A Villain, a Pirate And an Epicure
Sport is ubiquitous nowadays. There is a proliferation of newspapers, magazines and sports channels throughout the world. Are Russians into sport? Some are and some are not. The fact that Russians really belong to the sports nation becomes more obvious in the winter season when the city is dotted with skating rinks, when you notice people carrying skis on their shoulders and young men with bulky looking holdalls that are filled with hockey equipment. However, as far as jogging and biking are concerned, we are definitely outdone by the British (and probably by some other nations too). I learnt it for myself last summer. I didn’t risk biking in England as I am a bit scared of riding a bike along a road with the flaw of vehicles, moreover here in Russia we drive on the other side of the road. So probably my decision was the only right. However, while in England I went for a run more or less regularly and progressed from a nine-minute run in the beginning to over thirty minutes at the end. Talking about exercise, I am starting to go to the gym tomorrow. Like most people, I want to look fitter by the summer. Hm, I don’t find watching all sports tedious. But then, I don’t watch sports very often. The thing is that there is always some sports event on and you risk spending all your spare time in front of the telly. 
Oh, I shouldn’t forget to mention that I am a newly converted football supporter. Maybe not of an extreme type, but a fan nonetheless. On the right you can see Wembley stadium in London – Bristol Rovers played Shrewsbury in May’07 there and Shrewsbury were beaten, 4:1, which earned Bristol Rovers promotion to League One! The guys in blue are all Bristol Pirates fans.
I wonder if each English football team has got a fright-inducing nickname. If Bristol Rovers are Pirates, Aston Villa (and their supporters) are Villains, then what is the nickname of Newcastle team? Perhaps, Newcastle monsters? Wait a minute… does it mean that little Teah is a Villain?!
What do you think of Russia’s National football team? I think they are hopeless. I was certain that England would rout Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifier held in Moscow. I promised to walk naked across Izhevsk Central square if Russia beat England. Guess what? I had to do it and Izhevsk television made a programme on me.
So, what is your favourite national dish? I have several. Today I had chebureki. It is deep-fried dough with minced meat filling. Yummy but not healthy. See the photo below. In the next photo there are a few dishes that are quite popular with Russian people. I am sure that many of you have heard of borsch or pelmeni, have you ever tried it? Do you have something similar in your country? Read more on the topic of Russian national cuisine in my next blog.
Two days to go to St. Valentine’s Day and I keep checking my post-box. I have an inkling that I will find a letter in there (hopefully in time for the 14th). Flowers and intimate dinners are nice, but it is not something I have always associated with Valentine’s Day. I favour the idea of finding a romantic valentine in an unusual place and reading it in private afterwards. Or maybe I am just being old-fashioned. What do you normally do on St. Valentine’s?
Did you know that a sledge ride is a typically Russian thing? Of course, nowadays you will not see sledges on the roads as they are not allowed to go beyond park boundaries. This year sledges have started to catch on once again and I hear that sledges from Gucci are now available, they are said to be incrusted with Swarovski crystals and to be made of genuine leather. Watch for them when you are at a European ski resort. They must cost a fortune. It’s not a Gucci sledge in the photo – it’s an Izhevsk one I saw yesterday in the park.
Abida, Ana Paula, Irina, Yumico, Adriana, Naheed, James, Katea, Marichel, Mercé, Angela, Nizhama, Elena, Marina, Anita, Niaz Ali, Silwal Kishor, Jarco, Pary and others, thanks a lot for your comments :) Hope you continue enjoying my blogs.
Leila, thank you so much for your kind words. I agree with the BBC LE team that your blogs were filled with warmth.
Kirsti, what a nice name for little girls! :)
Cheikhna, you have my support. Russian is not that difficult. Remember, there are people who manage to master Chinese! All you need to do is study regularly.
Hyoshil, traditionally, the wedding season in Russia is autumn, but people get married in other times of year too.
Chandra, our tap water comes from rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Izhevsk is supplied with the water from the Kama River (it is the largest tributary of the Volga River) and the Izhevsk reservoir (the River Izh).
Antonio and Ricardo, thanks for your advice. I’ve noticed that Spanish is a bit more difficult than Italian.
Jeronimo, we were taught at school that there are about 80 languages in Russia and many of them are on the brink of extinction.
