white are fishermen.
Comments
Hi Anastasia! What a lovely pictures :-). See you soon, Ana Paula.
Hi Anastasia, few days ago I came across your blog and I got fascinated with it, I found your city in a map and now I would like to know how your city is pronounce in English. Nice to hear from you soon, here in Buenos Aires we are suffering almost 40 ºC :))
Hi Anastasia! Very beautiful photos. Could you tell about water supply system in your city and Rusia. Chandra
Hi, Anastasia! I like the picture of your town on the photography. I had heard that Izhevsk is very nice and green. The thought about winter didn’t approach my head until I hadn’t have seen the picture. In addition, I just have read about the scandal around the idea to build a congress hall in the centre of Izhevsk. Your politics want to build it like an image of a rifle of Kalashnikov but the people are objecting. Do you think that the image of Kalashnikov can attract more tourists to the town? What are you doing if do not writing a blog?
Hello Anastasia! It's been a long time. :) I wonder if you possibly could recommend some online resources (besides BBC)for everyday using to improve English skills. Thanks in advance, Alexey
Hello, Anastasia. First I would like to congratulate you on your Blog. Your history is getting better and better and I'm learning a lot from you. I really would like to learn more about Russia too, so if you have time, talk about the city you live and the people around you. Cheers !
Hi Anastasia, I have seen some very small mistakes in your text, probably typos. The only really strange, at least for me, is that you saw “hairs” in the UK. I do not know what kind of animal being that can be or look like.
Hi Anastasia, It is me again Antonio. After having reread your blog, if I can give you a piece of advise, I would advise you against studying Spanish and Italian at the same time. You risk to mix both of them and never get confident in none of them. Try French or Chinese instead one of them. My wife is very good at languages, she speaks perfectly French, Dutch, German, English, Spanish and Catalan. She has told me several times that she have never dared to start Italian because she is afraid to mix or lose part of her knowledge of Spanish. Antonio
Hi¡ Anastasia, I've been reading something about your city. So I would like to know a little more about your theatres and your ballet. I hear that in your country that ones is very famous. Anyway, how many languages ate spoken in your country?? Do your best¡¡¡
hello, anastasia I have just read your letter and I saw the photographs and I love it too much. One of my favorites sports is sking so I enyoy staying in snow places. I live in Northen of Spain. Sorry for my mistakes but my english is not good. I am learning it. Last year, in June, I was in San Petersburgo it was raining all the time meanwhile I was there. It is a beautiful city. What immpress me more was The Hermitage. Nice to know about you soon. bye
Hi, Anastasia. Your blog is really interesting. And you seem to share not only the same language group as the Finns but also the sauna bathing habit. - I've seen that so far my comments haven't appeared, so I suspect BBC's Spam Manager being too eager again. I'm convinced there has been much more welcoming and appreciating messages than what you have been able to read.
Hi, Anastasia. I didn't think Russians were impolite. I forgot to say, in my previous message, that I had been in a nursing home in the UK, and found that the patients were politer than what I've seen in a French elderly home where I also have worked. I only wanted to say I share your experience: people ARE polite in the UK.
Hello Anastasia! Fantastic post! Thanks so much for sharing more about Izhevsk with us. From my point of view, I encourage you to learn Spanish first and then Italian. My native language is spanish and now I am learning Italian, which has been very easy when compared with learning english. My italian teacher has told me several times that it is easier to pick italian if you know how to speak spanish. But not the other way, italian then spanish. I think this phenomena also occurs among other pair of languages. Take care!
hi anastasia i hope that you will try to speak Udmurt, maybe this is not a major language, but we have to protect it... I'm my self speaking in Champa language, and only the muslim minority in Vietnam speak in this language, but I'm vary proud with it... anyway good luck...
Hi Anastasia, One more good entry of yours. I had read your previous posts too. All are really knowledgable for those who are not lucky enough to go around and world. your writing shows that you are really putting lots of effort to have command over English languag. keep it up. bye
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