Alexey, there are so many Internet resources for learning English and they are all different… have you tried BBC Learning English? :)
Tanya, yes, it looks like the ugly construction will be built after all. Personally, I think it is a very bad idea to try and attract tourists by something that looks like a weapon.
Have a good week everyone,
Anastasia
P.S. I was joking about crossing the square nude. However, it means that my bet was never settled and that you can never trust girls!
Comments
Hello Anastasia! I am glad that you are doing well and you had a great weekend. Do not worry; I have been enjoying your blog. I am looking forward to reading your next one because …food …hmm… one of my favourite topics. I have tried Pirog (Russian pie). It is yummy. Is it also a traditional food, isn’t it? Please, let me know if I am wrong. I went to Russia, at that time of the Soviet Union of course, about twenty something years ago. I was in Sochi and Sukhumi with my parents. I tried caviar there but I must admit that I did not like it. I have beautiful memories about the excursion to the Lake Ritsa which is one of picturesque places in Abkhazia. I am sure; everything has changed since then so I would like to visit these places again. It looks like I will have to resend my comment concerning the using of the ending –ova because this strange spam manager is a big eater. Take care,
Hello Anastasia! Oh, my mouth is watering just for seeing the pictures you´ve posted. Moreover, all the dishes look so scrummy. Yum, yum ;-)! Here in Brazil we have a dish similar to chebureki. It´s called 'pastel'. In São Paulo if one goes to a market and doesn´t eat at least one'pastel'this attitude is seen as if was a kind of sacrilege :-). Anyway, I´m looking foward to reading your next blog. All the best, Ana Paula.
Hi Anatasia, I'm enjoy reading your blog too! It's full of interesting things. I like talking about cuisine, especailly traditional cuisine, so can't wait for the next blog of you!
Hello, by permission of you i read your topic but some word was very difficult because our english knowledge id not inough to understand abot that.so i am glad to come and find your blog. now i memorize your address and i will come agian and agian for reading your newest topic which i waite.so i am sorry for some mistake words that may occure in this comment. best regard Fanoos
Hi, Anastasia. 'Great' - it's about your blogs. Usually I read student blogs just to know what teachers are talking about. But yours are really interesting and very accurate. Well done. And I'm especially glad that you are so good in English, becouse we (actually I'm from Odessa) still think of Russians as of 'ours'.
Hi, Anastasia. Do you mean that there was no TV programme on you either? Promise eating your hat next time.- I once ordered borscht in a restaurant and they put a huge tureen on the table. My friends had ordered other more expensive dishes but they were curious about the borscht so they took and tasted of the soup. As I seemingly was the only one in the whole restaurant to have borscht, I wonder why the waiter was so angry when he came and asked my fellow students stop tasting.
nice to meet you !as there are a lot of traditional costumes in china ,as you know china is one of the most traditional long history counties in the world,and china also inlude 56 nation folks,so people always dress in formal and fashion.but in some remote and small village ,some people still dress their traditional clothes.
hi anastasia, how do you do today? I'm myself not good in sport but i like watching football, especially English Premier League, I'm supporting Arsenal and they now leading MU and Chelsy... Here in Malaysia we have Le Tour De Langkawi now. Yesterday our own cycler ( i hope i get the right word ) win second place and we are very proud because this is the first time since 1996.
Dear Anastasia, Certainly sports are ubiquitous nowadays. Sports not only give entertainment but it is also important to develop a person physically and mentally. There is a good expression “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Especially in Nepal, most of young boys now started to play cricket as their first choice. Football, Basket ball, Volley ball are also played with great enthusiasm. Though Nepal’s north part is mountainous region, ice skating is not either feasible or concerned authority do not take interest on it. As for me, I love to watch foot match live in TV. We have access of sports channel in Nepal and we can watch them frequently in TV. Nepal has a diverse landscape, ranging from the humid Terai- plain lands in the south to the mountainous Himalayas in the north. So the food of Nepal is as diverse as the country itself. In Terai and hilly region, Dal Bhat Tarkari, Roti (pulses and rice, vegetable and pickles) are the main food of Nepalese that is eaten twice a day. In mountain region, use of meat product and dairy product are abundant than other part. Snacks such as bread, chura (beaten rice), roti (flat bread), curried vegetables, milked tea and other snacks are also generally eaten in between the two big meals. Since Nepal lies between India and China, some of foods are similar to them. In Nepal people are fond of Masu. Masu is spiced or curried meat (usually chicken, mutton, buffalo or pork) with gravy. Served with rice, it is a main course dish, very popular in Nepal.
Hi, Anastasia! Your fairy tale about rats is wonderful! I think you were too impressed by famous mathematician from United Kingdom…
Hi, Anastasia, do you know the ballet dancer Polina Semionova? She became youngest principal at the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin just until she finished her education at the Bolschoi theatre only 18 years old and in Germany she is famous, because she danced in a music video (the song is called"Letzter Tag") of Herbert Grönemeyer, a german singer who lives actually in London. He sang the song in english too. I admire her and also I like the songs of Herbert. What sort of music do you like? What sort of music will you have for the celebration of your wedding? Everybody will dance? Enjoy your day!
Hello, Anastasia. I think I loved your rat story as much as you enjoyed writing it. Thanks.
Congratulations Anastasia for your good story answering the challenge! We had to wait some days without reading you but it was worth while. Here as you may know we are in summer, and in winter there is no snow, so what you live there is for me like something from another planet. I visited Europe twice. The first time in 1984 and there I saw the snow, I also saw it in sourth Argentina and Chile.
Anastasia! Your rat tale is just fantastic! I am looking forward to reading its sequel! I like spring but summer is way much better!! It is like the effervescence of life! Take care, Ricardo
Hello Anastasia! I do hope you are doing well and you had a great weekend. I would like to try to make clear the using of the ending –ova. This topic has a little political background. This ending is used in countries where people speak Slavic languages e.g. Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Russia etc. The simple reason for using the ending –ova is that we are women, it refers to sex. Men do not use –ov ending in Slovakia. If the man is called for example: Vavrek her wife and daughter will get the surname Vavrekova. But… I belong to the Hungarian minority living in Slovakia and Hungarian women do not use the –ova ending. Lots of women (mainly Hungarian women living in Slovakia) felt that it is a kind of discrimination and they stood against this rule. I do not remember the exact year when the Slovak Parliament changed the law but I am sure it was after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Since then using -ova after your surname is optional but still common in Slovakia. Officially, my name is Anita Nagyova. I could change it easily to Nagy but I think it would be a waste of time going to the banks and offices to change all my official documents. But my daughter's name is Csilla Nagy. When she was 15 years old and she got her personal identity card we changed her name from Nagyova to Nagy. Anyway, I also think that sometimes it is so funny or bizarre to use this ending when we speak about foreign women. I mean, we can hear on TV about Britney Spearsova or Condoleezza Riceova etc. Hope this helps. Another curiosity about our names is that if somebody asks in Hungarian: "What is your name?" we will answer: "My name is Nagy Anita" not Anita Nagy like in English. Best wishes,
Hello Anastasia, thank you for the nice photos. I've looked Izevsk up in the atlas and I'm still impressed about the size of Russia. Today I read an article in the newspaper about an russian author, named Wladimir Sorokin. He seems to be an awkwardly author, that's the statement of the article. Do you know him and if you know him, what do you think about him? I'll try to get a book by him in the library. Your blog arouse my interest for your country, that's very nice. I'm looking forward to your next blog. See you soon...
hi Anastasia, My English is not that much good to point out mistakes of yours as you are very good at it.
Hi Anastasia, I surfed the web and found the photos which you posted on asias7asia(life in England), it showed that the left side of this entry's photo is your fiance. see you, James.
Dear Anastasia, Your quote to a Russian write is very touchable and it implies not only to your country but too all in the world. Most of the people living in this earth is proud of their country weather it is poor or rich, is with all basic needs or not. Most of the people try to build up their nation most viable to live as far as possible. Certainly, people want to achieve facilities available in other countries as much as possible. If you start to study other countries in better ways, you will find their cultural aspect, costumes, way of thinking, ways of reacting to other people. Many thank you for your suggestion about the best time to travel your part of the world and to carry phrasal-book to accommodate in better way. Today, I am not commenting what you have written in you last blog but I certainly point out what you have written in this blog ”The further you go from here the more modern the buildings become.“ Certainly there are some typos in your writing and it is also common in ours too.
Hello, Anastasia! Thanks for wishing me luck in my exams. I'm glad you did like the town where I live. I'm also often staying at Izhevsk. I usually go shopping, to the cinema and just to see the beautiful views of an old city. Writing this blog you mentioned the ski resort near Izhevsk advantages of what you still didn't take. I guess it's the "Nechkino" resort. It is 60 kilometres or 40-50 minutes car driving from my town. I can tell you that it's the really great place. The service and equipment level is rather high. I could mark it as a 3-star journey facility. I'm happy that we have such a place to go skiing and just to have a rest in the neighbourhood. But I've heard that near the Magnitogorsk (Chelyabinskaya obl.)there is a wonderfull ski resort called Ozero Bannoe. I wish I have had enough time to take a trip to this place, not necessary this year, maybe the next I'll fix it. And what kind of sports are you fond of. It would be interesting to hear from you. Wish you everything the best. Bye-bye.
Hello Anastasia:You have a royal name ¡¡¡ In Spain was very popular the bad story about the princesse Anastasia. I saw the photo chebureki and I think that is very similar a Spanish dish "empanadilla". It can fried or in oven. Also can stuffed for meat, vegetables, or cream. In Spain is very popular as snack.I hope that you can to go Spain and you can taste. it´s yummi. See you soon.
Hi Anastasia: In Spain we have very good and typical food: do you know "paella"? About football, in Catalonia the region of Spain where I live, the most famous team is Barça (Barcelona). Have you heard about it? Honestly, you are so good in English and it's really interesting all you talk about. Go on!!! I'm looking forward to reading your next blog. Best wishes!!!!
Hi dear Anastasia , oh , what a fruitful Blog do you have .All of them are interesting for me . I dreamed to Balet and opera and i 'm jealous of your ice skatimg as it is n't common in Iran . I think one of it;s reason is our less snow fall . yesterday we had a heavy snow fall , does it fell in your city ? but as it stops soon , it was nice one and today it started to melt . I had guessed who is your other half but i wasn;t sure . i think he looks realy kind and a man on family way . i 'm sure that he would be an idle partner for your life . At the end i hope you a happy valentine wishes
Hello Anastasia. In the town where I live, it never snows, but the snow is not far away. Yesterday,I went walking with a couple of friends or at least it was what this friend said to me "do you fanci walking tomorrow?". We drove forty five minutes to a village at one thousand metres above sea level and started walking up to a mountain which summit is about two thousand, two hundred metres about sea level. We walked up to that mountain for more than five hours, reached the top, eaten, five more minutes rest and then walked down the mountain for more than three hours and a half. I always says to myself, I will never go walking with this friend any more, it's exhausting, but I'm weak and I go every time he says. By the way, yesterday I could see snow. See you soon.
Hi Anastasia , It's my second comment to you today , why just my comments on you don't appear ? It isn't about trudi 's comment . By the way have a hapy valentine 's day . How is your fiace ? He looks very kind and i 'm sure he will be an idle partner for you . i 'm waitng to hear from you again wishes
Hi Anastasia. My mouth filled with a water seeing Chebureki. Now I fancy to visit Russia to have a taste of Chebureki. It seems like a Samosa here. The only difference is that Samosa is filled with meshed Patoto and Peas. It is taken with Tamato souce. Here in Punjab (one of the states of India) Sarso Ka Sagh ( Raw material- fresh leaves and stems of Mustard Plant) is an ethnic food ( may I use word Cuisine) which still occupies a prime place in Punjabi culture. It is served with a bread of maize floor & Butter because it taste better with it. Please do have a taste of it and tell me your experience if you ever visits punjab. You are writing as good as native Englishman. Write more, more & more. Russia's Great writer, Tolstoy (sorry full name slipped out from mind) novel "Mother" is an asset of mankind. Please pay tribute to this greatman on my behalf. If you do not mind, please tell us more about your finance i.e. qualification & occupation etc. Please correct me- grammer, sentences, words etc & oblige. Thanks
It's me again. Here in Uruguay football is the main sport and a national passion,but lateley our teams are not playing very well. We don't know if we will be in the next World Cup
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